New Zoo Review! Zootopia Better Zoogether

As 2025 comes to hurling toward an end a new attraction arrives at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Zootopia Better Zoogether is now in the Tree of Life Theater and offers something new for this park which begs for more guests. And at a great time to do so, as this time of year is the best time of year to visit the park, which is free of heat, humidity and exhaustion. The new show replaces “It’s Tough to Be a Bug” which premiered with the park, and was based on “It’s a Bug’s Life”, the second film created by Pixar after Toy Story. This new show is based on Zootopia and Zootopia 2 and brings you into the dynamic world of Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde. We look at the origins, then experience the show during early previews, where we walk the queue indoor and out. Then it’s on to see the show where we offer a spoil-free synopsis, with a comparison of what works and what doesn’t. Beyond this, we look at what could be next for Zootopia and for Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Join us for this New Zoo Review–Coming right at you!

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The following is an outline of what is presented in this podcast:

Origins

Attraction Origins

The History of It’s Tough to Be a Bug. You can find that link to that post here. There I spoke of the following:

• Origins of How the Tree of Life and Show Came to Be
• What I Miss About the Show
• What I Won’t Miss About the Show
• The Future of the New Zootopia Show

Film & Story Origins

Zootopia. Does One Need To See the Movie? Yes–if you want to appreciate it. In particular, the film

• Highlights the origin story of how animals came from predators to pals
• How Zootopia is a place of many biodomes
• The film’s stars Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde
• How individuals like Officer Clawhauser, Chief Bogo, Flash Slothmore and Gazelle relate to the film
• The antagonist in the film

Zootopia 2. In the film, rookie animal cops Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde they come face-to-face with mysterious pit viper Gary De’Snake, whose arrival disrupts the balance of the metropolis. To solve the case, they must go undercover to new parts of town, testing their partnership, and also asking if reptiles belong as well.

Does One Need to See the New Movie? No, but you would better appreciate Marsh Market and some of the characters there, particularly Nibbles Maplestick, a beaver.

Queue

• Same Entrance–More Colorful.
• Two Lanes–Standby has Clawhauser Image. Lightning Lane Uses Flash Slothmore–Perhaps indicative of why two lanes are not needed–they both show up in the audience at the same time.
• Framed walkways with covered nets–Could a big Tree of Life renovation be happening soon–30 Years

• Show’s entrance gives a frame by frame story of how Zoogether Day came to be.

• The Jane Goodall/David Greybeard chimpanzee memorial covered up
• You enter the Tree of Life Theater. Even the lights in the theater cross reference Zootopia with the Tree of Life

• You are handed carrot colored glasses–aligned with the idea that the film is in Carrot-Vision
• Queue plays out several references to the film in lots of fun ways. Signs suggest some of the major events to be played out in the Zoogether show event.

• There is a Paw Pact on the First Zoogether Day. This is a re-use of the original dung-ball created for “It’s Tough to Be a Bug”.

• Access to the theater is afforded to all, even to those smallest of creatures

• Pawdora Jewelry has its own showcase tailored to the animal within you.

• Backstage Bulletin Board shows lots of references. and some key story issues come to our attention on this:
  • Hero ZPD Detectives Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde are to serve as honorary grand Marshalls for the Zoogether Day parade.
  • An extensive mammal hunt is ongoing in the wake of last week’s stunning prison break.

• We enter the Tree of Life Theater. The theater holds the paw prints of all animals together. Seats are still the same.

The theater still has a cavernous feel with holes opening up to spaces beyond.

Show Synopsis

• Zoogether Day is Introduced as a Day to Celebrate Our Communal Existence, Our Shared Environment and Our Sacred Responsibility–to Party
• We are introduced to Heidi Howler–the host of Zoogether Day
• We visit locations only to see that something is gone wrong environmentally–could it be criminal sabotage
  • TundraTown–Ice is melting
  • Marsh Market–Marsh is Dried Out
  • Rodentia–Shrew Angels–Drones Gone Wrong
  • Gazelle Concert–Animals Blowing Away From Large Fan
  • Back to Main Stage Theater–Where Enemy is Found

• Hero ZPD Detectives Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde who were to serve as honorary grand Marshalls for the Together Day parade are now on the hunt to figure out why Zoogether Day is being ruined.
• Celebration Finale

Let’s work together to make the world a better place

Thoughts & Comparisons

Here’s what I didn’t like before and how it compares to what is new

• Too Poor a Quality Film
• Too Unfamiliar. Only characters from “A Bug’s Life” was Flick and Hopper
• Too Short. Was 9 minutes
• Too Scary.

Here’s What I Love About the Show

• Queue Isn’t an Overhaul But What Is There Is Fun
• The Quality of the 3D Imagery is Strong

• 4D FX Work–And Some More Effectively Than Ever
  • Air Blown From T-Shirt Guns & Confetti
  • Steam Blowing Out
  • Water Squirting Out
  • Rodents on the Run
  • Antagonist Fate at the End
• The Show Itself Has Lots of Details and Activity
• The Show Is Fun for Everyone and Is Not Scary–Comparable to the Chaos of MuppetVision
• It’s The Right Place for Zootopia to Show Up at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

What I Think Is Missing or Not Working

• The Show Is Not Really Innovative–Film Great–4D FX Been Done Before
• The Show is too Story Driven Making the “Who Dunnit” Outcome–Creates Impression of Not Worth Re-Watching
• The Show is Often Too Frenetic–Difficult to Hear the Words. Still 9 minutes but really hard to process.
• Officer Clawhauser isn’t nearly as interesting as Hopper–That is a real miss
• The Show Fails to Inspire
  • Shared Communal Existence
  • Shared Environment

What Else Moving Forward

More Zootopia. I believe that a Zootopia land presence would be fantastic at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Walt Disney World is big enough and far away from Shanghai to host its own Zootopia. It offers placemaking possibilities all of its own kind, with diverse bio domes to be discovered. Remember, many big films like Lion King, Beauty & The Beast, The Little Mermaid, and Frozen have attractions in multiple parks.

More Disney’s Animal Kingdom Offering. As mentioned in my previous podcast, good things are coming to Studios, Epcot and Magic Kingdom. But as mentioned in last week’s podcast, attendance is vastly short at Disney’s Animal Kingdom (down from 13 M+ to 8 M+) and this offering is all that is currently happening.

• Disney’s Animal Kingdom Judy & Nick Meet ‘n’ Greet
• Zoogether Party at Pizzafari?
• More Nightime Hours
• More Parade
• New Nighttime Show–like Rivers of Light

Want to visit Disney?

Hopefully this podcast has made you realize you need help and support in planning your next trip to Disney. David and Leah with Zanolla Travel know Disney in ways few do and they can make your next trip on land or sea an exciting one–or at least less stressful! Be sure to contact them as you explore your next vacation, whether it is a Disney theme park vacation, a cruise, or an Adventure by Disney. There is no charge to utilize their services, but it will save you enormous time getting all the details right, and with their insight you can be assured you’re going to experience the best trip possible. Contact them today!

David & Leah Zanolla

ZanollaTravel.com
Owner/Agents

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