Walt Disney World Making Big Change to Country Bear Jamboree

Disney World's Country Bear Jamboree is undergoing a major revamp. Parkgoers heading to Frontierland in 2024 will be greeted to an all-new experience, with Disney Chairman Josh D'Amaro announcing during his presentation at Destination D23 earlier this month that Country Bear Jamboree will transform into Country Bear Musical Jamboree, complete with new songs and performances.

Located in Frontierland at Magic Kingdom Park, the current version of Country Bear Jamboree, which opened in 1971, invites guests into Grizzly Hall for a knee-slappin' good time as 18 Audio-Animatronics hillbilly bears play and sing during a 16-minute celebration. The show includes a mix of original and classic tunes, including "The Bear Band Serenade," "Mama Don't Whip Little Buford," "Tears Will Be The Chaser For Your Wine," and "All The Guys That Turn Me On Turn Me Down." While Disney plans to keep those woodland characters, the company said it is "putting some love into the attraction and characters," per WDW Today, with the bears "reinterpreting favorite Disney songs in different genres of country music."

Here’s a sample of the new Country Bear Jamboree version of Bare Necessities #DestinationD23 pic.twitter.com/AlNm7TBNpb

— The DIS (@TheDIS) September 9, 2023

According to the Disney Parks blog, "Imagineers are envisioning the new experience as a homage to the classic musical revues in Nashville and they're working with Nashville musicians to get the authentic country sound." An example given at Destination D23 was "The Bare Necessities," with a short sample of the song played. Meanwhile, the revamp also includes the renaming of one controversial bear, with artwork shared amid the revamp announcement confirming that Liver Lips McGrowl, a derogatory name referring to his puckered lips, will be renamed to Romeo McGrowl.

The changes coming to Country Bear Jamboree are not the only changes headed to Frontierland. The beloved location will soon begin construction on Tiana's Bayou Adventure, the reimagined Splash Mountain ride. The reimagined ride will take riders back to 1927, when Tiana is hosting a party for the people of New Orleans. She will need riders' help to find a missing ingredient. Members of the original cast will be reprising their voices as their characters for the attraction, with Bruno Campos returning as Prince Naveen, Michael Leon Wooley voicing Louis, Jenifer Lewis voicing Mama Odie, and Anika Noni Rose voicing Princess Tiana. The attraction will be under construction until late 2024.

As for Country Bear Jamboree, the attraction will also close for the revamp, though a closure date has not been confirmed at this time. It will reopen as Country Bear Musical Jamboree sometime in 2024.