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If this is true they have gone too far!


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23 minutes ago, Travisma said:

Brought to you by the same people who said they were tearing down two Epcot pavillions and actually got Disney to make a statement that, No they weren't. 

That said it wouldnt surprise me. 

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10 hours ago, Travisma said:

For those that don't trust links   

 

He seems to have an inside track on this, and seems as upset about it as many others are.

 

RUMOR: Disney World to Replace Country Bear Jamboree with Toy Story Marionette Show for Magic Kingdom’s 50th Anniversary

 

I honestly wish I was making this up or was publishing this article about a far-off, distant rumor, but the Bob Chapek mandate that the Disney Parks be used to “leverage intellectual properties” will likely claim the existence of a beloved, original attraction that is the definition of a Magic Kingdom classic—and do it just before its 50th birthday in 2021.

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According to sources, the closure of the Country Bear Jamboree in Frontierland at the Magic Kingdom is imminent. As has many reported a number of times, Walt Disney World is expected to promise guests 50 new or special offerings for its 50th anniversary celebration in two years time and a whole new attraction will very likely come to Frontierland to replace the 1971 audio-animatronic spectacle. And no, it will not be the Vacation Jamboree or Christmas overlays that many thought would be introduced in honor of the five-decade milestone.

Strangely enough, the replacement is a Toy Story audio-animatronic marionette show. This would incorporate elements of the Woody’s Roundup television show featured heavily in Toy Story 2, a faux program that starred puppet versions of Woody, Jessie, Bullseye, and Stinky Pete the Prospector.

hqdefault.jpg A screenshot from the Woody’s Round-Up, a faux television show that appears in the Toy Story 2 film. This appears to be the basis for the new attraction ind development for the Magic Kingdom.

I try hard to report news and rumors without editorial asides, but why Walt Disney World would possibly need more Toy Story attractions is beyond me, especially ones located outside of the Toy Story Land that just opened at Disney’s Hollywood Studios last year. Moreover, there is also already another Toy Story attraction in the Magic Kingdom: Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin in Tomorrowland. Even if another western-themed Toy Story attraction was a franchise necessity, why the oft-lauded “blessing of size” that Walt Disney World has over the other Disney Parks and Resorts worldwide does not mean that a new attraction can be built without permanently removing a classic attraction is truly beyond my understanding. Besides that, how many more Toy Story attractions do we need and how much more of the same Toy Story merchandise do they think they can sell by making this change?

Why do I bring this rumor to the forefront now? Well, while the closure window for the Country Bear Jamboree is presently unannounced and unknown, the logic that Disney wants to open this Toy Story show open by October 1, 2021 means it might be sooner than you would expect. The 2019 D23 Expo is approaching fast, and let us not forget that the demise of both The Great Movie Ride and the Universe of Energy was confirmed at the 2017 edition, neither actually mentioned on stage by Mr. Chapek as he announced their replacements. Both attractions also closed less than 30 days after said announcement, not giving many fans a chance to say their goodbyes to either long-standing classic and certainly not giving the broader community of park goers the chance to make it clear that the closure might be a mistake. While such efforts have made little headway in the past, it has been a long time since the Walt Disney Company chose to close the last domestic version of an attraction so iconic as the Country Bear Jamboree.

By way of a historical aside, and with the storytelling narrative oft-repeated by Disney, the Country Bear Jamboree was originally intended by Walt to be placed at Disney’s Mineral King Ski Resort in California which he was trying to build in the 1960’s. Walt knew he wanted a show to provide entertainment to the guests at the resort, and the project was assigned to legendary Imagineer Marc Davis. Sometime in late 1966, Walt stopped by Imagineering and Marc showed the drawings he was working on for the Bear Band show. As Marc shared years later, Walt had a good laugh at many of the humorous characters and scenes in the show that would later become the Country Bear Jamboree. On Walt’s way out he turned to Marc and said good-bye, a phrase that Marc recalled Walt was known never to say. That was the last time Davis saw Disney, who died days later on December 15, 1966, and the Country Bear Jamboree came to be referred to as “Walt’s last laugh”.

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While the Mineral King Ski Resort never made it off the drawing board, the Country Bear Jamboree was in place as an opening day attraction in Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom on October 1, 1971. The popularity of the show led to a version in Disneyland on March 4, 1972 (since removed) and a third version at Tokyo Disneyland on April, 15, 1983.  The ubiquitous bears have become an oft-repeated reference in popular culture and have been featured in The Simpsons, Monty Python’s Flying Circus, The Critic, Futurama, A Goofy Movie, The Big Bang Theory, and Last Man Standing, to name just a few.

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Disneyland closed the attraction in 2001, but it has been a sore point with many over the years. This is probably because it was replaced with a quickly devised, budget-conscious version of the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh ride that occupied the same footprint as the Country Bear Playhouse – all in an effort to buoy Pooh merchandise sales. A similar scenario seems to be playing out now.

Funny enough, Country Bear merchandise is still even sold at Disneyland and enough so that it continues to be produced. Meanwhile, at Tokyo Disneyland, a plush line of the Bear characters has proven so popular that new versions are released on a regular basis almost every season.

We know that “rumors” of this sort are never popular, but I believe that our sources, our track record, and the nature of this not-yet-announced closure warrant that we share this information with our readers now. And to those detractors, our intent is not to gain publicity, financial gain, or some of the more ludicrous reasoning that could be attributed to our actions. More than anything, I love Walt Disney World and I hope you do too. WDWNT began as a passion project 12 years ago. That the site and its readership have grown does not alter our mission nor our passion—a passion I wouldn’t imagine throwing away by “making things up.”  Rather, our goal is to inform and educate passionate fans. For years, we have provided frank, un-slanted, un-influenced information from sources that share the same love for Walt Disney World as a place, an idea, and an achievement. We believe our readership agrees with the basic premise that Walt Disney, Marc Davis, and the many Imagineers who created this three dimensional canvas are undoubtedly artists. While a great many things have come and gone, there are those things that transcend time and place to being far more than just rides, shows, or means of increasing guest counts. Attractions like Pirates of the Caribbean, The Haunted Mansion, and, yes, the Country Bear Jamboree are the very essence of Disney, are the things that inspired countless members of this generation at Walt Disney Imagineering, and are the things that are so essential to the Disney theme park experience that their enjoyment is passed down from generation to generation.

To say what will have undoubtedly become clear, I am disheartened by this news and by the trend of news that has gathered on the horizon. Disney Parks possess characters, environments, and experiences that are, themselves, unique.  As much as Disney Parks are places where characters from film and television come to life, they are also places inhabited by grim-grinning ghosts, by plundering pirates, by Figments of imagination, by singing tiki birds, and by country bears. Removing classic attractions that are the essence of the Disney experience for the sake of cheaply and easily bringing something new is fundamentally misguided and frightening. And that is the path that Mr. Chapek has forged through recent actions, namely the decal-laden Pixar Pier or the shadeless Toy Story Land in the heat of Central Florida. Our mission and purpose is to share news and information that maintain the quality of customer service, experience, and legacy that guests have come to expect from Disney Parks. Fundamental to that is a belief that some attractions are so tethered to the identity of a Disney Park as to become essential. To the Magic Kingdom, the Country Bear Jamboree is just such an experience.

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I am the first to admit that grass roots movements to influence the Walt Disney Company do not have a particular track record of success. Equally true, though, is that once something is gone, it is unlikely to return.  And, as is clear above, I cannot help but have my feelings and beliefs come through in this posting. Our sources have been clear that this plan to close the Jamboree is very real, and the timeline for it doesn’t leave much time to wait. I assure you that the Walt Disney Company reads this website, and that they look at the comment section below, and on all forms of social media. You know the rumor, you have a good sense of my opinion, but I am not here to tell you your opinion about the Country Bear Jamboree. I am here to tell you that whatever your opinion is on this matter, it will be heard in these venues, so voice it.

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11 hours ago, Katman1356...Jason said:

Brought to you by the same people who said they were tearing down two Epcot pavillions and actually got Disney to make a statement that, No they weren't. 

That said it wouldnt surprise me. 

My thoughts exactly as soon as I saw the source.  They have a lot of "inside sources" but they have also been wrong more than a few times.

But then also what Jason said - nothing would surprise me at this point.

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Given that Country Bear was removed from Disneyland 18 years ago and also that Magic Kingdom’s Country Bear is rarely half full this wouldn’t surprise me. I’d hate to see it happen though. I always enjoy stopping in. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Fear not, Jamboree fans!

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Disney has released a statement addressing “rumors” about Country Bear Jamboree closures:

Thanks for “bearing” with us this week.  With all of the news we’ve shared, we “fur-got” to mention our friends over at the Country Bears. Our Imagineers are always looking at ways to bring more magic to our guests through experiences and stories they know, but contrary to rumors, Country Bear Jamboree is not going into hibernation any time soon.  In fact, we’re looking forward to celebrating its 50th anniversary on Oct. 1, 2021, with Henry, the Five Bear Rugs and the rest of the gang. Until then, “we hope that you’ll be comin’ back again; that you’ll drop in and see us now and then.”

No further information has been provided regarding the Country Bears and the park’s 50th anniversary celebrations, but we are thrilled that the bears will be staying (and that Big Al will in fact, not be skinned and replaced with Stinky Pete the Prospector.)

We thank all of you who wrote in to voice your love and nostalgia for the Country Bears and helped to Save the Jamboree!

https://wdwnt.com/2019/06/breaking-disney-states-country-bear-jamboree-will-not-close-at-walt-disney-world/?fbclid=IwAR1eg2lzRNupDeLWQDAIkmSZx5Kh4suG3EaNpbxd4yB_4BtyHCuFFdBZaJo

 

BUT... there seems to be this strange thing happening recently where even-more-outlandish-than-usual rumors are hitting the interwebz - often from the very site I quoted that from - and they of course go uber-viral and people go bananas.  That part isn't all that unusual - except maybe for the frequency that such "insider info" rumors hit that particular site, but what IS unusual is that Disney has actually made public posts refuting some of these lately - most notably this one and one the other day about the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Room. Disney usually lets these things play out.  Not sure why they've jumped into the fray recently, except that maybe that the rumors involve attractions that have been around for ages and that longtime Disney fans really would go bonkers over if they changed them drastically or removed them altogether.

Meanwhile, the site publishing the rumors is likely getting a BOATLOAD of traffic off these.

As our fearless leader says, things that make you go hmmm.....

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Well, wdwnt.com got the responses they were “fishing” for. Just when you think there’s a site with reliable news you find out it’s not. Very disappointed with the author of the article and feel bad for Travisma taking the bait. Just goes to show how easy it is for any of us to get sucked in. Anyone else feel like they were scammed and subjected to some twisted marketing? Going forward wdwnt just lost some credibility. Something just smells fishy.

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7 hours ago, Breezy2 said:

Well, wdwnt.com got the responses they were “fishing” for. Just when you think there’s a site with reliable news you find out it’s not. Very disappointed with the author of the article and feel bad for Travisma taking the bait. Just goes to show how easy it is for any of us to get sucked in. Anyone else feel like they were scammed and subjected to some twisted marketing? Going forward wdwnt just lost some credibility. Something just smells fishy.

The author wrote a pretty good rebuttal about his original story and the Disney response. Not judging him either way.  

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2 hours ago, djsamuel said:

Makes me wonder if Disney is planting some rumors among some people suspected of leaking inside info in an attempt to find the leakers. 

Maybe.  Most of the blog sites have some CMs "on staff" but the type of stuff that pops up on this particular site seems to go way beyond that type of info.

1 hour ago, Travisma said:

You mean the Mickey Intelligence Agency is tracking down moles?

Are they actual moles?

MOLE-6.jpg

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And then there's this...

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The biggest theme parks typically don’t comment on rumors and speculation, but Disney made two notable exceptions to that standard practice in the past week. 

In the span of just 48 hours, Disney forcefully denied two rumors about the Magic Kingdom that were first reported by WDW News Today, a popular fan site that often posts stories about changes reputedly coming to Disney parks.

The first dealt with the Enchanted Tiki Room, which the site said in a June 26 story would be replaced with a “Moana”-themed overlay, citing “sources inside the company.” That same day, Disney denied the rumor, claiming “our fans are being fed incorrect information by unscrupulous sources.”

WDW News Today founder Tom Corless told Orlando Rising that Disney’s statement was “too vague” to warrant a retraction of his initial report. In two separate articles on his site, he  called Disney’s post about his Tiki Room story “the most unprofessional statement the company has released in its history” and defended his site’s track record of breaking news about Disney parks before the company has made an official announcement. 

Corless stepped up his criticism on the June 27 edition of the WDW News Tonight podcast. 

“I think it’s clear, and I don’t think we need to mince words anymore, that WDWNT.com is absolutely, I would say, at war with the Walt Disney Company,” Corless said. “That is the way I would phrase it at this point. It has gotten personal and nasty and that comes from the top down,” going on to accuse Disney’s theme parks division of becoming “petty” under the leadership of Bob Chapek, the company’s chairman of Parks, Experiences and Products. 

Corless pointed out that Disney had yet to comment on an earlier rumor he reported regarding the future of Country Bear Jamboree, another Magic Kingdom attraction dating to the park’s 1971 opening. In a June 17 story on WDW News Today, Corless had said the Frontierland show would be closed and replaced with “a Toy Story audio-animatronic marionette show.” 

The Jamboree story became something of a crusade, with WDW News Today launching a separate site, SaveTheJamboree.com, encouraging fans to sign a petition sharing their personal feelings about the show. 

Disney did address the rumor Friday in another blog post, denying the attraction would be closing. 

 “Our Imagineers are always looking at ways to bring more magic to our guests through experiences and stories they know, but contrary to rumors, Country Bear Jamboree is not going into hibernation any time soon,” wrote Thomas Smith, editorial content director for Disney Parks. “In fact, we’re looking forward to celebrating its 50th anniversary on Oct. 1, 2021 at Walt Disney World Resort, with Henry, the Five Bear Rugs and the rest of the gang. 

In an email to Orlando Rising, Corless indicated was standing by his initial story despite Disney’s response. 

“Based on the fact that the ‘rumor’ came from the team working on the Woody’s Round-Up show, I will not retract my story,” he said. “The project has been cancelled and Disney has used this as an opportunity to damage the only large fan site that they don’t have control over.”

Elsewhere, Corless claimed victory. The SaveTheJamboree.com page has now been updated to credit the petition effort with the news that Country Bear Jamboree would not be closing.

“Thanks for all your help! Together, we did it! The Country Bear Jamboree has been saved!” the page reads. 

Disney has gotten into public spats with the press before, though the most well-documented incidents involve news outlets outside the theme park niche. 

In November 2017, the company temporarily banned a Los Angeles Times film critic from an advance screening of “Thor: Ragnarok” in retaliation for the Times’ reporting on Disney’s history of political donations in races for the Anaheim City Council, estimating Disney had received more than $1 billion in incentives from the city. 

Following backlash from other film critics and news organizations, Disney rescinded the ban within a matter of days. But as The New York Times reported upon the ban’s end, Disney “has a history of taking punitive action against news organizations and analysts when the publish articles or analysis it deems unfair.” 

Complicating matters in this feud between Corless’ site and Disney is the history of both sides spreading information that has later proven to be incorrect. 

Disney has initially denied aspects of rumors that come out ahead of their official announcements. The company once said via Twitter that California’s version of Tower of Terror would not be closing, only for to announce months later that the ride would in fact close,, transforming into Guardians of the Galaxy — Mission: Breakout!

For WDW News Today’s part, the site has been credited with breaking stories about future changes to Orlando theme parks. But it has also reported rumors that have not come to fruition, such as an April 2015 report that said Universal Orlando would close two of its Marvel attractions by the end of that year, or an October 2013 story that Disney was securing the theme park rights to “The Lord of the Rings.”

There’s also debate about whether WDW News Today deserves credits for as many scoops as it claims. WDWThemeParks.com, another Disney fan site, has been fact-checking instances Corless cited of his site breaking stories, and found several had first been shared on message boards and Facebook, such as news about the Star Wars hotel and the Disney Skyliner system. 

In his responses to Disney’s denials, Corless has both claimed he won’t back down from these kind of stories — telling Orlando Rising that Disney “is trying to get their ducks in a row out of fear that I’ll announce more ahead” of the D23 Expo — and described his own articles as “speculative.” 

“Which, as a fan site, I think is a pretty normal thing,” Corless said on his June 27 podcast. “I don’t know how many other fandoms people are in, but the other ones I read anything on the internet, there is a fair amount of speculation of things. I think that’s what people enjoy about any fandom.”

 

https://orlando-rising.com/disney-world-fan-blog-says-its-at-war-with-the-company-it-covers/?fbclid=IwAR3gfTCC3dcZcODyr6Frtw3EoR-omYGSXZOg1LvuTxHIAgWaQiUeGw5KFpU

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7 minutes ago, Travisma said:

It's all about the click revenue to these sites.

Yeah my one thought in all this is that rumors drive clicks, whether they pan out or not.  And I'd imagine "war" with Disney does also...

Although does that mean they'll be off the "preferred bloggers" invite list for the next event?

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42 minutes ago, BradyBzLyn...Mo said:

Yeah my one thought in all this is that rumors drive clicks, whether they pan out or not.  And I'd imagine "war" with Disney does also...

Although does that mean they'll be off the "preferred bloggers" invite list for the next event?

From what I have read elsewhere (its the internet so it must be true right?) They have already had the press credentials revoked before this. 

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