A corner of the Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park is returning to its roots.
Walt Disney World announced today that it will transform the buildings that most recently housed Star Wars Launch Bay and Disney Jr. Play and Dance! into a fanciful version of Burbank's Walt Disney Animation Studios.
When the park opened as Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park in May 1989, this area actually was the east coast home of Disney's animation studio. Films such as "Lilo & Stitch" and "Brother Bear" were drawn and produced in the buildings behind the front-facing studio offices, which were home to attractions that explained the animation process, including "Back to Never Land," which starred Robin Williams and Walter Cronkite.
That film, sadly, is not coming back, but plenty of animation experiences for Disney World guests will be. The old Star Wars Launch Bay building will be restyled to look like the Burbank campus' Roy E. Disney Animation Building. That means that the iconic Mickey's sorcerer's hat will be returning to the park.
The building will house an east coast version of The Magic of Disney Animation with a screening theater, a gallery where Disney characters come to life (just like in the short "Once Upon a Studio," and... I am most excited for this... a space where guests "will have the chance to learn how to draw fan-favorite characters and greet them in real life."
Is this the return of Animation Academy?
The complex also will include Drawn to Wonderland, an indoor play area inspired by Disney Legend Mary Blair's concept art for "Alice in Wonderland."
To reflect the changes, the current Animation Courtyard land in Disney's Hollywood Studios will be getting a new name - The Walt Disney Studios. The new attractions will open next year.
To prepare for the changes, Animation Courtyard, Star Wars: Launch Bay, and Disney Jr. Play and Dance! will close September 25. The new The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure show and the Walt Disney Presents gallery will remain open during construction.
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Having been to DCA recently, the Animation building there is always busy with kids and families enjoying it so this can work. Be nicer if it meant a return to hand-drawn features but as it is, this is a great combination of upgrade and return to roots.
Love it. I was just at Disneyland and that building was a really cool idea. Would be cool if they moved the laugh floor there and that could free up room in tomorrowland for something new.
This is a welcome surprise. Any Disney theme park with the word “studios” in its title is not complete without a big nod to the animation of Disney. That, and the fact that Launch Bay has long outlived its usefulness IMO.
Looks like a wonderful addition.
Hey, look, the first positive addition in a while! Kudos to Disney for putting the "Studios" in Hollywood Studios.
I really, really agree about Laugh Floor moving there. It makes a lot of sense with the other Pixar attractions. I also think it is long past time for a Tomorrowland makeover that returns to a positive view of the future, and we need that right now. Add a new voice over with projection effects for the TTA, put a mission to the moon in the Stitch location, and bring back a 360 theater to Laugh Floor. Please.
Then go to Disneyland and remove the awful gift shop in front of the Haunted Mansion. Actually do that first please.
I’m surprised by this announcement. I hoped that Disney would find a way to connect RNR to this area so that there was no longer a dead end. Maybe we will see that one day in the future. For now, this is a welcome addition and gets to the heart of Disney.
This is such a strange space right now, and it was always odd to me to maintain the Launch Bay when Galaxy's Edge opened. I understand it offered the opportunity to meet classic Star Wars characters who didn't fit on Batuu, as well as some designated meet and greet spaces for other Disney/Marvel/Lucasfilm characters, but it always seemed like an odd fit for this area of the park that Disney couldn't figure out what to do with. While I like the switch back to an emphasis on animation with a return of the do-it-yourself animation class, it no longer fits the theme of DHS, and I'm not sure how much the average guest will take to this change. While all the hard core theme park and Disney fans will likely gravitate to this throw-back, I think the typical theme park guest would rather ride the actual rides in the park as evidenced by the lack of crowds when the original Animation Academy closed and the current demand for the attraction in DCA.
I applaud Disney for reworking this space to be something more in line with the essence of the original Disney/MGM Studios, but I'm not sure if this will last long, and it's liable to be reworked again by the time the Monsters Inc coaster opens.
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This seems like a good temporary attraction that will soak up capacity and get people out of the heat. That area is still some prime real estate in a park that sorely needs more attractions. It would also be a great way to make a loop connecting to Sunset Showcase area.