Did You Know a Popular Disney Song Was Written in a Fishkill, NY Hotel?

What Disney Song Was Written in the Hudson Valley?

When you think of Fishkill, New York you probably don't immediately think of Disney right? I know I never did...until now.

While doing a nightly scroll, I came across a video from ConnectHV, it's an accounted dedicated to the Hudson Valley community and they share cool facts about the region and share event information.

Their latest video blew my mind. According to ConnectHV, one of the greatest Disney songs of all time was composed in a Fishkill, New York hotel.

In 1989 Beauty and the Beast was in preproduction and composer Alan Menken and lyricist Howard Ashman were writing the music. However Ashman, who lived near Beacon, was battling AIDS and was too sick to fly to California.

Disney moved their team to Fishkill, New York and put them up in a Residence Inn hotel right off of I-84 (which is now a Spring Hill Suites by Marriott).

ConnectHV explains that the staff was so accommodating and welcoming to the Ashman and the staff that it inspired one of the most popular Disney songs of all time:

Be Our Guest.

The Disney classic went on to be nominated for both a Golden Globe and Academy Award.

Sadly, Ashman didn't live to see the success of the song. Ashman died in March of 1991, Beauty and the Beast was released in theaters of November that year.

Check out ConnectHV and how the break down the history of the song below:

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Movies and Television Shows Filming in the Mid-Hudson Region

In 2025, the Hudson Valley has become a hotspot for production companies in television and film.

This year we've seen a handful of productions use the Hudson Valley as their backdrop like season 2 of The Four Seasons on Netflix, the newest medical comedy on Fox called Best Medicine and a movie starring Angelina Jolie called Sunny.

READ MORE: A-Lister Filming New Movie Across the Hudson Valley

The 2 television shows are both wrapping up filming while Sunny will be in production until January 2026.

New Disney Movies To Look Forward To

Will future Disney songs be inspired by the Hudson Valley? Only time will tell.

But the Hudson Valley has been a popular place for movies and television shows to film, so maybe the region can act as a backdrop in a live-action Disney movie.

One could only hope.

In the meantime, take a took at a list of Disney movies we can look forward to from now until 2029 below: