Revamped Country Bear Jamboree reopens next month at Disney's Magic Kingdom

Everyone’s favorite band of musical bears finally returns when the Country Bear Musical Jamboree reopens July 17.

The iconic indoor musical revue closed at the end of January to make way for a new setlist and new threads for the over 50-year-old singing bears. The new show will have the same beloved band, but this time infusing songs from animated Disney movies with their signature country-western style.

Instead of the country bear-ified takes on “Mama, Don’t Whip Little Buford,” “Blood on the Saddle” and “All the Guys That Turn Me On Turn Me Down,” the new Jamboree will add some twang to songs like “Bare Necessities” from The Jungle Book and “Try Everything” from Zootopia.

While the new Country Bears attraction will pay homage to Nashville’s Opry-style shows and different country subgenres, Disney assures longtime fans that the new show will have nods to the original’s tunes.

The Jamboree’s reopening comes just in time for the parks' hottest months of the year. For decades, it’s been a go-to attraction for families needing to sit down and cool off in the A/C. An original opening-day attraction, the show was also one of the few at Magic Kingdom with short wait times.

Of course, that wasn’t the case in the weeks leading up to the Jamboree’s closure. Orlando Weekly’s Seth Kubersky noted that Jamboree shows saw packed houses in January, with one line stalled all the way to Adventureland during the unexpected, premature closure.

Country Bear Jamboree isn’t the only — or biggest — change coming to Magic Kingdom this year. Another Frontierland attraction with questionable themes has been transformed into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, which officially opens June 28. Then, eventually, Frontierland will expand beyond Big Thunder Mountain Railroad with as-yet-unannounced attractions.

These new attractions and changes to old ones are part of Disney’s $17 billion investment into its Florida parks. Also on Disney’s slate are Animal Kingdom’s DinoLand U.S.A. overhaul, a new Pirates of the Caribbean lounge in Magic Kingdom, a revamped Test Track at Epcot and The Little Mermaid: A Musical Adventure show at Hollywood Studios.

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