Disney is replacing the soundtrack at Alien Swirling Saucers with Lilypad’s Jams, a new mix recorded in Nashville.
Alien Swirling Saucers is getting new music, and you will not have to ride it to hear the show.
Disney is debuting Lilypad’s Jams at the Toy Story Land attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios on Friday, September 25, introducing Lilypad from Toy Story 5 to the backyard alongside Woody, Jessie, and Buzz.
Lilypad is a frog-shaped smart tablet, and her whole deal is connecting people. Here she connects to the internet to remix and mash up music as the attraction’s resident DJ.
The new soundtrack mixes classics and originals
Imagineers rebuilt the ride’s music from scratch, splitting it between familiar songs and new ones.
Reimagined Toy Story tracks include “You’ve Got a Friend in Me,” “We Belong Together,” and “I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away.”
The originals were written specifically for the attraction. “Pizza Planet Promo” is an in-story theme song for the pizza arcade, and “Spin It Back, Lilypad” is a tribute to the newest toy in the backyard.
Partysaurus Rex also gets more airtime under the new lineup.
They recorded it in Nashville
The production went outside Burbank for this one.
Imagineers traveled to Nashville to record with session musicians, working across pop, country, EDM, and alt-rock to build the variety Lilypad’s remixing premise requires.
“We wanted to think about the music in a completely new way, taking beloved songs from the Toy Story films, and create catchy new original songs, that are singable, sincere and a little cheesy, as one is about Pizza Planet,” said Thomas Niederhiser, senior creative producer at Walt Disney Imagineering.
The part you get without riding
Lilypad performs for everyone in the backyard, not just people on the ride vehicles. Guests standing nearby get a live DJ set with entertainment between tracks.
That includes guessing which toy she is doodling on her drawing app, helping her unscramble puzzles, and watching “home videos” she has recorded of various Toy Story characters.
Attraction refurbishments almost always benefit riders exclusively. Building interactive content for people who are waiting, walking past, or sitting out the spinning ride is a different approach, and it effectively turns a chunk of Toy Story Land into a small entertainment venue.
It lands two days after the movie hits Disney+
Toy Story 5 begins streaming on Disney+ on September 23. Lilypad’s Jams debuts September 25.
Two days apart. Millions of people will meet Lilypad at home over that weekend, and then find her running a DJ booth at Hollywood Studios almost immediately.
Disney has been syncing park content to streaming releases more aggressively this year, and this is a tight example. The character goes from unfamiliar to recognizable in the space of a weekend.
Toy Story 5 grossed over a billion dollars theatrically before heading to streaming.
The timing helps Toy Story Land for another reason
Alien Swirling Saucers has been doing heavy lifting lately.
Slinky Dog Dash, the land’s headliner, has had a rough stretch of unplanned closures, including a multi-day shutdown earlier this month that left the coaster dark from Early Entry through After Hours. Alien Swirling Saucers absorbed the overflow, with waits spiking to 55 minutes during one closure.
Upgrading the attraction that catches the spillover is reasonable timing, whether or not it was planned that way.
What the ride actually is
For anyone unfamiliar, Alien Swirling Saucers opened with Toy Story Land in June 2018.
Guests board toy rocket ships towed by Little Green Aliens, spinning across a midway-style playset modeled on a toy from Pizza Planet. It is a shorter, gentler attraction than Slinky Dog Dash, with a 32-inch height requirement, which makes it one of the few Toy Story Land options for smaller kids.
Music has always carried a large share of the experience, which is why replacing the soundtrack counts as a meaningful change rather than a cosmetic one.
Geoff Line, senior story lead at Walt Disney Imagineering, framed the project as a personal one for the team.
“We played with these toys as kids,” Line said. “Now we get to play with them as Imagineers.”
Article compiled with the help of the Pirates & Princesses newsroom.
Pirates and Princesses is your destination for Disney news, theme park updates, and the pop culture you love. From Disney cruises and travel tips to Disney fashion, food, collectibles, and movie news, PNP covers it all. Visit us at piratesandprincesses.net for daily coverage. Follow PNP on Facebook and Instagram, and listen to the Pirates & Princesses podcast on Apple Podcasts and YouTube.
Hat Tips:
Disney Parks Blog (September 16, 2026), Garrett Willie’s announcement of Lilypad’s Jams, the September 25 debut, the full track details, the Nashville recording, the offboard entertainment, and the Niederhiser and Line quotes
WDW News Today and Disney Tourist Blog (September 2026), the Slinky Dog Dash closure reporting and the Alien Swirling Saucers wait time spike
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