Country Bears Refurb!

[WDWFigment]

While I think it's too early to be CBC, one can only hope.

And for those that question why it'd be for CBC since they haven't done it in years, it's only been the past two years that they haven't done the overlay. In 2006, the rationale was that Disney didn't have the rights for a couple of the songs, and last year the rationale given was that Disney is 'adding great things this holiday season' (so, skirting the issue).

We started a letter-writing campaign last year once the announcement was made--maybe now would be the time for a campaign...months prior to Christmas and with plenty of time to 'change' their decision...

 

[DisneyMusician2]

Whether you like the attraction or not, it is ALWAYS nice to see a classic getting some agreeably much needed TLC.

Here's to a bigger and better Country Bear experience!

 

[JeffH]

Too early for CBChristmas show

Not really, lately Mickey's Very Merry Christmas parties have been starting earlier and earlier in November along with the Christmas decorations going up in early November, so this timing is quite...timely.

I love seeing the different Country Bear shows...the more attractions that undergo a transformation, the better...even if it is just a brief reference and some lights and ornaments.

 

[PeoplemoverTTA]

They will also be adding more COWBELL to the songs

I was waiting for someone to say that :lol:

We started a letter-writing campaign last year once the announcement was made--maybe now would be the time for a campaign...months prior to Christmas and with plenty of time to 'change' their decision...

I agree that now is a good time, WDWFigment. I wasn't involved in the letter-writing campaign last year, but I definitely want to join in this year (I'm just putting my AC letter in its envelope now), if anyone has the contact info necessary to get this thing started now.

 

[ClemsonTigger]

Returning the Holiday overlay would be wonderful after two terrible years...but even I am not that optimistic....

 

[MickeyJman06]

yawn

 

[EpcoTim]

Hopefully they are finally giving the go ahead to plans originally submitted January 29th, 1987, and they will be dressing them as the Chicago Bears.

 

[CThaddeus]

Hibernating?:lol: Seriously, I may be in the minority here but this is still one of my favorite attractions. It is nice to see it get some TLC.

While the show is, of course, extremely offensive to my delicate sensibilities and wholly inappropriate for children, it is also one of my favorites. I still want to find the person responsible for killing Disneyland's Country Bear Playhouse and tie them to a beehive. I'm not a fan of country music, but there's just something incredibly fun and entertaining about those bears. They do deserve the lovin'.

 

[tirian]

I went there last year on November 3, and almost all of the Christmas (uh, er "Holiday") decorations were up already everywhere, except a few places in MK, where the Halloween decorations were still up for a day or two, following a MNSSHP.

Paul

:lol: It's officially "Christmas." Only Epcot has a "Holiday Tree," which makes sense because it has tags for all the winter holidays. Everything else at Disney, including all the other Christmas trees, is officially "Christmas."

(Except for the stupid stage show during MVMCP, but that's another topic...)

Back on topic:

It's a refurb...finally. And the attraction itself doesn't need a lot of time to refurbish. It's just a theater with AAs and speakers. The speakers need to be replaced! For crying out loud, why can't Disney keep their audio levels AUDIBLE in their attractions?

 

[Madhatter06]

So in my two times to WDW I've yet to see the Country Bears. Why? Well my first trip down I had all intentions to go get my country groove on till I saw LiverLips walking towards me and was scared out of my wits. I'm sure he's a great fellow, he's just a bit frightening to me. Maybe I'm afraid he'll try to kiss me?

Back on topic it's good they're getting some sort of TLC

 

[KingStefan]

...For crying out loud, why can't Disney keep their audio levels AUDIBLE in their attractions?

Honestly, I do not think that the quality of the sound has deteriorated so much as the state of the art has advanced way beyond when it was first built. The sounds system was state-of-the-art in the early '70s. It just hasn't been updated since then and it sounds crappy to us now because we are used to fantastic shaped-sound speakers that are multi-dimensionally phased to give sound from any direction and digitally mastered sound tracks that most people have trouble distingushing from live performance. Not too long ago I listened to a recording that I thought was great in the '70s, and I realized how bad the quality was.

 

[mastermickey]

Gosh, them bears are in need of our attention...remember that Walt wanted them for his Mineral King resort, Marc Davis I think did the original concepts...so we gotta keep 'um happy. Don't want to get Big Al any sadder...

 

[bork]

You pretty much have to be in the front few rows to hear the show.

It was one of my 3.5 year old's favorites (and mine too). He was upset the second time we saw it and ended up the back rows. He couldn't hear a thing.

 

[RiversideBunny]

Exactly how does an audio system go bad?

Was it a vacuum tube system and the tubes wore out?
Maybe the material in the speakers deteriorated?

Looks like the system would lose it's dynamic sound range for highs and lows, or have noisy sound, rather than just develop a very low volume.

I have a 30 year old stereo receiver that still works fine.


"Bear with us while we fix the bear sounds that guests can barely hear."

:king:

 

[DisneyNme]

My guess is they need to clean up all the blood on the saddle and, of course, that great big puddle of blood on the ground.


:animwink:

HAHA, actually there are 3 big puddles of blood on the ground......:ROFLOL:

 

[mastermickey]

A speaker system deteriorates from the same things that we deteriorate: dried up skin (the fiber of the cones), loss on the top (the magnet) and bone loss (the cabinet material-usually wood-gets moist and looses resonance. I suspect that the original tapes used for the sound also deteriorate with use and the conductivirty of the wiring allows more loss over time. It's DIGITAL TIME!!

 

[WildLodgeFan]

"Bear with us while we fix the bear sounds that guests can barely hear."

Hardy har - har!

 

[Thiger]

"Bear with us while we fix the bear sounds that guests can barely hear."

Looks like we'll have to just grin and Bear that joke

but seriously folks, i love the attraction, but i should've been called the 'country mimes' last time i went, mind u, i was in the last row

 

[tirian]

Honestly, I do not think that the quality of the sound has deteriorated so much as the state of the art has advanced way beyond when it was first built. The sounds system was state-of-the-art in the early '70s. It just hasn't been updated since then and it sounds crappy to us now because we are used to fantastic shaped-sound speakers that are multi-dimensionally phased to give sound from any direction and digitally mastered sound tracks that most people have trouble distingushing from live performance. Not too long ago I listened to a recording that I thought was great in the '70s, and I realized how bad the quality was.

I understand what you're saying, but some of the new attractions are "bearly" audible, too. (Except for Dinosaur.)

 

[J.E.Smith]

THANK GOODNESS.

The bears haven't gotten any real work done to them since they stopped doing Christmas. The last two years the show ran, they fixed up the three Henry AAs during the changeover. In 2004 they gave one Henry new fur and a repainted mask, and in 2006 when they were changing the show back to the original they went and did the same to the other two Henrys, even fixing the busted, non-moving eyes on the Henry with Sammy.

Since then, the only thing they've done was give Gomer a tune-up(I noticed that in the middle of last year that Gomer was moving more fluidly than he had been for a while, and they did fix that awful problem where the BGM didn't play during the finale).

I wouldn't really rule out Christmas coming back; in 2005 it did open pretty early in November.

Hopefully when it reopens someone here will post the results of the refurb; its times like this I wish Grizz was still around...