Disney Moves Quickly on Zootopia Show Installation with New Theater Permits at Animal Kingdom

Posted: Wednesday March 19, 2025 3:00pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Walt Disney Imagineering has filed two new Notices of Commencement today for work at the Tree of Life Theater in Disney's Animal Kingdom for the upcoming Zootopia: Better Zoogether! 3D attraction.

The permits include:

Elite A/V Systems Inc. – Scope listed as "Install Set Elements"
Solotech – Scope listed as "Electrical Work"

The Tree of Life Theater is part of the park's centerpiece icon.

Disney Moving Quickly on Zootopia Installation

Disney is wasting no time on the transformation of the Tree of Life Theater. Walt Disney Imagineering teams were seen onsite immediately following the closure of It's Tough to be a Bug! on March 17, 2025. In the days since, Imagineers have been observed entering and exiting the theater as work progresses.

Zootopia Better Zoogether construction - March 17 2025

Zootopia: Better Zoogether! is set to debut in winter 2025 and will immerse guests in the various biomes of Zootopia with characters from the 2016 film.

Zootopia: Better Zoogether Poster

Discuss on the Forums

Get Walt Disney World News Delivered to Your Inbox

Cmdr_Crimson25 days ago

With the Zootopia 2 opening Nov 26th this would fit that timeline so after it gets released the new attraction opens just around afterwards...

FrontierSpirit26 days ago

Think I like Meteorological and Astronomical Winters better. I’ll assume it’s not open by Dec. and if it is my girls will love it! If not, I won’t mention it.

MisterPenguin26 days ago

Take the earliest time that anyone would say it is "Winter" and the latest time anyone would say it's still "Winter." That.

FrontierSpirit26 days ago

What does opening Winter 2025 mean? Meteorological Winter: December, January, and February. Astronomical Winter: Approximately late December to late March. What’s a Disney winter type timeline?

FigmentFan8227 days ago

2 Posters, one of which was a foreign market poster, and being 3rd in line in a huge cast picture list is NOT at all making a "big deal" out of it. You're stretching this farther than silly putty.

Brer Panther28 days ago

I recall she was the first cast member to be announced after Ginnifer Goodwin and Jason Bateman. There were articles online about her being in the film. The character got at least two posters. When the full "main" cast of the film was announced at the 2015 D23 Expo, she was right next to Ginnifer and Jason, the third listed in the cast list - BEFORE characters who actually had a role in the film's plot like Chief Bogo, Mayor Lionheart, and Dawn Bellwether and instead of Mr. Big, who ALSO had a role in the film's plot unlike Gazelle but wasn't listed because he wasn't voiced by a celebrity. There was definitely a big deal made about Shakira being in the movie.

peter1143528 days ago

Explain when and how they “made a huge deal about the fact that Shakira was in the movie”?

FettFan28 days ago

"Smithers....release the sea lions."

FigmentFan8228 days ago

Um, I'm not recalling at all any type of marketing or promotion of the Gizelle character to make people aware there was a character voiced by Shakira. No trailers focused on her at all. They never attempted to misdirect you that Gizelle was a major character.

Brer Panther28 days ago

Y'know what I love about Zootopia? They created a character for the sole purpose of putting Shakira in their movie and then made such a huge deal about the fact that Shakira was in their movie, and the character only had, what, five lines outside of the song?

Disgruntled Walt29 days ago

So proud that we've got the OG one here, and it still holds up. I love the crashed police car in the queue. Best queue at Great America (though Viper is pretty good too).

FettFan30 days ago

Strong disagree; just look at Busch Gardens. It can be done, and can be done well….but not by the current leadership. I still greatly miss Warden Wilson. Even though we all knew he was a prerecorded sound effect and voice actor, I always got a kick out of seeing how many children (and quite a fair number of adults!) were craning their necks out of the trucks to try to spot him flying overhead.