The Country Bear Musical Jamboree opens later this month at Magic Kingdom, and we have a first look inside and outside the refurbished Grizzly Hall.

Grizzly Hall Exterior

The façade of Grizzly Hall is mostly the same, but new signage has been installed. A large Country Bear Musical Jamboree sign has been unveiled. It’s similar in style to the old Country Bear Jamboree sign.

It’s light brown with golden leafy designs. In addition to the new show’s name, it features the tagline, “A Wild & Wooly Good Time.”

A wooden relief sculpture of three bears is at the top of the sign. This is almost exactly the same as the old relief but with slightly updated details to reflect the bears’ new costumes.

As guests enter Grizzly Hall, they pass a framed poster for Country Bear Musical Jamboree. It features red versions of the artwork on the first poster released. The names of the bears are listed in red and it states there are “continuous shows.”

Another poster features quotes from critics about the show.

Don’t hibernate on this one! Go!

A show the whole pack will love!

It’ll have you growlin’ in the aisles!

A sign next to the door also advertises continuous shows today. There are slots to put in times for when the day’s showings start and end.

Grizzly Hall Lobby

In the lobby, much of the old Country Bear artwork remains.

These pieces are in oval-shaped frames. They depict the bears playing their various instruments.

New to the lobby are display cases with props from the bears’ careers.

This first case is dedicated to rehearsing and recording.

Plaques in each case describe the objects and backstory.

Creating the New Show

The Country Bears have long been known to record their shows, immortalizing the performances on albums that have gone walnut many times over. Henry is not only the show’s Master of Ceremonies, but he’s also been instrumental in defining the look and sound of the current show. Here is a collection of items from the Bears’ recording studio, including a rare look at the lyric writing and song set list development for the new show.

A record resembling a tree trunk is “The Five Bear Rugs, Live in Concert” Walnut record. It’s provided by Grizzly Gulch Records.

This napkin from Hungry Bear Restaurant (a real Disneyland restaurant in Critter Country, where Country Bear Jamboree was once located) features written notes by Henry Bear.

Here is Ernest’s rehearsal fiddle. It’s burnt up, with the plaque noting “fireproofing proved necessary.”

This wooden metronome was used in the rehearsal studio. It features golden bees.

The plaque notes the metronome was provided by Gomer.

This studio recording light reads “Laying Tracks.”

There is sheet music on a wooden slab for “Come Again.”

Under a trio of bear portraits is a display case featuring some familiar props.

The old instruments of the Five Bear Rugs, including Ted’s washboard, are on display.

Oscar’s original teddy bear and Henry’s top hat are on boxes.

A newspaper called “The Daily Bee” features an article about the opening of Grizzly Hall in October 1898. The story references founder Ursus H. Bear. Henry is Ursus’ grandson.

This display case mounted on a wall prominently displays a red vest and guitar.

World Tour

As the Country Bear Jamboree exploded in popularity, fans flocked to Grizzly Hall from across the globe. But any time there was a “paws” in the mainstage show, the Bear Band would pack up and make tracks across the wilderness, performing at venues across the hiber nation. Here is a collection drawn from the Bears’ time on tour, including amateur photos taken on the road by Wendell himself.

The guitar is a “Les Paw,” a pun of Les Paul guitars. It belongs to Romeo McGrowl.

The guitar is customized with hearts and Romeo’s name.

This large golden belt buckle also belongs to Romeo. “R” is in the center.

The red vest was worn by Big Al on his most recent farewell tour. It’s covered in patches that seem to be for big, mostly international, cities. But upon closer inspection, the patches are all for cities in the United States that happen to share their names with international cities.

Amsterdam, New York.

Manila, Utah.

Hollywood, Florida.

Zurich, Kansas.

Rome, Tennessee.

London, Ohio.

Paris, Texas.

Versailles, Kentucky.

Cairo, Illinois.

Athens, Georgia.

Berlin, New Hampshire.

The center patch originally read “Big Al’s 10th Farewell Tour” but an “11” has been added over the “10.”

These sunglasses were worn by Trixie for a photoshoot. They have pink lenses in gold frames decorated with flowers and bees. They were provided by Bears Magazine.

Shaker’s guitar strap featuring his nickname is also displayed.

Wendell’s vintage camera is below some of his tour photos.

The photos have a slight sepia tone. They depict the Country Bears in various locations. One features the bears celebrating Big Al’s birthday.

Above the photos are two Country Bear posters, one featuring Teddi Barra and another featuring the Five Bear Rugs.

There are also tickets for Trixie and some of the other bears at Royal Ursa Hall. A program is for “Grizzlyville’s Biggest Night of Music.”

The last display is this large cabinet in the corner.

It features three glass windows.

In the top case is a poster for “Beary Poppins” starring Trixie and Ernest the Dude. Nearby is Trixie’s book based on her scrapbooks and journals called “I Bearly Remember.” The subtitle is “Trixie: Famous From Tacoma to Tampa.”

There are some awards the bears have received. A golden statue is sculpted to look like Teddi Barra in her floral swing.

A slab of concrete features Big Al’s footprints, as immortalized at the Grizzly Theater.

This case holds the original 16mm film reel for the “Singing Wild” documentary by Ken Bearns (a riff on noted documentarian Ken Burns).

A Legacy of Success

Over a century after Ursus H. Bear founded Grizzly Hall, the Country Bears continue to thrive. In addition to renewed success, the Bear Band has enjoyed critical acclaim, a growing fandom, and a variety of new opportunities both on-stage and off.

There are four national publications featuring some of the bears: National Growl, Hiber-Nation, Bears Magazine, and Country Bear Living.

There is also a pile of fan mail from “dens and caves across the country.”

There are three letters prominently displayed. One is to Teddi from Bearielle.

Grizzly Hall Theater

The theater looks much the same, but the reliefs above the curtains have been refreshed with new paint.

Before the show begins, a spotlight shines on a backdrop reading “Grizzly Hall Est. 1898.”

Melvin, Buff, and Max are still mounted on the wall above the exit doors.

Stay tuned for our thoughts on the new Country Bear Musical Jamboree.

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