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The Many Loops of “it’s a bug’s land”

Posted by SSrustworthy on 10/02/2022

I'm going to try and consolidate some info on the music of "it's a bug's land" (RIP 2002-2018).

Part 1: General area music loops

Loop 1: "it's a bug's land" (loop length ~00:21:47)

This loop is the first source of music that you'll encounter. It's a strange one. C33 referenced it in Re: bugland at dca.

This is a loop of music edited directly from the movie soundtrack with some insect noises occasionally bridging together tracks. It played in the queue for It's Tough to Be a Bug! (ITTBAB) and across from the Blue Sky Cellar on the parade route.

The only reference recording that I know of was posted on the Disney Parks Music Usenet group back in the day, and it is in stereo. It may be source, or compiled from two speakers, or it's just a really good recreation. Either way, the edits are such that I am fairly certain that this is accurate. I just can't explain the stereo.

The general track order is as follows (verified by lining up tracks side-by-side):

“Atta”

Cuts to "Seed to Tree"

Crossfade into "Flik Leaves"

"Loser"

"Flik's Return" (A small snippet of intense music is edited out)

"A Bug's Life Suite" (Almost in full, minus a dramatic portion in the middle. This is at a normal speed unlike the first iteration)

All of the music plays again. But at the end of the music, no chirps are played and there's a silent gap. Overall, this loop feels fairly dramatic and heavy on the A Bug's Life Suite (of which the beginning portion is played 4 times in 20 minutes... yeah). If you want exact edit points, line it up with the recording below.

Loop 2: Flik's Fun Fair (loop length 00:23:44.785)

This is a different loop than the "it's a bug's land" loop that is made up of reorchestrated themes from the score. It plays solely by the entrance to Flik's Fun Fair. The music is arguably more light-hearted and melodic than the "it's a bug's land" loop, and the loop does not contain insect noises. This loop was also discussed by C33 in the Re: bugland at dca topic. I have lined this up with the "A Bug's Life Suite" released on the OA's and found that it plays in full during this loop with no edits. This is a different orchestration than the one found on the movie OST.

Loop 3: Insect noises (loop length 00:28:16.689)

This is the general loop that plays inside of Flik's Fun Fair. pixelated notes, "The loop runs 28:16.689 and the sounds repeat 3 times in the loop.  The fades at the beginning and end are how the loop is played in the park and were not added by me... To get the full effect of the cricket sounds, it should be played from a few different speakers, each playing the loop delayed by successive amounts so the cricket chirps blend together to build to a crescendo that then fades away." (Posted in Re: bugland at dca)

Loop 4: Talking Bugs Restroom Loop (loop length unknown)

I know next to nothing about this loop. It sounds like there was a recording of characters from the movie talking, with no music. RocketRodsXPR alluded to knowing something about it. Also there's this post: DCA Bug's Land restroom loop with bug dialog

And it's listed as the second thing that this blogger will miss about A Bug's Land:

"The first time we used the restroom and randomly heard Heimlich and Flik talking over the soundsystem, we were surprised. It was such a miniscule Disney touch that made a huge difference (even though those bathrooms were always a hot mess)."

Source: https://lostweekenders.com/blog/goodbye-bugs-land

Part 2: Attraction-specific loops

Loop 5: ITTBAB Preshow (preshow length ~9:08)

I believe that this was the same preshow at DCA as Animal Kingdom, but I don't know for sure. I was freaked out by this show as a kid and never bothered returning

These are renditions of popular songs as insect-performed instrumentals. Check out the ITTBAB torrent and you'll get the picture...

  1. One from 'A Cockroach Line' (A Chorus Line)

  2. Beauty and the Bees (Beauty and the Beast) *available on several OA's

  3. Tomorrow from 'Antie' (Annie)

  4. 'Web Side Story' Medley: I Feel Pretty/Tonight etc. (West Side Story)

  5. Flight of the Bumblebees (Rimsky Korsakov)

Loop 6: Tuck and Roll's Drive 'Em Buggies

This attraction played needledrop circus music while the attraction was in motion. A detailed track listing provided by RocketRodsXPR and pixelated is provided in this thread: Tuck and Roll's Drive 'Em Buggies BGM

Loop 7: Francis' Ladybug Boogie

A collection of needledrop swing tunes played constantly. I provided a track listing here:

Re: DCA - Francis' Ladybug Boogie Tracks

https://mousebits.com/smf/index.php?topic=10826.msg98905#msg98905

Copied here for convenience:

DCA — Francis’ Ladybug Boogie

Loop 8: Heimlich's Chew Chew Train (loop length 00:05:54.286)

pixelated provided two induction recordings and a live recording of the underlying music and some of Heimlich's spiels:

Source: Heimlich's Chew Chew Train area BGM

Source: Looking for some Disneyland audio...

Loop 9: Flik's Flyers

The length of this loop (including sound effects and the music) is 00:01:24.553. The portion of the loop that is music-only is 00:01:21.625.

I have lined this up with the soundtrack version of Flik's Machine and confirmed that the attraction plays most of the latter half of the track, starting from 00:01:25:685. The attraction version is only slightly edited, editing out a portion from ~2:40 to 2:44 of the album track.