An UnBearable Loss: Bidding Farewell to the Original Country Bear Jamboree

On Friday, January 26th, 2024, we said goodbye to one of the last opening day attractions still operating at Magic Kingdom. At last year’s D23 event, Josh D’Amaro announced the current iteration of Country Bear Jamboree would become Country Bear Musical Jamboree, a twist on the performance we’ve known and loved for years. Beginning this summer, Big Al and the gang will be performing folksy renditions of Disney classics, including, of course, “Bare Necessities,” and many more. The average onlooker may not understand why fans are so upset, even disconsolate, over a temporary closure that will yield a fresh version of a, some would argue outdated, attraction. Jokey animatronic bears singing Disney hits—what's not to love, right?

I wasn’t surprised to hear about this refurbishment. After all, just a few years ago Disney executives hinted at a Toy Story-themed puppet show replacing the classic attraction, though this obviously never came to fruition. Nevertheless, I was troubled. Though Country Bear Jamboree has never been my favorite show, I always welcomed a chance to sit in the air conditioning and enjoy this whimsical revue. Having grown up with this iteration of Country Bear Jamboree, I’m sad to see it go. What irks me more, however, is that the new show will feature intellectual property, better known as IP.

To be clear, I am not here to disparage the creation of IP-centered attractions. Some of my favorite attractions are themed to Disney and Marvel movies, and my favorite land in any theme park is Avengers Campus. Infusing theme parks with IP isn’t an inherently bad thing; in fact, it often leads to incredible, immersive, and irreplicable experiences. My quarrel with the Country Bear Jamboree refurbishment is that intellectual property is overtaking a still-beloved opening day attraction. Taking away a popular, classic attraction just to have the Country Bears sing Disney songs feels cheap. It’s not an inventive use of intellectual property, unlike projects like Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind or Tron/Lightcycle Run, both of which take existing characters and cast them in new stories. Simply inserting Disney ditties, the same songs guests hear reused in firework spectaculars, parades, and live shows, into an attraction renowned for its witty original soundtrack is lazy and disrespectful to the spirit of the attraction.

To tell the truth, Country Bear Jamboree didn’t need a retheme. It was popular as it was, and though over fifty years old, it retained its charm. However, I understand the desire to reinvent the show. As Marty Sklar would say, Magic Kingdom isn’t a museum. Yet this renovation doesn’t feel like progress; frankly, it’s a step backward. By retiring the original soundtrack for ubiquitous Disney songs, Country Bear Jamboree will lose what made it special: its music. For a company known worldwide for its innovation, creativity, and imagination, this decision is disappointing. If Disney felt the need to update Country Bear Jamboree, I would like them to invest time in writing new songs, telling a new story, inventing something rather than repackaging a recycled product and calling it progress. Of course, it would cost more time and money to write new original songs, but a beloved, iconic attraction such as this deserves that level of care and attention.

Furthermore, this retheme represents the further erasure of original attractions in favor of a glorification of intellectual property. Though IP rethemes have revived dead spaces in the parks, such as exchanging Streets of America for Galaxy’s Edge and A Bug’s Land for Avengers Campus, trading a unique show for an unoriginal, unwanted musical revue seems like a thoughtless misuse of intellectual property on the level of the infamous Enchanted Tiki Room: Under New Management, which had Zazu and Iago overshadow the original tiki birds. I can only hope Country Bear Jamboree, like Enchanted Tiki Room, returns to its pure state someday.

The past version of Country Bear Jamboree was special. Sure, it was mildly inappropriate for a family theme park, but that was part of its charm. The best thing about Country Bear Jamboree? There was nothing else like it. There is nowhere else in the world, Disney or otherwise, where you can clap your hands and stomp your feet to these bears singing original, comedic tunes. Disney movie hits, on the other hand, are everywhere. Want to hear your favorite Disney songs? Watch Fantasmic, Happily Ever After, or the Festival of Fantasy Parade. Ride Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid or Frozen Ever After. Check out Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage or Festival of the Lion King. Better yet, pull up your favorite movie soundtrack on a music streaming platform.

Our beloved bears will still be around to serenade audiences after the refurbishment, and for that I’m glad. At least there will still exist a remnant of what was. But those songs, the originality, the uniqueness will live on only in old footage and collective memory. I don’t have high hopes for this new show, but I would love for the bears to prove me wrong.

Well, folks, as Henry would say, that concludes this article. Thanks for “bearing” with me ‘til the “bear” end. Y’all come back, ya hear?