Country Bear Jamboree closing for lengthy refurbishment in August

[Tom]

why would they need a permit to do the refurb?

Disney files a permit for everything .

They file a Notice of Commencement whenever work is done by a third party on property that has value. This is so the county has a record of property that has a potential for a lien to be filed against it if the owner of such property fails to pay the contractors.

Building permits are different, and are only filed with Reedy Creek. But around here, you have to get a permit if you do anything that affects Life Safety situations (i.e. electrical, plumbing or mechanical changes, to a certain extent...and modifying the path to any means of exit).

 

[pumpkin7]

to be honest, and don't hate me for this, but if they are cutting big al out / down, then the finale will sound better; i mean, they're trying to drown bit al out right? but you can still hear him and it sounds a mess! maybe if they start him singing blood on the saddle as per usual but then not having singing over the finale... or something i don't know.
they can't be doing too much to it because they don't have the voice actors to re do any lines or add new lines in... well, i saw Pete Renaday in an interview with the latest voice for mickey mouse not too long back but i'm guessing he doesn't sound quite the same any more.

edit: Pete Renaday is in assassins creed and fallout new vegas! cool! never noticed!

 

[dxwwf3]

The thought of this whole refurbishment makes me sick. Especially considering the state of the MK in general towards adults.

Maybe they can speed up the logs on Splash Mountain up the lift hills, so they can trim about 45 seconds off of the ride. Or better yet, just cut out all of the AA's and show scenes and reconfigure the ride to where you immediately go up the large lift hill and go down into the briar patch and immediately unload there. Think of all the time you could save!

The crowds are still there for the show, people seem to be enjoying themselves in the theater, so why screw up a good thing? Oh I forgot, we're talking about the Magic Kingdom here.

 

[LudwigVonDrake]

Big Al may not survive in entirety.

If that happens it'll be a sad day.

 

[Clever Name]

Nobody that wouldn't sit through the Country Bear Jamboree before is suddenly going to like it because they took out half of one song.

You're right. Only a very small fan base enjoys the show now and changing it will not increase the audience. I think the objective of cutting three minutes off the show is to save energy.

The crowds are still there for the show, people seem to be enjoying themselves in the theater, so why screw up a good thing?

Nope. That's the problem. The crowds haven't been there for CBJ in many years.

 

[dxwwf3]

Nope. That's the problem. The crowds haven't been there for CBJ in many years.

Not what I've seen. Of course the only months I have been there in the past 4 or 5 years would be June, July or August. But I don't think I've ever seen a show in the past 5 years that was less than 80% full. Higher percentages than WDWMagic fan favorite Mickey's Philharmagic.

 

[ellie-badge]

Nope. That's the problem. The crowds haven't been there for CBJ in many years.

The theater's always been full whenever I've gone to see the show.

 

[dxwwf3]

The Tiki Room changes were at least justifiable. Attendance for that show was low before the UNM change and pretty much stayed that way. Shortening that show wasn't something that just seemed to come from nowhere. This stuff about CBJ seems to be like it was one of many choices on a dart board and the dart just happened to hit it. Makes no sense to me.

 

[wdwfan22]

Nope. That's the problem. The crowds haven't been there for CBJ in many years.

That's not true at all

 

[Clever Name]

The Tiki Room changes were at least justifiable. Attendance for that show was low before the UNM change and pretty much stayed that way. Shortening that show wasn't something that just seemed to come from nowhere. This stuff about CBJ seems to be like it was one of many choices on a dart board and the dart just happened to hit it. Makes no sense to me.

You're right about the Tiki Room. It's just as bad as CBJ. Both are old and stale and need to be replaced with something new. The hard core fans see these attractions as "classics" and consider any type of change to be blasphemy. Most guests just find them boring.

 

[dxwwf3]

"Most guests" lose most of their intelligence once they step on Disney property too

 

[GoofGoof]

16 pages for country bears? I skimmed through less than half the pages. My question is are these cuts something reported by a reliable source or just speculation? A nice refurb is probably in order but I hope they don't destroy the whole show in the process.

 

[Captain Chaos]

"Most guests" lose most of their intelligence once they step on Disney property too

And they lose all common sense when they register an account on a WDW fan website... LoL...

 

[djkidkaz]

You're right about the Tiki Room. It's just as bad as CBJ. Both are old and stale and need to be replaced with something new. The hard core fans see these attractions as "classics" and consider any type of change to be blasphemy. Most guests just find them boring.

I'm a hardcore fanboy and I find them boring. I will sit through them if Im with someone who hasn't seen them, but I never stop on my own to watch Tiki or CBJ. The shows just don't do it for me. I like having the classics around just for nostalgia but thats really the only purpose they serve for me.

 

[Skyway]

Here's why CBJ needs to be shortened....

During the WDW grand opening TV special in 1971, they showed nearly 6 minutes of the CBJ show--- almost half of it! ( )

Someone watching that on TV at home in 1971 was probably captivated for the full 6 minutes for two reasons: Animatronic technology was fascinating and new. Also, most other 1971 TV shows also included long, drawn out segments.

You would NEVER see a 6 minute animatronic show on a TV special today (including those Travel Channel shows). Modern audiences that grew up with a Chuck E Cheese in their town aren't wowed by animatronics anymore. And (as I mentioned in an earlier post), TV viewers are much more sophisticated than in 1971 and demand more production value and good pacing. Not because of "short attention spans", but because our modern entertainment culture. (People weren't idiots when one of the earliest motion pictures showed a train speeding towards the audience, frightening many that thought they were about to be hit. Likewise, modern audiences are not stupider because that same black-and-white silent film isn't frightening, or worth paying money to see.)

CBJ has withstood the test of time amazingly well. So well, in fact, that I think it is probably better than any brand new CBJ show Disney could dream up now But the 70's era original definitely has its dull or slow moments that can be tightened up slightly. That's not an insult to modern audiences. It's reality in 2012, especially when visitors are now paying nearly $100 to see it.

 

[Rasvar]

Sadly, while I really appreciate CBJ, a lot of it is really lost on younger audiences. The only slide shows they know are powerpoints. The music is probably barely known to anyone under 40. And, yeah, attention spans are shorter. I have no idea what to expect from this refurb. It may simply be a and update to the AA's with a shorter show. Maybe it will be shifted to more of a focus on newer Country music. I just pray its not another debacle like UNM was.

Yet, at the same time, Hoop-De-Doo still seems to work, so what do I know on this one?

 

[marni1971]

16 pages for country bears? I skimmed through less than half the pages. My question is are these cuts something reported by a reliable source or just speculation?.

From people not directly working on the refurb but whom should know what's going to happen.

 

[JimboJones123]

Big Al may not survive in entirety.

Better get rid of the 16 best seconds of the show. I still can't believe any of this is a real solution.

 

[JimboJones123]

Sadly, while I really appreciate CBJ, a lot of it is really lost on younger audiences. The only slide shows they know are powerpoints. The music is probably barely known to anyone under 40. And, yeah, attention spans are shorter. I have no idea what to expect from this refurb. It may simply be a and update to the AA's with a shorter show. Maybe it will be shifted to more of a focus on newer Country music. I just pray its not another debacle like UNM was.

Yet, at the same time, Hoop-De-Doo still seems to work, so what do I know on this one?

Because it is lost on younger audiences is why it SHOULD stay.

Just like Star Wars, kids come for one reason and grow into another reason for liking the show.

My kids have seen it 5-6 times now and are growing into more and more of the jokes.

What once was the "cute bare show" is the "funny bear show."

It is something that reaches different ages on different levels. Which was why the different versions were so great as well. They hit different age levels with even more variety of experience.

Now instead we get everything focused on 6 year old girls or 8 year old boys. Maybe this is part of the reason why management cannot come up with an enriching enough experience for a new World Showcase attraction.

6 year old girl and 8 year old boy already have a hard enough time enjoying World Showcase. But adding a ride that doesn't offend the $48 a plate crowd that eats a thousand dinners there a night isn't easy.

 

[puntagordabob]

Nope. That's the problem. The crowds haven't been there for CBJ in many years.

funny when I attend each time the place is packed... not sure what you are talking about