Iconic “Country Bear Jamboree” Gets a Refresh
For over 50 years, the “Country Bear Jamboree” has been one of the most popular attractions in the Disney universe. First opened in 1971 at Walt Disney World in Florida, it has remained open and operating ever since as one of the Magic Kingdom’s most beloved attractions. Parents and grandparents who saw it when they were children now take their own children and grandchildren to it.
“Country Bear Jamboree” went over so well, it was also added to California’s Disneyland in 1972, and remained opened until being replaced by a Winnie The Pooh installation in 2001. The jamboree was also added to Tokyo’s Disneyland in 1983, and remains open today. Featuring animatronic bears in a musical presentation, it’s where a lot of kids are first exposed to folk and country music. It was inspired by country music stage shows such as the Grand Ole Opry.
The attraction pretty much stayed static all the way up to 2012 when the theme park closed it down for two months to make renovations. Disney World closed it once again on January 27th of this year, making some fear that after 53 years, the Country Bear Jamboree had run it’s course. But that’s not the case. Disney and its team of “imagineers” are giving the attraction it’s biggest overhaul ever, and have recruited some heavy hitters in Nashville to help them.
The new soundtrack was recorded on Music Row in Nashville, not in Los Angeles. And though some will balk at making changes to the presentation at all, it appears those in charge are looking to keep pretty true to the original concept.
“We wanted a fresh approach to this show, taking the classic country bears, their humor, their attitudes, and putting in this authentic country flavor,” says Jake Ellis, Disney’s principle audio media designer on the project.
Legendary country songwriter and guitarist Mac McAnally is one of the principals in recording new music for the attraction, and assembled a top team of Nashville Cats to bring it to life. For those who don’t know, McAnally is an inductee to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and won the CMA’s Musician of the Year every year between 2008 and 2018 except one. He was also a member of Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer band.
Though not all participants and songs for the updated attraction have been revealed just yet, a behind-the-scenes feature for the new attraction (see below) shows country singer Emily Ann Roberts reprising the role as the bear “Trixie St. Claire.” When reviewing Emily Ann’s 2023 album Can’t Hide Country, Saving Country Music remarked, “In an ideal world, this would be what popular country sounds like.”
“I’ve never done anything like this, where the song is truly coming to life before folks’ eyes,” says Roberts. “It was really neat to hear the whole concept and then being able to stand behind the mic and think ‘how do I put myself in Trixie’s shoes?”‘
Some of the songs will be familiar from other parts of the Disney universe, like “The Bare Necessities” originally from The Jungle Book and now sung by Mac McAnally, and “A Whole New World” originally from Aladdin, sung and performed by bluegrass great Chris Thile with Allison Russell.
The “Country Bear Jamboree” remains closed at Disney World as renovations continue, but is expected to re-open at some point this summer, tentatively in August.
June 2, 2024 @ 6:14 pm
I saw this posted on Twitter/X and thought it was a Babylon Bee article. Looking forward to the finished result.
June 2, 2024 @ 6:39 pm
I would Absolutely Love to see some blues country playing/singing bears, wearing some cool shades – maybe a goatee.
Talking, Buddy Guy/Tab Benoit, Cajun Country bears.
Would be too fun!
But, keeping it all country at the same time
June 2, 2024 @ 7:12 pm
Who can ever forget the first time they went to Disneyland or Disneyworld? It was 1973, and also my first time flying on a plane, a 747 to L.A!!! For a 12 yr. old it was just incredible, and The Country Bear Jamboree was the best. Fans of all ages have loved it for years, but yes a makeover will be great.
June 2, 2024 @ 7:32 pm
Disney has been great when it comes to preserving their own history – I loved the lavishly restored vintage Tiki Room at Disneyland last time I was there, so I’m glad to see this too! There was a great book published last year about Walt’s aborted ski resort at Mineral King which is where these bears were originally designed for, a fascinating story if you’re into history!
June 3, 2024 @ 12:09 am
having worked at disney world a LOT 20-25 years ago (playing keys in a corporate/convention/wedding band), i can safely say that i hated it. it’s funny- never a problem getting paid for a wedding, but a microsoft gig would take months to pay out.
they didn’t treat the “cast members” well at all (steerage?). hopefully that has changed. it was a long time ago…
anyway, if you’ve ever spent any time with mac you know that he’s one of the good guys. and a master at what he does. they’re in good hands.
i’ve not heard any of emily’s stuff yet, but her saying the disney thing is “neat” is quite disarming, and makes me smile.
we need more people like this in our business. mac is the best, and i’m sure emily is as well. i look forward to hearing how it turns out.
June 3, 2024 @ 3:04 am
What this translates to is…… The Bears are now going to sing Morgan Wallen covers ??
Oh Dear God
June 3, 2024 @ 7:07 am
That isn’t what I took from any of this.
June 3, 2024 @ 3:08 am
^^ Imagine one of the Bears with a mullet, throwing a chair off the stage
June 3, 2024 @ 3:48 am
I truly hope they do keep some of the elements from the original attraction alive. I know they used Tex Ritter’s “Blood on the Saddle” as the voice of one of the bears since the attraction’s opening. For some people, this attraction serves as the ONLY connection to country music they will ever know. So I just hope that they don’t pull it too far away from its original setup.
June 3, 2024 @ 7:16 am
…and as the role model disney took chris stapleton?
June 3, 2024 @ 9:21 am
Would have been nice if this could have had been a little more original in the revamp of this attraction. We’re already going to Disney world and will be imersed in Disney, why do we need to sit for what is just an advertisement for their movies. The old show was nice because it wasn’t all Disney ip. now you have Disney world ip advertising Disney movie ip. Even without the fancy tech the old Disney world was far superior to what it has become today. Before you spent a lot of money but seemed to almost get your moneys worth but today overcrowded parks over priced everything and you get far less than before. And now according to iger they want all rides and attractions to focus only on ip. So basically they traded in everything they had going for them before for more $$$$ and to be able to tell you what to think and what is right and wrong with their barage of woke ideologies in every movie our children see which I guess is ok if you enjoy being told how to live and like to spend all your money. Disney is now a shell of a once great company that it was much like the country that it’s located in.
June 3, 2024 @ 10:28 am
Whenever you bring up anything to do with Disney, invariably people are going to bring up “woke” this and that, and good ole days syndrome. I get it, and I am no way a defender of Disney or any massive corporation. But I honestly think that it’s a victory that something like the “Country Bear Jamboree” wasn’t shuttered 25 years ago, and even more that Disney is doubling their commitment to it, and using Nashville talent to overhaul it. I have no idea how good or bad it will be. The fact that they’re using “The Bare Necessities” in a bear show makes sense to me. I agree it would be cool if the music could be unique to its own Country Bear universe, but you’ve got to pick your battles. The fact this didn’t get bulldozed for some new school installation is a victory in itself.
Those are my thoughts.
June 3, 2024 @ 2:58 pm
Agreed.
Being ever the optimistic person, Disney better get this right.
June 3, 2024 @ 10:15 am
“It’s like a frickin’ Country Bear Jambaroo around here!”
I just hope they keep “Blood on the Saddle”.
June 3, 2024 @ 11:04 am
With how they treated Splash Mountain and how they are shoving IPs everywhere (see EPCOT), I am not feeling good about this at all. The Country Bear Jamboree is great because it kept alive a cultural tradition that was slowly fading away. It doesn’t feel authentic.
Having the bears sing hit Disney songs is like replacing the WDW steam engine trains with a bullet train.
But maybe they won’t botch it.
June 4, 2024 @ 10:24 am
They should do some of the songs from the 2002 film, The Country Bears. Does anyone else remember this movie based on the Country Bear Jamboree? I remember seeing it at a drive in theatre in rural Pennsylvania.
June 5, 2024 @ 4:33 pm
I do. It came during the era when Disney turned theme park attractions into movies. Only Pirates of the Caribbean proved successful.
June 9, 2024 @ 11:39 pm
Just magic!
Thanks Trigger!
June 10, 2024 @ 10:23 am
Very late to the comments on this one but I’m as intrigued as anyone here to see what they do with this attraction and if anyone else is looking for instances of Disney and country music crossing paths, Kacey Musgraves did a version of Spoonful of Sugar a number of years ago that’s as country as anything out there and a lot of fun