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Grand Return Confirmed: Disney Ends Years-Long Closure, Reopening Classic Attraction

Good news, Disney fans – one fan-favorite attraction is making its grand return.

With nearly 70 years of history, Disney’s theme parks boast a long list of retired attractions that spark nostalgia with diehard guests. While some will likely never return (RIP Rocket Rods and Superstar Limo), there are a handful of experiences that fans remain hopeful could be revived in some shape or form in the future.

'Pete's Dragon' float lights up in front of Cinderella Castle in the Main Street Electrical Parade at Disney World
Credit: Martin Lewison via Flickr

Related: Walt Disney’s Creation Now Erased From Magic Kingdom as Overhaul Gears Up

Case in point: the Main Street Electrical Parade. This nighttime parade has been extinct for years, except for when Disney brings it back for a limited-time ‘revival’ that promises a final outing for this decades-old experience… Until it comes back for another run or in the form of a drone show, of course.

One experience that Disney fans believed to be truly dead in the water was the Vacation Jamboree. A variation of the Disney classic that is Country Bear Jamboree, this featured everyone’s favorite musical hillbilly bears on a quest to find summer fun.

country-bear-jamboree-at-tokyo
Credit: Tokyo Disney Resort

In the past, this was performed from July to November at Tokyo Disneyland (where the attraction is typically known as Country Bear Theater). Vacation Jamboree was last performed in 2019, with the listing for the attraction removed from the Tokyo Disney Resort website (which is usually a surefire sign that it won’t return anytime soon).

However, Tokyo Disney Resort just unveiled the lineup for its summer program – which, lo and behold, features the triumphant return of Vacation Jamboree!

The show will reportedly be performed from May 17 to November 7. This coincides perfectly with the opening of Fantasy Springs at the neighboring park, Tokyo DisneySea, which will see the introduction of Frozen (2013), Tangled (2010), and Peter Pan (1953)-inspired lands to the resort.

Country Bear Jamboree
Credit: Disney

Related: Disney World Says Goodbye to the Country Bears

If it follows the same pattern as previous iterations of Vacation Jamboree, the show will involve the audio-animatronic bears singing in a mix of English and Japanese, with a tracklist including the likes of “Over My Head Over You,” “California Bears,” and “We Can Make It To the Top” (which, having watched the show in 2019, this writer can attest is a truly surreal experience).

At present, Tokyo Disneyland is the only Disney park with an operating version of Country Bear Jamboree. On January 27, 2024, the Walt Disney World Resort location shuttered for a transformation that will see it reopen as Country Bear Musical Jamboree in the summer. The version at Disneyland closed in 2001.

 

Guests ride on logs through water on Splash Mountain
Credit: Tokyo Disney Resort

In addition to Vacation Jamboree, other limited-time summer experiences at Tokyo Disneyland include a wetter, wilder version of Splash Mountain, as is tradition at the park.

Unlike its sisters in Disneyland and Magic Kingdom, the water attraction remains themed to Song of the South (1946) and is yet to receive a Princess and the Frog (2009) makeover (and, considering the fact that Tokyo Disney Resort is technically run by the Oriental Land Company, not Disney, it potentially never will).

Do you plan on visiting Tokyo Disney Resort any time soon? Let us know in the comments!

This post Grand Return Confirmed: Disney Ends Years-Long Closure, Reopening Classic Attraction appeared first on Inside the Magic.

Chloe James

Chloë is a theme park addict and self-proclaimed novelty hunter. She's obsessed with all things Star Wars, loves roller coasters (but hates Pixar Pal-A-Round), and lives for Disney's next Muppets project.

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