MK Country Bear Jamboree is getting new songs and acts

[FigmentsBrightIdeas]

Is anyone on this board going to do the D23 showings, or know someone? Maybe someone could ask the Imagineers who will be at those why Peter wasn't brought back.

Can’t attend D23, but I’d be more than happy to ask Peter personally why or if he wasn’t brought back in during development. Or heck, if he even was told or knew about the new show at all. Truly the most confusing/baffling decision here. It’s clearly an impersonation of Renaday’s performance there and yet it’s just.. ‘not’ him.. ‘why’?? I have no doubt in my mind he ‘totally’ would’ve been on board to return, just as he was the last 2 shows (Christmas & Vacation). I’m seriously just dumbfounded by this decision to not get him back..

 

[J.E.Smith]

Try Everything is a waste of those four bear characters. The Trio deserve to be their own thing, not back-up singers. Trixie used to be a humorous character with her wine glass.

I'm not too fond of Bunny Bubbles and Beulah being just Trixie's back-up singers either, but I'm guessing with the show's short run time merging Trixie with the Trio was the only way every bear could show up without giving them even shorter numbers.

 

[doctornick]

The original Country Bears relied on many songs you could have heard on an old radio station. But here’s the thing - they BECAME “Disney” songs because their role in CB gave them longevity far beyond their normal lifespan. This new show is a symptom of just how shallow and limited Disney’s understanding of IP is.

Stuffing Disney film tunes into CB, where most of them absolutely don’t fit, feels massively more cynical then Management. It’s a more elaborate and drawn-out version of Star Lord mentioning that he loved classic EPCOT.

Are Disney fans so thin-skinned that the mild barbs from a VILLAIN hurt their feelings? That seems very strange to me.

I just watched a video of Under New Management to remind me and it was terrible. Not only with the insulting of the previous show but it wasn't even a Tiki show. It seemed like whoever designed it didn't understand that the Caribbean and Polynesia are completely different places. It didn't respect or pay homage to the original show but basically throws shade on it.

I don't love this version of the Country Bears (though I didn't love the original either) but it clearly shows that the designers have reverence for the attraction and were determined to maintain its spirit.

 

[Surferboy567]

Yes. They kept the original beats. That’s more or less the only humor in the show. Despite this, the old jokes - Big Al, the slide show, etc - are now presented in a way that doesn’t work. It’s cynical pandering rather then an actual attempt at a refresh - it’s Figment in the modern Journey.

The old songs used to be funny in themselves. The new batch, with the very notable exceptions of Kiss and Super, just sit there. Those are the only two numbers that try to be funny and the only two that bring anything new to the show.

We disagree on this.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

It seemed like whoever designed it didn't understand that the Caribbean and Polynesia are completely different places.

Kevin Rafferty was the lead - his other attractions include Midway Mania, Cars Land, Philharmagic, tough to be a bug, Winnie the Pooh, sonny eclipse, and Midway Mania.

 

[Surferboy567]

Kevin Rafferty was the lead - his other attractions include Midway Mania, Cars Land, Philharmagic, tough to be a bug, Winnie the Pooh, sonny eclipse, and Midway Mania.

He must of had a really bad day. The others on this list (maybe besides bug) are pretty good to amazing.

 

[donsullivan]

I think the show is okay overall. LOVE the improvements done to the AAs movement & fur wise. But I gotta say, I’m absolutely ‘baffled’ Peter Renaday wasn’t brought back to voice Henry. Just.. why?? I’m hoping it was just a case of not knowing he was right there.. He’s absolutely still around and can do the voice perfectly still. He’s even been brought onto D23 presentations that showcase the fact he ‘is’ (well.. was, now with this new show) Henry. Honestly saddens me they would even think to recast him to begin with. The one key role he’s had at Disney besides Mickey Mouse in the 70s-80s in Records & Toys, working at the company when Walt was still alive. Truly dumbfounded by the decision to recast Henry, really.
But overall, I’m just glad the bears weren’t axed and have a show to perform.

You do understand that Peter is 89 years old at this time and likely quite retired and maybe just not able to do it, or maybe just didn’t want to?

 

[The Leader of the Club]

Pete Renaday should be in this. It's borderline disrespectful that he's not.

The man is almost 90, I think he deserves a nice retirement.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

He must of had a really bad day. The others on this list (maybe besides bug) are pretty good to amazing.

His book “Magic Journey” is excellent - he talks about Under new Management not being popular.

 

[WeNamedTheDogIndiana]

You do understand that Peter is 89 years old at this time and likely quite retired and maybe just not able to do it, or maybe just didn’t want to or couldn’t?

Seriously! Let the man relax. Mark Hamill is more than 15 years his junior and has had to step away from his most famous (although to be fair, also significantly more demanding) voice role due to the strain. Voice acting can be a lot more work than people realize.

 

[mickEblu]

Country Bear River Rapids Revue might be the “San Fransokyo” announcement of this years D23. Something relatively cheap with a short TAT that they can do to drum up some interest and place some “IP” where there is none.

 

[Stripes]

That is the excuse used now for the bare minimum and delivering less. "The typical park guest will like it." No more aiming to go above and beyond.

It’s not an excuse, it‘s the driving force for the change. My opinion is that the typical park guest, including myself, will find the new show more engaging, more memorable, and more entertaining than the show it replaced while maintaining the same charm as the original.

None of that suggests they didn’t go above and beyond. This update is one of the best executed updates WDI has pulled off in their history. The old show was boring, didn’t engage audiences, and it was stale. Hence, guests didn’t show much interest in going to see it.

 

[doctornick]

None of that suggests they didn’t go above and beyond. This update is one of the best executed updates WDI has pulled off in their history. The old show was boring, didn’t engage audiences, and it was stale.

I actually think its very evident that the designers put a ton of effort into making this show the best version of itself, updating whenever possible while keeping inspiration from the original show. What they pulled off is actually fairly impressive given what they were tasked with.

The IP mandate was going to be an anchor and that is unfortunate. But I think they did a good job of making lemonade from a bunch of lemons.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

The original Country Bears relied on many songs you could have heard on an old radio station. But here’s the thing - they BECAME “Disney” songs because their role in CB gave them longevity far beyond their normal lifespan. This new show is a symptom of just how shallow and limited Disney’s understanding of IP is.

Stuffing Disney film tunes into CB, where most of them absolutely don’t fit, feels massively more cynical then Management. It’s a more elaborate and drawn-out version of Star Lord mentioning that he loved classic EPCOT.

Are Disney fans so thin-skinned that the mild barbs from a VILLAIN hurt their feelings? That seems very strange to me.

I think the Tiki Room Under New Management just felt obnoxious and a bit of an eye-rolling attempt by Disney to seem hip and ironic. This charming old show starts, and then is quickly cut off by Gilbert Gottfried (who I generally like) screaming at you for a good portion of the show followed by kind of lame attempts to shoehorn more 'current' songs into the show.

I get not liking this show and the idea of shoehorning in Disney songs, but I struggle to see much good in Tiki Room Under New Management. The tone of this refurbishment is at least still largely similar in that it is supposed to be an old-school humorous musical review rather than an ironic commentary on an old-school humorous musical review.

 

[Moth]

The IP mandate was going to be an anchor and that is unfortunate. But I think they did a good job of making lemonade from a bunch of lemons.

This is the biggest takeaway. Your alternatives were a Woody show or a DVC lounge.

 

[zipadee999]

Does anybody know exactly what was done to the animatronics? The new skins and furs are pretty obvious, but I’m wondering what was done mechanically? I’ve heard that they made the transition from hydraulic to electric, and was just wondering how much of the 1971 hardware was left inside of them or if these are essentially new animatronics?

If they are in fact new or mostly new, maybe some duplicates could have been created for whatever DL might have brewing over in Grizzly Peak

 

[J.E.Smith]

Well, Pete being retired at his current age would make sense, but I wasn't sure of his status. But since Henry was one of Pete's favorite characters, and he always spoke of fondess of his time doing CBJ, I figured maybe he'd attempt to come back if he could pull it off. But if it was a simple "Pete's retired or he couldn't pull off a full show performance" that would be understandable.

 

[Surferboy567]

@Moth is Grizzly River Rapids what you were referring to?

 

[KDM31091]

If we must have IP shoehorned into everything, this isn’t that bad, and it’s better than losing the Bears entirely. But, it’s not superior to what it replaced. Which is becoming a common theme that is slowly destroying the parks.

It’s hogwash to say people thought the old was boring, IMO. There was always tons of clapping along, singing, stomping. People liked it. It was just a nice classic attraction.

As I assumed, this comes off like basically a Disney movies/ Disney+ commercial that just happens to feature the Bears. You could take out the bears and replace it with screens of the representative movies and it would be essentially the same effect.

I’ll go watch it, but I’m not impressed. I’m not horrified. It’s just meh. Which is becoming far too common with the parks.

 

[zipadee999]

Well, Pete being retired at his current age would make sense, but I wasn't sure of his status. But since Henry was one of Pete's favorite characters, and he always spoke of fondess of his time doing CBJ, I figured maybe he'd attempt to come back if he could pull it off. But if it was a simple "Pete's retired or he couldn't pull off a full show performance" that would be understandable.

Given his age, I wonder if the singing would’ve proven difficult. If so, they would’ve had to bring him in to record Henry’s spoken lines, and then brought in a new VA to do Henry’s sung lines. If Pete was already retired in the first place and likely not pounding the door down to record lines, it was likely the easiest option to find somebody who sounded enough like him but could do both the speaking and the singing without as much effort. They could’ve at least had him come back as Max to give him the tip of the hat though