Extinct (?) Walt Disney World: The Country Bear Christmas Special (1984-2005)

[@MANEATINGWREATH]

I cry remembering this ride.

[@splittieful]

Is a attraction not a ride

[@branyonheffley2252]

Bring back that Christmas special!

[@MANEATINGWREATH]

As I watch this video for the hundredth time (I have no life during the summer lol) it really makes me a bit teary-eyed when Trixie and Henry sing the "Christmas Song" in harmony. Too much nostalgic value from my childhood. Yesterday my best friend and I went on our separate ways for college and this show is just one big reminder that my childhood is finally over. At least I'll always be a kid at heart. :)

[@WolfAristora]

Thanks for posting this. I have never been able to see the Bears myself. And it's always nice to see old vacation footage like this. Brings back the memories. Now that I have a daughter of my own maybe we'll be able to hit up Country Bears in WDW.

[@hotone23]

THE BEARS ROCK...Back for my Holiday fix!! Glad to see them here JES

[@JESmith]

MVMCP stands for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. It's a seperate ticketed event where you can stay in the park till about 1 AM, they have the "snow" on Main Street all night, they run the Christmas parade and the Hoilday verison of Wishes with the 360 degree firework finale twice, etc.

[@scottof83]

Hooray for CBCS. I used to watch this every year at Disneyland, until 2001. But now, I can gather around my computer and see this every year. Thanks for posting this. Also, I think the WDW version looks more decorative than the Disneyland one.

[@setpaintertim]

I really loved that show, I was young when they took it away from Disneyland in California. I now have two young boys age 6 & 4, we have passes and go to Disneyland almost every weekend, I love you tube and my son and I love to watch the old Disneyland footage and this was beautful, and brought back a lot of memories, thank you so much, Great job.

[@411314]

This video was very well done!

[@Laundrydude]

My family made it a tradition to go and see this every year. This year we went to WDW and they did not have it. What a let down that was.

[@soldiergone2war]

i miss those days

[@dogsarefab]

aww that sounds awsome i went to a special haloween event last time i was there.

[@hotone23]

Came over for my annual Bear Christmas fix!!!

[@JESmith]

Yes. The Disney World verison is still open,though with a few problems.(You might notice a couple in the video, such as Trixie's eye)

[@JESmith]

The Wendell footage was shot in Adventureland during MVMCP. The bears were out most of the night, but briefly went into Adventureland when the parade went through Frontierland. They hung around in front of the Aladdin carpets, but Wendell and the CM broke off from the rest of the group and started playing around. They wrapped Wendell's scarf around one of those poles and swung around it by the ends. They had just stopped doing it by the time I got my camera out and started recording them.

[@Laundrydude]

It had to be somewhat popular beacuse on of the songs made it to The yearly Music of the Parks album. Thanks agian I will look for it .

[@DisLuv13]

I really miss the Christmas show :(

[@2010MzHood]

I miss this so much at Christmas time!

[@freddyrichards878]

my humble Christmas classic

[@CosplayCore]

I just LOVE the power behind Trixie's voice when she sings "I Got Those Hibernatin' Blues".

[@Ainurah]

I realize now how lucky I was to have seen this in person. I was utterly devastated when I found out the bears were no longer playing in California. DX Still, thanks so much for posting this!

[@JESmith]

Well, with the bears that didn't matter because they used to switch the show right after Thanksgiving while the park was uncrowded. Plus it only took them less than a week to change this show.

[@disneydanny2]

just learned something interesting today. when this show was programmed ,initally WDW was sent a copy of the Anaheim programming (which in the case of the character looking at Max,Buff & Melvin, wouldn't work , so, Florida had to program there's from scratch

[@SlushysSecret]

Both Disneylands and Disney Worlds animatronics were slightly different, considering Disneylands animatronics weren’t as advanced as the ones at WDW they definitely needed to program the show from scratch

[@JESmith]

@rubyredmedia I know. What's even sadder is that I shot this five years ago and it's *still* like that.

[@wdwmike]

make sure next time your there you tell this to guest relations they'll document it and the only way disney will do anything is based off of large number of guests saying they were disappointed in not having it

[@MANEATINGWREATH]

Happy Holidays everyone.

[@disneydanny2]

2012 may finally be the year Wendell gets his Squirrell gun back! while i'm not holding out much hope it sure would be nice!

[@JESmith]

@disneydanny2 Well originally yes, but I just some new videos shot in October and her eye is *finally* fixed!

[@disneydanny2]

17:56 Melvin: "Well i think we did JUST fine" Max: "You would" Buff: "If you two don't steraighten up i'm gonna pull the plug on BOTH of you,now say goodbye" Max & Melovin: "Sol long everybody" Buff: "appy Holidays!"

[@JESmith]

Not to mention the "set pieces were destroyed" story was only mentioned in one post without futher confirmation.

[@wdwmike]

they lost it during the 2006 season due to the attraction needing certain copy writes being obtained for some of the songs used for the show and them failling to obtain them, its not due to attendance since normally show attendance during even busy holidays is maybe 50-60% on a good day, during the christmas show they would fill every show with a 2-3 show wait to get in

[@JESmith]

@DjekStudiosMovies Yeah "Blood On The Saddle" was defiantly the funniest of his three songs, though "Another New Year" is good too. His song in Vacation Hoedown is kinda dull though (I do like the lines "Lost the love of my life and my Swiss Army Knife" though)

[@JESmith]

Yep I do. In fact,if you check my playlist, I have someone's "Vacation" Hoedown video listed. While it was short lived at Disney World, at Disneyland it was there to stay until it closed.

[@tejojo]

WDW still has CBJ, but they don't show the Christmas show anymore due to copyright infringement.

[@Emilybears]

I didn't notice either

[@disneydanny2]

@JESmith wth, they oiverlooked that during the refurb??

[@JESmith]

I'm not quite sure. Somewhere in the '02- '04 range.

[@disneydanny2]

I just heard that the Country Bear Christmas Special is shown on the December 2011 page of the WDW 2012 wall calendar. Now photos on that calendar are of Current things. you don't REALLY think WDW would stoop SO low as to tease us like that,would they?

[@dogsarefab]

whats MVMCP? aww awsome i never saw anything like that. Awsome :-) what was the parade like?

[@DakotaMontgomery]

Is it just me, or does it seem coincidental that, at 01:09, Ursus H. Bear lived from 1848 to 1928. He died the year Mickey Mouse made his debut in "Steamboat Willie" Interesting...

[@dylan02242001]

i like big al to

[@FreedomforHaiti]

I thought that this Xmas show was gone, but I'm told it still exists at Tokyo Disneyland.

[@dogsarefab]

I loved this show, I miss it. it wsa sooo funny too. we went round twice!! that's some great footage you've got at the end, where in the park was that? was it an event or just characters coming out to see the people?

[@tcauto2011]

did they kill the Christmas show at WDW or do they still do it I haven't been there since 04 around Christmas time

[@Laundrydude]

Anyone remember the Summer Hoedown they did there?Short lived but cool in its own right!

[@disneydanny2]

@AntiMusick well ok it didn't have a Halloween SPECIFIC themed show,BUT as you may or may not recall the Original show in Flotida went on Hiatus for 6 years while the Vacation Hoedown played and one of the songs in it was Ghost Riders In The Sky

[@AntiMusick]

makes me wonder if they ever had a Halloween show?

[@PanteraChick]

they took this out to make room for winnie the pooh

[@Trulula2]

tHEY DIDNT WANT TO HAVE TO PAY RIGHTS TO RUDOLPH AND OTHER SONGS. ITS RUMORED THAT IT MAY BE BACK THIS YEAR

[@2010MzHood]

Why did they stop doing the contry bear christmas special?!?!?!?!?!?

[@southparkboyproductions6040]

Copyright issues from the songs

[@lucasb4601]

What did Big Albert say after lonely and what did he say after you stole my heart and my truck? Cause I don’t understand what he said.

[@MANEATINGWREATH]

I hear talk that the show is returning to California Adventure with all the upcoming changes to the park, let's just wish it is true.

[@nathaliarodriguez1956]

3:49

[@JSams-up2rf]

Great stuff..WDW MK is becoming very sterile through the Christmas season. Lights and a Parade for 12 mins don't cut it after you sat through this show.

[@lilfuzzywolf7438]

Does anyone notice that all the good shows got taken away and replaced with something more boring (for example country bears)

[@cecanimatronicguy7403]

Actually the original show yes

[@SlushysSecret]

This aged horrifyingly well

[@AntiMusick]

@disneydanny2 no wonder its gone now.

[@ricardo_herbig]

Com um celular nas mãos se pode fazer imagens que antes não eram possiveis. E agora o mundo todo pode ver em questão de seguntos. E isso pode ser bom e pode ser ruim! O que se deve fazer ou não?

[@rustedsunday7489]

He men,t to say land

[@806torakuro]

ええええええええええ

[@campaug]

well this was very nice, but i can see why they got rid of it. its pretty boring.

[@806torakuro]

んきりくるしるしりしるしりしるしるきるききをきんきききるきるきるいをいるいるいを

[@disneydanny2]

@AntiMusick nope.