In a surprising bit of news, the Country Bears will be returning to Disneyland’s Critter Country. No, they won’t have their show back but Hungry Bear Restaurant will now be inspired Henry, Big Al, Trixie and the rest of the gang. Along with that, the menu will change to BBQ inspired offerings. In this post, we’ll share more of the news and offer our commentary.

With a new look Country Bear Jamboree open at Walt Disney World, my favorite bears have been in the news a lot lately. Even at Disneyland Resort in the last few months, they’ve had an increased presence. They are still popular on the west coast even with the attraction closing in 2001. Meet & greets still take place from time to time and there’s a cool Big Al wood carving in California Adventure.

Hungry Bear Restaurant, along with the rest of Critter Country, closed in Disneyland a few months ago. Now we know that a bigger project is taking place, putting the bears back in their rightful kingdom!

Before I get too carried away the new restaurant called Hungry Bear Barbecue Jamboree will not be a character dining location. The restaurant will be inspired by the Country Bears and their travels throughout the greatest music halls in the United States. That includes offering BBQ from their favorite different regions. As much as I would love a table-service Country Bears character meal, that might be a little niche to have long term success. I mean, I’d go once a week to do my part but how many others would?

The re-themed restaurant will also feature the Country Bears greatest hits as a soundtrack. I’m hoping that means the original (OG, as the kids say) soundtrack and not the new WDW one but time will tell. More details about the full menu, restaurant concept and opening date will be released soon.

I’ll add just a little bit of levity to my excitement. Hungry Bear Restaurant is all outdoors and has minimal theming. The setting speaks for itself, sitting right along the Rivers of America. It’s historic and a gorgeous place to relax for a meal. Expecting an over the top homage to the Country Bears isn’t realistic. More likely, there will be some art, statues and a few cases that display artwork from the bears tour around the United States.

The queue for the attraction in Tokyo might be a good representation of what to expect. There’s hilarious artwork throughout that is fun to explore, including postcards from around the world. Finding places to put memorabilia like that while keeping an unobstructed view of the river is likely the goal for this remodel. And that’s fine!

For as much as I enjoy the setting of Hungry Bear, everything about the restaurant needed a refresh. Adding in some classic Jamboree songs to get the place energized is a good step. Overhauling that bland menu is an even bigger step and one that will help guests who are less obsessed with the Five Bear Rug. Hungry Bear used to have interesting offerings, specifically the Fried Green Tomato Sandwich. That’s been long gone so hopefully the menu will take a big step forward.

The most likely outcome to me is a restaurant similar to Regal Eagle Smokehouse in Epcot. The barbecue is pretty good there and Sam Eagle shows up in a few signs. I think the Country Bears will have a slightly bigger presence than that in this particular re-theme but I wouldn’t be expecting an immersive experience or Country Bears Hall of Fame. I am currently working on building the latter though, any funds would be greatly appreciated 😉

Even if this announcement is a little bit of fan service (amidst Cast Members voting to strike) mixed with an overhauled menu, that’s still good news to me. I will be curious to see the level of theme and execution pulled off in this new setting. It warms my heart to see the Country Bears become more relevant. This is one good case of using IP in a different spot! In this case, it’s theme park IP and I will always support that.

I imagine we’ll see more details for the reimagined restaurant at D23 in a few short weeks. Until then, we hope that you’ll be coming back again!

Are you excited for the Hungry Bear retheme? Let us know your thoughts, along with any questions you have, in the comments below! Planning a trip to Disneyland? Check out our Planning Guide here. Looking for discount tickets? Check out this site! If you enjoy what you are reading here on Wandering in Disney please share this post with your friends, as well as like our social media pages. You can also subscribe to the blog via WordPress or email. All of those links are on the right side of this page. Thank you for reading, we really appreciate it!