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Disney Parks has just made a tearful announcement for many fans who love the draw and the nostalgia of Disney’s classic attractions.
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The Destination D23 Event is taking place this weekend at Disney’s Contemporary Resort at the Walt Disney World Resort in Central Florida. The sold-out event is hosted by D23, the Official Disney Fan Club, and sponsored by Lug travel gear.
On Saturday morning, Disney began to unveil a host of exciting new things coming to the parks soon–some as early as 2024, which is right around the corner. And while several announcements were made about additions to the guest experience at Disneyland Resort and Disney World, one announcement about a guest-favorite Opening Day attraction seemed to silence some of the others for many of Disney’s most nostalgic, long-time fans of the Disney era from days gone by.
Walt Disney Imagineer Chris Beatty took to the stage Saturday, and among his announcements was the revealing of plans for Disney’s Country Bear Jamboree. Per D23, the Country Bear Jamboree attraction at Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World opened on October 1, 1971, and was the first major park attraction to open first at Disney Florida parks and then to be copied for the other Disney parks. The original attraction featured 18 Audio-Animatronic bears of varying ages and sizes singing and playing instruments in a family-friendly, feel-good country-music show.
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Fans of the original classic attraction are a bit disappointed today as Disney announced plans to reimagine the attraction. The experience will close for a while, and when it reopens to guests in 2024, the show will feature “reinterpreted” favorite Disney songs across the various genres of country music, including pop country, rockabilly, bluegrass, and more. One of the songs to be included in the new show is “The Bare Necessities” from Disney’s The Jungle Book (1967).
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The brand-new experience will reportedly pay homage to classical musical revues in Nashville, Tennessee. Imagineers are working with musicians from the Nashville area so they can capture the authentic sound they’re striving for.
A few things are staying the same–Trixie, Big Al, and many other recognizable characters from the attraction will return, but the newly-reimagined experience will have a slight name change: The Country Bear Musical Jamboree.
