Country Bear's Grizzly Hall at Magic Kingdom Set for New Exterior Theming

May 24, 2024 in "Country Bear Musical Jamboree"

Gallery / 3 Photos
Grizzly Hall - May 24 2024

Posted: Friday May 24, 2024 2:30pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

A permit has been filed for new exterior theming at the Country Bear's Grizzly Hall in Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom.

Grizzly Hall - May 24 2024

The permit to install new signage for the Country Bear Musical Jamboree has been assigned to John Richards Co., which specializes in themed signage and sets. The company has worked with Disney for decades, mainly in the Disney Stores, followed by work at the theme parks for both Disney and Universal. (Thanks to @danlb_2000 on the WDWMAGIC Forums for the permit)

Here is a look at the previous signage which is now being replaced.

Country Bear Jamboree Grizzly Hall

The refreshed Country Bear Musical Jamboree is set to open this summer, but Disney has yet to provide a specific date. Current best estimates suggest an August 2024 opening.

New Country Bear Jamboree 2024 poster

The new show pays homage to the Opry-style shows of Nashville. While the Country Bear Musical Jamboree will include easter eggs from the beginning to the end including a familiar tune fans may remember, the bears will sing new, reinterpreted Disney tunes in different genres of country music – like bluegrass, pop-country, Americana, rockabilly and other styles.

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Charlie The Chatbox Ghost1 day ago

Aw shucks, I wish. I would do anything to work on something official for the Country Bears (let alone anything for a theme park)!

Steamboat711 day ago

People like you should be in Imagineering!

Agent H2 days ago

As a Christmas fan I need this as soon as November 1st.

Charlie The Chatbox Ghost2 days ago

I actually penned a set list for a new version of the Christmas special! I figured a Frozen song was mandatory, but if it weren’t, I think I’d keep “Blue Christmas” from the original for Shaker, or replace it with “White Christmas” and have the joke be that Shaker and the Penguin are in a heat wave and dreaming for some cooler weather. I also retained a lot from the original, but swapped out some original songs for Christmas songs that match the idea they were going for (“I’ll Be Home for Christmas” fits Wendell being lost in the woods really well imo). As much as original songs are cool, I feel like a Christmas special is the one time you’d want as many pre-existing songs as possible. The Country Bear Christmas Jamboree "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" - Gomer and Henry "Tracks in the Snow" - Henry and the Five Bear Rugs "I’ll Be Home for Christmas" - Wendell "All I Want for Christmas is You" - Trixie "Deck the Halls" - The Five Bear Rugs "Jingle Bell Rock" - Romeo McGrowl and Gomer "Do You Want to Build a Snowman" - Shaker and Webster the Penguin "Sleigh Ride" - The Sun Bonnet Trio, Melvin, Max, and Buff "Hungry as a Bear" - Ernest and the Five Bear Rugs "The Christmas Song" - Teddi Barra and Henry "Last Christmas" - Big Al Finale "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" - Henry, Sammy, and the Sun Bonnet Trio "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" - Melvin, Max, and Buff "Winter Wonderland" - Cast (minus Ernest and Trixie) "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" - Exit music

Agent H2 days ago

What songs does everyone think would be in a new Christmas special? I would bank on let it go making it in somehow even if the rest of the show uses standard Christmas music.

Charlie The Chatbox Ghost2 days ago

I assume they would do new overlays if they were to do any, at the very least to keep character voices consistent. Plus they’d probably want to remove Wendell’s gun from the Christmas special. If the new animatronics are programmed the way the TBA animatronics are (via a 3D animation software), then it’d be extremely easy to reprogram them. You could probably give an animator a week (I’d do it for free if you’re reading this, Disney) and they could recreate the holiday shows pretty accurately, assuming Disney has high quality footage of all the bears. They could totally get back to “swap the shows with the push of a button” if they put the time and money in, the only other part is the costuming. Idk how long it takes to redress the AAs though.

Charlie The Chatbox Ghost2 days ago

I believe they’re hybrid, part hydraulic and part electric. Reportedly they use parts from former Splash animatronics as well.

joanna719852 days ago

fingers crossed! I loved that version of the show

PiratesMansion2 days ago

With the new programming, it should be all the easier to program overlays. So if they don't come about after a few years, it still just seems like laziness and excuses to me.

Steamboat712 days ago

That makes sense as the programming for the overlays were rather primitive compared to what we have now with the bears. We'll probably never see a holiday overlay again then.

MagicHappens19712 days ago

Prior to the refurb - possibly. It wouldn’t have made sense to program the new animatronics to an old show though, so I would say as of right now, no.

Steamboat713 days ago

Is it true that the shows (with the original show being an exception) could be swapped out with the press of a button?

Moth3 days ago

still hydraulic iirc

Disgruntled Walt3 days ago

It had better! It wasn't as good as the original, but it's closer than the current one, and it should, theoretically, be easy to reprogram them now, right? Or did that electric thing not actually happen?