The Disneyland version of the attraction featured a so-called cartridge option. This allowed for changes in the show by replacing the master control and audiotape with a different program. The addition of costume and prop changes allowed for different versions of the show to occur throughout the year. Each change required the show to be shut down for a few weeks while the tapes and costumes were changed. Aside from the original show, other versions were the Country Bear Christmas Special (which ran during the winter holiday season from November to January) and the Country Bear Vacation Hoedown. A new show for the Florida version was announced at the 2023 Destination D23 event, titled Country Bear Musical Jamboree, featuring classic Disney songs performed in different country music styles and genres.
The origin of the Country Bears goes back to a never-realized Disney project in the 1960s—a ski-resort in Mineral King Valley (now part of Sequoia National Park).
In addition to the standard skiing activities, Walt Disney wanted his ski resort to include some entertainment for the guests. One idea that came up was a musical variety show put on by the local ursine wildlife—that project was assigned to Marc Davis.
Davis, together with Al Bertino, came up with many bear musical groups, including bear marching bands, bear mariachi bands, and Dixieland bears. One day, when Davis was working on drawings of the show’s characters in his office, Walt walked in and saw the drawings and laughed because he loved the characters. Marc recalls this being the last time he saw or spoke to Walt, remembering that as he was leaving he said “Goodbye Marc”, a phrase that was out of character for him as he usually said “talk to you next week” or something similar. Three weeks later, Walt Disney passed away, on December 15, 1966.
After Walt’s death, plans for the show still carried on. The bears would be featured in the ski resort’s Bear Band Restaurant Show and it was decided that they would have a country twang, but when environmental concerns blocked the development of the Mineral King area, now part of Sequoia National Park, the bear show was shelved along with the ski resort.
While the plans for Walt Disney World were being developed, the bear show concept was revived and the Country Bear Jamboree was born as one of the opening day attractions at the Magic Kingdom. It received so much positive feedback that the Imagineers immediately planned to create a replica of the show to be placed in Disneyland.
In 1972, the Indian Village in Disneyland’s Frontierland was demolished to make way for a new land called Bear Country, which housed a duplicate version of the Country Bear Jamboree. Due to the tremendous popularity of the show in Florida, extra capacity was added to the California incarnation in the form of two identical theaters, each housing a copy of the show in its entirety. However, it was never as popular in California as it was in Florida, leading to management wanting a new attraction. Imagineers hoping to save the Country Bear characters would propose the Critter Country 500, a racing dark ride starring the bears, but this would be rejected. In 2001, the attraction was closed and its show building was repurposed to house The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
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Great Time Machine! CB Xmas Special!
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