Indise the Tree of Life in Animal Kingdom is the It’s Tough To Be A Bug show. And if you’ve been paying attention this week then you already know that this awesome show will be closing forever on March 17, 2025. I am personally very sad to see this show go. It is perfectly suited to the Tree of Life and is so educational and funny. To me it is everything Animal Kingdom is all about! But what’s next and what should we know about this show before it’s gone forever? Let’s dive in!
How It Started
You may be wondering how this show ended up in the Tree of Life to begin with. Well ultimately it fit the theme and was a great way for Disney to build some hype for the A Bug’s Life movie that would debut about seven months after the opening of Animal Kingdom. Imagineers knew they wanted a show inside the Tree of Life and toyed with the idea of a show lead by Rafiki that took you on an adventure through nature and had him telling stories of the different animal carvings on the tree. This would have been cool too but the bugs won! Honestly how fitting to have a bug repertoire theater inside the trunk of a giant tree!
Bugs on Broadway
One of my favorite things about this attraction is the queue. There is a giant Gorilla carving you can get up close to for picture and once you get inside there are Broadway posters hanging on the walls. But these are not quite the versions of these shows we know, they are more Bugway than Broadway! Beauty and the Bees, Antie, Web Side Story, Barefoot in the Bark, my personal favorite A Stinkbug Named Desire and much more. These are so fun and creative, I wonder where the Tree of Life Repertoire Theatre will go now?! You hear renditions of famous Broadway tunes as you wait to go in ands the show. Make sure you don’t forget your 3D glasses!
The Show
This is a 9 minute show that utilizes special effects, 3D video and audio animatronics to tell the story of bugs. The show is hosted by Flik the Ant from A Bug’s Life who pops out of the ceiling to great you and then ends on the stage to tell us some really cool things about bugs! During the show you learn about dung beetles and why they do what they do, Chilean Rose Tarantulas who can shoot quills at the audience, soldier termites and more. For each bug you learn a fun fact about them and you learn why they are beneficial to the world around them.
The show is rudely interrupted by Hopper the Grasshopper demanding that all of us “honorary bugs” be eliminated because of how we treat bugs. Hopper has us swatted with a giant fly swatter, sprays us with bug spray, has Hornets sting us in the back and even has massive spiders coming down out of the ceiling to get us. Just when you think all is lost, a chameleon comes out and tried to eat Hopper sending him running off with the lizard close behind. After that Flik saves the show by jumping to the grand finale and mentions how we should all thank the reptiles out there too. My favorite part is after the show is over the announcer asks the audience to remain seated so all the bugs can exit the theater first. Then you feel the bugs rumbling under your seat and it is hilarious and terrifying at the same time.
Fun Facts
- Did you know there was an It’s Tough To Be A Bug show in Disneyland also?? That’s right, the show ran from February 2001 to March 2018 in Bug’s Land at Disney’s California Adventure. It was replaced by Webslingers as part of the Avengers Campus.
- Another fun fact is that it was originally a 12 minute show but Micheal Isner thought the scene depicting a dating game with female bugs who eat their mates was a little risqué and controversial so it was cut out. What I wouldn’t give to see that deleted scene! Hahaha!
- Did you know this was the first Pixar attraction in any Disney park?
- The bug acts advertised on the posters in the queue line are all from the actors in Flea’s World’s Greatest Circus from the movie
What’s Next
Well, we have to say goodbye to this wonderful show in March and Disney never leaves anything empty for too long so what’s next? A new Zootopia show called Better Zoogether will be taking over the Tree of Life Repertoire Theater. Zootopia: Better Zoogether is set to open in the Winter of 2025 and will feature all the characters from the Zootopia movie. They will be taking you through the different biomes from the movie on a musical adventure. It is said it will also utilize special effects and audio animatronics.
Conclusion
I am less than thrilled for this change…..I eellike It’s Tough To Be A Bug fits perfectly inside the Tree of Life, it makes sense. I also love that it is super educational while totally accessible to kids and fun for the adults too. It is timeless in my opinion. Plus I am not a huge Zootopia fan, I don’t dislike it I’m just not a bug fan. Don’t come for me, I get why others like it, it’s just nowhere near my favorite. I am honestly more sad about this replacement than I am for Dinoland becoming Tropical Americas. I will miss this show so much and while we will go watch the new one, I have a feeling it will be a one and done for us. Confession…..I still haven’t watched the new Country Bears show because I don’t want to tarnish my memories of the original! Hahahaha! Sometimes change is necessary and good but I am not a supporter of this particular one. Tell me how you’re feeling about this new show coming to replace such a classic! Have a magical day!