Country Bear Musical Jamboree Debuts Today at Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World

Jul 17, 2024 in "Country Bear Musical Jamboree"

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Country Bear Musical Jamboree Opening Day

Posted: Wednesday July 17, 2024 9:20am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

The reimagined Country Bear Musical Jamboree officially opens today, July 17, 2024, at Magic Kingdom, bringing a fresh twist to a beloved classic.

Guests entering the first show on official opening day of the Country Bear Musical Jamboree

This beloved attraction, originally influenced by Walt Disney himself over 50 years ago, has been refreshed with a new show that aims to combine the charm of the classic Country Bear Jamboree with Nashville-style Disney tunes.

The new show, Country Bear Musical Jamboree, brings a fresh lineup of songs that pay homage to the Opry-style shows of Nashville. Guests can expect twangy interpretations of Disney favorites across various country music genres, including Americana, bluegrass, pop-country, and rockabilly. Some of the highlights include renditions of “Try Everything” from Zootopia, “Kiss the Girl” from The Little Mermaid, and “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” from Toy Story.

Country Bear Musical Jamboree Opening Day

Grizzly Hall, the iconic venue in Frontierland, is once again home to the cast of bears. The show continues the legacy of Ursus H. Bear, the founder of Grizzly Hall. Now, his grandson Henry has taken the reins, co-writing the opening song with the Five Bear Rugs and serving as the master of ceremonies.

Grizzly Hall

Fans of the original show will be able to see their favorite bear characters return. Henry, the five-bear band The Five Bear Rugs, and Trixie, among others, are back with new acts and costumes that draw inspiration from classic country singer culture. Notable new performances include:

Trixie: Now performing with Bunny, Bubbles, and Beulah, Trixie takes on “Try Everything” from Zootopia.

Trixie

Teddi Barra: The Jewel of the Dakotas, Teddi Barra, lends her voice to “A Whole New World” from Aladdin.

Teddi Barra

Wendell: Wendell now sings “A Whole New World” alongside Teddi Barra, showcasing a new side of his musical talent.

Wendell

Behind the scenes, Walt Disney Imagineering has collaborated with popular and upcoming country music talent to bring authenticity and energy to the new setlist. Notable contributors include Mac McAnally, Emily Ann Roberts, Allison Russel, and Chris Thile, who lend their voices to bring the bears’ performances to life.

Emily Ann Roberts, voice of Trixie St. Claire

Country Bear Musical Jamboree is located in Frontierland at Magic Kingdom and is open daily from park opening to closing. Although the show is not included in Early Theme Park Entry for resort hotel guests, it is available during Extended Evening Hours for guests staying at Walt Disney World Deluxe Resort hotels.

Learn more about Country Bear Musical Jamboree.

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Steamboat711 day ago

Could the Christmas special ever return?

lentesta3 days ago

OK, here's my assumptions: Minor shows, parades, and character greetings don't count Going back to 2010 I found several and all of them are major shows or fireworks. Up! A Great Bird Adventure replaced Flights of Wonder in April 2018. No age group preferred Up! to FoW. That's why we got Feathered Friends in Flight, which is the highest-rated version of that show. No EPCOT nighttime show since IllumiNations has been rated as high as that. Happily Ever After is 4.5 stars across the board, but Wishes was 5 stars by everyone over age 18 and 4.5 stars for all other age groups. Disney Enchanment, which replaced Happily Ever After, was not rated as high. O Canada! was rated higher by age groups from pre-school through teens than is Canada Far and Wide. You could argue that Frozen - Live at DCA was less popular with Teens than the Aladdin show it replaced. But it's more popular with preschoolers, so that's probably a wash. I would bet money that EPCOT's Journey Into Your Imagination was not rated as high as Journey Into Imagination. JIYI lasted 53 weeks before getting shut down.

brettf223 days ago

May be a question for @lentesta, but has any retheme been surveyed as “less popular” than the ride/version it replaced, especially when measured within the first year of replacement? I’m sure Tiki Room Under New Management was voted higher by guests than what it replaced. Similarly, was the current Tiki Room voted higher by guests than than UNM?

Animaniac93-983 days ago

My guess is almost any new show (or the return of the seasonal ones) would have been liked better than the original by the general public. That doesn't mean they had to do the all Disney sing-along version they did, or that it could have been better.

eddie1044 days ago

Great news !!! That was the purpose for the entire refurbishment in my opinion.

Professortango14 days ago

The tech and polish have improved, but the show is bland now. The loss of the gags and themed sets has made the whole thing seem more one-note. I just wish we could get Vacation Hoedown back.

Jedi144 days ago

I never saw the original show in person, but I did watch a video of it and the other versions when it was announced to be rethemed, and my reaction was “That’s it?” So the new version is an upgrade for me personally.

Charlie The Chatbox Ghost4 days ago

I do wish we got to keep Blood on the Saddle, I think anyone of any age and generation would've found that funny. I know I was like "wait, what did he just say?" the first time I saw it as an adult (for whatever reason, I didn't remember the specific songs but I remembered the theater and the bears themselves, haha) I agree with you on Try Everything not working well. I think the slides are cute, they fit the throughline of the last three shows of Trixie having nothing but bad luck, but the song itself just doesn't fit. The performer does an amazing job though. Whole New World is a huge stretch and it's annoying that they picked it when it's in PhilharMagic already. To that point, I wish they had tried some more out-there picks, given that all the movies they picked save Mary Poppins already have representation in WDW elsewhere, most of them being in MK already too. But the covers are enjoyable enough that I still like the show. They did say they tried to get Sammy to work with the cowboy hat, but they weren't able to get him to fit without making the hat super tall or wide (Doug Dimmadome style) so they compromised with the amp. Sammy originally had little paws that would come up and rest on top of the amp, I wish they kept those. It's nice as a CBJ fan to finally see them physically canonize Sammy as a real raccoon and not a living hat, as 2D art has already shown. I like the idea that he can curl up on Henry's head to look like a hat, but he isn't just a head and tail attached to loose skin.

threvester4 days ago

I disliked this new show so much im one and done. It was such a downgrade

MisterPenguin4 days ago

My word!!

TrainsOfDisney4 days ago

I’ve been called names like “pearl clutcher” and “stuck in the past” and I was pretty happy with the bears. My only 2 complaints are try everything (the songs arrangement and recording feels too modern and pop) and the electric guitar and amp for Sammy - they should have kept the coon skin cap gag. Other than that….. no real complaints. Whole new world is a stretch…. But it’s out there enough that it feels very old school vaudeville so it works haha.

EagleScout6104 days ago

Exactly. To 95% of the guests Blood on the Saddle was just a funny song sang by a fat drunk bear, nothing more, nothing less. But Remember Me, that people know.

Charlie The Chatbox Ghost4 days ago

No need to apologize, at least to me lmao (but I may be biased) I think it’s safe to say the bears are sticking around for a while- though imo this headline isn’t that surprising. Modern guests to WDW just want Disney Disney Disney, so of course a show featuring Disney music is gonna rank higher, even if it still has original characters. What I wanna know now though is whether or not this means actual merchandise is coming! Also since this is a CBJ thread, I figure this would be a fun mention- I was just at my town hall to pay a bill and on my way out I heard (muffled) from another room “Mama Don’t Whup Little Buford”. What’re the odds?

EagleScout6104 days ago

Simple: People know Bear Necessities, Try Everything, Whole New World, ect.... Not many knew How Long is Forever, Devilish Mary, Tears Will be the Chaser, ect....