Country Bear Playhouse
Disneyland Park · Critter Country
Overview
Country Bear Playhouse staged a rustic musical revue performed entirely by a troupe of Audio-Animatronic bears, playing banjos and fiddles and singing comedic country and folk numbers in a frontier-style theater. The show used the same animatronic format Disney had already proven with the Enchanted Tiki Room, applied here to a Wild West musical variety format rather than a tropical setting.
ParksLog verdict
A genuine piece of classic Disneyland entertainment that closed as guest tastes moved away from its old-fashioned variety-show format. Still fondly remembered by guests who grew up with it, and the Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland versions remain the closest way to experience something similar today.
About this experience
Audio-Animatronic stage show starring a troupe of banjo- and fiddle-playing bears performing country and folk tunes in a rustic frontier theater.
Best for
- Guests who saw the show during its 1972–2001 run
- Disney park historians tracking Critter Country's history
- Fans of the surviving Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland versions of the show
Tips
- Its theater building now houses The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
- The Magic Kingdom (Florida) and Tokyo Disneyland versions of the show have continued operating long after Disneyland's closed.
- It shared its basic Audio-Animatronic stage-show format with Disneyland's Enchanted Tiki Room, applied to a country-music theme instead.
Details
History
The attraction opened as Country Bear Jamboree on March 24, 1972, part of the original Bear Country land (later renamed Critter Country). It was renamed Country Bear Playhouse on July 4, 1986, and closed permanently on September 9, 2001, due to declining attendance. Its theater building was rethemed and reopened in 2003 as The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
Fun facts
- It opened in 1972 as Country Bear Jamboree, one of several Country Bear installations Disney built across its parks.
- It was renamed Country Bear Playhouse in 1986, a name it kept until closing in 2001.
- Its former theater was rethemed into The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, which opened on the same site in 2003.