You’ll be buzzing about It’s Tough to be A Bug long after you’ve left Animal Kingdom!
Become an honorary insect as you take your seat in the theater hidden at the base of the Tree of Life. This 3D film (with some 4D effects) is hosted by Flik from Pixar’s A Bug’s Life and is supposed to show you how insects survive in the wild.
But watch out for the evil Hopper —the grasshopper villain from the film — who takes over! And he isn’t too happy with how humans treat bugs.
This attraction may be a bit intense for the little ones, but give it the bee-nefit of the doubt and keep reading for our complete guide to It’s Tough to be a Bug!
Zootopia Reimagining
A new Zootopia show is in the works to replace It’s Tough to be a Bug! While we don’t have an opening date for the new show or a closing date for It’s Tough to be a Bug!, we do know that the Zootopia attraction will explore the various biomes briefly seen in the movie and feature familiar faces like Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde.
Stay tuned for more details. Until then, here’s what you can expect from the somewhat terrifying (IYKYK) It’s Tough to be a Bug!
Quick Facts
Location
It’s Tough to be a Bug! is located in Discovery Island at the base of the Tree of Life. You can find the entrance across from the Discovery Trading Company and Flame Tree Barbecue.
How to Experience It’s Tough to be a Bug!
It’s Tough to be a Bug! has a Standby Line and a Lightning Lane. There is no Single Rider Line.
Do I need to use Genie+ at It’s Tough to be a Bug!?
Genie+ is available at It’s Tough to be a Bug! but it wouldn’t be an early priority for reservations as the show features plenty of seating and Genie+ availability rarely runs out.
Be sure to check out our touring plans for Animal Kingdom for more Genie+ advice.
Rider Switch/Child Swap
It’s Tough to be a Bug! does not offer Rider Switch, which normally isn’t offered for shows and usually reserved for rides.
Rider Switch is Disney’s system that allows guests with small children to take turns riding bigger rides, while another person/people wait with the little one.
You can learn more about Rider Switch via our handy guide.
What to Expect when you Watch
Queue
Look for the entrance to the queue for It’s Tough to Be a Bug on the right side near the paths that you’d take to DinoLand, U.S.A.
Then follow the path through the trees and under the roots of the Tree of Life. As you stand in line, this is also a great opportunity to check out the amazing carvings on Animal Kingdom’s park icon.
Fun fact: There are over 300 animals carved!
Make your way under the base of the Tree where you’ll see cheeky posters for some of entertainment’s greatest hits — remade bug style — such as Beauty and the Bees, My Fair Ladybug, and A Cockroach Line.
You’ll wait in this cave beneath the tree until the doors open, welcoming you into the theater.
Accessibility Information
Since you are seated in a theater for this experience, those in wheelchairs and ECVs may remain in them. Guests using wheelchairs and ECVs will be seated in a special area in the theater.
Handheld captioning and assistive listening are available for guests. Service animals are permitted with caution.
In the Show
If you prefer to experience It’s Tough to be a Bug! without spoilers, make sure you skip over this section!
When you arrive at the doors to the theater you will be given 3D glasses called “bug glasses.” They are what make you an honorary bug during the show.
The theater looks like an underground cavern constructed by bugs, with long bench seats that appear to be hewn from the roots of the tree. Pick a row and make sure you slide all the way down to the end before taking a seat. Once everyone is seated, with their bug glasses on, the show begins!
Flik the ant, in audio-animatronic form, emerges from a hole in the theater’s ceiling and welcomes the audience.
The show begins with a curtain of butterflies, who then fly away to reveal Flik, now on screen. He presents the first act of the show, a Chilean rose tarantula named Chili.
A pair of acorn weevils, along with Weevil Kneevil, place a slingshot on the stage and launch acorns from it, triggering hidden air cannons as a 4D effect.
Flik presents the second act, the “Termite-nator” who looks tiny, yet acts deadly as he shoots at a taunting flea, then the audience. Hidden water jets spray the audience (don’t worry, you won’t get too wet!) until he runs out of acid and leaves, saying, “I’ll be back.”
The next act Flik introduces is a stinkbug named Claire de Room. Through a series of unfortunate events, Claire passes gas, which shoots off hidden smell cannons in the theater.
An explosion is heard as Hopper the grasshopper, in audio-animatronic form, appears on the side of the stage. He orders a stag beetle to chase Flik away and wasps hold up an advertisement flyer for “Knock ’em Dead” exterminators.
The wasps turn over the ad and use it as a makeshift movie screen where clips from old bug monster movies like Earth vs. the Spider and Empire of the Ants appear. A giant fly swatter attempts to flatten the audience. After Hopper discovers everyone is still alive, he declares war.
The screen goes black as a hand appears with a can of bug spray and fog mists over the audience. Guests then feel a poke in their back as “hornets” sting them (don’t worry, you aren’t actually being stung). Then several black widow spiders descend upon the theater. Hopper, now on screen, boasts nothing can stop him, but a chameleon appears and tries to eat him, making him flee.
Flik throws it to the finale. A collection of bugs perform a song about how insects help humans, as well as how “it’s tough to be a bug”. The butterflies come back to form a curtain and Flik reappears in audio-animatronic form from the ceiling.
After the theater is lit up again, an announcer requests guests remain seated so the bugs in the audience may exit safely. The bugs start to talk all at once as they exit (watch out – you’ll feel “them” under your seat). Then the announcer tells the audience to gather up their personal belongings and take their “small grubs” by their “grubby little hands” as they exit.
Is It’s Tough to be a Bug! Kid-Friendly?
This ride is attractive to many guests because of the opportunity to check out underneath the Tree of Life, and the film is based off of a kids move, A Bug’s Life.
But this show is completely in the dark and there are scary parts involving creepy crawling things that have caused more that one guest to scream in the middle of the show. Keep this in mind when you are considering whether or not your little one would enjoy this attraction.
Strollers
Strollers are not allowed in most queues or theaters at Disney World, including It’s Tough to be a Bug!
You’ll need to leave your stroller in the designated stroller parking area to the left of the queue’s entrance (where the former Up character meet and greet used to be).
History
It’s Tough to be a Bug! is currently the longest-running show at Animal Kingdom (along with Festival of the Lion King).
The idea for the attraction was proposed by Disney’s former CEO, Michael Eisner. As Imagineers were constructing the Tree of Life, they knew they wanted to install an attraction beneath the tree but couldn’t come up with a concept. Michael Eisner proposed the idea of a show about bugs which made sense as many bugs live inside of trees.
Because Pixar had a film called A Bug’s Life in the works, Imagineers decided to use characters from the yet-to-be-released movie.
It’s Tough to be a Bug! was one of the opening day attractions when Animal Kingdom debuted on Earth Day, April 22, 1998. It actually introduced the characters of the film to the public as A Bug’s Life did not come out in theaters until November 14, 1998.
At the 2023 Destination D23 parks panel, Disney announced that a new Zootopia show would replace It’s Tough to be a Bug! and explore the various biomes briefly seen in the movie and feature familiar faces like Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde. An opening date was not provided, nor was a closing date for It’s Tough to be a Bug!
Other Fun Details
- The theater for It’s Tough to Be a Bug holds 430 guests at a time. Since the show is about 8 minutes long, plus load and unload times, it is shown approximately 6 times an hour. That means around 20,640 guests can become honorary bugs over an 8-hour day!
- The show was so popular that it inspired a version at Disney’s California Adventure that opened in 2001 as part of A Bug’s Land, however, it closed in September 2018.
- As part of the show, an animatronic Hopper pops up. At the time he was constructed, he was one of the most complex animatronics that Disney had ever built.
- Listen closely to the voices of bugs in the attraction. Chili, the spider, is voiced by Cheech Marin of Cheech and Chong. Weevil Kneevil, the acorn weevil, is voiced by Jason Alexander, who you will likely recognize as George Costanza from Seinfeld.
- Right before you enter the lobby for the attraction beneath the tree, you’ll see a large chimpanzee carving. This is a tribute to Jane Goodall, who advised Imagineers during the construction of the park. She is famous for working with and studying chimpanzees. When she was looking around the development of the Tree of Life, she noticed that there were no chimpanzees incorporated in the tree. So they added a carving to the tree in honor of her work, which you can read about on the plaque in the area.