ABANDONED DISNEY: Country Bear- Max
Saturday, April 24, 2010 at 11:33PM Posted by Mitch 
Don't ask me why but I love looking at the inside of animatronics as much as I enjoy looking at the outside. I'm a fan of Country Bear Jamboree and it's Marc Davis style. More than anything I like watching a room full of entertaining animatronics do their thing.
The photo? This photo of the broken down "Max" head was taken a few years back in none other than Magic Kingdom's Haunted Mansion itself. It was collecting dust under the elevated Doom Buggy track in the Séance (Madame Leota) Room. Before declaring it completely "abandoned", I must make an educated guess that it is/was used for parts. Duplicate animatronics exist for many, but not all, figures in the parks so one can be fixed while the other stays in the attraction. Could this have come from Disneyland? Don't know. I'd love to know how much was sent to Florida in the weeks that followed that sad day in 2001 when the Playhouse closed to make way for Pooh.
;)
Marc Davis Concept Art
Did you know?...
· Disneyland had two identical theaters to handle high capacity. One long lobby with two theater entrances. Ever notice? I was in there one night back in the 90's and went in the wrong door, noticing a mirrored image of the theater I had just seen. Remember the cool coin-operated machines in that lobby? Foot massagers and stuff.
· Magic Kingdom was the first to get Country Bear Jamboree, not Disneyland.
· The show was originally intended for Disney's Mineral King Resort
· California Adventure's Grizzly Peak area will never get a rebuilt version of Country Bear Jamboree (like rumors have said) because cool things like that never get built anymore, especially in DCA.
· Marc Davis hated the idea of Christmas and summer versions of Country Bear. (Confirmed by his wife, Alice Davis when I asked her about things that ticked off the late genius. She said, "he never understood why they didn't just leave these things alone. They just make them worse when they mess with them". Well said, Alice.
Reader Comments (22)
I can only imagine what he'd say if he survived to see the messes POTC & IASW @ Disneyland have become!
For reals! Poor Marc Davis. He's gone.. no wonder Disney sucks at making entertaining attractions nowadays.
It breaks the heart to see a beloved character, from an even MORE beloved show, being tossed aside as scrap! Here's a thought - SCRAP the Winnie the Pooh ride! That thing needs to be put out of it's misery!
Now that's scary in an Epic Mickey fashion. Couldn't agree with the Davis family more. Found on the Haunted Mansion floor? Are things as disorganized as they seem, or only to an outsider? Spill your guts!
Oh yea and one more thought, any chance this could be from the Mile Long Bar? Likely not.
AAAAHHHH! That thing's scary!
Haha, it IS quite Epic Mickey like! Lol :P
Hey, that can't be possible, they still have the old heads inside the winnie the pooh ride!
http://www.davelandweb.com/crittercountry/popup.htm?images/cbj/DSC_5704.jpg
i guess it is a duplicate
Yeah and Marc liked Pirates in Florida better than the one in California. Go figure.
Didn't Marc like Paris' Pirates best because it wasn't "backwards"? The skeletons come AFTER the living pirates, right?
K did he really like Florida's Pirates better than California's? Maybe he liked the location in Florida better seeing how it was in Caribbean Plaza and the queue is more pirate like? But the ride itself has fewer of his show scenes.
Someone above mentioned the Mile Long Bar....it's highly possible that "Max" is from the interior wall from the Mile Long Bar, before the wall was removed for the Pecos Bill expansion. The three heads used to sing "Come Again" from that location (opposite the attraction exit doors) as the crowds exited the Country Bear Theatre. It was always funny to see the heads come to life and the surprise of the guests that were not coming from the Theatre. For those that hadn't yet seen the Country Bears, these three singing heads must have been perplexing.
You know, in all my years of going to disneyland, I don't think I have ever been in country bears. Maybe once back when I was 4, but I have no memory of it. Every time I was there it was shut down for one reason or another. My husband and I are taking our young sons to disneyland on wednesday and we were actually recommended to go on the Pooh ride by my parents. They informed us that the ride was "darling" and that it was a great new addition to the park. But now I'm hearing that the ride needs to be put out of it's misery? Why?
Moving, talking duplicates of the three heads used to be on the wall of the restaurant next door to CBJ. A longstanding family memory, mid 70s, is of my dad lifting up my sister so she could touch the bison's beard--and they all happened to start talking at that exact moment. Their banter was not a rerun from the show, it was separate material.
They were removed at least ten years ago. I'd bet that's where this Max head came from.
This article only serves as further proof that you folks are way too negative, pessimistic and wrong to be taken seriously.
That image of dismantled Max on the sub-floor of my former home is nightmarish to me.
I can't imagine why.
That broken Max makes me so sad. I loved the talking heads at the Mile Long Bar. As a kid I once stood for nearly an hour, watching them activate and move and talk. And now they're gone. Who the HELL makes such boneheaded decisions at Disney these days? Dumping a cool bit of technology to add a few more tables to a restaurant. Whatever happened to "plussing" the Disney guest experience?
Nowadays Universal is totally eating Disney's lunch when it comes to building great attractions. Walt would have a fit if he knew.
Am I the only one that actually never gave a rats ass about The Country Bears? I avoid it like the plague every trip
Hey. If you look back in The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh ride at Disneyland as you're entering the Heffalumps part (I think), you can see Max and the other two heads still attached to the wall. So he's not completely gone. =)
I disagree with Marc. I admire him and love his great legacy of course, but I think he was being a tad ridiculous. So when an attraction first goes in it's 100% perfect and never needs any improvements or changes ever? That's a bit extreme. Personally, I enjoy the Christmas and Vacation themed shows as much if not more than the original show. And it's not like they replaced the original show, those are just seasonal changes.
As for the Max head, lighten up people. Like the article said, there are several versions of most animatronics for backup purposes. It's not as if there is just one Max figure that ever existed and that beloved figure was thrown callously on the floor. Chill, relax folks.
Watch out kiddies... Max will... GET YOU!
Well the good news is that the original show had never been completely dumped. Now someone said they don't give a Stas Sas about the CBJ, and that’s fine, even if they might be of the Space Ranger persuasion. ;) CBJ is there however to fit another niche, doing it well. That’s when the original show counts. I’d say variations are fine for sure as long as the original never gets lost indefinitely.