Walt Disney World announced that Zootopia: Better Zoogether will open in 2025 at Animal Kingdom. This post shares details, opening timeframe, poster art, and everything we know about the upcoming attraction–plus commentary about why this is the best way of integrating Zootopia into DAK.
This news was announced during the “Horizons: Disney Experiences Showcase” or Parks Panel presentation during the 2024 D23 Expo at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Disney Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro offered a sneak peek at concept art for the future in addition and teased what was to come in a few years.
This was just one of several blockbuster announcements for Parks & Resorts at Horizons, during which D’Amaro revealed several ‘shovel to soil’ projects that will come online in the next 5 years, including over a half-dozen additions that will debut before the end of 2025. He and head Imagineer Bruce Vaughn followed through on their promise to deliver concrete details and not just tease more ‘Blue Sky’ possibilities.
In fact, there was so much news during the D23 Parks Panel that Josh called in friends Darren Criss and Skylar Astin for I guess what you’d call a rapid-fire montage song of smaller-scale updates before continuing on with the show.
We still don’t have many substantive details about the new show based on Zootopia that’s being created for the Tree of Life theater at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. However, we do know that it’ll be called “Zootopia: Better Zoogether.”
The new Zootopia: Better Zoogether show will open in Winter 2025 at Walt Disney World.
Based on details Disney previously shared during Destination D23 last fall, we also know that the concept for Zootopia: Better Zoogether has guests visiting the different biomes you only glimpse in the film, traveling along with Judy Hopps, Nick Wilde and other characters.
Although there was some initial confusion, we also know that is not a projection show on the exterior of the Tree of Life. Rather, it’s a replacement for “It’s Tough to Be a Bug,” the 3D show inside the Tree of Life. That attraction is expected to close at some point in early 2025.
It would not surprise me if the downtime between the two shows isn’t very long. Unlike Country Bear Musical Jamboree, this won’t be an involved process that requires a bunch of theater updates and replacing several Audio Animatronics. It’ll be a matter of swapping out the film, making a light refresh to the theater, and (hopefully) installing an AA or two.
As for when in Winter 2025 Zootopia: Better Zoogether is most likely to open, my guess would be sometime between MLK Day and Presidents’ Day. Walt Disney World isn’t very strict or consistent on openings during the ‘winter’ season. Any time before Spring Break wouldn’t surprise me.
A few readers have asked whether it could actually be opening in December 2025. While it’s possible that Disney means next winter, that would defy their normal season conventions. Typically, Disney means January through early March (pre-Spring Break) when referring to winter. December is almost always referred to as the “holidays” or “late” from a seasons perspective.
On top of all that, Animal Kingdom needs Zootopia: Better Together open long before next December. With work on Tropical Americas starting soon and Epic Universe likely to hit Animal Kingdom harder than any other park at Walt Disney World, it’s imperative for this show–and more–to debut in the first half of 2025.
Walt Disney World also shared cool-looking new post art for Zootopia Better Zoogether:
Turning to commentary, I have to start by conceding that I don’t really have a dog in this “fight” (to the extent that there even is a fight–but it’s Disney, so just about any change is controversial to some degree). I know a lot of people are upset to be losing It’s Tough to Be a Bug. That’s understandable, but I’m just not one of them. Sorry, but it’s impossible to care about everything.
Suffice to say, I have no major issue with Zootopia inside the Tree of Life. It’s tucked away and relatively insignificant, and the animals and their biomes will be highlighted rather than the metropolis they inhabit in Zootopia. For me, that’s still not ideal, but it’s close enough.
Disney IP in the parks and thematic integrity are a “pick your battles” type of thing. I do not view this as a battle worth picking, especially given the alternative. Hopefully it gives Animal Kingdom a shot in the arm, and more guests into the beautiful Tree of Life theater.
As much as I’ve enjoyed It’s Tough to Be a Bug over the years, I do not view it as a classic like MuppetVision. Again, fully feel for those who do and will lament its loss. But I can only speak to my personal experiences and opinions, and the fact is that we seldom make an effort to see It’s Tough to Be a Bug anymore–and that’s even with a shortage of things to do at DAK.
Conversely, Zootopia: Better Zoogether is a new show based on a movie I love. It may not be a perfect fit, but it’s something we’re looking forward to enjoying as a family–and probably will dozens more times over the years to come than we would It’s Tough to Be a Bug. To each their own, though.
With that said, Zootopia: Better Zoogether has got be an actual upgrade over It’s Tough to Be a Bug. The company likes to bandy about the “keep moving forward” Walt quote, but that doesn’t always ring true. “Keep moving forward” doesn’t apply automatically–it implies progress or evolution. Changes can be lateral moves or steps backwards–they are not inherently progress. “Keep moving forward” would be a good quote to accompany, for example, the opening of Fantasy Springs at Tokyo DisneySea.
You could no use that “keep moving forward” quote to justify the addition of CommuniCore Hall at EPCOT. No innovation occurred there. There was no forward progress unless you count the passage of time. CommuniCore was change for its own sake, and at best a lateral move.
In the case of Zootopia: Better Zoogether, the show itself has gotta be good. That’s because, even though I think it’s ready to be retired, It’s Tough to Be a Bug is excellent for what it is. It’s a clever and creative 3D show. It also has in-theater effects and one of the best Audio Animatronics in all of Walt Disney World.
If Zootopia: Better Zoogether doesn’t meet or exceed It’s Tough to Be a Bug, it’ll be a downgrade as opposed to progress. My fear, in particular, is that it’ll be a phoned-in sing-along similar to the Beauty and the Beast one at EPCOT, which is an abomination. If that’s the case, or even if it’s competently created but is only a simple film that you passively watch without any in-theater engagement, it also will not be an improvement.
The good news is that Imagineering has developed several Zootopia Audio Animatronics for Shanghai Disneyland already, so hopefully one of those will be cloned. Personally, I’d love to see Clawhauser make an appearance.
As for why Zootopia “needs” a presence at Walt Disney World, the answer is simple: popularity.
To this day, the original Zootopia still ranks well on monthly and annual lists of movies per Nielsen ‘minutes streamed’ data. Although it’s not that old, Zootopia is already demonstrates staying power and the likelihood of longevity, meaning it’s arguably deserving of a greater theme park presence at Walt Disney World if you’re going by demand.
I personally do not believe a movie or characters have to be popular in order to have a park presence–hit attractions can come from unexpected places, and need not be based on popular properties. However, I do think the opposite is true: popular franchises should be represented at Walt Disney World in order to comport with guest expectations.
With Zootopia, it’s a question of where it goes in Walt Disney World, not if. I’m absolutely relieved that the Zootopia land from Shanghai Disneyland is NOT being cloned to Animal Kingdom. It would’ve been a poor fit that only made sense on a superficial level (“animals are animals”).
Once you start thinking about the actual themes, motifs, settings, and subtext of Zootopia, it’s inappropriate for Animal Kingdom. One of those things that would “work” fine for casual guests who don’t really care or think about theme, but one that would’ve upset a lot of diehard Walt Disney World fans.
For his part, Joe Rohde has previously pushed back against fan requests for Zootopia land in Animal Kingdom. According to Rohde, Zootopia’s “animals are proxies for humans and human issues rather than animals in their own right facing animal-related issues. We try to enforce the ‘no pants’ rule. Classic characters excepted.”
Again, I like Zootopia and I still wouldn’t mind seeing it receive a miniland at Walt Disney World, but I think the park for that is Hollywood Studios. And now that Monstropolis is happening, it’s difficult to see Zootopia coming to fruition anytime soon. Maybe in a third phase at Disney Adventure World in Paris or down the road at Disney California Adventure, though.
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Your Thoughts
What do you think of the Zootopia: Better Zoogether show coming to Animal Kingdom in Winter 2025? Excited or disappointed about this addition? Wish Zootopia were getting a full land, or do you prefer the Tropical Americas concept with Encanto and Indy? Or, are you in wait and see mode with this? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback—even when you disagree with us—is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
