Confirmed: Disney World Will Not Demolish the Entire Tree of Life

On Wednesday, Walt Disney World Resort shared more details about the ongoing reimagining inside the Tree of Life at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park. It’s Tough To Be A Bug!, the show that inhabited the Tree of Life Theater since the Disney park opened in 1998, played its final performance on March 16.

At the 2023 Destination D23 event, Walt Disney Imagineering announced that a Zootopia (2016) show would replace It’s Tough To Be A Bug!. “Zootopia: Better Zoogether!” will premiere sometime in late 2025, coinciding with the theatrical release of Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Zootopia 2 (2025).

Like It’s Tough To Be A Bug!, Zootopia: Better Zoogether! will bring the Tree of Life Theater to life with 4D effects, animatronics, and an all-new 3D film.

The original voice of Judy Hopps, Ginnifer Goodwin, will reprise her role for the show and sing an all-new song. Early concept art suggests the attraction will feature an advanced Clawhauser audio-animatronic, like the one in the Zootopia: Hot Pursuit ride at Shanghai Disneyland.

Official poster for "Zootopia Better Zoogether." It features Judy Hopps, Nick Wilde, and Officer Clawhauser wearing 3D glasses in front of the Tree of Life. — Credit: Disney

As crews begin replacing It’s Tough To Be A Bug! with Zootopia: Better Zoogether!, Walt Disney Imagineering has filed multiple permits to install set elements and complete electrical work inside the Tree of Life. So far, the public documents haven’t offered many details about the upcoming attraction.

On Wednesday, though, Walt Disney World Resort officials shared some new details about Zootopia: Better Zoogether! with WDWNT. According to their report, the upcoming attraction “will use some of the theater’s existing effects left over from It’s Tough to Be a Bug!.”

Concept art for “Zootopia Better Zoogether” at Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park. — Credit: Disney

This potentially adds some clarity to one recently filed permit, which listed Incryo Systems Inc. as a contractor hired by Walt Disney Imagineering. The company manufactures cryogenic vaporizers and industrial gas equipment, suggesting Disney plans to modify some of the existing fog machine infrastructure from It’s Tough To Be A Bug!. However, Walt Disney World Resort didn’t specify which effects will be reused.

Walt Disney World Resort hasn’t announced an exact opening date for Zootopia: Better Zoogether! at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park. However, the attraction’s grand opening is expected to coincide with the theatrical premiere of Zootopia 2 on November 26, 2025.

Will you miss It’s Tough To Be A Bug!? In the comments, share your memories of the show with Inside the Magic.