The elephant in the room appears to be the revamped Country Bears attraction at MK. The lack of response to the changes is deafening.
Maybe that's because , for those of us who love this show, the new Country Bears Musical Jamboree is a little underwhelming.
I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting to be honest but I was certainly hoping for a refreshing new show using the original characters. New format perhaps and certainly new songs.
What we appear to have is a slightly tweaked show with the addition of a couple of new tunes lifted from popular movies like Frozen.
Liver Lips has morphed into his new name of Romeo McGrowl but don't ask me why and the Elvis incarnation has gone entirely.
So , and it's only my opinion, the much anticipated new show hasn't lived up to expectations. It'll be interesting to see what they come up with for the Christmas holiday performance which has always been such a favourite. I'm not holding my breath. Just grateful that they have , at least, retained the attraction at MK when Disneyland chose to remove it.
The quietness is due to the fact that most people simply don't care. Its a skip attraction no matter what. Had they demoed the thing completely probably 90% of people wouldn't have even noticed.
This makes me sad. I have yet to see the new show in person, but I think that Disney's biggest mistake here is its half-in approach to the Bears.
If you cannot commit to a 20-minute show that allows the characters', well, character to come through, then you might as well just close the thing and move forward with something else. From watching videos, this show feels like fan service to a diminishing fanbase that fails to provide any reason for potential new fans to care about the Country Bears.
I think I've totally misread the level of ambivalence towards the Bears. We've always liked it because it's one of those old style Disney attractions that provided a short respite from the rigours of a hot and busy day in the Park.
Perhaps, as has been mooted here, it's days truly are numbered as the modern audience aren't interested. I think, had Disney invested a little more thought to it, this could've continued to provide a welcome break but, as Robert rightly says, they really didn't want to invest in something with a diminishing fanbase.
That is all a shame, as every time I leave the CBJ I have a smile on my face and think that is so much better than I recall. Unfortunately, other older attractions I think the opposite like Carousel of Progress, Small World, and Hall of Presidents. Those, along with the Tomorrowland Transit, need lots of sprucing up. I put CBJ right up there with the Tiki Room. They are great older attractions that are lots of fun. The others are fun too, but they do need some work.
So please don’t remove the jamboree. Let this version play out and return it to its former glory. While you are at it, bring back the original announcer of the TTA and add some futuristic effects in the tunnels. Also, let’s bring in a high tech Mission to the Moon in the Stitch location. I love, love, love the old classics.
To be honest, I think I saw the show once in very first WDW trip in 1984 and never again.
I am hoping for an “…under new management” before long.