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OpEd: Disney Should Retheme Animal Kingdom Show After ‘Ant-Man’

ant-man ride disney world
Credit: Disney (left); Marvel (right)

In the heart of Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park, there is an attraction that could use a retheme in this reporter’s opinion.

“It’s Tough to be a Bug” is a 4D movie experience inside the Tree of Life in which Guests are taken into the world of Pixar Animation Studios’ feature film, A Bug’s Life. Featuring several characters, the attraction takes Guests down to the bugs’ level to get a look at the good, bad, and ugly of life. While it has a reputation in some circles as being somewhat “traumatizing” for little kids, the show is a staple Animal Kingdom attraction. Now that Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is opening at EPCOT, this reporter wants to humor another Marvel-themed idea.

It's Tough To Be A Bug

Credit: Disney

Related: Extinct Land Gets Special Homage in Avengers Campus

Why don’t Walt Disney Imagineers give “It’s Tough to be a Bug” an update and retheme it after Marvel Studios’ Ant-Man?

Ant-Man could be a great way to incorporate Marvel Studios into yet another Disney World Theme Park. The first Ant-Man movie is chock full of information about the different kinds of ants there are in the world, and the idea of the audience being shrunk down to size with the help of Pym’s Particle sounds like a fun way to kick start another adventure (a callback to “Honey, I Shrunk The Audience” at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, anyone?).

Ant-Man Movie Poster

Credit: Marvel

I can see the show beginning with the audience getting a tour of Hank Pym’s new secret base of operations inside the Tree of Life (which makes sense, as a tree is a wonderful place for ants to live.) The audience then gets introduced, in classic 4D fashion to all of the different kinds of ants that Pym employs as well as possibly some other tree inhabiting bugs like termites, grubs, bees, and wasps.

Scott Lang/Ant-Man

Credit: Marvel

But mid-way through, an alarm is triggered, and we discover a breach by some Marvel bad guy attempting to steal something (I’m open to ideas on those specifics). Pym straps the audience to the back of a flying ant, and they get a front-row seat to an epic Ant-Man and the Wasp fight through the inner workings of the Tree of Life (and maybe even outside and around the different areas of Animal Kingdom?)

Ant-Man

Credit: Marvel

In the end, of course, the day is saved. Nothing is stolen from Pym’s laboratory, and the baddie is apprehended. Throw in some fun Paul Rudd jokes from Scott Lang/Ant-Man, of course.

Personally, I think that an Ant-Man retheme of “It’s Tough to be a Bug” on this kind of scale would be a completely appropriate change for Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park, providing extremely high levels of real-world education and magical entertainment at the same time. It would also be the first Marvel attraction to come to the Theme Park.

Tree of Life

Credit: Disney

Related: OpEd: After ‘Guardians,’ I Am Ready for a Space Mountain Revamp

It should be mentioned at this time that this is just an editorial piece expressing my own hopes and dreams for the attraction. No actual plans to make any changes to “It’s Tough to be a Bug” have been announced by the Walt Disney World Resort at this time. But we at Disney Fanatic will be sure to update our readers on this and all other Disney Park news and stories as more developments come to light.

Ant-Man already has an attraction at the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort as well as a restaurant in Marvel’s Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure in the Disneyland Resort in California. Ant-Man is expected also expected to have a presence at the new Avenger’s Campus under construction at Walt Disney Studios Park in the Disneyland Paris Resort. Marvel’s Ant-Man, and Ant-Man and the Wasp, as well as Pixar’s A Bug’s Life, are all available for streaming right now on Disney+.

About T.K. Bosacki

Born and raised in Tampa, Florida, TK Bosacki is a professional writer, amateur adventurer, and lifelong Disney Fanatic. His Disney Park days include Space Mountain, Tower of Terror, Kilimanjaro Safaris, and Nomad Lounge. He believes in starting at the Canada pavilion (IYKYK), and the Monorail is superior to all Ferry Boats.

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