- “Join Officer Judy Hopps, Nick Wilde, and other favorites from the hit Walt Disney Animation Studios movie as they come together in a new, original story featuring stunning visual effects and interactive surprises.”
- ―Disney's current description
Zootopia: Better Zoogether! is a 3D show attraction in Discovery Island at Disney's Animal Kingdom. It opened on November 7, 2025.
History[]
On September 9, 2023, it was announced at Destination D23 that a Zootopia-themed 3D show would replace the long-running 3D show "It's Tough to Be a Bug!" at Disney's Animal Kingdom.
The show, centered around the film, will be formatted as a watch party and will feature characters from the film, including Judy Hopps, Nick Wilde, and many others. Concept art also depicted certain characters, such as Gazelle, Chief Bogo, Yax, Finnick, Fru Fru, Flash, Priscilla, Duke Weaselton, and the Lemmings, suggesting that these characters might appear in the show, though this may not reflect the final version. The show is also set to include an animatronic Clawhauser according to concept art similar to the one from "Zootopia: Hot Pursuit" featured in the Zootopia area at Shanghai Disneyland as part of the park's expansion.[1]
Following the closure of "It's Tough to Be a Bug!", construction of the Zootopia-themed attraction began on June 23, 2025, with the signage from the former show being removed.[2]
On August 21, 2025, it was announced that the attraction would open on November 7 of 2025, nineteen days before the theatrical release of Zootopia 2. Additional details revealed that the attraction would showcase characters from the sequel, along with new original characters, such as Heidi Howler, a wolf serving as the hostess of the attraction, ice-skaters from Tundratown representing polar bears and reindeer, synchronized marine mammal swimmers called the "Marshmaids" from Marsh Market, and the Shrew Angels from Little Rodentia performing a drone show. It was also confirmed that Ginnifer Goodwin and Jason Bateman would reprise their roles as Judy and Nick, respectively, with the team from Walt Disney Animation Studios contributing to the attraction.[3]
Plot[]
A wolf named Heidi Howler hosts a live Zoogether Day watch party show, announcing upcoming live performances across Zootopia and an unforgettable concert finale from superstar Gazelle. She wishes the audience a happy Zoogether Day with a howl and explains that today, we celebrate our communal existence, shared environment, and the sacred responsibility... to party. She fires a t-shirt cannon into the crowd (which triggers hidden air cannons in the back of the seats) and announces that someone from the audience will kick off the show as the Zoogether Day VIZ (Very Important Zootopian). The screen displays jumbotron footage of the chosen VIZ, Flash, but Clawhauser appears too and thinks the honor is going to himself. Heidi tries to tell him that he isn't the VIZ, but goes along with it and lets him come on up. She tells him he has the best seat in the house and instructs him to press the big red button next to him. Clawhauser presses all the wrong buttons, which activate a disco ball and disrupt the cameras, before pressing the right one. Confetti cannons go off, and one of them blasts Heidi, sending her flying off the stage. Clawhauser asks her if she's okay, and Sam, the stage manager, tells Clawhauser he needs to fill in for her.
Clawhauser reads the prompter and announces an ice dance performance in Tundratown, switching to the camera feed there after a few failed attempts. He encourages the audience to welcome the cold weather correspondent "Cashlov", to which Koslov corrects him on the pronunciation of his name. Koslov says that predator and prey, as well as ice dancing, are balances of nature, and that together they are strong, like his mother. Some performers dressed as snowflakes use flamethrowers around Koslov, and the ice below him melts, causing him to fall into the water. The performers slip on the ice as Judy and Nick arrive in a snowmobile. Judy proposes that the disaster is the result of criminal sabotage, and wonders who would do this. She realizes the other celebrations could be in danger as well, and asks Clawhauser where the next event is. He tells her it is at Marsh Market, where she and Nick hurry to.
The camera feed shifts to Marsh Market, where a celebration for life-giving waters called "Wetter Together" is a flop, as all the water in the neighborhood has been dried up while seals dressed as mermaids dove into the mud. Judy and Nick arrive, and Judy wonders why someone would sabotage Zoogether Day. Nick goes to check the pipes and tells Judy to interview the witnesses before he falls into one of the pipes. Nibbles pops out of a bucket of fish and offers to help, and Judy tells her that they need to know if anyone saw anything. Nibbles rings a bell and Russ rises out of a pipe. After she and Russ exchange several "hey bubs (with variations in between)" and raspberries (which triggers hidden water sprayers in the back of the seats), she asks him if he saw who did this, and he simply replies, "nope" before taking a fish from the bucket and sinking back down into the pipe. Nick is propelled through a tube system and falls out of another pipe which then fills up the marsh with water again, which Judy notices is clogged with wool. Clawhauser tells them their next stop is Little Rodentia.
The camera feed now shows Fru Fru and Mr. Big in Fru Fru's mansion. Fru Fru introduces the Shrew Angels, who perform an air show by piloting drones. The drones start flying out of control as Fru Fru and Mr. Big declare that while the residents of Little Rodentia are small, every creature can make a big difference no matter their size. One of the drones picks up Fru Fru, flying her around the town. The pilot abandons the drone as panic ensues and all the rodents run around and scream in panic (causing the theater seats to bounce above guests' seats) Luckily Judy and Nick manage to save her by catching her in The Big Donut's sign. Nick then notices two rams, who were using static electricity from their wool and balloons to disrupt the drones. Judy and Nick pursue them to the last celebration site, Gazelle's concert in Sahara Square.
Gazelle gets on stage, and Clawhauser spots Chief Bogo dancing. Clawhauser calls him out for telling him he was going to a security conference, and Bogo gives the excuse that he is undercover. Judy, Nick, and the rams run by him and past the crowd into a tent occupied by Yax, when Gazelle's biggest fan - a literal fan - generates a tornado and traps them in it. Judy breaks the fan, and it comes crashing down on them. They are saved by Gazelle at the last second before the camera feed goes out and the connection is lost.
Heidi comes back and Clawhauser tells her that Zoogether Day is ruined, to which Heidi celebrates and laughs evilly. Judy arrives and kicks off the wolf's head, revealing that Heidi is former Assistant Mayor and criminal mastermind Dawn Bellwether in disguise. Bellwether mocks Zoogether Day before being blasted away by a confetti cannon (in which her animatronic rear can be seen). Judy declares the case closed, but Clawhauser is disappointed that they never got their big finale. Gazelle descends from the ceiling to kick off the finale, and everyone sings "We Are Zoonited", singing about how everyone in Zootopia and in the animal kingdom are "zoonited" and we see Flash one more time and the show ends.
Cast[]
- Ginnifer Goodwin as Judy Hopps
- Jason Bateman as Nick Wilde
- Nate Torrence as Clawhauser
- Jenny Slate as Dawn Bellwether/Heidi Howler
- Leah Latham as Fru Fru
- Maurice LaMarche as Mr. Big
- Idris Elba as Chief Bogo
- Shakira as Gazelle
- Tommy Chong as Yax
- Raymond S. Persi as Flash
- Fortune Feimster as Nibbles Maplestick
- David VanTuyle as Russ
- Charlotte Nicdao as Sam
- Kevin Michael Richardson as Finnick
- Brian Hull as Koslov
Trivia[]
- Despite the attraction having the word "zoog" in its name, it has nothing to do with the deceased Disney Channel programming block Zoog Disney.
- When Judy exposes Heidi as Bellwether, Nick remarks Bellwether is a "sheep in wolf's clothing", the opposite of the idiom "wolf in sheep's clothing".
- Before the musical finale, Gazelle says "Let's hear you sing, Zootopia. For legal reasons, I can’t." is a reference to the pop singer Shakira herself unable to sing due to her music partnership with Sony.
- Several of the 4D elements in the show were reused from It's Tough to Be a Bug!, including the seats bouncing as all the rodents run around in panic in Little Rodentia.
- In the queue, the ad for the community theater lists a play called "It's Tough To Be a Bunny!" This is a reference to It's Tough to Be a Bug!, the attraction that Zootopia: Better Zoogether replaced.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Silagyi, Kyle (September 9, 2023). "BREAKING: 'Zootopia' Show Replacing It's Tough To Be a Bug in Tree of Life at Disney's Animal Kingdom". WDW News Today.
- ↑ "Construction Begins on 'Zootopia: Better Zoogether' Entrance at Disney's Animal Kingdom". BlogMickey.com (June 23, 2025).
- ↑ Heinz Ledet, Mallory (August 21, 2025). "Zootopia: Better Zoogether! Opening Date Announced at Disney World". Disney Parks Blog.
v - e - d  | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|