February 2001 – March 2018
LOCATION
A Bug’s Land – When you arrived at the main entrance, from the Buena Vista Street path, you’d see the theater on your left. If you entered A Bug’s Land from Hollywood Land, you’d see the theater on your right, at the very end of the land.
BACKGROUND
It’s Tough To Be A Bug! was an opening day original, and actually preceded its own land. From 2001-2002, the show operated in a now-closed area known as Bountiful Valley farm. But the farm had low attendance and never gained much attention in California Adventure, and many guests complained that the park didn’t have enough for kids. So Imagineers designed A Bug’s Land with the It’s Tough show as its centerpiece, and the new land opened in 2002.
EXPERIENCE
Guests began their journey by circling Ant Island, the setting of A Bug’s Life. Once inside, guests waited in a lobby with bug-versions of classic movies, and receive “bug eyes” (3D glasses). Finally, an usher welcomed visitors into the theater, and welcomed Flik to begin the show.
Flik introduced a number of his friends, some of whom jumped out at the audience, sprayed acid (a small squirt of water), or sent little blasts of stinky air into the theater. But the lighthearted mood of the show came to an abrupt end when Hopper showed up, furious that Flik was entertaining humans. He unleashed his band of minions on the audience, to scare them away once and for all. The hornets “stung” the audience, giant black widows flew down from the ceiling, and smog shot over the room.
When the dust settled, Flik reemerged and brought his friends back into the theater to finish the show with a cheerful song about the life of bugs. And when the show appeared to be over, the bugs had one final surprise: they exited before the humans, crawling beneath their seats.
CLOSURE
With the opening of Guardians of the Galaxy in Hollywood Land, most Disneyland fans knew a Marvel expansion was inevitable, and A Bug’s Land would be prime real estate. In March 2018, It’s Tough To Be A Bug! played its last show, confirming the news that the buggy neighborhood would eventually become a Marvel-themed space. The rest of the land won’t close until end of summer 2018, marking the Bug’s Life Theater as the first casualty of the transformation.
TRIVIA
My original rating: Going into this show, I really didn’t know what to expect. And though I loved the bug movie posters in the lobby, I was underwhelmed with the first half of the show. The spray gags were kind of lame, the bugs in the show weren’t in the original film, and I thought the show was just boring in general. But when Hopper arrives, everything changes. The “stingers” (small pokes in the seat), black widows, and smoke shooting around are TERRIFYING, but so awesome. Despite my initial skepticism, I was thoroughly impressed. While the rest of the show is cute and has some cool special effects, Hopper’s invasion is what makes this show worth seeing. But be warned – the Hopper scene is genuinely scary, especially for little kids. Every time I’ve seen the show, a few kids in the theater have freaked out or cried. While tons of kids love the show and want to see it over and over again, easily frightened family members may want to steer clear. (★★★★☆)
The song at the end was written specifically for the show, with music by George Wilkins and lyrics by Kevin Rafferty.
In the lobby, guests heard buggy versions of Broadway classics: One – A Cockroach Line (One – A Chorus Line), Beauty and the Bees (Beauty and the Beast), Tomorrow – Antie (Tomorrow – Annie), I Feel Pretty – Web Side Story (I Feel Pretty – West Side Story), Hello Dung Lovers – The Dung And I (Hello Young Lovers – The King And I), and Tonight – Web Side Story mixed with Flight of the Bumblebee (Tonight – West Side Story mixed with Flight of the Bumblebee).
