Here are four scans of photo prints, courtesy of the Dream Team - Irene, Bruce, and James. These were all taken over in Critter Country, near the Country Bear Playhouse. They should have had performances of "Hair" there. Get it? Hair? Bears? Ah, forget it! My humor is way too sophisticated for you folks!
The entrance to the Country Bear Playhouse resembles a barn, or maybe a covered bridge. I'm a little surprised that the theater could not accommodate strollers, but that might have been a safety issue more than anything else.
How do we get to the Playhouse? Well, don't head to the Hungry Bear Restaurant, that would be silly. Instead, this fun sign points us in the right direction. Notice the bluebird atop the headstock.
Here's another slightly clearer loo at the sign. I hope that somebody has this in their collection and that it didn't go to a landfill. Or worse, the CHOMPER. That bear is using the one-finger point, but you can't expect much in the way of manners from a bear.
We've seen plenty of photos of the wooden Indian in front of the old Tobacco Store on Main Street, but I don't remember this fellow. I'm sure some of YOU do, though! Any idea where he was located?
MANY THANKS to the Dream Team!
Photos from the Dream Team are a special treat because James and Bruce always captured the small, less-photographed details of things that we usually don't see. Unusual things that rarely get noticed.
ReplyDelete"My humor is way too sophisticated for you folks!"
Yup, we'uns jus' don't git you cityfolks! Cain't unnerstan' a word ya'll say, halfa the time.
Thanks, Major. And thanks to Irene, bruce, and James.
- Judgmental Burrower (that filthy rodent who decides whether we have more winter weather or an early spring.)
I think the wooden bear with the cigars was located outside of the Wilderness Outpost. That was a store that was located next door to Teddi Bara's Swingin' Arcade. Both of those spaces have been combined, along with the former Mile Long Bar's space, and are now "Pooh Corner" or something like that. Because we needed a massive Pooh store.
ReplyDeleteThank you Dream Team and Major!
By the way Major, I got your joke! Does that make me sofistahkatid?
ReplyDeletehttps://d1466nnw0ex81e.cloudfront.net/n_iv/600/780903.jpg
Bring back the bears! I know, it's unlikely - unless they substitute Wookies for the cast. I know it wasn't for everyone but it was always a childhood favourite of mine. At least we can still see the Country Bears in Florida (and I keep a copy of the show on my iPad alongside the Tiki room show for those moments when I need a comfort watch). The theatre set-up was so much better in California than in Florida, though – what with the woodland setting and the bridge entrance. Never mind the fact that the Country Bears were replaced in Anaheim with an inferior version of the Pooh attraction, rather than Tokyo's much more interesting one. Oh well, water under the bridge… Thanks for the pics, Major and Dream Team.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I never saw the DL version, I've seen the WDW version plenty of times! It's always good for a semi-relaxing cool down from the heat and incredible humidity.
ReplyDeleteThese are fun pics, Dream Team, and they show that the placement of the DL version was more appropriate for bears. In WDW they just set up shop right next to the main Frontierland street; in a strip of buildings, no less! They must have gotten some funny looks from the townspeople when they started moving in!
By the way. my wife was very surprised when I told her that Big Al's Blood on the Saddle is a real song from Tex Ritter (John Ritter's dad). Big Al sings in a bit slower, however...
Thank you, Irene and the Dream Team, for these great pictures!
ReplyDelete(We hope and pray you're doing well, Irene.)
I hope that somebody has this in their collection and that it didn't go to a landfill.
Translated: Do you have this, too, Mike?
I don't remember these carved bears, but they sure add the extra Disney touch to this endearing attraction from my childhood. Mom especially loved it. I also enjoyed Disney World's Christmas version (around 2001).
Thank you, too, Major.
- Lou & Sue & a Shady Varmint, too
Thanks again, Dream Team!
ReplyDeleteStu, while it's a bit slower and heavier than his earlier recordings of the song, Tex Ritter's 1960 version of "Blood On the Saddle" was essentially re-used as Big Al's performance.
Agree with JudgBurr about photos of the unusual details. Very appreciated, especially by someone who never got to see most of them in person. Hooray for the Dream Team!
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite things about the WDW Country Bear theater is the lobby floor that looks like it's been scratched by a hundred clawed bear feet walking on it - did they ever have that in the DL version?
A few years back I was in a show where I had to sing backup on a straight version of "Blood on the Saddle," and NOT doing it Big Al's way was sooo hard.
Wow, Chuck, I was referring to Tex's 1946 version (which I like better). I had no idea they used a 1960 version for Big Al!
ReplyDeleteJB, I don’t want to brag, but I once had a letter published in Reader’s Digest’s “Laughter: The Best Medicine”. It was the greatest moment of my life. I’m impressed that you are going through with the Valentines Day names!
ReplyDeleteTokyoMagic!, thank you, I knew that YOU would know where that wooden bear was. “A massive Pooh store”, ha ha.
TokyoMagic!, indubitably! It’s funny, by the time “The Hair Bear Bunch” made it to TV, I think I was starting to outgrow Saturday Morning Cartoons, that one never did it for me.
Pegleg Pete, I think that most people really loved the CBJ! It wasn’t for me, but I can respect that others loved it. It has always seemed strange that they expected SoCal to love the attraction so much that they built two identical theaters side by side. I wonder how long it took before they realized that one theater was ample? And it always makes me mad when there is already an existing ride (like Tokyo’s “Pooh” ride), but Anaheim gets stuck with a dumbed-down version. Cheap!
Stu29573, I think that Marc Davis was a genius, but I feel that, as a rule, I needed more out of an attraction than singing animatronics. The things he thought up for the Haunted Mansion and “Pirates” are unsurpassed! I’m sure that in Florida especially, the air-conditioning is a big draw. Get out of that humidity and enjoy the coolness. I admit that it IS hard to believe that “Blood On the Saddle” is a “real” song!
Lou and Sue, hopefully we’ll hear from Irene later today. Mike Cozart might have that wooden bear, but it probably gets lost in the giant warehouse that he has (like the one at the end of “Raiders of the Lost Ark”)! For the Christmas version, did the bears sing traditional Christmas favorites, only with a country twang?
Chuck, I assume that “Blood On the Saddle” was considered a weird novelty record?! So strange. I’m more of a “Cattle Call” person myself.
Melissa, these photos remind me of the sort that Lou Perry would take. Not sure if Lou has Country Bear selections in his archive. And I’d never heard about the scratched floor in Florida! Fun idea. I don’t recall the one in Anaheim having that feature, but it’s been too long to be sure. Ha ha, I can just imagine Tex Ritter’s voice going through your head while you were trying to sing!
Stu29573, I’ll have to listen to the 1946 version, I can’t say I’m too fond of the 1960 version!
Alas, I do not have that wood bear : I do however have one of those Country Bear Theater signs as well as a post “e” ticket version of the sign from the 1980’s . I go out of my way for vintage Bear Country stuff .... but sadly I do not think I appreciated the land as much when it existed. At one time I had a chance to purchase one of the CBJ stage curtain drops with all the advertisement vignettes ... it was beautiful , but so big .... the length of a room!! I wish I purchased it after all ... it was only a few hundred dollars .... today I suspect it would be in the thousands of dollars. I think back at all the signs, posters and props I passed on back when few people collected those things and friends would laugh at me for things ... Or “why would you want a baby triceratops!???” “Why do you have a tiki room closed today sign??” ..... “if you have a PeopleMover costume and you never wear it why do you have it??”...... “you BOUGHT painters guides for Disneyland popcorn wagons?? OMG ... think of what you could have spent that money on!?!
ReplyDeleteNon of my friends tease or laugh at my collection anymore.
Irene here posting as "unknown". My poor laptop is still dead in the water. Hubby is still trying to figure out what's wrong. I think his motto is never give up, never surrender! I'm fine - still the same. Scans show things are stable. With regard to Bruce and James taking photos of less photographed details, once upon a time they were working on writing a book together. This was in the mid 90's. It was about going to Disneyland with this book and doing like a scavenger hunt. They wrote clues and you would go look for the item be it a window, a written saying, an object or whatever. The title was "Mouse Quest the unofficial Disneyland Park walk-thru trivia challenge". But the drawback was things were always changing! Items would be removed by Disney, new things put in. Also they were not able to get it published. They made a couple of copies and I have one somewhere but can't locate it right now. So I think that is why they took so many photos of little known things or places.
ReplyDeleteBig thanks to the Dream Team for these details!
ReplyDeleteIrene, so glad to hear your good news!
While I remember the CBJ fondly, I can’t say that I miss it all that much. I listened to the soundtrack a while back and could “bearly” get through it. The Tiki Room is much more my thing. The little WTP ride was fun for the littlest ones, and there isn’t much left in the Park for little kids.
Fun to learn that Big Al’s tune was real, like most, I figured it was made up for the show.
Thanks Major and everyone.
JG
Irene, glad to hear that you're stable and 'holding in there'. That sounds like a super-fun idea for a book! I'd enjoy looking for all the little-known, odd things. But like you pointed out, things don't remain the same in Disneyland. They'd have to publish a new edition every year or so. Nowadays, it might work as a downloadable book/phone app. And it would definitely be for the local SoCal crowd with annual passes. The ones who go to the park about once a week.
ReplyDeleteI love Bruce and James’s book idea! And JB’s right; it was just ahead of its time and would have worked great with today’s technology.
ReplyDeleteThe only person I know who doesn’t like bear puns is a friend of mine whose last name is Baer. He’s heard them aaalll..
JG, interestingly, most of the songs used in the CBJ weren't written for the show. I was as surprised as you to discover that a few years ago when I stumbled on this series at Passport to Dreams (I think Ken Martinez turned me on to it in a GDB comment):
ReplyDeleteThe Music of the Country Bear Jamboree, Part One
The Music of the Country Bear Jamboree, Part Two
The Music of the Country Bear Jamboree, Part Three
I think the idea behind WDW's CBJ location in the town of Frontierland was that the bears wandered down from the mountains, picked up the instruments and started playing. Like Melissa, I love the detail in the lobby where the floor is scratched up by bear (bare) feet.
ReplyDeleteI remember that CBJ was VERY POPULAR when it first opened - it was the first of its kind. Something new. Then we later got cheap imitations with cheap pizza parties - like Chuck E. Cheese, a few years later.
ReplyDeleteMajor, yes, the Christmas version had all popular Christmas songs, sung with a drawl. The only song I remember, offhand, was Blue Christmas. (BTW, the story behind the awful backup singing for Elvis's version is interesting.)
...Or “why would you want a baby triceratops!???”
Mike, do you have one of those, too?!?
None of my friends tease or laugh at my collection anymore.
Mike, your TRUE friends (here!) have never ever laughed at you, and never will!
Where do you keep your triceratops, btw?
Irene, it's so cool that Bruce and James took all these wonderful pictures, because now WE can enjoy them, here. This is more fun than a scavenger hunt. Glad to hear you're doing "fine"!
@ JB-
ReplyDelete"The ones who go to the park about once a week". ONLY once a week-??!!
@ Irene-
Glad to hear you're doing well-!
And thanks to The Dream Team.
Melissa, my last name is Barr, so I've spent my life being hunted by Davy Crockett.
ReplyDeleteNanook, I was being charitable by saying "once a week". I didn't want to make them sound like rabid lunatics by saying "two or three times a week (or more)". ;-)