DL officially announces CBJ closure

[hopemax]

"The "Country Bear Playhouse" attraction in DISNEYLAND® park that features more than 20 "Audio-Animatronics®" bears wielding banjos and fiddles and singing fractured tunes about their "beary" amusing adventures, will lower the curtain on its 29-year run on Sunday, September 9, 2001. The longtime attraction will be making way for an undisclosed future attraction that is still in development."

An entire copy of the PR can be found on

LaughingPlace.com

 

[Planogirl]

I don't understand Disney's timing here. Aren't they working on a movie which features these very same Bears? So they'll close the attraction before the movie comes out? This all seems real odd to me unless I'm way offbase.

Maybe there's a sinkhole under the building.

 

[SpaceMountain_uk]

Apparently the CBJ is being moved to Disneyland Paris Resort. It will be placed in Frontierland where in the Lucky Nugget Saloon show is currently.

 

[lrodk]

Perhaps CBJ is being replaced by a newer version of the show, although I have my doubts. I've also heard that this may be the future home of Winnie the Pooh. In any event, it kind of makes me wonder if WDW's CBJ's days are numbered as well.

 

[Sarangel]

Winnie the Pooh isn't a bad guess, since they've already got a long set of lines to meet & greet Pooh and friends down there.

I agree that closing it just before releasing the movie doesn't seem quite right, but who asked me? I know if it was me, I'd re-vamp the attraction to bring it in line with the movie, hoping that people will like the movie enough to flock to the attraction. Maybe the movie's no good & this is their way of telling us not to bother seeing it?

Sarangel

 

[GrimGrinningGhost]

Country Bears at WDW always seems to be full when I'm there except for the typical down times in the year. I can't see them closing it there. Isnt Bears in DL in a bad place with hardly any traffic? That was always my understandikng inkbounc

 

[Another Voice]

‘Country Bears’ is being closed to clear out room for an expanded Winnie the Pooh store and a Pooh attraction. At this point the attraction will probably be similar to the dark ride at WDW, but the final budget and approval are waiting for a decision about the park’s revised plan for dealing with California Adventure. In other words, there’s only so much money to go around and Pooh has to wait in line.

As for the movie, all accounts say the Studio is very happy with the way the film is going and they have already hired a writer to come up with the script for a sequel. Why close the ride just before the movie? Because Paul Pressler’s salary is based more on how much Pooh plush he can sell than how on many tickets another division sells at the theater. It really is that simple.

 

[DVC-Landbaron]

Why close the ride just before the movie? Because Paul Pressler's salary is based more on how much Pooh plush he can sell than how on many tickets another division sells at the theater. It really is that simple.

It really is that sad!!

 

[Planogirl]

I think that this closing sends an odd message to park goers about the Bear characters. I would think that people will end up being doubtful about the movie if Disney appears not to care enough about the attraction to keep it going. It seems like different parts of Disney would work together to ensure OVERALL success but only the top brass can really see to that and we can all see how successful the top guys are at doing most things nowadays.

 

[Another Voice]

There's a short article about the closure and the 'Pooh' attraction in today's Orange County Register at http://www.ocregister.com/business/jamboree00825cci3.shtml. As usual, the Disney spokesdriod refused to comment.

 

[olena]

*sniff sniff* They'd better not replace it with some lame store.

 

[Safari Steve]

I don't think that the closure of CBJ in CA will have any effect on the show here in FL. If you follow that kind of logic, Mr Toad in CA should be long gone. How much room for expansion is there in the Grizzly Peak area of DCA? Could a newer version of the show be built there if the movie does well enough to warrant it?

 

[d-r]

Originally posted by Safari Steve
I don't think that the closure of CBJ in CA will have any effect on the show here in FL. If you follow that kind of logic, Mr Toad in CA should be long gone. How much room for expansion is there in the Grizzly Peak area of DCA? Could a newer version of the show be built there if the movie does well enough to warrant it?

I had been thinking that they should put Pooh in Grizzly Peak area, they seem to have a hard time finding things for young kids to do in DCA.

DR

 

[Janet2k]

My husband will be heartbroken. I guess that's just another reason to not go to Disneyland and to keep going to WDW (even though we live on the West Coast). Argggggg!

Safari Steve, I like your idea of the possibility of them moving it to the Grizzly Peak area of Disneyland. I hope that one comes true.

 

[DisneyFanGuy]

There were many rumors floating around earlier this year about moving the entire show to the Grizzly Rapids area in DCA. That fizzled out and then the rumors were that they were going to redress the characters and place them around the mountain, since the ride itself has no characters at all. That rumor went poof also. The latest rumor suggests that the bears themselves may be shipped to DLP for another attraction out there. (NOT a CBJ, but something else)

The show wasn't very popular out there anymore, however, the timing seems strange with the new movie just around the corner. What also seems strange is that a still viable attraction is being removed for another, while Tomorrowland sits at DL with one closed attraction (Rocket Rods), and one that has been deemed a failure (Innoventions), and one that has long needed a rehab (StarTours).

 

[Another Voice]

The decision to remove ‘Country Bears’ was a local decision at Disneyland and will not have any impact on WDW. Without WDI, the parks are basically running themselves these days and without any coordination between themselves or other parts of The Company. The most reliable rumors indicate that many of the show props will be sold on eBay and the figures will be used a replacement parts for the few remaining audio-animatronic shows.

The idea to move the Bears to California Adventure was a last ditch effort by WDI to save the show, but it was quickly killed by the higher-ups. There is a strong dislike for AA shows among the current management. The movie places the bears in Tennessee and Kentucky so it would be hard to theme the show into California (but then again, themeing’s not one of DCA’s strong points). If the movie is a huge hit and the television show goes forward, there may be a chance that a Country Bear show may be part of the Hollywood Pictures Backlot area in about five years.

One interesting rumor says that a certain high-end restaurant in California Adventure is going to be vacant VERY soon. Perhaps one of the other plans for a Country Bear dinner theater would nicely fill that void…

 

[Testtrack321]

Disney is supposed to close another ride in September ( I wouldn't be surprised if it will be the 9th too). I'll give you a hint: JIYI.

 

[Planogirl]

Actually closing JIYI would be good news IMO because hopefully this means that the ride will be refurbished and Figment will again become a player. Their timing is odd again though.

 

[Another Voice]

You know how's there's a rumor about putting all the old Disney Store figures in 'SuperStar Limo' to fix that ride? Well, for 'Jounery Into YOUR Imagination', let's just say the rumors claim that the "fix" involves a whole bunch of Figment figures and little else....

 

[gary]

We went to DL this past weekend. I told the kids that CBJ was closing, and this would be our last chance to visit it. They said no.

Maybe that's why it's closing.

Gary