SURPRISE! Disney's NEW Country Bear-Themed Restaurant Opened a Day EARLY!

Disneyland surprised everyone by opening a restaurant EARLY!

Hungry Bear Barbecue Jamboree sign

Despite having an official opening date of October 25th, 2024, the Hungry Bear Barbecue Jamboree soft-opened a day early in Bayou Country and we stopped by to check it out!

Once called the Hungry Bear Restaurant, the Hungry Bear Barbecue Jamboree had been closed for refurbishment as it came up with a new menu and theming to reflect the defunct Country Bear Jamboree attraction at Disneyland and the newly rethemed Country Bear Musical Jamboree show at Magic Kingdom.

©Disney

The restaurant was rethemed as part of Critter Country’s evolution into Bayou Country in anticipation of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure joining the land. While the Hungry Bear’s soft reopening on October 24th wasn’t advertised, we stopped by anyway to check it out and see what the newly rethemed restaurant has to offer!

Hungry Bear Barbecue Jamboree

Immediately, you’ll get a strong sense of that Country Bear theming. According to Disney, the decor is supposed to help tell the story of the Country Bears taking a break from their world tour.

The Bears are back in town!

You’ll find plenty of familiar faces and even hear some Country Bear tunes while you dine!

Ursus H. Bear

We also got a good look at the menu…

Part of the new Hungry Bear Barbecue Jamboree menu

And, of course, you know we had to try some of the new offerings!

Hungry Bear Barbecue Jamboree spread

First, we tried the Loaded Fries for $14.99. These fries are made with smoked pulled pork, queso sauce, pickled red onions, pickled jalapeños, cilantro, and scallions.

Loaded Fries

Our dish was pretty good! The smoked pulled pork didn’t have much of a smoked flavor, but we still thought it was very tasty! The meat was tender and coated with a sauce akin to a brown sugar barbecue sauce flavor.

The fries weren’t special, but their purpose was to soak up the cheese and barbecue sauces, so they worked just fine for us. Speaking of the sauces, the queso sauce had a creamy texture and flavor that worked so well with the sweet barbecue pork and jalapeños. Overall, we were happy with this new offering and recommend giving it a try if you’re looking for a Southwestern snack.

Fixin’s sign at the Hungry Bear Barbecue Jamboree

Next, we tried the Sparkling Strawberry-Pickle Lemonade for $7.49. This drink is made with Simply Lemonade, Minute Maid Strawberry Smoothie, flavors of lime, Sprite, pickle juice, and a pickle spear.

Sparkling Strawberry-Pickle Lemonade

Right off the bat, our reporter told us they aren’t the biggest fans of pickle and/or dill flavors. That’s why it was so surprising that they liked this a lot! It was sweet, refreshing, and tangy, delivering the sweet and refreshing strawberry lemonade flavors at first before throwing in a tangy pickle aftertaste.

The lime was thoroughly blended in with the lemonade and Sprite, so it didn’t really stand out, which was also the case with the strawberry smoothie aspect. If you’re expecting a smoothie texture, this doesn’t really provide that but what you WILL get is that delicious strawberry flavor, which tasted surprisingly fresh. We recommend this when you just want to sit and relax on a hot Southern California day!

Cute Hungry Bear goodbye sign

Are you excited to visit the newly reimagined Hungry Bear Barbecue Jamboree? Let us know and continue to follow us here at the Disney Food Blog for all the latest Disneyland news, tips, reviews, and more!