The Country Bear Jamboree

Since our honeymoon there, we used to go to Disney (by which I mean World, outside Orlando) every year. As a kid, we went most years. A lot of my most precious – and some of my most embarrassing, angry, sad  – memories are tied there. It isn’t necessarily the happiest place on earth, but for me, it is fundamental. (And if you want a dollop of politics, De Santis is a fascist piece of shit, but taking on the Mouse is a plain losing proposition. No I don’t support him or his friends, and yes, I know Disney is a corporation with all the evil that entails, but I absolutely support the Cast Members and the fact that Disney World has long had progressive support for the LGBTQIA+ community. Look at how much musical theatre they do.)

It is a constant. A place I can go in memory anytime, and I do, thanks to the skills instilled at the Strasberg Institute. Since I broke my foot we haven’t been. Four freaking years. Two planned trips that I had to cancel. (There is little worse for me than cancelling dining plans after being on hold through multiple playings of Bella Notte. And dammit, Jiminy Cricket’s When You Wish Upon a Star makes me cry every time, no matter how hard I try.) I know, one of the most privileged complaints ever. Still.

I broke the hell outta my foot on Dec. 29, 2018. And when I was finally allowed to move, I could no longer stand or walk.

I directed two shows after that and then COVID. Since then I have travelled once – to Round Rock. And it was all I could do. I was physically uncomfortable and going to public bathrooms is both difficult and a little humiliating, given the amount of help I need. No damn way can I take a plane (again, bathrooms) and as I won’t even go to a movie there’s no damn way am I chancing the unpredictable Disney public during a pandemic. Especially during the height, when the restaurants were closed. I go to eat and there’s just no point if I can’t.

Over the years, I’ve endured changes. Almost never for the better. There was a comedy show once at the old Pleasure Island, when it first opened, that exclusively made fun of Disney itself. The origin of the, by me, oft-repeated SuperconsienciousfriendlyDisneyWorldemployee. Sing it – It works. The Animation presentation at MGM (I’m not calling it Disney Studios so don’t bother.) with Walter Cronkite and Robin Williams; The Monster Sound Show there where you got to make the sounds using the old methods, walking on different surfaces, shaking the metal rain sheet, etc. to a comedic horror short – both trashed. The change in the Exxon pavilion at EPCOT from the old longer one that was entertainingly solemn. The original song from The Land. Adding Nemo to The Seas. Getting rid of the Maelstrom! The restaurants at EPCOT are a tragedy. Japan’s became meh, when it was my favorite meal on the planet, the upstairs restaurant at France became utter crap, the Italian restaurant changing from the historic Alfredo’s… the list goes on.  The Magic Kingdom, for I suppose obvious reasons, is mainly sacrosanct. There are additions, but the Haunted Mansion, Thunder Mountain Railway, Space Mountain, other classics – these remain.

But today I found out they are going to “improve” (right to hell, I imagine) The Country Bear Jamboree. One thing that has been dependable since I was a toddler. I went every trip. We sang along. It was a happy place to spend time out of the weather between rides. Damn it. Leave it alone! I think they should ask us, I really do. I don’t complain or demand that movie franchises or tv shows or books do what I want them to, because it’s not my story and if I don’t like it, I can avoid it. But the Country Bears?! It belongs to all of us.

It’s not like I’ll ever see it. I sincerely doubt I’ll ever go to Disney again. I won’t be forced to see a new nighttime EPCOT show. I won’t ever make my own lightsaber. I won’t walk very happily past It’s a Small World without stopping – trust me, I’ve done my time. And yours.

But also for me, the Country Bears will remain. Trixie and the baby bear and most of all, the blood will remain on the saddle, the ground and all around.