Zootopia: Better Zoogether (DAK)

[Skold]

Fine I'll admit it - I snuck it in there.

 

[Brian G.]

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.

 

[AustinT]

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?

Isn't this the same imagineer whose passion project's lore was just re-written, who was vehemently against the inclusion of animals wearing pants/anthropomorphized characters in this park? They may have intended for this to be a silly tribute to him, but I can't help but see it as a complete lack of forethought or care. This entire attraction feels insulting to everyone. Rhode, AK park fans, and people who just want well-made attractions.

 

[Jake S]

…okay man, whatever you say!

 

[GAcoaster]

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.

I’m sure he loves it! Does the rat have a giant earring that looks like a wind chime one one ear?

 

[Pacific]

So in review…

ITTBAB had a great message completely undermined by the fact that it was terrifying for many. Which in turn, ruined the message and just made people even more afraid of bugs.

Better Toogether has a message that could work (its sort of the same deal as ITTBAB) but its incredibly underutilized and a thematic mess (like the former).

Third time’s the charm? Maybe in 20 years, they’ll finally get this coexistence 4D attraction right?

Unfortunate because Mickey's PhilharMagic and Muppet Vision 3D prove a 4D attraction can be phenomenal.

 

[Clive]

So in review…

ITTBAB had a great message completely undermined by the fact that it was terrifying for many. Which in turn, ruined the message and just made people even more afraid of bugs.

Better Toogether has a message that could work (its sort of the same deal as ITTBAB) but its incredibly underutilized and a thematic mess (like the former).

Third time’s the charm? Maybe in 20 years, they’ll finally get this coexistence 4D attraction right?

Unfortunate because Mickey's PhilharMagic and Muppet Vision 3D prove a 4D attraction can be phenomenal.

Hadn’t seen it phrased quite like this, but I’m into this take, as much as I loved Bugs.

 

[belloq87]

ITTBAB had a much clearer and cleaner message connecting to Animal Kingdom ("Don't take bugs for granted, or see them just as pests, because the world literally doesn't function without them").

Better Zoogether's message is entirely in a human frame of reference, and has nothing to do with illuminating anything about the actual experience of the animal world. The animal characters are just human proxies.

 

[AvoidTIMtation]

Haven't seen the show and not sure when I'll be back to see it, all i know is I really hate the name. Like, I *really* hate it LOL

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

Disney Tourist Blog, which in my opinion has the most reasonable coverage in the entire theme community, has come out with their opinion:
Zootopia Better Zoogether Review: Disney World's Zoorst New Attraction of 2020s.

 

[Mad Dog]

Disney Tourist Blog, which in my opinion has the most reasonable coverage in the entire theme community, has come out with their opinion:
Zootopia Better Zoogether Review: Disney World's Zoorst New Attraction of 2020s.

Love the review, most especially since he said it's way better than Fast & Furious Supercharged. The reviewer evidently has good taste.

 

[Pacific]

.

 

[DOOMBOT]

Unfortunate because Mickey's PhilharMagic and Muppet Vision 3D prove a 4D attraction can be phenomenal.

This is the kicker for me. They've got some of the best shows under their belt.

On paper, PhilharMagic is essentially a clip show of the most marketable songs from the Disney rennaissance films. Yet despite that, or its' unimaginably 90s tone and aesthetic, PhilharMagic is phenomenal. It feels timeless. It breathes the spirit and magic of Disney and of the Magic Kingdom perfectly. Fun, whimsy, danger, all wrapped in a neat bow with some practical elements. And I'm including the relatively recent Coco addition in this too.

They can clearly do better than "lateral to the ride film that gave kids nightmares".

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Finally got to saw it this past weekend. Let me preface by saying that ITTBAB was 100% overdue to be replaced. With that said... it's far superior to Zootoopia.

The entry signage is nice (far easier to recognize/point out) versus the previous sign. The only highlight of the attraction. The preshow/queue is pretty much the same. Same level of hidden jokes and things to look at.

The actual show is just a mess. Our showing had no animatronic, but I don't think that would have done much to improve my review of it. I understand modern audiences need constant action, but it's way too much. I'm surprised that they didn't replace the projectors.

Also, I'm no fan of the film, but it's very odd they didn't end it with the Shakira song instead of that awful song. Poor choice.


For such a popular IP, I'm surprised this is what they ended up producing for WDW. I hate to be harsh, but this feels like several other recent WDW additions of just being "good enough" where they hope the recognition of the IP/brand delivers the success, not the attraction itself.

 

[TheUniC6]

Finally got to saw it this past weekend. Let me preface by saying that ITTBAB was 100% overdue to be replaced. With that said... it's far superior to Zootoopia.

The entry signage is nice (far easier to recognize/point out) versus the previous sign. The only highlight of the attraction. The preshow/queue is pretty much the same. Same level of hidden jokes and things to look at.

The actual show is just a mess. Our showing had no animatronic, but I don't think that would have done much to improve my review of it. I understand modern audiences need constant action, but it's way too much. I'm surprised that they didn't replace the projectors.

Also, I'm no fan of the film, but it's very odd they didn't end it with the Shakira song instead of that awful song. Poor choice.


For such a popular IP, I'm surprised this is what they ended up producing for WDW. I hate to be harsh, but this feels like several other recent WDW additions of just being "good enough" where they hope the recognition of the IP/brand delivers the success, not the attraction itself.

This probably isn't a long term thing TBH. Maybe the tree of life will be gutted for a proper dark ride in due time.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

This probably isn't a long term thing TBH. Maybe the tree of life will be gutted for a proper dark ride in due time.

Certainly doesn't feel long term, but this exists in a park that (even with Tropical Americas) is in dire need of additional capacity. So we're stick with this for at least 5-10 years.

I don't think Zootoopia is the worst fit, but it's a horrendous product.

 

[UNIrd]

I enjoyed it? One part me had me howling. I don't know. I don't expect that much from Zootopia even though I enjoyed the movies just fine. But I thought they put together a pretty inoffensive crowdpleaser with this one.

 

[HalfGlass]

It’s fine. I think the biggest issue I have is how fast it jumps from scene to scene and nothing really breathes, even the jokes. And because of that nothing was really memorable for me. I had a good enough time, but yeah ITTBAB is superior at least in terms of the actual product. It was super dated and needed to be replaced but this is just very forgettable.

Also - it’s the lack of state-of-the-art effects too. There’s no spiders this go around obviously, but they also didn’t enhance or add anything. They used what was already in house and just retrofitted it to a new product. ITTBAB came out in 1998. Before 3D films were in theaters regularly and it phased out and became (mostly) a gimmick again.

In order for it to feel like something special or new, i think it really would have benefitted from showcasing something you can’t get from any other theme park attraction (scents, screens, one animatronic).