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Country Bear Vacation Hoedown

Country Bear Vacation Hoedown


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Walt Dated World's
Country Bear Vacation Hoedown

Country Bear Vacation Hoedown sign

 In the summer of 1986, the original Country Bear Jamboree was replaced with the Vacation Hoedown show.  Some of the bears' voices did not sound the same as they had in the Jamboree, although Pete Renaday (A.K.A. Pete Renoudet) was still the voice of Henry and Thurl Ravenscroft reprised his roll as Buff.  Sammy the raccoon was reincarnated as the skunk in this show.  

 Country Bear merchandise for sale was updated for the new show and included a stuffed Big Al doll wearing a plaid shirt and miner hat.  However, some park guidebooks continued to show pictures from the original Jamboree show for years and once the Hoedown show was removed, park guides and books continued to show pictures from it until at least 2012!  Disneyland was guilty of the same offense, showing pictures of the original Jamboree show even up to when the Hoedown was removed in 2001.  

 The Vacation Hoedown show played at Walt Disney World for about five years (with the Country Bear Christmas Special playing seasonally) before the original Jamboree show returned.  The Hoedown also played for many years at Disneyland before the Country Bear Playhouse closed for good on September 9, 2001.  The show is still seasonally performed at Tokyo Disneyland, although portions of the show have been altered and are mostly in Japanese.

Country Bear Vacation Hoedown Script

(Offstage sounds of the bears talking and warming up.)

Zeke:  Hey Rufus, wake up!

Rufus:  Huh?

Zeke: It's showtime.

Rufus:  Oh. (He's heard running around backstage and breathing heavily as he rushes to turn on the stage lights.)

Zeke:  Alright!  One!  Two!  Three!

(The curtain opens.)

Zeke:
If you've just been wishin'
'bout goin' fishin',
and you're still on the shore.

Tennessee:
Grab your camping gear,
and meet us right here,
we got all kinds of fun in store.

Zeb:
It's time for a vacation,
for some rest and relaxation.
Forget your cares, and join us bears,
in the great outdoors.

Five Bear Rugs:
Ain't nothing like the great outdoors to ease your soul.
Ain't nothing like the great outdoors to keep you from growing old.
If your mind's been hazy and you're feeling lazy, and down on all fours,
then join us bears and suck up some air in the great outdoors.
Yeeha!

Henry (wearing his Camp Grizzly T-shirt):
Welcome to the Country Bear Vacation Hoedown.
Got out my old camp T-shirt.  Still fits.  Kind of.
And I'm rarin' to go!  How  'bout you boys?

Max, Melvin and Buff Country Bear Vacation Hoedown.
(For all of you Disney purists out there, I must disclose that this picture is actually from the Disneyland version of the Hoedown.  Melvin and Max are in opposite locations at the Walt Disney World location.)

Max:  Just lead the way, Henry!

Buff:  Alright.

Melvin:  (Snoring.)

Buff:  Melvin!

Max:  Wake up!

Melvin:  Huh?

Max:  The way you're always hibernatin' you must be part bear.

Melvin:  Aw, heck.  I'm only part moose as it is.

Henry:
Here we go!
(Sings)
Us bears we do love nature,
and tramping through the woods.
Us bears we do love fishing every hour if we could.
Us bears we do love singing, in country harmony.
And if y'all won't join us, we'll chase you up a tree!
(Speaks)
Now that's real country, boys!

Country Bear Vacation Hoedown Trixie

Trixie:  I'm alone 'neath the willows.  So this is romance.  A loaf of bread, a jug of wine and 7,000 ants.
(Sings)
You tossed my love aside,
just like a crumb upon the ground.
If heartaches were fried chicken,
I could sell 'em by the pound.
My sandwiches are stale,
as all the promises you made.
And I can taste the teardrops,
in my lemonade.
'Cause life's no picnic without ya.
Just a calm, lonely lunch on a lawn.
Yes, life's no picnic without ya.
I guess our relation,
was just infatuation.
Now you've gone.
Now you've gone.
(Speaks)
This whole thing's about killed my appetite.

Country Bear Vacation Hoedown Wendel
(This picture is from Tokyo Disneyland due to the color of Wendell's shirt and hat.)


Wendell:  Hey, Rufus!

Rufus (Offstage): Huh?

Wendell:  Fire up that there picture machine!

Rufus:  Oh.  (Rufus is heard struggling backstage, followed by a crash.  A picture of Wendell and his family come up on the screen, with their heads cut out of the picture.)

Max:  Oh, no!

Buff: Not Wendell's vacation slides again.

Melvin:  I'm going back to sleep.

(Slide changes and shows Wendell in front of his car.)


Wendell:  
On the road again.
I can't wait to get on the road again.
(Another shot of the car piled with stuff for vacation.)
The life I love is making music with my friends.
(The car in the picture gets a flat tire right as it's leaving.)
I can't wait to get on the road again.
(The family watches the car getting towed away.)
On the road again.
(Wendell is shown back in the car with one of his kids in the front seat.)
Goin' places that I've never been.
(The family is shown at Old Faithful geyser.)
And seein' things that I might never see again.
(The car radiator is now steaming like the geyser.)
I can't wait to get on the road again.
(Another picture of the car getting towed away.)
On the road again.
(Wendell is again shown in the car with a cranky kid in the front seat.)
Like a band of gypsies, we go down the highway.
(Rufus is heard struggling as a picture of a picnic is projected upside down, followed by a slide that says "One Moment Please".)
We're the best of friends.
(The picnic photo is projected the correct way.)
Insisting that the world be turnin' our way.
(Another shot from the picnic is shown, with Ranger J. Audubon Woodlore pointing to a sign saying "Do Not Feed the Bears".)
And our way,
is on the road again
(Wendell's wife and son are in front of the Statue of Liberty, who looks like a bear.)
I can't wait to get on the road again.
(Wendell is shown in front of a Mt. Rushmore consisting of bears.)
The life I love is making music with my friends.
(The family is shown by the Grand Canyon.)
I can't wait to get on the road again.
(The picture reveals they were looking at a billboard for the Grand Canyon as their car gets towed away again.)
(Speaks)
Say cheese!
(A picture of the audience as bears is shown, along with Max, Buff and Melvin on the wall.)

Female Voice: There's no flash photography allowed during the performance.  And that goes for everybody, Wendell!

Wendell:  Sorry.

Country Bear Vacation Hoedown Liverlips

Liver Lips McGrowl (Dressed as Elvis Presley with mountain climbing gear.): Ok now, here we go.  
(Sings.)
Are you feelin' rocky, have you lost all hope?
Down in the dumps, at the end of your rope.
I know it ain't easy, it's an uphill climb.  
Trust me darling put your hand in mine.  
We can make it to the top.  
We can make a mountain rock.
We never said we'd take you towards the clouds above.
Coverin' your heart with a mountain of love.  
It's a long way down, baby.
Straight to the top where the air gets thin,
comes an avalanche where the kisses begin.
At my peak I'm gonna give you a thrill,
'cause after me baby it's all downhill.  
We can make it to the top.
We can make a mountain rock.
We can make it to the top.
(Yodels as the curtain closes and  the sound of a rope snaps, with Liver Lips continuing to yodel as he presumably plummets down the mountain.)

Henry (As Gomer accompanies him on the piano): Ah, what could be nicer than a day at the beach?  The tropical sun dancing on the silvery waves.  And the-hey!  What is this?  Rufus!  (The curtain backdrop shows a winter scene with a snow-covered moose, which was also used in the Christmas show.)

Rufus (Offstage): Huh?

Henry:  Get on down here and change this thing!

Rufus (Offstage): Oh.  (Noise backstage as Rufus rushes to fix the scenery.)

Henry (Laughs): Sorry folks.   (Whispers)  Gomer!  Just play something!  Anything!  (Gomer plays "Jingle Bells".)  Anything but that. (Clamshell on Gomer's piano giggles.)  You ready yet, Rufus?  (Rufus sounds panic stricken backstage as he changes the curtain to be a summer postcard.) Gomer?  (Laughs.)  Ladies and gentlemen, Bunny, Bubbles and Beulah.  

Country Bear Vacation Hoedown Sunbonnets
(This photo is from the Tokyo Disneyland version of the show due to the color of the towel and placement of the sun glasses on the Sun Bonnet on the left.)

The Sun Bonnets:
Well east coast bears are hip,
I really dig those styles they wear.
And the southern bears with the way they talk.
Melvin, Buff and Max:  They knock me out when I'm down there.

The Sun Bonnets:
The Midwest farmer's daughter really makes you feel alright.
And the northern bears with the way they kiss.

Melvin, Buff and Max: They keep their boyfriends warm at night.

The Sun Bonnets:
I wish they all could be California bears.
I wish they all could be California.
I wish they all could be California bears.
The west coast has the sunshine,
And the bears all get so tan.

Melvin, Buff and Max:  I dig a French bikini on Hawaiian dolls.

The Sun Bonnets:
And a palm tree in the sand.
I wish they all could be California bears.
I wish they all could be California.
I wish they all could be California bears.
California bears!  

Country Bear Vacation Hoedown Terrance Shaker

Terrance (A.K.A. Shaker):
Two different worlds.
We live in two different worlds.
Oh, we've been told that a love like ours
Could never be.
(Whispers to Dolores as she swoons.)
Hey!  Quit squeezin'!
(Sings.)
When will they learn-
(Yells.)
Ow!
(Sings.)
That a heart doesn't draw lines.
Nothing matters if I am yours,
and you are mine.
(To Dolores as she swoons.)
Aw, come on!  Let go!
(Sings.)
Two different worlds.
We live in two different worlds.
But we will show them,
as we swim together in the sun.
(Dolores swoons.)
That our two different worlds are one.
(Speaks.)
Ow!  This just ain't workin' out, Dolores!

Zeb:  Wish that I was on ole Rocky Top.

Tennessee:  Down in the Tennessee hills.

Zeke:  Ain't no smoggy smoke on Rocky Top.

Tennessee: Ain't no telephone bills.

Five Bear Rugs:
Corn won't grow at all on Rocky Top,
dirt's too rocky by far.
That's why all them folks on Rocky Top,
get their corn from a jar.
Rocky Top, you'll always be.
home sweet home to me.
Good ole Rocky Top.
Rocky Top Tennessee.
Rocky Top Tennessee.


Country Bear Vacation Hoedown Bear Rugs

(As the curtain closes, the following dialogue can be heard by the band members.)

Hey what's that over there?

Why it looks like a skunk!

Skunk?

There's a polecat back stage!

Get out of my way!

Look out!

Skunk!  Skunk!  

Ernest (A.K.A. Dude or Beau Brummel):
(The scenery curtain behind him shows a beehive in a tree.  He plays his fiddle with a flyswatter as buzzing is heard in the background.)
Some folks are partial to nature,
like rivers and mountains and trees.
They'll sit and sniff the flowers,
for hours and hours.  
That kind of stuff just makes me sneeze.  
Go stomp through the woods all you want to,
it's just too much for me to bear.  
There's nothing but trees full of buzzards and bees,
I favor a comfortable chair.  
(As the curtain closes, the following is heard.)
Shoo!  Get out of there!  Hey varmint, leave me alone.
Go on, git!  No watch it!  Get away!  Oh no!  No!  No!  Get away!  Get out of here!  (A divebomb sound is heard.) Yow!  

Henry:  Well, I guess no vacation would be complete without a little bit of liquid sunshine.  But it don't bother us none, not with a gal like Teddi Barra on hand.

Country Bear Vacation Hoedown Teddi Barra.

Teddi:
I'm singin' in the rain,
just singin' in the rain.
What a glorious feelin'.
I'm happy again.

Henry:  I'm feeling pretty cheerful myself.

Teddi:  I'm laughing at clouds.

Henry:  Laughing at clouds.

Teddi: So dark up above.

Henry:  Dark up above.  

Teddi:
The sun's in my heart,
and I'm ready for love.

Henry:  Me too!

Teddi:
Let the stormy clouds chase,
everyone from the place.
Come on with the rain.
I've a smile on my face.
I walk down the lane.

Henry:  Walk down the lane.

Teddi:  With a happy refrain.

Henry:   Happy refrain.

Teddi:
Just swingin'
and singin',
in the rain.

Zeb:  Hey Zeke, little Oscar here wants a story.  

Zeke:  A real, scary story?  

Oscar:  Uh huh.  

Zeke:  Alright then.
(Clears throat and continues.)
An old cowpoke went riding out one dark and windy day.

Tennessee: Upon a ridge he rested as he went along his way.

Zeb:  When all at once a mighty herd of red eyed cows he saw.

Five Bear Rugs:
A-plowing through the ragged sky and up the cloudy draw.
Yippie yi ayyyy.
Yippie yi ooooh.
Ghost Riders in the sky.

Zeke:
Their brands were still on fire,
their hooves were made of steel.

Tennessee:
Their horns were black and shiny,
and their hot breath he could feel.

Zeb:
A bolt of fear went through him.
as they thundered through the sky.

Five Bear Rugs:
For he saw the Riders coming hard,
and he heard their mournful cry.
Yippie yi ayyyy.
Yippie yi ooooh.
Ghost Riders in the sky.

Country Bear Vacation Hoedown Big Al

Big Al:
Oh the world is a tangle,
of briars and brambles.  
And there's many a cold, lonely night.  
Through the darkness around me,
his shinin' found me,
and I'll followed their bright beacon light.
I, I was beatin' a path to a love that would last.  
I thought nothing could keep us apart.
Lost the love of my life and my Swiss army knife.
(Speaks.)
And it was a nice one too!
(Sings.)
When I got lost on my way to your heart.
(Speaks.)
Without a spoon and a can opener and everything.

(The following dialogue is then heard from backstage.)

What's that?

Skunk!  

Look out, it's that skunk again.  

Uh oh.  

Watch yourself Henry.  

Henry (Appearing with the skunk on his head): Whoa!  

Country Bear Vacation Hoedown skunk

Melvin: Well would you look at that.  

Buff: Hey, don't this show smell bad enough as it is?

Skunk:  Wow, showbiz!  Say I've been tryin' to break into the theater all day but you keep a runnin' me off.  (Does a softshoe.)

Henry: Hey!  Go easy on the skull there.  How about you just sing along with us?  

Skunk:  Alright!  

Henry: It seems all this recreatin' and vacationin' and tap dancin' is just too much for this old country bear!  Yep, just give the simple life.
(Sings)
Well life's on a farm is kinda laid back.
Ain't much an old country bear like me can't hack.
It's early to rise, early in the sack.
Thank God I'm a country bear.

Zeke:  A simple kind of life never did me no harm.

Tennessee:  Raisin' me a family and workin' on a farm.

Zeb: My days are all filled with an easy country charm.

All:  Thank God I'm a country bear.

The Sun Bonnets:
Well I got fine life, got me old fiddle.
When the sun's comin' up I got cakes on the griddle.
And life ain't nothin' but a funny funny riddle.
Thank God I'm a country bear.

Skunk:  And skunk!  

Melvin, Buff and Max:
When the work's all done and the sun's settin' low,
I pull out my fiddle and rosin up the bow.

The Sun Bonnets:  The kids are asleep so keep it kinda low.  Shhhh.

All:  Thank God I'm a country bear.

Skunk: And skunk!

Terrance:  I'd play Sally Goodin all day if I could.

Wendell:  But the Lord and my wife wouldn't take it very good.

Liver Lips:  So I fiddle when I can and I work when I should.

Big Al:  Thank God I'm a country bear.

Skunk: And skunk!

All:  
Well I got fine life, got me old fiddle.
When the sun's comin' up I got cakes on the griddle.
And life ain't nothin' but a funny funny riddle.
Thank God I'm a country bear.

Henry:  Ow!  Cut that out!

All: Thank God I'm a country bear.

Henry:  Well, that's it folks.  The Country Bear Vacation Hoedown.  

Skunk:  Hey, let's sing another one.  I'm just getting warmed up.  

Henry (to the skunk): Ow!  Come on, we gotta have us a little talk.  

All:  Thank God I'm a country bear!  

Henry: So long, everybody!

Wendell:  Say cheese!

Ernest (Offstage):  I'm gonna take a nap now. (Snoring.)





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See ya real soon!