With just 10 days to go until the current version of the Country Bear Jamboree is retired and work begins on a new show, Walt Disney Imagineering has filed a permit for new audio/visual equipment at Grizzly Hall. The permit taps longtime Disney contractor InterAmerica Stage, Inc. for the installation of audio/visual equipment at an address that resolves to the Country Bear Jamboree show building. InterAmerica stage has done countless installations for Disney over the years for new and refreshed attractions and shows.
The Country Bear Jamboree will be closed starting January 27th to allow Imagineers to transform the show into the Country Bear Musical Jamboree. The all-new show will feature the same cast of bears, but with new songs from the Disney songbook.
The show is expected to reopen sometime this summer, but an exact reopening date has not been announced by Disney yet.
Disney says that the new show will “pay homage to the Opry-style shows of Nashville” and include easter eggs throughout the show, including one song from the current show. That said, the meat of the show will be the bears singing new, reinterpreted Disney tunes in different genres of country music – like bluegrass, pop-country, Americana, rockabilly and other styles.
The retheme of the Country Bear Jamboree was originally pitched nearly 20 years ago, according to one former Imagineer. While not confirmed by Disney, it is rumored that the Audio-Animatronics for the attraction will be upgraded during the closure.
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