Disney World's Country Bear Jamboree now closed to reopen in the summer with new songs

C33Mom6 hours ago

I grew up in the 80s and 90s at Disneyland and the Vacation Hoedown is my nostalgia version of CBJ— it was yanked before my kids were born so they got to see it in a mix of English and Japanese (the latter of which we don’t speak) and then we get the WDW version — which (to me) feels like what a lot of you are going through with the change to modern(ish) Disney songs covered into various styles of country. If the bears keep their character and there’s some humor sprinkled through, I’ll be content— nobody here seems to be discussing that “try everything” is going to be accompanied by a clip show montage of Trixie trying and failing at dozens of things—this immediately reminded of the hilarious slideshow in the vacation hoedown. I’m keeping an open mind for the possibility that I’ll even like it better than the current version (I’m a millennial parent and half of the songs in the WDW version strike me as somewhere between cringe and outright awful, but I still enjoy the experience and passing along the experience—ironically my elementary school aged kids LOVE Blood on the Saddle and are angry it’s leaving 🤷🏼‍♀) even though it’s almost certainly not going to be exactly what I want. Here’s hoping that once they run out of other tricks to convince people to spend $150 a night for the after/holiday parties we might even get some of the old seasonal show acts for the Christmas Party or perhaps some original songs sprinkled back in “for a limited time only” when they have no new rides in 2025 and 2026. (ETA, somehow the Apple keyboard emoji of woman shrugging auto changes to emoji for blonde plus woman, was not intending to make any sort of statement with my emoji choices)

Dear Prudence6 hours ago

Disney used to make stuff to be enjoyed for everyone, not just Influencers. It's all geared towards TikTok and Instagram now.

granfiesta8 hours ago

Judging by the previews, I agree. And yes, I'm older (almost 50), but that doesn't change the fact that in recent years, Disney thinks everything with music needs be to a clip show rather than something original and unique (ala Country Bears and Illuminations/Harmonious/Luminous)

Tony the Tigger10 hours ago

That seems to be a safe bet. 😀 Fair enough.

celluloid12 hours ago

You should re-read it. He directly quoted someone since that said "they don't see how the new track is going to/can fit into the show as some overly negative and amateur (his wording) critique. So that reasonable critique was specific and lumped in there. Tony's own odd extreme and him saying he was weak to stomach people with different take perimeters were quite clear. and he jabbed insults at the end again, so clearly it is not just someone thinking the negativity is abundant for these projects.

𝕴𝖒𝖆𝖌𝖎𝖓𝖊𝖊𝖗9714 hours ago

If this is anything like TBA (based on the POV), we're in big trouble. Don't mess with the classics, Disney.

Communicora14 hours ago

I'm holding out hope that the version we heard is one that will be released to Spotify and the like, but the songs in the theater will be produced to sound more like a live band playing them in a small theater. It's great the Bears are staying. I'd be crushed if they left, but I am disappointed that we are losing the whimsy and humor the songs in the previous version had. It just won't be the same without All the Guys That Turn Me on Turn Me Down and Blood in the Saddle. I don't get why they need to make it so milquetoast.

_caleb14 hours ago

It’s ok to say whatever you want (as long as it follows this site’s rules). But no, I don’t find that statement much better than the opposite version. Do you?

George15 hours ago

Is it OK to say, "I like the new song choices for Country Bear Jamboree" without any more details?

wdrive16 hours ago

Then ask them those questions. I get the difference between them, but there is also a significant blur between the two words, at least to me anyway.

_caleb16 hours ago

It’s all “acceptable” to me. But the posts I prefer are ones that are informed and thoughtful, and not repeated in overly-dramatic ways. “I despise the new song choices for the Country Bear Jamboree” doesn’t seem like a good faith attempt at discussion to me—especially if it’s posted multiple times in a thread. I’d much rather they what they don’t like about it, why they think that, what they would prefer. Do you see the difference I’m trying to draw between criticism and negativity?

wdrive16 hours ago

People can react accordingly of course, but saying someone shouldn’t post because they’re too negative is not reacting accordingly to me. You lose me a bit with your Moana example. Of course people talk about and speculate about an attraction before it opens based on what is shown and many will have different opinions seeing the finished product. Again most threads on here would be dead if we couldn’t speculate and discuss the things that we can see. I jump in and defend the negative brigade in the same way I’d jump in and defend someone who loved everything and someone else was saying they were wrong. Give Disney the benefit of the doubt as much as you like I have no problem with that whatsoever. That’s your opinion and I respect that. Others will not give them the benefit of the doubt and you should respect that too. If you find something negative one day and feel you need to see a therapist that’s your decision.

pigglewiggle16 hours ago

Disney isn't trying to appeal anymore to fans of our generation. And that's exactly right. They want younger generations. Younger generations don't care about Country Bear nostalgia. They want to hear music they associate with Disney. So Disney is redoing their songs with some country twang, hoping to bring in a new generation of fans who will hold nostalgia for this ride as they get older. I know it's hard to hear, but we are getting old. It would a terrible business decision to keep catering to those of us who want to hang on to our youth/nostalgia a little longer. That said, I probably still won't sit through this. 😄

wdrive16 hours ago

So how can that dislike be communicated in a way that’s acceptable to you? I’m fine with someone simply posting ‘I despise the new song choices for the Country Bear Jamboree’