Zootopia: Better Zoogether (DAK)

[Freak]

Another day, another Disney attraction getting nerfed.

 

[Jerroddragon]

To be fair, wasn't Mermaid show redo well done? Test Track 3.0? Star Tours? GOTG at DCA? HM at Disneyland has never been better...and so on

Not saying this isn't meh but also Disney hasn't been making too many bad attractions or redos in recent memory

I assume Mando being added to the Falcon will be a good change, Soarin Over America I assume could be better then the World version, and even the Muppets taking over the coaster to me should be a win

 

[Cwoolboy]

It looks like they might have brought back the rats in the theater gag from HIStA or the bugs under your butt gag from ITTBaB, so that’s pretty cool. The 3-D used looks pretty good imo…too bad this show seems firmly geared towards the VERY young and mostly utilizes air blasts and water effects. Looks like this is going to be a one-and-done for most. ITTBaB was legitimately the scariest 3-D show ever made, and no matter how you slice it, this replacement is an elephant-sized downgrade. Disney continues to fail to win me back over. If only they actually cared.

 

[frank_1991_]

“Let’s hear you sing Zootopia , for legal reasons I cannot." Is the joke that Disney was too cheap to pay Shakira to sing?

 

[UNIrd]

The fact that I saw the word "layover" used more than once in first reactions to this must mean they didn't change much since this is definitely supposed to be permanent.

 

[TheUniC6]

The fact that I saw the word "layover" used more than once in first reactions to this must mean they didn't change much since this is definitely supposed to be permanent.

I doubt that. But would else would they really in that the Tree of Life space? is there anyway it could be retrofitted for a dark ride?

 

[Mad Dog]

This is one of those 'good enough' type replacement attractions. It hit the target audience, young kids/families, with an IP
that is popular with them, without having to spend big money budget wise. Disney really doesn't care what hardcore fans think
about the attraction. It fit the spot and budget.

 

[belloq87]

The thing is, though, that Disney could have made the effort to make the show make more sense in Animal Kingdom. They chose not to. Just like they chose not to with Frozen in Norway. There are simple writing fixes -- things that don't cost any more money than what was spent -- that could have addressed that, and still been a show that little kids would have enjoyed.

It annoys me to see Disney not try, and it makes me more concerned about Tropical Americas (despite Disney having said the right things -- so far -- about keeping the thematic continuity of the park in mind as those attractions are developed).

 

[Dinoman96]

To be fair, this is truly indeed the first major Animal Kingdom project since Joe Rohde's retirement back in early 2021. It's only fitting, really.

 

[Allison]

I got a chance to see this yesterday and in all honesty…I can’t really say I fully understood what I saw.

Putting this all under a cut for the sake of spoilers.

From what I understood it’s a holiday called “Zoogether Day” and you’re there to watch news broadcasts from all around the animal kingdom (I’m sure pun was intended) and with each segment something goes wrong. The main characters (I haven’t seen the movie) show up to investigate and determine that someone is sabotaging their Zoogether Day celebrations, they end up finding the culprit (a sheep that escaped from prison) and the show ends on a Zootopia song but not the gazelle’s song. The bugs in the bench effect was replaced with rodents & it happens in the middle of the show this time, and there was one hilarious scene with a walrus & an otter and that’s gonna be when you get sprayed down. The animatronic did look great, and was visible for most of the show unlike Hopper. But if all of this sounds like a nonsensical mess from the mind of a crackhead it’s ok because that’s also how it came across in person tbh. It was an 8 minute show but it felt more like 3 because it was so. fast. paced. that I couldn’t even tell you much of the dialogue. Like immediately after watching it I could only describe it to you with sentences starting like “this happened”, “there was _____ happening”, etc. with no cohesion because that’s how it felt to watch it. Maybe this will resonate with kids more, it was like watching a Tik Tok where everyone speaks super fast and you’re meant to absorb information at breakneck speed, and maybe that’s what works for today’s families? I don’t know.

Personally, I found It’s Tough To Be A Bug to be a much, much better fit especially for The Tree Of Life theater. If Disney was really desperate for a Zootopia presence in the parks, I would have liked to see…not this.

Edit: well I didn’t need to put that under a spoiler tag as the videos are out lol but I might need to watch the video of the show to see if my fever dream memory of it is at all accurate or if I just zoned out and hallucinated most of it.

 

[OrlLover]

This is one of those 'good enough' type replacement attractions. It hit the target audience, young kids/families, with an IP
that is popular with them, without having to spend big money budget wise. Disney really doesn't care what hardcore fans think
about the attraction. It fit the spot and budget.

Exactly.

AK has been basically gutted of kids attractions so they wanted Zootopia representation in the parks and this was an easy shoehorn.

I don’t expect anybody older than 12 to be the demographic they are targeting for this. I saw someone refer to this show as a YouTube kids series which speaks volumes about the content kids are consuming on a daily basis.

 

[krazyhorrorkid]

Another day, another Disney fumble.
How is Tough to be a bug better then this?

Tbh I haven’t seen the show yet but the hopper AA may be better than Clawhauser which is a big big problem.

 

[Jake S]

Tell me if I'm totally off base here, but I don't know a single family whose kids were happy they saw It's Tough to be a Bug. I have friends (and siblings!) that still talk about how terrifying they found the show. I understand why adults might bemoan losing a truly scary attraction, but It's Tough to be a Bug was a one and done for every family I've heard talk about it.

Now, I think Zootopia is a bad movie and I couldn't care less about this new movie. But, hey, if it doesn't terrify kids it seems it's at least a lateral move for the park's attraction mix.

 

[DrStarlander]

The thing is, though, that Disney could have made the effort to make the show make more sense in Animal Kingdom. They chose not to. Just like they chose not to with Frozen in Norway. There are simple writing fixes -- things that don't cost any more money than what was spent -- that could have addressed that, and still been a show that little kids would have enjoyed.

It annoys me to see Disney not try, and it makes me more concerned about Tropical Americas (despite Disney having said the right things -- so far -- about keeping the thematic continuity of the park in mind as those attractions are developed).

This is what annoys me the most, when Disney fails to exploit "free quality." Free quality is quality that comes at zero, or near-zero cost (relative to overall project cost). It can come from a better concept, better writing, better art direction, better training...This soft work is often a small fraction of the hard work (steel, concrete, ride systems) and like the adage "measure twice, cut once," they need to "think twice, build once."

 

[Allison]

Tell me if I'm totally off base here, but I don't know a single family whose kids were happy they saw It's Tough to be a Bug. I have friends (and siblings!) that still talk about how terrifying they found the show. I understand why adults might bemoan losing a truly scary attraction, but It's Tough to be a Bug was a one and done for every family I've heard talk about it.

Now, I think Zootopia is a bad movie and I couldn't care less about this new movie. But, hey, if it doesn't terrify kids it seems it's at least a lateral move for the park's attraction mix.

FWIW, I missed a lot of the dialogue due to multiple children around me hysterically screaming/crying the for most of the show. While the content is absolutely way more kid friendly, the decibel level absolutely is not and is (I’m sure arguably) louder than its predecessor.

 

[Freak]

FWIW, I missed a lot of the dialogue due to multiple children around me hysterically screaming/crying the for most of the show. While the content is absolutely way more kid friendly, the decibel level absolutely is not and is (I’m sure arguably) louder than its predecessor.

In an effort please everyone with the change, they manage to please no one. Disney seems to be really good at this.

 

[belloq87]

Zootopia Residents Created the Animal Carvings on the Tree of Life at Disney's Animal Kingdom

A poster within the Zootopia: Better Zoogether queue offers a new backstory for how the iconic animal carvings appeared on the Tree of Life

blogmickey.com

The show is whatever (I can easily walk past it and never give it any thought), but I absolutely hate this. ZOOTOPIA was already incongruous-enough to the themes of Animal Kingdom, and now they've saddled the Tree of Life with that incongruity.

The Tree is meant to represent a living embodiment of the natural animal world, almost mystically created and existing. But nah, now in this new backstory, it was carved by anthropomorphized animals in construction vests and hardhats.

Get outta here.

This is way more infantilizing to Animal Kingdom's thematics than even the show itself.

 

[Cwoolboy]

I'm sure y'all already saw that Disney couldn't help but insult Joe Rhode in the queue. They turned him into a rat named Joe Rhodent. Talk about disrespectful.

 

[belloq87]

I would hope he approved that...

 

[Jake S]

Yeah, isn't it just a fun nod to the dude who had a massive impact on the development of the park? What are we doing here?