On my recent trip to Walt Disney World I had the opportunity to see the new Lumberjack show in the Canadian Pavilion. First let me say that Off Kilter was one of my favorite shows to see. I might even see multiple sets on each visit. So I knew I needed to go with an open mind. I knew that this was not a music act although I had no other ideas about it. When the announcements were made about the changes at EPCOT, I was skeptical. So I looked up the Paul Bunyan Lumberjack Show web page to see what I could find out.
Their web site describes the show as being in its 33rd year in the Family Entertainment industry. It also says that it is an “action-packed Lumberjack Show features log rolling, log rolling dogs, chopping, sawing, axe throwing, dragster chainsaw, tree climbing”. The web page followed up by stating that the show is historical, educational, and funny, filled with audience participation. All of this sounded quite intriguing but I wasn’t sure how they would fit all that action onto the stage in the Canadian Pavilion. All of this said it was time to see the show.
When we arrived there was already a crowd so we took our place along the fence across from the stage. The emcee came out and for me it was downhill from there! His comic timing was bad. I can appreciate corny jokes for what they are but they need to be told with some sense of timing and confidence. This person had neither. The premise is that there is to be a lumberjack competition of axe throwing and wood chopping. Red flannel shirts battles blue flannel shirts. The crowd is divided to cheer for either color and the competition begins. Axes are thrown at tar¬gets, logs are split for speed and scores are tallied. It was noisy and wood chips were flying all over. There wasn’t any log rolling by humans or dogs and no tree climbing. While the skill of the cast members was entertaining the show did not hold my attention and I was not impressed. I often see shows more than once on a visit and generally have my favorites to see each visit; I have to say this will not be one of them. I believe it could be described as a one and done.
Maybe I would stop by for a look if it was going on as I passed by or if they added more components to the show say the log rolling dogs. But more than likely I will not see this show again unless there are major upgrades.
