It’s time to say goodbye! The Country Bear Jamboree — referred to as “Walt’s last laugh” by some Disney Cast Members — is closing. But fear not! The show isn’t closing for good. In fact, Disney has big plans to update the 50-year-old show. Before the show closes its curtains for a while, we stopped by to say goodbye (or at least, “See ya real soon!“).
Country Bear Jamboree
We weren’t the only ones, though! The line to catch the Country Bear Jamboree was LONG — in fact, Cast Members had to close the line early to keep up with the demand. So, what’s it like over in Frontierland on the last night the Country Bear Jamboree will perform before it changes? Let’s take a look!
OK, so we’ve been keeping our eyes on the crowd level in Magic Kingdom pretty much all day. Spoiler alert: it’s been busy all day. But the crowds REALLY started to pick up around 8PM. Why? It seems like a LOT of people were hoping to catch the last Country Bear Jamboree show before the attraction closes. Take a look at those crowds!
Crowds are HERE for the last show of Country Bear Jamboree! 🪕🐻 pic.twitter.com/hxN6iJ4KY4
— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) January 27, 2024
The line extended all the way around Frontierland. You don’t see that every day! Finally, at around 8:45PM, Cast Members closed the line. At that time, the end of the line passed Pecos Bill’s Tall Tale Inn and Cafe.
Look at that LINE!
Cast Members were stationed at the end of the line (and at various points along the queue) to inform guests that the line was closed. And so we waited. And waited. And waited.
Prepare to wait…for a while.
In fact, we waited 30+ minutes inside the waiting room. As it turned out, “The bears were having some nervousness,” and Cast Members informed us that our wait time might be a little longer than anticipated. Cast Members reassured us, “They’ve been doing this for 50 years, and they want to make sure their last couple of shows are perfect.” OK, we’ll admit it. That got us a little emotional. 😭😭😭
Happy closing day!
The line seemed to be at a standstill for a bit. Cast Members explained, “The bears are still nervous, but as soon as we can, we’ll go in.” Hey, we can’t blame ’em — talk about PRESSURE! Imagine performing for such a passionate audience. While we waited, Cast Members kept us entertained. We played some Country Bear trivia and had a blast hanging out with so many Disney fans. We even learned a thing or two about this classic Disney attraction! MAJOR shoutout to the AMAZING Cast Members helping make a little magic for guests.
Those Country Bears are POPULAR!
Finally, after waiting several hours in line, Cast Members informed us that there would be no more shows for the evening. Instead, guests were invited to walk through the theater and take pictures before the show closed for refurbishment.
The Country Bear Jamboree has performed its last show tonight despite guests waiting in line for hours. Cast members have done a phenomenal job at keeping guests entertained while the attraction was down, but these bears will not be returning tonight. pic.twitter.com/9X5Q1TLnQh
— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) January 27, 2024
Guests in line were given complimentary Lightning Lanes for Magic Kingdom for January 27th and free posters for their time in line.
We got a poster!
Around 11PM, the theater was full of guests! Here’s one final look at the show before it closes. Don’t forget — the NEW show is set to debut THIS SUMMER, 2024. Disney Imagineers will update the show with “an all-new act.” The bears will be singing Disney songs in NEW styles, like pop country, rockabilly, and bluegrass.
We got to say goodbye one more time!
We can’t wait to see the new show! See ya real soon, Country Bears! In the meantime, we’re always on the lookout for the latest Disney news, so stay tuned for more.
A Look at the SHOCKING Country Bear Jamboree Closure CROWDS in Disney World
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Support for the original production. Absolutely NO reason to change anything– except work on aging animatronics.
Human nature is bizarre. Why does it take something closing for guests to pay attention to it? Country Bears has been ignored by most guests for a lot of years, yet all of a sudden everyone wants to stand in line to see it because it’s being changed. Perhaps it deserved more love all along.
Just goes to show how many people love nostalgia.