Whats the deal with spiders & It's a Bug's Life attraction?

[iwrbnd]

We saw this when my daughter was almost 6 yrs old. She was crying so hard in it that I had to take her out. When I got out I said "Oh, no! I forgot my purse!." As I was going back in some CM's stopped me and said "We'll get it for you." I said "But you don't know where I was sitting." They laughed and said "Oh, yes we do!" I giggle everytime I think about that! I guess she was louder than I realized!

 

[pigletto]

Ugh.. the spiders. Yep that would be the precise moment that my normally brave and confident 5 yr old completely lost it and we hot footed out of the theater.

I mean the kid was begging to go on Everest.. he loves roller coasters and he absolutely could not handle that show. Almost 2 years later and he made me pronmise we won't go in there again on this trip.

 

[Planogirl]

Our son was always more worried about the "sting" than anything else. He liked to sit in my lap at that time and see if Mom got stung.

So there's also the possibility of being stung to consider.

 

[MikeandSulley]

I think most people age 6 or 7 and up would be okay. Didn't mean to scare you, mom.

I adore ITTBAB and try to see it each time I'm in the AK.

But that whole business with the fog, noise and spiders...easy to see how it scares them, if you look at it from their little point of view.

My 22 year old sister is scared to death by this show. We went for the first time when she was 20, we made it through the whole show, but she made me vow we would never ever do this again. So, of course every year I put it down as one of my must do attractions.

 

[Beauty & the Best]

I hate bugs! LOL

It's tough to be a bug

 

[DaniB]

I am petrified of spiders however I always visit here. The trick is to sit in the back in the handicap section. I just tell the cm that I don't like spiders and I have never had any problems sitting there. There is an overhang so the spiders don't drop down on you in this area.

Thanks for the tip!

 

[TillyMarigold]

The one and only time I saw ITTBAB, there was a 3- or 4-year-old girl sitting behind me. When she got "stung," she kicked me in the back of the head.

 

[DaniB]

IMO, the spiders are just the straw that breaks these little kids' backs.

There is a big bug up on the screen and he's mad at us. He menacingly holds out a can of stuff and then depresses the top. Stuff starts to come out - it is "smoke." (Although it isn't really smoke from something burning, but some sort of moisture thing, the effect is the same.) The theater fills with this stuff being shot out by the big, angry bug.

In some parts of the theater, it is just all around you. In other parts, you can't see your hand in front of your face...much less Mommy or Daddy. And you're all alone, lost in that stuff the big, angry bug sent. You can feel Mommy and Daddy if they touch you, but you can not see them through the fog.

As if this weren't bad enough, loud and ominous music begins thumping. Colored lights flash on and off. It is all very scary and creepy, if you're three years old.

Then giant spiders fall down from who knows where. Their bodies are about the size of your face, if you're three. They are bouncing up and down. Who knows when they'll stop bouncing and attack you.

If you're three, it's time to scream.

This is likely why almost every time I'm there, some parent dashes out with a toddler screaming bloody murder.

I'm definately skipping this then. Thanks for the information! Honestly, after reading everyone's opinion that seems like a show we will NEVER visit!

 

[bumbershoot]

kaligal, your description made me tear up, being so glad I went into ITTBAB (at DCA, not WDW) on a solo trip, to see if DS could deal with it. I just feel so bad for the little ones!

I felt bad for myself, too, with those arachnids (or, as DS is now calling them b/c he knows I hate just saying the word for them, "yucks"). I actually started hunching down when they came down, but then that made me shiver, because it just exposed more of my back to them. I have...an overactive imagination when it comes to even just the *thought* of "yucks", and the imagination can be triggered by much smaller things than what drops down from the ceiling during the show...

 

[BlovesC]

It's funny, everytime we've seen this show I've never noticed anyone leaving, nor heard any bloodcurling screams. There's usually a lot of shrieks of surprise followed by laughter. Either I'm oblivious or we've only seen it with rather calm crowds!

I completely understand not wanting to bring infants or toddlers to the show, but it surprises me that so many adults are terrified when they fully understand the concept of it being a disney show, completely unreal, and void of any actual threat.

 

[bouncy54]

My grandson was 5 when we took him to see this attraction in DCA and completely freaked out when the spiders began descending from the ceiling.

I have arachnophobia...bad! I can't even look at pictures of spiders. But the spiders in ITTBAB don't bother me because their faces are not menacing...they're kind of cute in a cartoon way.

Now Hopper... he kind of of bothers me.

 

[gmomof15]

I was 55 when this attraction opened in 1998. I'm very claustrophobic and during the very long line "under the tree" cave like queue area, nearly had a panic attack. It was packed with people since it was the newest attraction and I just felt like I was trapped and couldn't get out. Then the show itself scared me to death (did I mention I am terrified of all bugs). I had to go to this attraction several times in the years afterwards (my grandchildren forced me to take them) but I made sure I went when there were no crowds and I could hurry through the queue and once in the theater sat with my legs pulled up on the seat and my eyes closed.
Never again, lol. But I love ToT

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Even on repeat visits, when I know they won't touch me, they still give me the creeps.

 

[Fire14]

I can do ittbab but I HATE honey I shunk the Audience because of Mickey's real looking cousins. I was fine until I had one run across my foot here at home.

 

[humboldthny]

Oh my dd (6 now, 5 when she saw ITTBAB) HATED this show...it wasn't just the spiders and mist and darkness, it was the moving seats and that pointy thing that jabs you in the back at one point...not only was she scared, it really ticked her off!

I just asked her what her least favorite part was and she said "All of it!"...I can safely say that I doubt we will be seeing ITTBAB for another few years....

 

[MHSweb79]

It's funny, every time we've seen this show I've never noticed anyone leaving, nor heard any bloodcurling screams. There's usually a lot of shrieks of surprise followed by laughter. Either I'm oblivious or we've only seen it with rather calm crowds!

You said what I was going to say! I love this show and make my DH see it at least twice during every trip. It's very clever and funny and I also have never noticed anyone fleeing the theater.

It's a shame to miss this one, but if you think your little guy/ gal will be freaked out, have someone see the show and report back to your group. They'll know if it's scary scary or just funny scary.

 

[brunette8706]

It's funny, everytime we've seen this show I've never noticed anyone leaving, nor heard any bloodcurling screams. There's usually a lot of shrieks of surprise followed by laughter. Either I'm oblivious or we've only seen it with rather calm crowds!

I completely understand not wanting to bring infants or toddlers to the show, but it surprises me that so many adults are terrified when they fully understand the concept of it being a disney show, completely unreal, and void of any actual threat.

**
My thoughts exactly. The so called smoke doesn't fill the room where you can't see the front of your hand, to the contrare. There's some kind of smoke mechanism that dissipates within seconds. The spiders look like fluffly stuffed animal spiders, not scarey at all. We love this show and I highly recommend it for any child 6 years old and above. It's very cute in my opinion and is rated one of the top best 4 d shows within Disney according to the CMs.

Brunette

 

[Robo]

There's some kind of smoke mechanism that dissipates within seconds.

It is not actually "smoke" but cold steam (water vapor.)

It is like flying through a cloud or fog.