DisneyGentleman
Well-Known Member
Don't give them ideas, or we'll be seeing...
Anna and Elsa under the Frozen Tree of Life
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"It's Tough To Be A Bug" closing for lengthy refurbishment in July
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
anchorman314
Well-Known Member
It would be pretty cool if they could make a new film based on what happens after the events in WALL-E. Perhaps something to do that shows how plant/animal/insect life returned to Earth.
NemoRocks78
Seized
I'm also hoping they do something here. I love ITTBAB, but it sure could use some love - preferably a HD upgrade!
bethymouse
Well-Known Member
Just clean it up and make it shine! It's a decent attraction.
PrincessNelly_NJ
Well-Known Member
I doubt it, Rafiki's Planet Watch is already an animal exhibit area. I think a bugs life can continue on for much longer. But in my experience many children have left a Bug's Life crying because it scared them...
My 22 year old best friend cried... lol
KLinder7
Well-Known Member
Hopper was working end of March for my showing.
MerlinTheGoat
Well-Known Member
I could do without this attraction if provided with something better and more elaborate in its place (which I know won't happen). Particularly something that caters more towards the core theme of Animal Kingdom, like a huge and impressive show about nature and animals in general. It's always felt a little odd and lacking to see such a standard 3D movie in what is otherwise the incredible looking centerpiece that is the Tree of Life. EPCOT has the incredible (still even with the icky 2007 changes) Spaceship Earth inside its iconic sphere and Hollywood Studios has the Great Movie Ride inside the Chinese theater replica (and yes I still consider the theater the one and only true icon of that park). Both rides i'd say are well worthy of the park icons they're housed within.
I don't think the attraction itself is really bad (though it's my least favorite 3D movie at WDW), but it's an odd and kind of lacking choice considering what else they could have done. It has always been a little strange to me that they'd build this beautifully elaborate and majestic looking park icon at the center of the park, and yet have just a standard 3D movie housed inside (I guess they were trying to hype A Bugs Life before its release but that funnily ended up becoming one of the less popular and talked about Pixar movies). I get the feeling (no proof) they once had something more grand planned and the Bugs Life 3D movie was shoehorned in as a sort of budget slash (like many other huge budget cuts the park suffered from before completion). Something feels missing...
I am fully aware it will never happen given the state of things in the company, but it would be interesting if they could create a new nature and animal based show of a similar caliber to American Adventure's quality (sans Disney related tie ins). A mixture of video and live sets plus animatronic elements. I would imagine a major ride wouldn't fit inside like the other park icons, so that seems like the next best thing (if they could even create such a similar caliber attraction in that space).
I guess the best we can hope for here is a good cleanup of the entire thing.
I don't think the attraction itself is really bad (though it's my least favorite 3D movie at WDW), but it's an odd and kind of lacking choice considering what else they could have done. It has always been a little strange to me that they'd build this beautifully elaborate and majestic looking park icon at the center of the park, and yet have just a standard 3D movie housed inside (I guess they were trying to hype A Bugs Life before its release but that funnily ended up becoming one of the less popular and talked about Pixar movies). I get the feeling (no proof) they once had something more grand planned and the Bugs Life 3D movie was shoehorned in as a sort of budget slash (like many other huge budget cuts the park suffered from before completion). Something feels missing...
I am fully aware it will never happen given the state of things in the company, but it would be interesting if they could create a new nature and animal based show of a similar caliber to American Adventure's quality (sans Disney related tie ins). A mixture of video and live sets plus animatronic elements. I would imagine a major ride wouldn't fit inside like the other park icons, so that seems like the next best thing (if they could even create such a similar caliber attraction in that space).
I guess the best we can hope for here is a good cleanup of the entire thing.
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Communicore
Well-Known Member
I think Magic Jouirneys needs to replace it. That 70's trippy music is so awesome, I can listen to it all the time!
Bairstow
Well-Known Member
I think it would be cool if Disney Nature filmed a special "highlight" movie of outdoor animal footage in high-framerate 40fps (or higher!) 3D and showed that.
Perhaps the hopper animatronic could be re-tooled into Flik or Rafiki or some other kind of narrarator/host character to introduce the footage.
Perhaps the hopper animatronic could be re-tooled into Flik or Rafiki or some other kind of narrarator/host character to introduce the footage.
IWant2GoNow
Well-Known Member
Wait... Attractions at DAK get refurbs? When did this start happening?
FerretAfros
Well-Known Member
That's actually a fairly accurate representation of how the attraction came to be. When designing the Tree of Life, they came across the oil rig structure that worked to support the branches and conveniently left open space inside for a future attraction. After construction was already under way, they got word of this upcoming Pixar (still very much a small group and different company from Disney) movie about bugs, and tried to see what could be done to use that space that coincidentally existed inside the structure
Things happen, and the 3D movie gets approved, 9 months before the park was set to open in April 1998. They rushed the project into production in order to get another attraction in the park on opening day. But the problem was that a bug's life wasn't scheduled to open until November 1998, which meant that they were still tweaking the story and characters, and everybody at Pixar was preoccupied trying to get their feature out the door
Which leaves us with a 3D movie that was outsourced to a different studio, featuring characters that aren't in the movie. Flik is the only character from the movie that they allowed the other studio to animate, so he's the only one onscreen during the show. The other characters are all AA's, and the storyline of the show is so generic that it would have worked for practically any final story line for a bug's life
Long story short, they never designed the Tree of Life as the home for this attraction. They lucked out and ended up with an attraction space inside it, and were able to squeeze something in before opening day. But let's be honest, the queue is better than the film itself
willtravel
Well-Known Member
I wish they would do that in the Land pavilion Circle of Life.
doctornick
Well-Known Member
I would be all for Magic Journeys going back into the Eo theater. If they aren't going to come up with a new film for that space, at least Magic Journeys has a more timeless quality to it.
Anyway, I'm surprised by the lack of interest in It's Tough to be a Bug in this thread. It's actually my favorite 4D film at WDW. I agree that it needs some TLC, but the premise of the film and the effects I think work very well for DAK. It's kind of tough to have insects at an animal park without them being "icky" and this does it very successfully IMHO. And I think bugs being below a tree thematically works as well.
Certainly, I have no problems if they want to replace it with a new attraction, but I don't think it needs to be replaced at all. If they are going to be investing more money in DAK beyond the night show and Pandora, I would hope it would be for additional attractions, not replacements. On that note, I've said before that bringing over some of the Bug's Land flat rides from DCA would be a cheap way to provide a much needed increase to the ride count for the park and would fit in well with the DAK theme.
RSoxNo1
Well-Known Member
I am 100% on board with this.
RSoxNo1
Well-Known Member
I definitely squirmed the first time I saw it, to the point my best friend made me go on it again just to watch me squirm. Since then I've never sat back in the seat.
willtravel
Well-Known Member
I think the attraction is cleaver. Reminds me of Alien Encounter and HISTA. I still enjoy hearing the audience yell, myself included in the screaming. I hope they don't dumb down the ride.
TP2000
Well-Known Member
This show was just upgraded to RealD 3D digital at California Adventure, so this upgrade is probably coming to DAK too. Hopefully.
Here's the note from Miceage editors posted this morning about the upgrade and Studio exec buyoff...
Editor’s Note: April 18, 2014: DCA Reveals Maleficent – The Maleficent sneak peek has opened in DCA and the redone Bug's theater is a great venue for it. DCA gets to keep the new RealD 3D system when the regular Bugs show returns in June - a huge improvement over the original film format. The Studio executives came down from Burbank on Wednesday to approve the venue and were thrilled with the results. AP audiences raved at their Thursday night preview. http://micechat.com/miceage-wp/
At DCA they are using the Bug's Life theater for the next six weeks to screen the Maleficent sneak peek thing, so that's why. I'm sure that's what this ITTBAB rehab at DAK is all about too.
RSoxNo1
Well-Known Member
It's very well done. When all the effects are working it's even better (I hate that we need that qualifier now). Having said that, I don't like bugs and often sit this out when people want to do it. More time walking around the Tree of Life for me.
FigmentJedi
Well-Known Member
Wouldn't that just be repeating Avatarland? Besides, doesn't work for the setting.
dakotafrost
Member
Has this refurb been extended? A colleague of mine had her FP+ reservation canceled and replaced in late August due to an "unexpected change" in the operating schedule.