Step into The Magic of Disney Animation at Disney World
What to do with Animation Courtyard? That was the question that drove Walt Disney Imagineering to reimagine The Magic of Disney Animation at Disney's Hollywood Studios, which opens officially September 14th.
The Emmy Award-winning 100th anniversary short Once Upon A Studio was chosen to give the area a sense of place. Rather than simply providing a screening of the short film, the concept was used as inspiration for the entire land, allowing animated characters to come alive and guests the opportunity to jump inside the stories they love.
As the story of the land goes, similar to the "Once Upon A Studio" short, when the animators are out to lunch the animated Disney characters have taken over and are hosting an open house.
WDAS characters are throwing an open house while the animators are out to lunch.
Creativity, exceptional place-making, and a cornucopia of easter eggs and details are overflowing in The Magic of Disney Animation, which is the final phase to The Walt Disney Studios area in Hollywood Studios. Everywhere you look, there are props, trinkets, and items from the 65-film catalog of Disney Animation.
The Imagineers collaborated with veteran Disney animator Eric Goldberg and "Once Upon A Studio" director Dan Abraham to bring the short, and The Magic of Disney Animation, to life. They wanted to ensure that they celebrated the 100-year history of artists, while inspiring the next generation of animators.
There is a reverence to what came before without being beholden to it. In "Once Upon A Studio" and in the revitalized Magic of Disney Animation experience, the artists pay tribute to "Back To Neverland," a short starring Robin Williams and Walter Cronkite that played before the old Magic of Disney Animation tour that opened alongside Hollywood Studios. This short is what inspired many working Disney animators to chase their dreams and get into the business, with Dan Abraham sharing that he used to work in Hollywood Studios and could recite "Back To Neverland" from memory after doing the attraction again and again.
In the short, Robin Williams is transformed into one of Peter Pan’s Lost Boys. This animated Lost Boy makes a cameo in "Once Upon A Studio," and is referenced several times in the new Magic of Disney Animation, including one of the characters holding up the "Open House" sign.
Eric Goldberg, animator of the Genie in Aladdin, revealed that Robin Williams’s attire in the short - a Goofy hat and Hawaiian shirt - inspired the look of the Genie at the end of the movie. In fact, Eric Goldberg also revealed he is now the owner of the original Hawaiian shirt Robin Williams wore in "Back To Neverland."
It’s that level of commitment and passion that breathes through every pore of the new Magic of Disney Animation.
This is a much-needed addition to Hollywood Studios, giving young children, families, or the thrill-adverse an immersive and worthy experience.
The Mickey Avenue section of The Walt Disney Studios area opened in May to pretty big praise. "Disney Jr. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Live!" opened with the area, giving another option for parents and kids to beat the heat, in addition to the now-connected "Walt Disney Presents" and "The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure."
Sculpted characters lurk just about everywhere, providing kids and animation fans numerous "I spy" moments. This outdoor area gives families a chance to sit and rest and kids the chance to play and possibly meet one of the roaming walk-around characters. (Disney was reluctant to state if these outdoor character interactions would continue once the character meet-and-greets within The Magic of Disney Animation opened.)
With a theater show, a drawing walkthrough, a plethora of entertainment, and a themed play area, The Magic of Disney Animation fully fulfills the promise of The Walt Disney Studios land.
Galleries & Studio Store
After walking past the "Open House" sign into glorious climate-controlled A/C goodness, guests can experience the interactive attraction Olaf Draws! To the right are the galleries where characters have loaned their artifacts for display in a museum walkthrough. Think Scrump from Lilo & Stitch, Maui’s hook from Moana, and Rapunzel’s frying pan from Tangled.
Items 'on loan' to the Gallery from animated characters
Also on display in this area are props, images, and concept art from Disney’s upcoming "Hexed" feature film. This gallery could be a great way to future-proof the experience and maintain relevancy, swapping out art and props for the newest upcoming animated feature.
This area is currently promoting Hexed, but could be an avenue for displaying future Disney Animation Studios films
Past this area is a quaint gift shop, Studio Store, with some exclusive merchandise for the Disney Studios area.
One of the exclusive merchandise items in The Magic of Disney Animation
Circling back around past "Olaf Draws!" is a fish bowl room made for lounging. Comfy seating abounds along with a great view of the meet-and-greet area. The light fixtures, comprised of paint and brushes, add nice cohesive theming.
The fishbowl area is a great location to relax and take in the view
The large open space below consists of different components of the animation process, starting with Visual Development. This area houses Drawn to Wonderland, a life-size Alice in Wonderland play area for kids 6 months to 5 years based on Mary Blair’s concept art.
Drawn to Wonderland
Drawn to Wonderland is separated into two play areas: one for kids 6-23 months, and the other 2 to 5 years old.
The former is fantastic, featuring spacious, playground-like rubber surfacing for little ones to walk and crawl, a couple features for supported walking and play, and generous seating and outlets for parents to recharge.
The latter has an interactive tea party play spot (pull up the tea kettle for a fun surprise), a small jungle gym, a slide for kids (and adults who want to aggravate their sciatica) featuring the Cheshire Cat in the Tulgey Wood (and activated sounds when guests slide down), a spinning activity panel, and an incline ramp maze leading to the Queen of Hearts' castle.
Tea Party play area within Drawn to Wonderland
All in all this is a wonderfully themed play area which makes great strides to cater to a demographic that was previously underserved at Hollywood Studios.
Off the Page!
This section of The Magic of Disney Animation is dedicated to character meet-and-greets and photo opportunities.
We continue through the next steps in the animation process: Story & Layout. Mulan meets in Story, which is decorated with storyboards from Once Upon A Studio while Rapunzel meets in Layout, which takes inspiration from Walt Disney’s multiplane camera.
Both interactions are photographed with a nearby artist cabinet. Guests can then scan their ticket or MagicBand on a cleverly-themed copier to save their PhotoPass photos.
The different components of the animation process. Note the multi-plane camera panes and the themed copier.
The next phase in the process is called Animation. This is divided into Hand-Drawn Animation, featuring Chip 'n' Dale and C.G. Animation, featuring Daisy, Donald, and an oversized tablet, keyboard, and mouse reminiscent of classic 90s/early aughts Disney.
Goofy meets in the Lightning section while Stitch meets in Effects, completing our tour through the animation process.
Across Off the Page! before the preshow to "Once Upon A Studio," guests can view storyboards from famous Disney Animation sequences, including "We Don’t Talk About Bruno" from "Encanto" and "Almost There" from "The Princess and the Frog."
But the real star is the animator’s office with a desk reused from the days of Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida. Tchotchkes and trinkets of every sort line every square inch of this office. Guests could easily spend multiple visits soaking in all the details and still not catch everything this office has to offer.
Stitch can be seen swirling on the animator’s chair. Hei-Hei is rummaging through the trash. Mushu is playing Fix-It Felix Jr. It’s hard not to love this exhibit.
The insanely-detailed animator’s office
Finally, guests arrive at "Once Upon A Studio" and its pre-show.
These experiences can really be done in any order, and Disney has designed this space to have multiple entries and exits, with dedicated entries to both "Once Upon A Studio" and Olaf Draws, to keep congestion at a minimum.
But I can’t help feeling the Platonic ideal order is doing Once Upon A Studio first, to pay tribute to the artistry that built 100 years of Disney, then experience the process of animation with Drawn to Wonderland & Off the Page! before stepping into the animation process yourself in Olaf Draws! and ending with a preview of the next Disney Animation project.
Not every project needs to be a half-billion dollar state-of-the-art E-ticket attraction. Disney wasn’t swinging for a home run here - they were aiming for a double. But they knocked it out of the park. The passion, creativity, and joy Disney brought to this project is infectious.
It’s for that reason that The Magic of Disney Animation is a resounding success.
Replies (11)
This looks like a great start to making Hollywood Studios a park that's more pleasant to be in when you're not rushing from big ride to big ride. And as long as it's that — just the start — I think it's great.
@MHDS: Excellent review.
@Russell: Why is the reduction or outright cessation of "outdoor character interactions" a "concern"?
The "concern" is that the character appearances in the Courtyard have been extremely popular, and give guests a chance to do meet and greets without having to stand in controlled queue spaces. The character appearances are more like the meet and greets in Disneyland/DCA, which is refreshing for WDW guests, who aside from a very few exceptions are forced to wait in long, boring hallways to meet characters in front of staged backgrounds. It would be disappointing for an experience that guests like get pushed aside for staged meet and greet spaces with managed queues.
The preview center was always a favorite part of the original building. I still recall seeing stuff for Aladdin or Lion King and thinking "is this going to work" then enjoying them as hits. Glad that's making a comeback.
@Russell: Considering you described a potential (not yet realized) change in the park's entertainment options (something that actually happens regularly) as the "biggest concern", exactly how many guests do you think will be disappointed by the the reduction or outright cessation of outdoor character interactions? Hundreds? Dozens? Maybe none?
I have no idea TH. What I do know is that guests were very excited when characters were spontaneously meeting in the outdoor courtyard as reported by various sources (and why the question was asked here regarding a potential change in the offering when the indoor meet and greet spaces open). There was plentiful online buzz about this because it's a rare opportunity at WDW and with the possibility of change when the interior spaces open, it's odd that Disney is not addressing it despite the popularity of the current setup. It's possible that they don't have staff to facilitate performing both indoor staged/managed meet and greets along with the outdoor/spontaneous ones, but if Disney really wanted to go "small ball" with their offerings, having characters randomly pop up in an open space is about as minimalistic as it gets.
@Russel: So when it comes to the extent of the disappointment when it comes to changing this entertainment option you "have no idea".
Got it.
Not sure how it constitutes the "biggest concern".
But as you note, "having characters randomly pop up in an open space is about as minimalistic as it gets". Thus, if they do cancel the open air meet-and-greets and a substantially large number of guests complain, Disney would likely bring it back quickly.
You'd agree with that, right?
I thought I read elsewhere that Disney confirmed that there would still be roaming characters outside in the area? It just wouldn't be the same ones featured inside.
The successful opening of this "Small Ball" (low cost, big "splash") addition arrives as the 'EPCOT Food & Wine' and 'Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party' start to pick up speed. This adds wind to the sails driving the company toward 2027 -- which may or may not see the opening of Tropical America at DAK and Monstropolis at DHS.
What Disney has managed to accomplish is maintaining the success of its parks while NBC/Universal continues to struggle. From Deadline (09/09/26): "On Epic Universe, (Comcast CFO Jason) Armstrong noted ongoing 'near-term headwinds' after a terrific opening in May of 2025 'lifted all boats in the Orlando market for us,' including the legacy parks, for some time. But 'what we started to see in June was softness in Orlando, and we articulated that on the [earnings] call. As we move through the [current] quarter, I would tell you I don’t think anything’s changed. We’re continuing to see softness in that market.'"
Not a great sign for the next quarterly reports.
@TH - I merely articulating sentiments from various other groups and observers that all expressed delight when spontaneously roaming characters were introduced to the new Animation Courtyard and a general concern that those interactions may be suspended when the interior meet-and-greet spaces open. The fact that Disney did not comment to a direct question regarding the future of the Courtyard appearances is telling, and Disney has a long history of taking away things guests LOVED and never brining them back, so I don't agree that they would bring the Courtyard appearances back just because a bunch of people complained.
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"Disney was reluctant to state if these outdoor character interactions would continue once the character meet-and-greets within The Magic of Disney Animation opened."
I think this is the biggest concern, and the fact that Disney would not comment suggests that the plan is to stop the organic meets in the outdoor courtyard when the indoor staged meet and greets open.
Also, photos from the preview (both here and elsewhere) don't really relay the scale of this new indoor space or how crowded it could get, particularly on hot days or during inclement weather. Since this represents one of the few open indoor spaces in the park, it could get really uncomfortable if crowds mob this area. That "Fishbowl" looks like a neat space, but seems really small with chairs that will undoubtedly be occupied virtually every second of the operating day. I get where they're going with the design, but benches or other flexible seating arrangements would have been a better choice than single swivel chairs that could get filled up with just 2 or 3 families.
As noted, this does look to be a great "small ball" addition to DHS, and a type of guest space that was desperately needed in the park (freeform air conditioned space for relaxing and/or light play). This does seem to meet expectations based on what was promised, but let's see how things go when people start utilizing this area. The beauty of an addition like this is that it because it didn't cost a lot or take a ton of effort to correct, it similarly won't take much to make modifications to adapt the space to what guests really want and to elevate the areas within the indoor space that have the most demand/appeal.