News Country Bear Jamboree is getting new songs and acts

[Bill Cipher]

If this was supposed to happen before covid, I assume this was designated for a 50th anniversary attraction upgrade?

Hopefully some other canceled updates (looking at you BTM) can see the light of day

FWIW, I've heard that there are plans for a lengthy BTM refurb after Tiana's opening, lengthy enough to require a decent amount of BTM staff to be cross-trained at TBA. I have no idea if such a refurb would involve the explosion effects though, and I guess take this with a grain of salt as the rumor stems from frontline operations people/coordinators.

 

[Grace_Loves_Donald]

I’m sad about this news because I no longer trust Disney with their updates. I agree with what others have said about hearing Disney songs enough everywhere else.

I’ve also loved it being overlooked because I could get out of the heat without a huge wait time.

Is anyone curious how they are going to pay for all of these updates when they are hemorrhaging money left and right?

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Is anyone curious how they are going to pay for all of these updates when they are hemorrhaging money left and right?

No.

 

[brettf22]

For folks wondering "Will changing to Disney songs really increase attendance?" ... it's not just about attendance. The tweet below is about replacing Dinosaur, but it is probably applicable to CBJ as well. I wonder what the tax and royalties implications are from playing Disney songs in CBJ?

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

The data go back to ... 2012? But it has never been that popular.

Ok that was my point. If it never was that popular, what's the point in trying to make it popular now? It functions very well as a get-out-of-the-heat high-capacity attraction.

I'm pretty certain the only reason this is happening is because of the Stories Matter initiative, with the IP-devotion serving as the means to change it. There's a reason the 2012 refurb didn't change more of the show—and it's because Stories Matter wasn't a thing back then. The world wasn't that different in 2012 from how it is now, so I really think this is unnecessary. Fix the animatronics, sure. But change the heart and soul of the attraction? No thank you.

 

[MichRX7]

I know that Walt Disney said, ‘Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world’, but, this one feels like a gut punch.

I'm sad, but will forego judgement until I see what they do with the replacement.

 

[celluloid]

For folks wondering "Will changing to Disney songs really increase attendance?" ... it's not just about attendance. The tweet below is about replacing Dinosaur, but it is probably applicable to CBJ as well. I wonder what the tax and royalties implications are from playing Disney songs in CBJ?

The song rights for the current CBJ cost less than what the royalties of the new versions could be, plus the cost of production.

Disney is learning all about royalties and how they are going to have to fork out eventually(looks to writer's strike picket lines)

 

[LittleBuford]

Ok that was my point. If it never was that popular, what's the point in trying to make it popular now? It functions very well as a get-out-of-the-heat high-capacity attraction.

It was wildly popular when it first opened. It was an E-Ticket (in the literal sense) with very long queues.

 

[EagleScout610]

Not sure how you got that footage of me being dragged out of the last show from the future

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

It was wildly popular when it first opened. It was an E-Ticket (in the literal sense) with very long queues.

In a park with very few E-Tickets by today's standards, that makes sense. There wasn't a whole lot to do. It says less about the changing times and more about the addition of more exciting things to do over the years. Changing the songs to Disney doesn't make it more exciting or interesting—it makes it less unique.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

In a park with very few E-Tickets by today's standards, that makes sense. There wasn't a whole lot to do.

Fellow e-tickets were the monorail, submarine voyage, it’s a small world, Matterhorn, haunted mansion, pirates, tiki room, jungle cruise and America sings.

There was plenty to do.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Fellow e-tickets were the monorail, submarine voyage, it’s a small world, Matterhorn, haunted mansion, pirates, tiki room, jungle cruise and America sings.

There was plenty to do.

Magic Kingdom, not Disneyland. The long lines at Magic Kingdom are why two theaters were built at Disneyland.

In a park with very few E-Tickets by today's standards, that makes sense. There wasn't a whole lot to do. It says less about the changing times and more about the addition of more exciting things to do over the years. Changing the songs to Disney doesn't make it more exciting or interesting—it makes it less unique.

There has definitely been a shift away in the popularity of stage shows and animatronic shows in particular. There benefit though comes from the high instantaneous and hourly capacity they can provide to easily add an experience to a guest’s day.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Royalties based on performing Disney tunes is bankrupting Disney?

Well, we better end all those castle park fireworks shows.

 

[Disney4family]

I’m all good with this update

Singing ‘all the guys who turn me on, turn me down’ probably isnt very relevant these days

It's still relevant.
My daughter says it's her theme song...

 

[flynnibus]

For folks wondering "Will changing to Disney songs really increase attendance?" ... it's not just about attendance. The tweet below is about replacing Dinosaur, but it is probably applicable to CBJ as well. I wonder what the tax and royalties implications are from playing Disney songs in CBJ?

that's just internet randos trying to reverse engineer their own ideas... (aka not based in anything)

 

[celluloid]

that's just internet randos trying to reverse engineer their own ideas... (aka not based in anything)

Exactly, and particularly sad because they are also saying Disney can't make things of quality and won't. So a gleaming endorsement of the company.

 

[Brer Panther]

Wouldn't an IP-based experience be more expensive in the long run than an original one if we're going to bring royalties into it? Like, every time "We Don't Talk About Bruno" plays in the attraction, Disney has to send Lin Manuel-Miranda a royalty check?

 

[Rich Brownn]

The MK had a really rather great 'AAs singing Disney songs' attraction already. The Mickey Mouse Revue. Bring it back from Tokyo and leave the Bears alone!

MMR closed years ago in Tokyo. Interesting story about MMR. I remarked to a visiting imagineer how CBJ "worked" and MMR didn't quite seem to. He told me it was in the eyes - CBJ was programmed by animators. MMR was programmed by programmers. The eyes in MMR rarely moved in any lifelike way (some didn't move at all).

 

[Rich Brownn]

I mean, I've seen people call Sebastian from The Little Mermaid an offensive Jamaican stereotype and nobody's demanding they remove Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid. It isn't fair to single out the Country Bears.

The only reason Sebastian is Jamaican is Howard Ashman wanted to do a calypso-style number. He was originally envisioned to be English.

 

[Rich Brownn]

The data go back to ... 2012? But it has never been that popular.

CBJ was insanely popular in the 70s and early 80s. Enough to swap with HoP to go from a "D" to an "E" and remove two shops to add an indoor queue.