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December 1965, Walt Disney was pressing forward with Mineral King, a ski resort in the Sierra Nevada mountains
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As part of the evening entertainment, an animatronic show was being developed
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The project was assigned to Marc Davis
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One day Davis was working on drawings of the characters in his office. Walt Disney walked in and saw the drawings and laughed because he loved the characters. On Disney's way out he turned to Marc Davis and said good-bye, which he was known never to say. That was the last time Davis saw Disney, who died a few days later.
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With ski resort progress slow, the show was refined and designed to be a unique attraction at the then still being planned Walt Disney World Resort
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Frontierland would receive a much needed marquee attraction
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A 15 minute dance hall style show was designed
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Imagineer X Atencio (Yo-Ho & Grim Grinning Ghosts) and musical director George Bruns created songs for the bears to sing
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24 animatronic figures were built, plus another three for outside the theater
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The show opened on October 1, 1971 and was a huge draw in an otherwise sparsely populated corner of the park
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Shares a building with the Enchanted Tiki Room
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Theater exits into the “Mile Long Bar’ instead of a gift shop, where three stars from the show would hold their own mini show
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Pepsi and Frito Lay were the original sponsors from 1971 - 1981 (Pepsi was available at Pecos Bill’s until 1990)
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It closed in August 2012 for a refurb; when it reopened in October 2012, it was shortened by 4 1/2 minutes.
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In the MLB, Max, Melvin, and Buff animatronics were hanging and would talk and sing to the guests as they left the theater
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From May 1986 through February 1992, the show was replaced by the Country Bear Vacation Hoedown
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November 1984, the Country Bear Christmas Special was introduced for the holiday season and ran every year through 2005
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There was a CBJ in Disneyland From 1972-2001 (replaced by The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh)
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It was the first WDW attraction to be replicated at Disneyland
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Because of the popularity of the show in Florida, two theaters were built at Disneyland
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From 1986-2001, it was the CBVH
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Tokyo Disneyland’s opened with the park and still operates. It’s the same as WDW’s version, except the animatronics are more modern and look more real, and like at Disneyland, was built with two theaters
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