Disney's Animal Kingdom Has Added A Worthy Tribute To A Disney Legend, But I Have One Issue With The Placement

Last year, I attended D23: the Ultimate Disney Fan Event, which included seats at the Disney Legends ceremony. While I’m sure most people were there to see big headline names like Harrison Ford and Miley Cyrus, I wasn’t really there to see them. To be sure, seeing them live was amazing, but I was there for Jor Rohde.

As a fan of Walt Disney Imagineering for as long as I've known the company existed, I’ve been a fan of the man who was the primary designer of Disney’s Animal Kingdom, one of Disney World’s truly great achievements. I was excited this morning to learn that the park Rohde helped build now has a special easter egg in reference to him. However, the place they put it is somewhat surprising.

Joe Rohde Is A Disney Legend Deserving Of Any Tribute In Disney Parks

Even if you don’t know Joe Rohde’s name, if you’ve ever watched a documentary on Disney parks, like Leslie Iwerks' amazing The Imagineering Story, you’ll recognize the man, as he has an iconic look thanks to his trademark dangling earrings. He’s a man who deserves all the recognition he’s received as an ambassador and an advocate for the importance of themed entertainment.

Rhode convinced late Disney Parks Chairman Dick Nunis of the need for Disney’s Animal Kingdom about three decades ago, and he’s been an advocate for its mission to promote conservation of the animal world ever since.

This Friday, a brand new Disney World attraction will open at Disney’s Animal Kingdom with the new 3D show, Zootopia: Better Together. As part of the renovated attraction, which has replaced the It’s Tough to be a Bug show, some new material has been added to the show building which tells a new story about how the Tree of Life, the park’s central icon silimal to Cinderella’s Castle, was built by the residents of Zootopia, including a small mouse with a dangling earring named "Joe Rohdent."

On its face, I love this. Joe Rohde’s contributions to Imagineering and Disney’s Animal Kingdom itself cannot be understated. Rohde developed the park initially, then led the team that built Expedition Everest, as well as the Avatar expansion. He also led the creation of Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: Breakout, which opened the same day as Pandora at Animal Kingdom, and Rohde flew coast to coast to attend both openings.

A small moment like this is a nice way to show that appreciation. That said, the location of this small tribute is somewhat odd.

Joe Rohdent Being Added To Zootopia: Better Together Is A Strange Place For Such A Tribute

The decision to include a Joe Rohde analog character in a Zootopia attraction is a strange one, because Rohde himself wasn’t a major advocate for the idea of Zootopia being added to Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The idea that Zootopia might come to the park, and might even replace an entire land in the park, is one that’s been around for several years. As early as 2019, Rhode indicated that he didn’t think that particular Disney franchise belonged in the park because, while the characters were animals, the issues being dealt with in the movie were distinctly human. He said…

In short, if the characters wear pants, it probably isn’t a fit for Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Rhode has admitted that he was initially unsure about the idea to add the Avatar franchise to the park, but eventually came around when he understood that, while the characters and landscapes were aliens, conservation of the natural world was very much a major theme of James Cameron’s blockbuster, as it is at Disney's Animal Kingdom.

The fact that Zootopia is in Disney’s Animal Kingdom isn’t the end of the world.. And I’m glad that Disney World made a point to recognize Joe Rohde in an attraction in the park that he helped make a reality. Doing so in an attraction he wasn’t directly involved in is a nice way of appreciating that the new show wouldn’t be there had it not been for the work that he did to make the park a reality. However, perhaps there was a better way to include him.