The Country Bear Vacation Hoedown was an attraction created due to the overwhelming popularity of Country Bear Jamboree and its Christmas overlay.
The show debuted at Disneyland in February 1986, replacing the original show. That May, Walt Disney World followed suit. It remained there until February 1992, when the original show returned. At Disneyland, however, it remained until their Country Bear Playhouse closed on September 9, 2001.
On July 15, 1994, the show opened at Tokyo Disneyland as the Vacation Jamboree. Out of the three shows, it features the most differences between the US and Japanese versions. Several of the songs are different, and there is also more dialogue from Henry. Some of the songs are sung in Japanese, while others are sung in English. And unlike the shows at Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland continues to run the show, rotating between the original show and the overlays throughout the year.
Because the show was a Vacation Hoedown, the characters in the show donned vacation-themed outfits for their acts.
Note: This page describes ONLY the special vacation costumes of the characters. For information on how the characters appear in their normal show and the many voice actors that bring them to life, please consult theCountry Bear Jamboreepage.
Henry - He wears his old "Camp Grizzly" t-shirt (which barely fits him) and a scout master's hat.
Liver Lips - He becomes an Elvis impersonator in this show appearing as a mountain-climber wearing an Elvis-style shirt with blue lederhosen and a fraying climber's rope. He plays a Fender Stratocaster guitar with a strap and a portable amplifier. The Tokyo Disneyland version even gives him an Elvis-style wig.
Wendell - He wears a vacation shirt and hat and carries a camera, which he takes a couple of flash pictures with, the first of which prompts a cast member to remind him that the "no flash photography" rule applies to everyone, including him. During his act, he uses the slide projector to present to the audience the pictures he took while on a road trip with family and friends.
Teddi Barra - She wears a yellow raincoat and galoshes and holds an umbrella.
Ernest - He wears his old derby from the original show and a striped shirt. He even uses a fly swatter as a bow for his fiddle. While he doesn't appear in the finale, he can be heard at the end of the show saying he's going to take a nap and is heard snoring while guests exit. In the Japanese version, his outfit consists of a cowboy hat, a tie, and a pink sweater. Instead of a fly swatter, his bow is a roasting fork, complete with cooking sausage on the end.
Shaker- In this show, he wears a blue scuba mask and snorkel and blue trunks. Seaweed is draped over his shoulders. He's also accompanied by his octopus "girlfriend," Delores.
Trixie - She holds a napkin in one hand and a half-eaten sandwich in the other. She wears a pink skirt with butterflies on it and a hat.
Big Al - In this show, he wears a plaid flannel shirt with a miner's hat and camping gear.
Zeb - He wears a fishing hat, brown boots, and a white t-shirt with a pair of binoculars hanging from his neck.
Ted - He's completely naked in this show, wearing only a raccoon hat and camping gear.
Fred - He wears a green bandanna, a raccoon hat, blue jeans with suspenders, and camping gear.
Tennessee - He wears a fishing hat and a Hawaiian vest
Baby Oscar - He wears a Boy Scout uniform and still has his teddy bear to keep him company.
Rufus - Rufus is never seen, but only heard in the projection booth as he runs here and there to fix light bulbs, change projections, alter backdrops, etc. He can be heard from time to time running backstage, constantly out of breath.
Melvin- He has lots of assorted hats in this show, most of which are hanging on his antlers as if they were hat racks.
Randy - Randy, a skunk who loves to sing and tap dance, appears in this version of the show in place of Sammy the Raccoon. He keeps breaking into the backstage. At various times throughout the show, the bears can be heard offstage running here and there, trying to get away from him. In the finale, he manages to get on to the top of Henry's hat and finally reveals that he only wanted to break into show business with the bears.
Dolores - An octopus that seems to have an infatuation with Shaker. In the American versions of the show, she is a static, realistic-looking octopus who reacts to Shaker's song by swooning while using her tentacles to hold onto him. In Tokyo Disneyland, she's given a more cartoon-like appearance and is an audio-animatronic figure. The Japanese version also has her sing with Shaker in a duet.
The show features the Country Bears celebrating the many joys of summer and the great outdoors. Its opening is different from the other shows because Melvin, Buff, and Max do not talk at the beginning and Gomer doesn't appear onstage with Henry to open the show. Instead, the Five Bear Rugs can be heard tuning up their instruments, then Zeke calls for Rufus to turn on the lights, and then the show begins.
As in the original show, the opening still includes an introduction from Henry, who welcomes guests to the show as the Five Bear Rugs perform "The Great Outdoors".
In the second half of the show, a skunk disrupts the proceedings by running around backstage, frightening the bears as they can be heard running around trying to get away from it. This skunk, named Randy, eventually ends up sitting on Henry's head in the finale in place of Sammy the Raccoon.
In "Vacation Jamboree" at Tokyo Disneyland, Henry not only introduces the acts but also interacts with the performers.
"California Bears" - The Sun Bonnets, Gomer, Max, Buff, and Melvin
"Two Different Worlds" - Shaker (with Dolores the octopus)
"Rocky Top" - The Five Bear Rugs
"Nature" - Ernest
"Singin' In the Rain" - Teddi Barra and Henry
"Ghost Riders In the Sky" - The Five Bear Rugs
"On My Way To Your Heart" - Big Al
"Thank God I'm a Country Bear" - Cast
Tokyo Disneyland Version:
"The Great Outdoors" - The Five Bear Rugs and Henry (sung in Japanese)
"On the Road Again" - Wendell (sung in Japanese)
"Achy Breaky Heart" - Trixie (Verses 1 and 3 in Japanese, verse 2 in English)
"Over My Head Over You" - Shaker (with Dolores the octopus) (sung in Japanese) Note: This song was originally going to be used in the US version, before "Two Different Worlds" was decided upon.
"California Bears" - The Sun Bonnets, Gomer, Max, Buff, and Melvin (sung in English, but abbreviated from the U.S. version)
"We Can Make It To the Top" - Liver Lips and The Sun Bonnets (sung in English)
"Singin' In the Rain" - Teddi Barra and Henry (sung in English)
"Mountain Music" - Ernest, Henry, and The Five Bear Rugs (sung in Japanese)
"I've Been Working on the Railroad" - Big Al (sung in Japanese)
"Camptown Races/She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain/Vacation" - Cast (sung in Japanese)
Trivia[]
At one point in the American versions of the show, at the start of the Sun Bonnet trio's act, a backdrop of a frozen lake with a snow-covered moose can be seen, with Henry calling on Rufus to change it to the appropriate postcard backdrop and telling Gomer to play some music to stall for time. This backdrop was also used in the Country Bear Christmas Special for Wendell's act.
