Canadian Lumberjack Show to open at Epcot's Canada Pavilion in early October

[note2001]

I think we are talking about two different things. One is whether lumberjacks are a part of Canadian culture. Two is whether this is an appropriate show for the Canadian pavilion at Epcot. I don't think the two are the same thing.

I can't address the second part but lumberjacks and the forestry industry is definitely a huge part of Canadian culture throughout their entire country.

There were Canadians who balked at the idea of a bar band in kilts and a bagpipe representing the country too. I'm not saying they weren't good, quite the opposite, I thought they were very good and Disney was very smart in keeping them for so many years.

Not comparing one to the other, but I can't stand the videos I've seen of the lumberjacks. It's not because they are stereo types, but because chainsaws have no place in EPCOT. And those jokes are bad. they're not just fun groaners... they're just facepalming, get-me-out-of-here-fast bad.

So, what would represent the entire country? It's hard to pin down one item in their culture that can represent the country as a whole. I like the Indian concept and wish they'd have more on that with story telling, dancing/singing, totem pole carving etc. I suppose they could go the way of the American pavilion and do something representative of the government or military with a changing of the guard, some history presentations... but how entertaining is that? There's already a film there depicting the cities, hockey, the falls... the general look and feel Americans associate with Canada.

 

[Dubman]

They want a Lumberjack Theme? I say get rid of the stage and put a Log Flume ride in it's place!

The theme could be centered around lumberjacking in the Canadian forests with a finale of being plunged into the saw mill at the end.. Then, and only then, I would accept that theme as a representative of Canada!

I'm half Canadian.. My mom grew up on the Six Nations Reserve in Canada so I feel I have some say..

 

[Disney Analyst]

Native story telling and theatre would be interesting.


There are similar shows to the lumberjack show in Canada, at fairs and stuff... So it is part of the culture... But it more comes down to if it fits in Epcot. I know Animal Kingdom does it already, but perhaps an animal show showcasing the Animals of Canada... I dont know... Something to do with hockey?

 

[DisneyGentleman]

I know Animal Kingdom does it already, but perhaps an animal show showcasing the Animals of Canada... I dont know... Something to do with hockey?

A hockey fighting competition could be fun!

 

[Dubman]

I have to say that I was really really disappointed with the Lumberjack show this past Sunday 3/8. While the addition of the log rolling made it marginally better, the MC seemed to be forcing the shows to tie with the next show always being the tie breaker. Witnessed this on day one at the end of the show(And its' a tie come back later!") and again on our last day(Saw the last 3 "challenges"). On our last day, the log rolling was the last challenge and the Blue team was up 15-0.. Of course the log rolling was worth 15 points and the only chance for the Red team to tie it up. (A LumberJill was competing in this challenge on the red team). It was best 2 out of 3.. Blue team won(1-0), then red team won(1-1).. Then Blue team won again, but wait.. For some unknown reason he got disqualified! So they went again.. Again the Blue team won! This time it was the fact that he didn't wait 5 seconds before starting? Now they went again and in this turn the Blue team member obviously fell on purpose! Red Team wins and forces a tie with the winner to be determined at next show!!
In all fairness, they did generate a crowd and people seemed to be interested, but as I was walking away I overheard people saying "What's up with that?" and things to that effect. Even my son said it wasn't fair(we were on the Blue team side of the crowd). It's still somewhat early on so maybe it will improve, but to me it seemed it had a "fixed" outcome. Maybe I'm reading this all wrong, but I would be interested to get other peoples opinion on it.. Sorry, no pictures of this show.. Kind of wished I had taped it. Oh well, it would have been a waste of the memory card.. lol.. Just sayin..

 

[SoupBone]

I have to say that I was really really disappointed with the Lumberjack show this past Sunday 3/8. While the addition of the log rolling made it marginally better, the MC seemed to be forcing the shows to tie with the next show always being the tie breaker. Witnessed this on day one at the end of the show(And its' a tie come back later!") and again on our last day(Saw the last 3 "challenges"). On our last day, the log rolling was the last challenge and the Blue team was up 15-0.. Of course the log rolling was worth 15 points and the only chance for the Red team to tie it up. (A LumberJill was competing in this challenge on the red team). It was best 2 out of 3.. Blue team won(1-0), then red team won(1-1).. Then Blue team won again, but wait.. For some unknown reason he got disqualified! So they went again.. Again the Blue team won! This time it was the fact that he didn't wait 5 seconds before starting? Now they went again and in this turn the Blue team member obviously fell on purpose! Red Team wins and forces a tie with the winner to be determined at next show!!
In all fairness, they did generate a crowd and people seemed to be interested, but as I was walking away I overheard people saying "What's up with that?" and things to that effect. Even my son said it wasn't fair(we were on the Blue team side of the crowd). It's still somewhat early on so maybe it will improve, but to me it seemed it had a "fixed" outcome. Maybe I'm reading this all wrong, but I would be interested to get other peoples opinion on it.. Sorry, no pictures of this show.. Kind of wished I had taped it. Oh well, it would have been a waste of the memory card.. lol.. Just sayin..

A few separate groups of friends have come and gone in the last few months on Disney vacations. Mine isn't until the end of the year and it will be my first experience with the lumbersmack show. With that said, outside of what I've read and commented on here, I finally got some feedback from the friends and family that have seen the show in person.

The common theme? That they would be surprised if this suck of a show makes it beyond this year.

The complaints were too noisy, one of the cheesiest shows they've ever seen (especially considering Disney's history of corniness), and that it just felt really out of place. And about half of these people are Off Kilter fans and the other half isn't so it's not like they were swayed by their blinded love of Off Kilter.

 

[Eric1955]

A hockey fighting competition could be fun!

I vote for a Don Cherry face character.

 

[dreamscometrue]

In case you haven't seen the show, here is a recent video by Big Fat Panda.

 

[jcs4evas1298]

I have to say that I was really really disappointed with the Lumberjack show this past Sunday 3/8. While the addition of the log rolling made it marginally better, the MC seemed to be forcing the shows to tie with the next show always being the tie breaker. Witnessed this on day one at the end of the show(And its' a tie come back later!") and again on our last day(Saw the last 3 "challenges"). On our last day, the log rolling was the last challenge and the Blue team was up 15-0.. Of course the log rolling was worth 15 points and the only chance for the Red team to tie it up. (A LumberJill was competing in this challenge on the red team). It was best 2 out of 3.. Blue team won(1-0), then red team won(1-1).. Then Blue team won again, but wait.. For some unknown reason he got disqualified! So they went again.. Again the Blue team won! This time it was the fact that he didn't wait 5 seconds before starting? Now they went again and in this turn the Blue team member obviously fell on purpose! Red Team wins and forces a tie with the winner to be determined at next show!!
In all fairness, they did generate a crowd and people seemed to be interested, but as I was walking away I overheard people saying "What's up with that?" and things to that effect. Even my son said it wasn't fair(we were on the Blue team side of the crowd). It's still somewhat early on so maybe it will improve, but to me it seemed it had a "fixed" outcome. Maybe I'm reading this all wrong, but I would be interested to get other peoples opinion on it.. Sorry, no pictures of this show.. Kind of wished I had taped it. Oh well, it would have been a waste of the memory card.. lol.. Just sayin..

We were there in October/November and again a week ago and saw the second half of the show 4 times between those two trips - and none ended in a tie (I dont believe any of them were last of the day either). This is either something new they're doing or we just haven't caught it. The odd part to me about that, though, is I dont understand why on Earth they would WANT people to show up again the same day. Every show is the same, with the same script and same bad jokes. They really want to encourage people to see two shows or more in one day and make it blatantly obvious how lazily the show is repeated identically over and over? I would think they'd prefer everyone see the show once, wander off and not find the show again until another trip when maybe you'll forget that the jokes still haven't changed...

 

[wannabeBelle]

In case you haven't seen the show, here is a recent video by Big Fat Panda.

Panda had put this on his FB page as well, I wasnt up to watching this lame show yet again but did respond. The bottom line is yes I hate the fact that Off Kilter was let go from the parks, that is just horrible to me on so many levels including the fact that I am friendly with the guys. I would feel badly for any of my friends who were unemployed due to no fault of their own. The hiring of the Lumberjacks is a separate issue and is more than a little baffling. I dont see anything entertaining about the show, nor do I have any interest in seeing this in person. The fact that they are on the same stage as Off Kilter only makes it worse for me, due to happy memories of that stage area in the past. I dont feel they represent Canada, or the logging industry there, as they are from right up the road on US 192!! Granted, many of Off Kilter's members were not from Canada either, but the music they played was a blend of traditional and modern songs with Canadian influences, if not directly from that country. As far as new entertainment, I did see two of the other acts, that I did enjoy. The Paul McKenna group over in the UK Pavilion is outstanding, although I still think the sound should be amplified somehow either through a visible microphone or a hidden amplification system, as if you move too far away from the group you lose a lot of the vocals, just due to ambient noise in the area. I also saw the Flag dudes over in the Italy Pavilion. I had seen the video before but in person there is a grace and a beauty that wasnt really there on the recording. When I Am there again, I will make it a point to catch both acts again, without question. Usually I am pretty much of a wait and let's see what Disney does, but in this case and with Mo'Rockin', I think they just got it wrong. I hope that both bands can be brought back, but even if not, I think that the entertainment or attraction for these countries should be re-worked to include something wonderful. Marie

 

[dreamscometrue]

@wannabeBelle I saw video on Facebook of Jason Thomas playing recently at Downtown Disney with a Celtic group (very nice sound), and I believe he also played in Frontierland at Magic Kingdom. Are you aware of this, can do you know if the other Off Kilter members are playing at Disney in any way, shape or form?

 

[wannabeBelle]

I actually saw a number of videos of the group which is Nova Celtic, an offshoot of Nova Era. This band will be at Downtown Disney by the food truck area near Bongos through St Patrick's Day performing there. So far of the videos I have seen I like the Adele song Rolling in the Deep and of course the fiddle work on the Devil Went Down to Georgia was outstanding!!! The set times for last night were 7, 8, 9 and 10. I didnt ask for more than that, but I would imagine the sets are pretty consistent, timewise. As you mentioned Jason is playing fiddle in this band. The guitarist is Mark McDowell who was a frequent substitute for Randy, the regular guitarist from Off Kilter. On Bass Guitar is David Horvath who also used to sub for the regular Bass player, Mark Weldon. I do know Jason does play in the Magic Kingdom with Banjo Bob's group but not regularly. I have asked the guys to keep me appraised of any up and coming gigs so if any of the fans are in town or live locally, they can come out to a show!!! As far as the other guys, I know that Jamie is still playing pipes with the Orlando Fire Dept Pipe and Drum corp. I have not heard of any other gigs that are being done by Mark, Scott or Randy, other than Off Kilter gigs playing at Irish Festivals and different shows. Off Kilter will be playing at a place called McFaddens in the Disney area, every third Thursday of the month and will be playing at Wall Street, a club in Orlando tonight at 10pm. They are playing in an Irish Fest in West Palm Beach tomorrow and will be back at Wall Street for St Patrick's day. They are also going to be at Country in the park event at Pinellas Park on 3/21/2015 and on 3/28/2015 are at the Dunedin Highland Games in Highlander Park. Hope this is helpful!! Marie

 

[mouse_luv]

@wannabeBelle can you link or PM me the video links please? TIA

 

[wannabeBelle]

Info for the Wall Street show: http://wallstplaza.net/event/st-patricks-sunday-funday/ There is also another band playing that may have one of the other Disney Musicians I know. so look out for the Lighter Exchange as well with this!! Here is the link for St. Patrick's Day but it is virtually identical: http://wallstplaza.net/event/st-patricks-day-downtown-orlando-2015/
McFadden's apparetly hasnt opened yet but they have confirmed that Off Kilter will be playing. Here is the link to the main page: http://www.mcfaddensorlando.com/
Marie

 

[wdisney9000]

Panda had put this on his FB page as well, I wasnt up to watching this lame show yet again but did respond. The bottom line is yes I hate the fact that Off Kilter was let go from the parks, that is just horrible to me on so many levels including the fact that I am friendly with the guys. I would feel badly for any of my friends who were unemployed due to no fault of their own. The hiring of the Lumberjacks is a separate issue and is more than a little baffling. I dont see anything entertaining about the show, nor do I have any interest in seeing this in person. The fact that they are on the same stage as Off Kilter only makes it worse for me, due to happy memories of that stage area in the past. I dont feel they represent Canada, or the logging industry there, as they are from right up the road on US 192!! Granted, many of Off Kilter's members were not from Canada either, but the music they played was a blend of traditional and modern songs with Canadian influences, if not directly from that country. As far as new entertainment, I did see two of the other acts, that I did enjoy. The Paul McKenna group over in the UK Pavilion is outstanding, although I still think the sound should be amplified somehow either through a visible microphone or a hidden amplification system, as if you move too far away from the group you lose a lot of the vocals, just due to ambient noise in the area. I also saw the Flag dudes over in the Italy Pavilion. I had seen the video before but in person there is a grace and a beauty that wasnt really there on the recording. When I Am there again, I will make it a point to catch both acts again, without question. Usually I am pretty much of a wait and let's see what Disney does, but in this case and with Mo'Rockin', I think they just got it wrong. I hope that both bands can be brought back, but even if not, I think that the entertainment or attraction for these countries should be re-worked to include something wonderful. Marie

Our December trip was when they had the band for the holidays. It was great to see them and not the chainsaw show. Somewhat bittersweet though as we knew it would be chainsaws this spring and fall when we visit.

 

[wannabeBelle]

Mouse, I dont know how to bridge them out of Facebook and onto here. If you head over to Facebook, go into the group "Save Off Kilter" and you will see many of the videos. I believe these were all left for the Public to see so you may not even need to join the group if you don't want to. I will tell you, Jason Thomas is a member of the group and is WONDERFUL about keeping us updated on his gigs and answering any questions on stuff like that on there. Several subs for the band are also members and chime in occasionally as well. If I hear about a gig and get enough notice I do try to publicize it as well. I feel it is important to support local live music. Unfortunately I dont live in the area, so getting to a lot of the shows is tough, but when I am in the area, I try to get to as many as I can. Marie

 

[wannabeBelle]

Some more links: Pinellas Park event for 3/21/2015: http://www.pinellas-park.com/residents/events/citp.php
Here is the site for the Dunedin Highland Games: http://dunedinhighlandgames.com/ The announcement for Off Kilter is on the main page there but I didnt find the site helpful in terms of a schedule for the band.
West Palm Beach http://www.irishflorida.org/images/fun7.jpg or for the main page: http://www.irishflorida.org/ Click on Schedule Off Kilter is playing at 4pm
I know there are several Irish Fests coming up in Ohio and I thought I heard that they are going to Indianapolis again as well. I'll poke around some more to see what info I can get on that and post it here for those who are more local to those areas. Marie

 

[note2001]

We were there in October/November and again a week ago and saw the second half of the show 4 times between those two trips - and none ended in a tie (I dont believe any of them were last of the day either). This is either something new they're doing or we just haven't caught it. The odd part to me about that, though, is I dont understand why on Earth they would WANT people to show up again the same day. Every show is the same, with the same script and same bad jokes. They really want to encourage people to see two shows or more in one day and make it blatantly obvious how lazily the show is repeated identically over and over? I would think they'd prefer everyone see the show once, wander off and not find the show again until another trip when maybe you'll forget that the jokes still haven't changed...

That is odd. If you want folk to show up for a second or third showing at least change the script for each show. Otherwise, they're taking folk who may have legitimately enjoy the first show and making them realize they got suckered into watching it again, and the spectators end up hating it.

The lumberjack group stems off of a stand alone show that's used to people with nothing better to do seeking them out. These shows use the standard show model where folk pay, watch and leave. EPCOT is a totally different sort of audience for them, and they're still trying to figure out what the word "entertainment" means in this context. The bar is set much higher than they're used to.

No offense to the lumberjacks as people, but my hope is that this show will be long gone from the stage before the fourth of July comes when we're back down that way. I never cared for Off Kilter, but wouldn't object at all if they returned. Off Kilter knew how to entertain, interact and respect the intelligence of the audience.

I'll add one more thing: three of my four grandparents were Canadian. I although I'm second generation American born, I feel a strong connection to Canada and this new show is an embarrassment for both Canadians and Disney. (Side note: the US currently produces more timber than Canada. Not by much but it edges Canada out.) I'm still hoping for a show revolving around the Indian tribes of Canada: their history, music, stories, art and traditions.

 

[Baltar]

How is this show still going on? I happened to be there the day it opened last year and the chainsaw noise could be heard far too loudly in the UK Pavilion. Then I decided to check out the show and it was horrid. I'm not going to sit here and clamor for Off Kilter to return even though I liked the show. I'll just hold out for something better than the glorious sound of clear cutting lol

 

[Wngo905]

Well, we are at that time of year (end of fiscal year) when shows are shut down and entertainment for the next year is revised. We have already started seeing announcements, so YES there is HOPE!!!!

I for one would like to see Off Kilter come back.