3 Red Flags (and 3 Green Flags) About Disney World’s Latest Attraction Announcement

Well, we officially know when we’re saying goodbye to It’s Tough to Be A Bug in Disney’s Animal Kingdom, but we have to admit that the show’s closing announcement did raise some red flags for us.

Now, it’s nothing super serious of course, and many members of our team are happy to see the show go, even if they don’t necessarily care about what’s replacing it (which is the new Zootopia: Better Zoogether show), but we do feel the need to point them out!

Red Flags

One permit has been filed so far for the new Zootopia attraction, even though the closing date for the current attraction is March 16th, just over a month away at the time of writing this article. That permit? Well, it’s for an HVAC contractor, so while we’re sure that’s important to the transformation, it’s not what we expected to see per se — we were thinking the first permit filed would be for the removal of existing pieces, or construction, and since it’s not…we have thoughts.

Additionally, Disney hasn’t yet confirmed that Jason Bateman will be back to voice Nick Wilde for the show, which has us a little nervous. No one else can play Nick the way he can, and we’ll REALLY miss him if he’s not in the attraction for whatever reason.

We’re also REALLY nervous that our least favorite effect of the attraction, the bugs crawling under your seat, will stick around somehow for the new show, because Disney hasn’t made any comment yet about whether or not it’ll be removed. We know the new show will also be 4D, so we’ve gotta be honest — we love 4D shows, but NOT when something is crawling underneath us, no matter how much we love Zootopia.

Green Flags

However, we have to point out the green flags too! For one, a permit has already been filed! That’s a pretty big deal, considering we’ve seen other Disney World projects that close and then nothing happens for YEARS. (Looking at you, PLAY Pavilion in EPCOT.)

Plus, with March 16th as the closing date of “It’s Tough to Be A Bug,” it’s looking like the new show will be on track to meet its Winter 2025 opening! As long as nothing goes wrong, that is, and we’re really hoping it won’t, because we want to see some Zootopia representation in the parks!

And finally, while Jason Bateman hasn’t been confirmed to be back, Ginnifer Goodwin, the voice of Judy Hopps, has already been back in the studio to work on the new attraction!

Officer Hopps reporting for duty! 🎙️🐰 Join Ginnifer Goodwin for a behind-the-scenes making of – singing of? 😉 – the new Zootopia: Better Zoogether! opening Winter 2025 at Disney's Animal Kingdom. pic.twitter.com/3ppylPs5Nh

— Disney Parks (@DisneyParks) February 3, 2025

We can’t wait to see this new show when it debuts later this year, but are dreading the fact that one fewer attraction in Animal Kingdom will cause crowds to likely spike elsewhere, especially since TriceraTop Spin is also closed for good.