Welcome to Extinct Attractions. Today, I’ll be jumping back to just before the pandemic when Tokyo Disneyland decided to start bringing the characters of Zootopia to life.
By the end of this year, Shanghai Disneyland will have a brand new land themed all around Zootopia. Though it may seem like an odd choice considering that the film was released in 2016, it remains one of only three films from Disney Animation to have grossed over $1 billion worldwide (along with the two Frozen films) and there is a sequel in the works. Over 20% of the gross for the film came from China, so building the land in a Chinese theme park made a lot of sense as well.
There had been rumors that Zootopia would be joining the Disney theme park fold for years, particularly as a part of Disney’s Animal Kingdom. I don’t know that an entire Zootopia-themed land is the best fit for the park since it is so focused on the natural beauty of animals. However, they recently announced that It’s Tough to be a Bug will be replaced by a Zootopia-themed show that will talk about all the animals in different areas of the fictional city of Zootopia.
It’s honestly kind of amazing that it has taken this long to see major theme park representation for such a successful film, but Zootopia land is not going to the first place that characters from the film were featured in an attraction, so let’s jump into one of the first attractions now.
During the summers, Tokyo Disneyland often puts on summer shows in front of Cinderella Castle where guests have the chance to see some of their favorite characters while also getting a little wet to escape the summer heat. Generally, the shows feature some newer characters from the Disney or Pixar pantheon, so in 2019, Tokyo jumped in on the Zootopia train (but not that Zootopia train) with Judy & Nick’s Jumpin’s Splash, which took a lot of elements from Shanghai Disneyland’s Summer Blast.
The show began with some dancers and water cannons shooting into the crowd to cool people off as much as they could, with the heat rising with very little shrubbery around to provide shade. The dancers got the crowd riled up with what seemed like an original song to me before Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde appeared in full walkaround character outfits. Being surrounded by all the water, I wonder how many of those outfits they had prepared because there was no way they weren’t getting soaked.
The show was pretty quick, so as soon as the first song ended, they jumped right into “Try Everything,” the film’s anthem that also served as somewhat of a closing number for the attraction, as it barely hit the ten minute mark in length. The dancers during the number had acquired some giant water hoses that they were able to ensure that everyone got the chance to get a bit wet during the hottest part of the year. It was a fun way to make sure that nobody was left out.
Via Disney Wiki
The show was pretty fun for what it was, but it could have used a few more characters to really round things out. There were about a dozen dancers and all the water, but if Gazelle and Clawhauser came out for “Try Everything,” I think it would have really helped tie the entire experience together and give guests a bit more bang for the buck. But really, how can you complain when all you want is to cool down in the heat of Tokyo’s summer? The show wasn’t much, but it certainly gave guests a fun way to escape, both their day to day lives and the summer sun.
50 Of The Funniest Disney Jokes Ever | Bored Panda
Via Bored Panda
As always, don’t forget to check out my interactive maps of the Disney Parks throughout the years where you can watch or learn more about all the attractions from every Disney park around the world.
Thanks for reading and have a magical day!