News Country Bear Jamboree is getting new songs and acts

[aladdin2007]

This is terrible news. CBJ is one of the few unique attractions at MK. Heck, it’s one of the few unique attractions at any Disney-owned Disney park anywhere in the world. This new version will be a hollow shell of what the attraction is now.

Imagination, Impressions de France, Tiki Room (which at least they reverted back to), and now the CBJ…. Feels like Disney never actually learns lessons.

It is dumbing it down, and, worse it’s watering it down. CBJ is a uniquely Disney attraction. To say it needs to be “Disneyified” ignores facts and history, especially with who helped develop the original attraction concept for the ski resort.

We hear “classic Disney songs” all over. We don’t need any cartoon songs at Pioneer Hall.

No one asked for this and I hope no one actually visits it.

would you rather it be gutted and torn out? because that was an option, be glad that didn't get chosen.

 

[PiratesMansion]

That is exactly what Disney is doing now. They are making an effort to attract guests to it. That shows they care.

We clearly have a different definition of what "showing they care" means. What they're doing is much the same that they've been doing for the past twenty years or so-shoving in IP regardless of whether or not it fits. If they really wanted to "show they care" while maintaining the integrity of the attraction, they could, say, redo the show with more modern country songs. But modern Disney is apparently deathly afraid that if you aren't constantly being bombarded with IP at all times, you couldn't possibly enjoy the experience.

You nailed it on the head. The majority of guests want to be surrounded by Disney IP. They travel across the world to find the familiar characters and music they hear on Disney+ and in theaters and on TV. From the Guest Surveys, they want to experience what they are familiar with.

Then that's a sad indictment on the state of what people want. Most of the attractions that everyone's heard of, even that have never been to a Disney park, that Disney made their reputation on, aren't based on Disney IP-or at least, weren't at the time they were created. And those attractions still seem to have long lines too, so it's not as if people just can't accept things without IP anymore. If people really just want exposure to the same characters over and over again, a Disney+ subscription is a heck of a lot cheaper, and if they're not even going to really try to create an incredible experience with an IP, people might start to wonder if they should have just stayed home.

People loved Disney parks when IP wasn't the only thing they were doing, and it's disingenuous to pretend otherwise, or that people would reject original attractions if they were offered them. It's quite lazy, as both a guest and a corporation, to just want repeated, regurgitated exposure to the same content over and over again. And again, if that's what you want, it's cheaper to just stay home and watch Disney+. If I want to ride It's a Small World, there are only five places in the entire world I can do that. If I crave exposure to Monsters Inc, I could watch the movies and other spinoff media anywhere there's an internet connection for a HECK of a lot cheaper than shelling out money to go to a Disney park. And given how mediocre some of those MI experiences are, maybe it would have been better and cheaper to just stay on my couch.

Really, Alien Encounter and its multiple incarnations leading to Stitch. Tiki Room, to its new management, and back. California Adventure 2.0 anyone? Disney Studios Park even today? Have you looked at the Hong Kong Castle today versus 10 years ago? They sure do admit mistakes and then move forward from them.

Which is totally why they're regressing at DCA and destroying the legacy of many of the changes they made as we speak. Or they somehow didn't make the Tram Tour at the Studios Park in Paris any better, but just added Cars characters-something that is completely embarrassing. Or have kept playing the BATB Singalong that seemingly no one likes, even people who usually defend everything IP, instead of just restoring Impressions de France. You're right, they're great!

 

[granfiesta]

I'm in the "I don't think that this is very good" camp as I said earlier. I thoroughly enjoy the current CBJ immensely and don't see the problem with any of the songs. However, one more thing occurred to me while reading through this thread. Yes, it's going to be an entirely new show with new music, but that also means that there's going to have to be new voice recordings as well I would think. So unless they give us completly new animatronic designs, etc, that means that we will be losing the distinctive and iconic voices that we've had for 50 years. So not only will we have to deal with whatever Disney song IP they will cram in, we will have to deal with completly different voices as well. This stinks.

 

[WondersOfLife]

Fun Fact about the update:
Ethan F Reed was one of the imagineers who pitched this back in 2004 and was the Conceptual Creative director coming up with new versions of the CBJ from about 2018 to 2020 with the pandemic putting stuff on hold.
Now I wish I had the "Now That's A Fun Fact" clip from Miles In Transit....

I'm sure it's already been mentioned here before... But on a side note..

It looks like they're going to drastically shorten the show by a couple of acts.

Looks like Wendell and Teddi Barra will be one act instead of two.

As well as Trixie paired up with Bunny Bubbles and Beulah.


...Only be looking at the poster.

 

[rct247]

This one was a surprise, but I'm okay with it.

• Country Bears was earmarked as an attraction that offers attraction capacity that doesn't regularly fill to capacity.
• It also has troublesome song lyrics that was evaluated as part of it's Inclusion key initiative.
• The songs from that show were relevant to the audience from the early 1970s, but is practically lost with most of it's audience today. So it was outdated regardless of some of the song lyrics.
• Redoing with songs from today or from past decades comes with the rights to use those songs and whether they too will eventually age or be lost on the audience.

This reimagine therefore makes sense while keeping an opening day attraction somewhat true to itself. I don't think I will be necessarily thrilled if Swinging Teddi Bara just simply sings a country version of Let it Go, but I think with the right humor and song choices it will be cute and refreshing.

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

I'm sure it's already been mentioned here before... But on a side note..

It looks like they're going to drastically shorten the show by a couple of acts.

Looks like Wendell and Teddi Barra will be one act instead of two.

As well as Trixie paired up with Bunny Bubbles and Beulah.


...Only be looking at the poster.

Great observation. Yet another reason why this is bad news.

 

[The Colonel]

They are not going to do anything better than what is already there. They are not capable.

After the last two fireworks shows that they have had to rollback, Disney should follow the Hippocratic Oath, First Do No Harm. Better off doing nothing. Everything they touch lately, turns to garbage.

Seasonal overlays would have made everyone happy. Of course, no IP that way.

 

[BagOfGroceries]

Unrelated, but isn't Henry's VA still around? You think they'd contact him for the retheme or no?

Living Legend Peter Renaday, voice of Master Splinter, Henry, and Disney’s one and only Abe Lincoln since 1971? You best believe he’s around. And I will personally picket the whole thing if he isn’t attached.

 

[Admiral01]

would you rather it be gutted and torn out? because that was an option, be glad that didn't get chosen.

I’d rather have it torn out completely than exist in a lesser state. I’m tired of Disney ruining attractions then expecting popularity because of a collective nostalgia of the original attraction. They pull that consistently.

I want to like the actual attraction - not just have a memory of when the attraction was something I liked. For example: JII was a classic. The current Imagination is only an attempt to play on my nostalgia for Figment without actually providing a quality attraction like the original. This new CBJ is going to be the same thing.

This is a completely non-creative, derivative, lazy move on Disney’s part.

 

[Jambo Dad]

I’d rather have it torn out completely than exist in a lesser state. I’m tired of Disney ruining attractions then expecting popularity because of a collective nostalgia of the original attraction. They pull that consistently.

I want to like the actual attraction - not just have a memory of when the attraction was something I liked. For example: JII was a classic. The current Imagination is only an attempt to play on my nostalgia for Figment without actually providing a quality attraction like the original. This new CBJ is going to be the same thing.

This is a completely non-creative, derivative, lazy move on Disney’s part.

Don’t give them any ideas!

 

[imthewalrus79]

This news has me cautiously optimistic. I've heard for awhile that the big wigs weren't happy to keep the classic show around because of some of the songs lyrics in today's age. So to see that they're making a whole new show for the bears and updating their animatronics makes me think they realize how much a lot of us love the Country Bears and they want to keep them around for years to come but expand the popularity of the show.

Do I wish it was something other than country versions of Disney songs? Yes. But, when looking at modern music in general right now, how often would they have to update a show that focused on more current country hits compared to something like Disney songs, that tend to be more timeless? And, for me, as long as they remember a big part of the charm of the current show is the personalities of the bears and make sure to make that a big part of the new show, I think it stands a chance of working.

Considering there was a rumor a few years ago about them getting rid of the bears and turning the space into another Toy Story-based IP attraction, I'll take this. And my original thought was that they could get rid of the classic show and bring back the Vacation Hoedown as a "permanent show." But that probably would have been a temporary band aid on the problem. This seems to be a well-intentioned long lasting solution. I guess we'll find out for sure when the new show premieres. But I look forward to getting to see the new show and find out.

 

[spectrodanny]

At least we still have Tokyo...

and theirs is unedited and (likely thanks to the pandemic) you can see that version year-round just like it was 1983 -1987 all over again.

 

[brb1006]

WOW - any idea what the reason for the change was? (maybe re-engineering the head mechanics so they needed new faces?)

Not sure, but their original facial design always made them stick out more compared to the other Bears. This is more evident in Tokyo merchandise. Their current look isn't as charming.

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

Not sure, but their original facial design always made them stick out more compared to the other Bears. This is more evident in Tokyo merchandise. Their current look isn't as charming.

Yeah I pointed this out in another thread a few months ago. The current faces look like evil gnomes or something.

I think I'm going crazy. These aren't the best animatronics, but this seemed the best thread to bring this up.

This is what I remember the three bonnet bears looking like in the Country Bear Jamboree:
View attachment 712529

But this is a picture from Tokyo. Florida's bears look like this:

Spoiler: The horrifying reveal

View attachment 712530The WDW bears are kind of terrifying, and I don't remember them looking like this!

 

[MrPromey]

On some level I get that. On another level, "better than worst case scenario" doesn't necessarily mean "good."

"Better than worst case scenario" seems to be the rallying cry for much of what was announced for the parks this round.

Maybe the company tagline for the big 100 encompasing theme parks, theaterical releases, and the company's stock price should have been "could have been worse".

 

[Captain Neo]

At this point we have to be reaching overexposure of Disney film music. It’s super redundant to the point it’s not special anymore

 

[Captain Neo]

This one was a surprise, but I'm okay with it.

• Country Bears was earmarked as an attraction that offers attraction capacity that doesn't regularly fill to capacity.
• It also has troublesome song lyrics that was evaluated as part of it's Inclusion key initiative.
• The songs from that show were relevant to the audience from the early 1970s, but is practically lost with most of it's audience today. So it was outdated regardless of some of the song lyrics.
• Redoing with songs from today or from past decades comes with the rights to use those songs and whether they too will eventually age or be lost on the audience.

This reimagine therefore makes sense while keeping an opening day attraction somewhat true to itself. I don't think I will be necessarily thrilled if Swinging Teddi Bara just simply sings a country version of Let it Go, but I think with the right humor and song choices it will be cute and refreshing.

out of curiosity what songs were troublesome?

 

[Disney4family]

Yep, the Walt Disney Co. hates the United States. Remember when Main Street USA at Disneyland was going to be replaced by Mickey Ave?

Didn't they also recently change the finale float in The Main Street Electrical Parade from a salute to America to be more multicultural?

 

[Consumer]

Didn't they also recently change the finale float in The Main Street Electrical Parade from a salute to America to be more multicultural?

Yep. The America float was replaced with a Small World float.

 

[Brer Panther]

Eh... I'm not a huge fan of their having the Bears sing Disney songs. Not everything has to be a Disney movie sing-along. But it beats tearing the show out altogether.

That and body shaming jokes directed towards Trixie.

Didn't they already remove those line in the 2012 refurbishment?

What songs do we think they’ll choose?

I fully expect "Let It Go" and at least one song from Moana and Encanto to be featured.

I honestly wouldn't be opposed to "Bare Necessities" or "Welcome" from Brother Bear, though.