Credit: D23If you take your kids to Walt Disney World, you may expect them to be afraid of a few things. A big, loud roller coaster can be intimidating, or the ghosts and ghouls of The Haunted Mansion can give a fright to younger riders. However, most of the time, Disney’s youngest Guests will ride and see that they really had nothing to be afraid of!
However, that’s not the case for one opening day attraction at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
It’s Tough to Be a Bug! has a long history at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, having opened with the Park on April 22, 1998, meaning it will be celebrating its 25th anniversary later this month. It was also the first ever Pixar attraction to open in a Disney Park, paving the way for numerous other rides like those in Toy Story Land. However, that’s not what this 3D film is remembered for.
The show has a reputation for being one of the scariest attractions at Walt Disney World. What? How could that be? A Bug’s Life (1998) is adorable, and the other 3D films at Disney are totally harmless. The show sees Flik inviting Guests beneath the Tree of Life to see a special presentation on why bugs should be considered friends and protected, and even commemorates the audience as honorary bugs.
The show starts off pretty harmless, if not a little intimidating, with Flik introducing us to a Chilean Rose Tarantula who demonstrates his quill-shooting abilities, a soldier termite who shoots “acid” at the audience, and a stink bug that… well, you get the idea. The effects are gimmicky and a little surprising, and very small kiddos may not like the giant tarantula, but it’s ultimately pretty harmless.
That is until Hopper shows up. He chastises Flik for making the audience honorary bugs and kicks him out before telling the audience he’s going to give us humans a taste of our own medicine. The audience is first hit with a giant fly swatter (achieved with air effects), then he sprays a fog machine bug spray can at them before the real terror starts. The theater is plunged into darkness as hornets begin stinging the audience’s backs (a small piece of rubber tubing that pops out from the back of seats) and black widow spiders drop from the ceiling, getting quite close to the audience’s heads.
This is usually where even the bravest children start screaming, and some adults, too. However, Flik saves the day with the aid of a giant chameleon before presenting a cheery grand finale musical number. The show ends, and just when you think you’re safe, an announcement plays asking for Guests to stay seated to allow the beetles, maggots, and cockroaches to exit first, which triggers the sensation of them running under Guests’ feet and butts. Yeah.
Some Guests love the attraction’s abject horror. As one Reddit user commented, “They can update it only if they make it scarier. We always take bets on how many kids will leave the show.” However, many have nightmarish memories of being taken into the film as an unsuspecting child or an unsuspecting adult who hates bugs. The top comment on a YouTube video of the attraction states, “This attraction is a nightmare. The little kid behind me went in and said “I’m so excited!” Then, it got dark, things were punching your back, and spiders came down. After that, the kid was crying and screaming “I don’t want to be here anymore” and neither did I lol”
So what’s in store for this unintentionally terrifying attraction? Well, the attraction used to have a duplicate over in Disney’s California Adventure as part of A Bug’s Land, but was closed to make way for Avengers Campus. This makes the version in Disney’s Animal Kingdom the last one standing, and with wait times rarely reaching above 15 minutes, it’s entirely possible that we could see its end soon.
But what could go there? The placement under the Tree of Life is extremely unique, and putting anything other than another 3D film there would require an extensive refurbishment. Many fans have pointed towards properties like Tarzan or Jungle Book as a potential replacement, but with no plans to close the attraction as of this time, we’re stuck with this horrifying insect menagerie for now.