12:55 PM PT -- We have some more clarification on what was happening with the bear.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... the bear was supposed to smoke as part of the show ... but there was a malfunction ... and it smoked too much. Out of an abundance of caution ... staff cleared the area.

Disney World's rejiggered Country Bear Musical Jamboree seems to have gotten off on the wrong foot -- one of their robots apparently malfunctioned ... but the Mouse House calls BS.

A parkgoer captured the moment Ernest -- a brown bear playing the fiddle -- started smoking in the middle of a recent performance. Since the Country Bear Musical Jamboree just re-opened, there was confusion on whether it was part of the rebooted show.

Some guests thought this was NOT an intended addition to the show ... and folks were reportedly led out of an emergency exit by cast members shortly after the smoke began.

The cause of the smoky scene is a bit of a mystery at the moment -- some think this thing was on the verge of catching on fire ... but Disney World tells TMZ that's not the case ... insisting the smoke that was emitting was actually a planned part of the performance.

What doesn't quite make sense ... why were people apparently flocking outta there??? We asked, and they maintained ... there was no fire here. Either way, this hasn't affected the attraction's operations ... it's still listed as open on their app.

This isn't the first smoke-filled incident at a Disney theme park. In '23, the Disneyland dragon -- a staple in the Fantasmic light show -- went up in flames. ... and it was quite a sight.

After the fire, the light show -- and subsequently the dragon -- was put on pause at Disneyland ... but made its grand return to the Anaheim theme park in May.

Thankfully, the Country Bear Musical Jamboree hasn't met a similar fate ... not yet, anyway.