The following is a long and as detailed as I can recall review of the centerpiece show located within the Tree of Life at Disney's Animal Kingdom. This contains spoilers, so beware! It's Tough to be Bug! is entered through the Tree Of Life garden, which is just off to the right side of the tree. Beware that it is very hard to find, and for now operators are leading guests into the queue. The queue leads down hill around the base of the Tree of Life, and could be mistaken from one of the pathways in the area. The path goes under the Tree, through a tunnel, back outside, and finally into a enclosed area. Note that the area is dressed out with theater posters (Antie, and Web Side Story are two examples). Back ground music is a set of famous Broadway show tunes as sung by bugs. Otherwise that's it, so be prepared to wait a show cycle with nothing much to do until the doors to the theater open. Also note that the space is small, with a low ceiling.
The theater inside the tree is tall, although it holds less than 500 guests. The interior is like being inside a tree, all roots and wood. The buterfly screen parts when the show starts to reveal more of the tree, where the bug performers demonstrate their talents. The slim story is that Flick, a ant character from the forthcoming Pixar film, A Bug's Life is here to tell you about the bug world. In order to make guests honoree bugs, we put bug glasses (3D glasses) to see into their world. The show itself is more a collection of 3D and physical gags, than a story. During the show, puffs of air are shot at the audience, jets of water rain down, a hornet sticks guests in the back, bug spray fills the theater, spiders lower from the ceiling, and bugs crawl under the guest's bottom. There is an animated figure of Flick up in the ceiling, and a large, very well animated figure of Hopper, the evil grasshopper, who appears close to the audience.
For people who don't like bugs or surprises, they may have trouble with the show. Currently there are no descriptions or warning outside the theater, however an operations person told me that there are plans to increase the directional graphics around AK, and add a warning to the show.
I rate the show even or a little behind Honey I Shrunk the Audience, and way
behind T2 3D over at Universal. I would recommend seeing It's Tough to be a Bug!
to anyone who doesn'y mind bugs surprises.
From a posting on alt.disney.disneyland on 26 April 1998