Is the flight of the bumblebee really that hard. I know it looks intimidating, but is it a real challenge?

...yes...

Well it`s not anything to sneeze at, but I shouldn`t think anybody`d get nightmares over it. You have to take great care with the fingering and, once you can play it perfectly, speed it up very, very gradually. But apart from that, I don`t think it`s too different from any other piece...