Try Everything: Shanghai Disneyland’s Zootopia Land Roars to Life!

The Disney parks in Asia are having a moment right now. First, Hong Kong Disneyland opened World of Frozen on Nov. 20, the first-ever Disney land dedicated to the Frozen movies. Now, as of today, Shanghai Disneyland’s new Zootopia land is officially open to guests. It’s the second in a rapid-fire succession of openings: Fantasy Springs, a new land at Tokyo DisneySea that will feature Frozen, Tangled and Peter Pan, is scheduled to open in June 2024.

Welcome to Zootopia

Zootopia, based on the 2016 Walt Disney Animation Studios movie, features a ride, an outdoor show, and shopping and dining. There’s a new, never-been-seen-before ride, Zootopia: Hot Pursuit; the Zootopia Park Apartments, an immersive environment featuring animatronic animal characters; and food options including Jumbeaux’s Cafe and Zootopia Market. 

To dedicate the land, Disney CEO Bob Iger appeared at the opening ceremony, as did Jared Bush, co-writer and co-director of Zootopia. (Disney confirmed in a release shared with Micechat that Bush is writing and directing Zootopia 2.)

“For 100 years, The Walt Disney Company has been entertaining, thrilling, and inspiring audiences and fans through exceptional storytelling that transcends generations and geographies,” Iger said at the ribbon cutting of the land. “Our popular Zootopia film continues to delight fans across the globe, especially in China, and we’re excited to give guests at Shanghai Disney Resort the chance to interact with the stories and characters they love in innovative new ways when they visit this spectacular new land.” 

The land is filled with new new robotic technology and puppetry. In fact, during a presentation by Josh D’Amaro, a free-roaming animatronic of Duke Weaselton interrupted the speech. Not only is Duke a new type of Disney robot, but so is the kiosk he was pushing:

Zootopia Ride

The new Zootopia: Hot Pursuit is a dark ride on a trackless ride system. On it, guests “hop on” an all-terrain cruiser “in an action-filled chase through Zootopia’s different districts,” according to Disney. “The attraction features the latest in Audio-Animatronics technology, reflecting a new generation of fully electric systems.”

Zootopia Character Show

Outside in the land, on “Mane Street,” characters appear in the windows of the Zootopia Park Apartments. As Disney describes, “a lineup of animal residents will interact with each other and guests throughout the day, appearing from time to time, in this unique atmosphere show.”

Here’s some video of the character show and the cute song they sing at the end: 

Food and Merchandise

Guests can shop at Fashions by Fru Fru and buy snacks, including paw-shaped “pawsicle” frozen treats, at Zootopia Market and Officer Clawhauser’s big donuts at Jumbeaux’s Cafe.

The “Perfect Version” of Zootopia

“We started developing what Zootopia was going to be like in a theme park setting, we really wanted it to be the best version of what Zootopia could possibly be, the most optimistic,” Dustin Schofield, senior creative director at Walt Disney Imagineering, said. Imagineering worked with the Animation Studios, including Jared Bush, on developing the key story for the land. “We looked back at how Judy Hopps felt when she first arrived in Zootopia. We wanted this to be the vision of Zootopia that Judy Hopps always had in her head, the more colorful version, the more perfect version.” 

“When you go through the land, it’s a celebratory day, it’s Zootopia day, it’s the day that predator and prey live together in harmony,” he said. “There’s no turmoil on the surface. It’s all colorful and bright and fun.”

Shanghai Disneyland’s new land could hold hints for what’s to come in American parks: Zootopia has been floated as a possibility to replace Dinoland U.S.A. at Disney’s Animal Kingdom park, and as a potential land to be added to Disneyland in the DisneylandForward  3rd park expansion.

Let’s Hear From You

How does the new Zootopia land sound to you? Want to see a version make its way to the US parks? Let’s hear from you!