Description And Comments

The Tree of Life, apart from its size, is quite a work of art. Although from afar it's certainly magnificient and imposing, it's not until you examine the tree at close range that you truly appreciate its rich detail. What appears to be ancient gnarled bark is, in fact, hundreds of carvings depicting all manner of wildlife, each integrated seamlessly into the trunk, roots, and limbs of the tree. A stunning symbol of the interdependence of all living things. The Tree of Life is the most visually compelling structure to be found in any Disney park.

In sharp contrast to the grandeur of the tree is the subject of the attraction housed within its trunk. Called It's Tough to Be a Bug!, this humorous 3-D presentation is about the difficulties of being a very small creature. Contrasting with the relatively serious tone of Disney's Animal Kingdom in general, It's Tough to Be a Bug! stands virtually alone in providing some much-needed levity and whimsy. The show is similar to Mickey's PhilharMagic at the Magic Kingdom in that it combines a 3-D film with an arsenal of tactile and visual special effects. We rate Bug as not to be missed.

Touring Tips

Although it's situated in the most eye-popping structure in the park, It's Tough to Be a Bugis rarely crowded even on the busiest days, and Fastpass is almost never needed. We recommend going in the morning after Kilimanjaro Safaris, Kali River Rapids, Expedition Everest, and DINOSAUR. If you miss the Bug in the morning, try again in the late afternoon.

Be advised that It's Tough to Be a Bug! is very intense and that the special effects will do a number on young children as well as anyone who is squeamish about insects. A mothers of two from Williamsville, New York, shared this experience:

We went to Animal Kingdom our very first day and almost lost the girls to any further Disney magic due to the 3-D movie It's Tough to Be a Bug! It was their first Disney experience, and almost their last. The story line was nebulous and difficult to follow - all they were aware of was the torture of sitting in a darkened theater being overrun with bugs. Total chaos, the likes of which I've never experienced, was breaking out around us. A constant stream of parents headed to the exits with terrorized children. Those that were left behind were screaming and crying as well. The 11-year-old refused to talk for 20 minutes after the fiasco, and the 3 1/2-year-old wanted to go home - not back to the hotel, but home.

Most readers, however, loved the bugs, including this mom from Brentwood, Tennessee:

Comments from your readers make It's Tough to Be a Bug! sound worse than Stitch's Great Escape! It's not. It's intense, but mostly funny. The bugs are cartoonlike instead of realistic and icky, so I can't understand what all the fuss is about. Disney has conditioned us to think of rodents as cute, so kids think nothing of walking up to a mouse the size of a porta-john but go nuts over some cartoon bugs. Get a grip!

Special Comments

The theater is inside the tree.

Special Needs

Disney Dish with Jim Hill

HIGH ART

All you folks of a certain age who loved Cheech and Chong in your ill-spent youth will undoubtedly recognize the voice of Chili, the Chilean tarantula in this Animal Kingdom show. He's voiced by Cheech Marin, who over the past 25 years has gone from playing a stereotypical stoner to voicing characters for Disney and Pixar. Marin was Tito from Oliver & Company, Banzai in The Lion King, and Ramon in Cars and Cars 2

Other Attractions in Discovery Island

Touring Plans with It's Tough to Be a Bug!

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Lands