Zootopia: Better Zoogether (DAK)

[GA-MBIT]

Yeah thats fair about Alien Encounter, but ITTBAB felt sort of tone deaf in its own right due to the IP they chose (I know the show came out before the film). The show also has a false sense of security, as the it does the rug pull at the last act. I don't think you can compare that to Dinosaur or Everest, but I sort of see what youre saying with park selection.

My perception is also a bit different because ITTBAB at DCA was eventually apart of a bug's land, which was overtly aimed at children.

I do agree, and it's why I believe TTBaB just isn't as strong of a show. Like you say, IP choice is a factor here too, and TTBaB is scarier than most any Pixar scene has ever been, especially any scene in A Bug's Life.

If a family goes into a DHS "Alien"-themed show expecting something wholesome for your kids, I think that's on the parent; but I would not expect a Pixar show within the park's weenie to be quite this frightening. I think it's pretty fun myself, but it's an undeniable mismatch between tone and audience. It's also one of many reasons why Stitch did so poorly. Very lighthearted Children's character put into a show that is purpose built to induce nightmares into guests.

 

[Clive]

Warm take: Attractions benefit from conflict, and that includes elements that are intentionally frightening. It's Tough To Be a Bug was notorious for scaring young children, but it also had warning signage that parents ignored at their peril. I'm not looking forward to losing another attraction that dared to push some boundaries a bit in exploring its paradoxical thesis (bugs, while essential for biodiversity, are inherently upsetting to humans!) in exchange for what will likely be an aggressively safe and bland IP plug.

 

[Jake S]

It's Tough To Be a Bug was notorious for scaring young children, but it also had warning signage that parents ignored at their peril.

my perhaps hotter take is that it can be Good for children to be exposed to things that are frightening while in a safe environment and I don't think we're doing anyone any favors by shielding them from all conflict or peril — especially in an entertainment setting.

 

[Pacific]

I think there's a difference between spooking kids and scarring them for life, ahaha. But yeah, I dont want every ride to feel safe or something, that's lame. Its why I have issues with a lot of modern disney rides (look at Tiana).

I like a happy medium, unless the attraction is overtly "scary". Then I mean, let it rip, its supposed to be spooky.

I just think ITTBAB is the exception on how "not" to do it. Doesnt help it doesnt feel like the movie its based on at all. I do appreciate what the attraction was trying to do, but I think there was a better way about doing it.

 

[Jake S]

I think there's a difference between spooking kids and scarring them for life

I guess I just don’t think there are thousands of young adults wandering the earth permanently scarred by the 4D show at a Disney park.

 

[Pacific]

I guess I just don’t think there are thousands of young adults wandering the earth permanently scarred by the 4D show at a Disney park.

Maybe there are? I finally came to this realization just last year when trying to figure out the root cause ahaha. But even removing my extreme case, I just still think it was kind of inappropriate overall. This does not mean I want all rides to be safe, as I think that may be the impression here. We need less of that.

Anyway, glad to finally get this vent out on a theme park forum.

 

[GAcoaster]

I think there's a difference between spooking kids and scarring them for life

The problem (with all of life) is that what is nothing to one person can be scarring for life for someone else. Every time we go to the parks with our nieces and nephews we have to think of things from a kid POV. PotC and Mansion aren't "scary" rides, but for some kids and some age levels they are absolutely terrifying. Every kid that gets dragged by their parents onto an attraction that scares them either comes out laughing that they were afraid when it was nothing, or has nightmares about it for years. Unfortunately it's too late after it happens to realize "maybe this was too scary for my kid".

 

[Mad Dog]

As a young kid, my father took me to see the movie 'Journey to the Center of the Earth' (James Mason). I was terrified for a few years. I constantly saw monsters under my bed, in the dark, everywhere for a few years. Scared to death, literally.....As a young adult, this movie came to TV. It was really mild, and I could not figure out why it scared me soooo much.....Bottom line, it's pretty tough to segregate what will traumatize a young child, and what won't. It's not cut and dry.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

I guess I just don’t think there are thousands of young adults wandering the earth permanently scarred by the 4D show at a Disney park.

I was scared by the giant squid on 20K. Tons of kids scared by Snow White's Adventures. Getting scared in a Disney park is a right of passage IMHO. And it only takes a few years of therapy to work through it!

 

[Pacific]

Wait, so apparently the DCA version was scarier because it adeed more 3D effects and was more aggressive overall.

Huh...

 

[Clive]

Wait, so apparently the DCA version was scarier because it adeed more 3D effects and was more aggressive overall.

Huh...

I... don't think that's true? Can you share where you read/heard this?

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

I think our original points still stand irrespective of the scariness of each respective version of the attraction.

Also:

http://www.forums.insideuniversal.net/threads/disneyland-resort.11213/

 

[Pacific]

I... don't think that's true? Can you share where you read/heard this?

Got curious about the topic and looked through Reddit and saw some people claim the DCA version had more 3D screen effects. I don't really believe it but would be interesting if true.

Anyway, I don't get why a Lion King show with Rafaki as a host or something wasn't the attraction within the Tree of Life in the first place. Bug's Life as the centerpiece was such an oddball choice (though I kind of get it, bugs live inside trees). Feels like such an Eisner idea.

Zootopia could work (probably a showcase of different animal abilities, themes of coexistence might be sort of confusing) but it's still not a good thematic for Animal Kingdom.

 

[Clive]

Got curious about the topic and looked through Reddit and saw some people claim the DCA version had more 3D screen effects. I don't really believe it but would be interesting if true.

Anyway, I don't get why a Lion King show with Rafaki as a host or something wasn't the attraction within the Tree of Life in the first place. Bug's Life as the centerpiece was such an oddball choice (though I kind of get it, bugs live inside trees). Feels like such an Eisner idea.

Zootopia could work (probably a showcase of different animal abilities, themes of coexistence might be sort of confusing) but it's still not a good thematic for Animal Kingdom.

Just for the sake of an accurate record, my understanding is that the DCA version used an identical 3D film. The only significant difference beyond the entry/facade theming was DCA's had a more sophisticated animatronic figure for the "You couldn't hurt a flea!" heckling bug. I wouldn't trust Reddit reports unless they provide verifiable evidence.

It's Tough To Be a Bug checked two boxes: It promoted a new film (synergy!), and it covered a massive category of animals that will now go mostly unacknowledged.

Agreed that Zootopia does not work for Animal Kingdom.

 

[Skipper Justin]

I read the book of the Imagineer behind It’s a tough to be a bug. It’s crazy he only had access to the characters of Flik and Hopper because the film was still in active production and things were still changing.

 

[Pacific]

I read the book of the Imagineer behind It’s a tough to be a bug. It’s crazy he only had access to the characters of Flik and Hopper because the film was still in active production and things were still changing.

And it shows, lmao

 

[amar831]

The problem (with all of life) is that what is nothing to one person can be scarring for life for someone else. Every time we go to the parks with our nieces and nephews we have to think of things from a kid POV. PotC and Mansion aren't "scary" rides, but for some kids and some age levels they are absolutely terrifying. Every kid that gets dragged by their parents onto an attraction that scares them either comes out laughing that they were afraid when it was nothing, or has nightmares about it for years. Unfortunately it's too late after it happens to realize "maybe this was too scary for my kid".

I was scared by the giant squid on 20K. Tons of kids scared by Snow White's Adventures. Getting scared in a Disney park is a right of passage IMHO. And it only takes a few years of therapy to work through it!

Can corroborate here, as a kid the thought Hitch Hiking ghosts following me home absolutely terrified and a scared me. Snow White creepy forest scene too.

 

[UNIrd]

Can corroborate here, as a kid the thought Hitch Hiking ghosts following me home absolutely terrified and a scared me. Snow White creepy forest scene too.

Same here. And I spent the rest of my life chasing that high again ever since.

 

[Freak]

I’m gonna miss ITTBAB. I’m calling it now. It’s gonna be a bland and safe downgrade.

 

[Pacific]