The Walt Disney Studios area taking shape at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is rapidly transforming the park’s landscape, with classic movie posters now hanging on the buildings, new themed street signs installed, the Sorcerer’s Hat lighting up during testing, and a confirmed opening date of May 26 for the outdoor courtyard.
I was there today to check it all out. Besides seeing how the new Walt Disney Studios area is, we also found Stitch, Rapunzel, and Mulan have started meeting and greeting guests around the Park. Check out our IG below for a few thoughts.
The building now designated Stage 1 is dressed with posters paying tribute to Walt Disney Animation, including the theatrical poster for Zootopia 2 and a classic Dumbo graphic. Just around the corner, above the Studio Theater home to The Little Mermaid: A Musical Adventure, posters for Lady and the Tramp and Tangled now hang on the exterior walls. The effect is exactly what you would hope for: a backlot that feels like it belongs to Disney’s storied animation legacy, not just a backstage pass through a generic studio lot.
The street sign at the corner of Mickey Avenue and Dopey Drive is now in place, and it is a direct callback to the original signage at the Disney Studio lot in California. The post features character medallion roundels, Dopey on top, Mickey below with additional labels pointing toward Animation, In Between, Multiplane, and Special FX. It is a detail-rich piece of theming that rewards guests who slow down and look.
Imagineering has also been spotted testing the lighting on the new Sorcerer’s Hat, the iconic blue cone with moon and stars that anchors the area’s visual identity. Seeing it lit is a meaningful milestone — it signals the space is closer to its full debut than the construction walls might suggest.
What’s Opening and When
The Walt Disney Studios outdoor courtyard opens to guests on May 26, giving families their first real look at the new area as a walkable space. That same day, Disney Jr. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Live! makes its debut inside the park. The new show, inspired by the global Disney Jr. hit Mickey Mouse Clubhouse+, is a high-energy production where Mickey and Minnie need help rounding up Goofy, Daisy, and Pluto before the party can start. It features original songs, interactive moments, and plenty of room for kids to clap, cheer, and dance along.
Also on the horizon for late summer is The Magic of Disney Animation, the newly reimagined indoor experience that will bring the animation celebration fully to life. Inside, guests will find “Off the Page!” character meets, a “Drawn to Wonderland” playground, and “Olaf Draws,” a drawing class led by legendary Disney Animation artists with Olaf as the enthusiastic co-instructor.
Our Take
What is happening in this corner of Hollywood Studios is genuinely exciting to watch develop. The movie poster installations are not filler — they are carefully chosen titles that span Disney Animation’s history, and the backlot aesthetic gives the area a sense of place that feels earned. The Dopey Drive sign in particular is the kind of throwback detail that longtime fans will love and newcomers will photograph without even fully knowing why. May 26 cannot come soon enough.
Stay with Fantasy Land News for full coverage as Walt Disney Studios opens at Hollywood Studios.
New Movie Posters and Mickey Ave Sign Installed at Hollywood Studios Walt Disney Studios Area
