A NEW Trend Is Taking Over Disney and I Couldn’t Be More Thrilled About It

Welcome to the (Main Street Electrical) Parade?

Like many so-called Disney Adults, a major part of the appeal of Disney’s theme parks to me lies in nostalgia. Whether it’s rides or food or just generally spending time at various areas of Walt Disney World, any modern trip I take to Disney World is consistently infused with childhood memories. However, theme parks aren’t the only for of entertainment that elicits nostalgia from me. In fact, one form of music that I have nostalgia for is having a moment — and intertwining with Disney — right now!

In the last several years, the strain of pop-punk and so-called “emo” music that dominated the rock charts in the early to mid-2000s — think Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, Panic! at the Disco, and Paramore, amongst others — has been undergoing a massive resurgence.

Events like the When We Were Young festival, the returning Warped Tour, and major headlining reunion/hiatus-ending tours from bands like the aforementioned My Chemical Romance and the All-American Rejects have tapped into the nostalgia of 30-somethings who were teens when the music had its mainstream moment (🤚 it’s me, hi, I’m the problem) to generate massive sales and success.

So, what does this pop-punk resurgence have to do with Disney? Well, to be blunt, Disney has leaned into it.

While on the surface it may seem like there isn’t much of a link between Disney and this type of pop-punk music, there is actually a decent amount of crossover. Disney products have long been a staple in alternative mall store Hot Topic, which has long been a bastion of pop-punk music. During the genre’s commercial heyday, Disney worked with several artists from the genre on musical projects including a special edition of the Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack and a later album, Nightmare Revisited, both of which saw bands from the genre record covers of songs from the iconic Tim Burton film.

In addition, the All-American Rejects and Fall Out Boy contributed songs to the soundtracks of Meet the Robinsons and Big Hero 6 respectively.

As early 2000s pop-punk has returned to the mainstream lexicon, Disney has re-embraced the genre. Much as they did with 80s artists in the 2000s and 90s artists in the 2010s, Disney has begun adding early-to-mid 2000s pop-punk adjacent artists  up the lineup of the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival’s Eat to the Beat Concert Series lineup in recent years. In fact, 2024 addition Yellowcard — who are behind the iconic hit “Ocean Avenue” among other well-known songs — drew some of the largest crowds in the event’s history during their October appearance.

Theme park festival appearances aren’t all, however. In the fall of 2024, Disney released a brand-new album featuring a litany of well-known pop-punk and genre-adjacent bands like New Found Glory (who are well known for covering “Let It Go” in concert), Yellowcard, We The Kings, Mayday Parade, Simple Plan, and Boys Like Girls among others covering iconic Disney songs including “Remember Me”, “Part Of Your World”, “A Whole New World”, and “Go the Distance.”

As early-mid 2000s popping has ridden a nostalgia-driven wave back into the mainstream over the last several years, Disney as embraced (arguably re-embraced) the genre themselves to take advantage of the crossover of 30-something Disney Adults and fans of the genre.

FULL LINEUP for the 2024 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival Eat to the Beat Concert Series

Are you a fan of Disney’s crossover with the early 2000s pop-punk genre? Reach out in the comments below.

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