Originally Posted By WilliamK99 Wow. Just how lower can WDW sink after this?<< They could always do Country Bears: Under New Management with Dug, the cast of Brave, Brother Bear and the Horse from Rapunzel....
Originally Posted By sjhym333 The three heads that hang in the theater were also outside of the exit doors into Pecos Bill's. When Pepsi and Frito Lay were sponsors they sang a chorus of "We Hope that You will be coming Back Again" that included some lines about the sponsors and Pecos Bills. They were taken down a long time ago and I don't they will return. It was kind of fun to stand on line and see them sing every 17 mins.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA I remember that. Always thought it was odd to have the same three heads outside the theatre and inside. Did Buff, Max and Melvin move to these spots? Theme-atically, it was just wrong.
Originally Posted By tonyanton They were technically in the "Mile Long Bar" which until the '90s was a separate QS location than Pecos Bill. the two were combined and the heads disappeared (as did the actual "mile" long bar)
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt This poor show needs to be put to rest. Obviously it was long in the tooth, and I'm happy that Disney has given it some overdue TLC, but geez, I can't think of anything I'd want to see less than this boring production.
Originally Posted By Witches of Morva ORDDU: What they need to do is update the Country Bears with new songs and gags. They also need to update the Tiki Room with new songs and new comic material that doesn't involve awful Iago character. Both of these shows could be updated without that much cost. It makes no sense that Disney management isn't willing to make more intelligent decisions about these attractions.
Originally Posted By Bellella I never thought I'd be so P.O'd about something I've never seen live, but there you are. They butchered it!!!!! They might as well remove Max, Buff, Melvin and Wendell completely, since their roles have all but disappeared. I keep feeling like the show has been chopped, what with all the intros and songs being shortened. Why can't they leave anything well enough ALONE???!!!
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt I wonder what the response would be if this was the original show and they had lengthened it to what everyone is now accustomed to. There'd probably still be some outrage.
Originally Posted By Indigo I have one good thing to say about the refurb, Marc Davis' humor really shines through with the new look for the Bears. Everything else I want to say is negative, so I'll just keep quiet.
Originally Posted By gurgitoy2 "Listen, I really thought The Country Bears were great back in 1972. And then, when they added the Vacation Hoedown and the Christmas Special -- yep, thought that was cool too. Now, we have essentially 'Bears: Abridged' and unfortunately, their time has come. It just doesn't hold up anymore. They need to go bye-bye. Sorry Bear Fans." Yeah, I agree completely. I love the bears, but in their current form, it's time to go. They might have gotten a slight makeover, but unless they do a completely new show with the bears, it's truly time for something new. It's one of those times when it should bow out gracefully before it's too late and the damage is done. Like so many celebrities who continue to work well past their prime and end up tarnishing their image.
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost OK, explain to me what there is to complain about. IT'S EXACTLY THE SAME SHOW. Or at least what is needed of it. They didn't change anything just shortened it. CB's has been a favorite of mine since my first visit in 83. I watched both video's, the first and Donny's and it appears that the first one had a little cutting on it's own. Watch Donny's and you will see that very little has changed. It was just paced a little faster and it needed that. As I started to say, I have gone every visit since 83 and frankly whatever was cut out wasn't very impressive to me because I cannot tell you what it was that is missing. A lot of the time cut was from not having to set up as many scenes. I sure don't miss that. I know that some think of me as an apologist, but with this change there is nothing to apologize about, it was done well and might just help CB have a little bit longer life.
Originally Posted By phruby I say count your blessings, at least they didn't rip it out completely and replace it with a silly old bear.
Originally Posted By leemac Oh boy: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/20/arts/country-bear-jamboree-at-walt-disney-world.html?src=rechp&gwh=D051A16D2C951DA2E216779DC9213C7B" target="_blank">http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10...C9213C7B</a> Priceless: "The faster pace, Mr. Vaughn said, reflects the speedier way that people speak today and the rise of interactive media. It’s not necessarily that attention spans are shorter, he said, it’s that kids raised on video games are not as accustomed to more passive entertainment experiences." How is shortening the show making it a more active experience? And do we really talk faster now?
Originally Posted By gurgitoy2 I don't know that we actually talk any faster. I think we multitask much faster, but then you know what they say about doing many things not very well. The edits really took all of the comedic timing out of the show, and any sort of character development. It's now just songs with no real interaction between the bears, it's like they're all disconnected from each other. The banter is gone. The raccoon just appears at the finale on Henry's hat for an inexplicable reason now. It's funny that they spent the money and effort to "fix" this show, while Carousel of Progress rots on the other side of the park. I shudder to think how they would "fix" that though. It would be better to just remove it and replace it with something different.
Originally Posted By leemac <<I don't know that we actually talk any faster. I think we multitask much faster, but then you know what they say about doing many things not very well. >> We can only multi-task faster if the tasks are technology-enabled. Our brains and physical attributes are barely faster than our parents' or grandparents' generations. I've never bought the argument that attention spans are any shorter than when DL opened in '55 and MK in '71. It is entirely a misnomer. Average movie lengths are marginally longer than the '60s and '70s (according to IMDb) and TV shows are still typically 30 minutes for sitcoms and 1 hour for dramas. Sports haven't amended their playing times to cope with shorter attention spans. In entertainment there is no evidence whatsoever to say we consume less product than before.
Originally Posted By leemac I found this statement to be baffling: "Mr. Vaughn said his team considered a series of questions. How could they make the show relevant to modern kids? How could new technology be introduced to make it better? Are there ways to integrate new Disney or Pixar characters into the show?" So they just ignored those questions? It hasn't made the show more relevant by cutting it by a third. They haven't introduce new technology. They haven't added new recognizable characters. So those questions just got swept under the carpet? Audio Animatronics shows have a place in any Disney theme park - they should be a mandatory item on any menu plan. I just can't fathom how this will increase guest viewership when it is effectively the same concept. All it has done is refurbish the theater and show elements. That is a good thing - but it is nonsense to suggest that the culling of certain sequences will make the show more relevant.
Originally Posted By sjhym333 Not to mention will the average guest say..."lets go see the Country Bears, it is 7 minutes shorter!"?
Originally Posted By Witches of Morva ORDDU: My sisters and I recently got in contact with Pest Relations at the Magic Kingdom and their explanation for shortening the Country Bear show made us laugh. ORWEN: They claimed that it was what guests wanted!! Can you believe that?! They said those cast members who you see standing around taking survey's received requests from guests to shorten the show! ORDDU: Unbelievable! And that's what we told the Supervisor we were speaking with. I don't think your average guest would ever come up with such an idea to begin with. It sounds more like a lot of corporate spin created to explain why bad decisions are made. At least we made sure that Pest Relations knew we didn't accept such a lame explanation.
