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/* History */
{{Quotation|“After the Mineral King contract had been signed, Walt had an idea for entertainment after people had been skiing. Walt said, ‘What we are going to do is have a bear band and have them perform two or three programs of entertainment <ref name="Korkis">https://www.mouseplanet.com/9399/The_Lost_Biographies_of_the_Country_Bears </ref>.}}
To create this new show , Walt tasked Imagineer Marc Davis with creating a show revue based on Audio Animatronic bears. Davis and fellow Imagineer Al Bertino came up with many ideas including marching band bears, mariachi bears, tuba bears, and Dixieland bears <ref name= "Spence1"> http://land.allears.net/blogs/jackspence/2010/10/country_bear_jamboree_part_one_1.html </ref> <Ref> http://passport2dreams.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-music-of-country-bear-jamboree-part.html </ref>. According to Imagineering legend, Walt Disney was said to have like Marc Davis' drawings of the bears so much that they actually made him laugh, thus the attraction would eventually be known as Walt’s last laugh after his passing <ref> Walt Disney Imagineering: A behind the Dreams Look at Making the Magic Real. New York: Disney Editions, 1996. Print. </ref>. The Country Bears would be one of the last attractions that Walt had a direct involvement with.
After Walt Disney’s death on December 15, 1966, plans for the bear show carried on. During its development, Disney decided that the bears would perform in the Bear Band Restaurant Show <ref name="Spence1"/>. Furthermore, Disney decided that the bears would sing with a “country twang”, and Imagineer X Atencio and musical director George Bruns were brought in to write songs for the attraction <ref> http://passport2dreams.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-music-of-country-bear-jamboree-part.html </ref>. Although the development of the show continued to go well, Disney’s Mineral Kingdom Resort seemed to be in jeopardy. When it became clear that the resort would not be built in the foreseeable future, Disney decided to move the attraction to the soon to be opened Walt Disney World <ref name= "Spence1"/>. The attraction show opened as the Country Bear Jamboree with the rest of Walt Disney World on October 1, 1971 <ref> http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2012/10/walt-disney-imagineers-talk-the-country-bear-jamboree-reimagining-at-magic-kingdom-park/ </ref>.
When the Country Bear Jamboree opened in the Magic Kingdom, it proved to be so popular that a copy of the attraction was built for Disneyland <Ref name= "Spence1"/>. Disney World’s Country Bear Jamboree remained unchanged until 1984 when the attraction was given a new show during the holiday season called the “Country Bear Christmas Special”. The show would return annually around Christmastime until 2005 <ref> http://waltdatedworld.bravepages.com/id250.htm </ref>. In 1986, due to the Country Bear’s popularity, Disney decided to create a new show for the attraction, The Country Bear Vacation Hoedown. The Country Bear Vacation Hoedown featured the bears in their vacation outfits, singing new songs such as “Ghost Riders in the Sky” and “On the Road Again” <ref> http://waltdatedworld.bravepages.com/id60.htm </ref>. Due to attendance struggles however , the new show only lasted for six years <ref name= "Spence1". In 1992 as part of the Magic Kingdom's 20th anniversary celebrations, the Country Bear Jamboree was reverted back to its original form <Ref> http://www.wdwradio.com/2007/09/country-bear-jamboree/ </ref>.
On August 21, 2012, the Country Bear Jamboree was closed for a two moth refurbishment. When the attraction reopened on October 17, the show was noticeably shorter and the bears had all received new “fur” and costumes. The songs "Pretty Little Devilish Mary" and "Fractured Folk Song" were removed during the refurbishment, and much of the attractions dialogue was cut <ref> http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/20/arts/country-bear-jamboree-at-walt-disney-world.html?_r=0 </ref>. In total the current version of the Country Bear Jamboree is about 1/3 shorter than the original <ref> http://land.allears.net/blogs/debwills/2012/10/the_country_bear_jamboree_is_b.html</ref>.
