Walt Disney Imagineering has revealed the name of the space guests will pass through on their way into The Magic of Disney Animation at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and it comes with an Open House photo op pulled straight from Once Upon a Studio. The reveal came in the newest episode of Imagineering’s YouTube series Pardon Our Pixie Dust, and it fills in one of the last pieces of the puzzle before the September 14 opening we confirmed back in July.
The space is now officially called the Atrium Courtyard, and it sits right beneath the Walt Disney Animation Studios lettering and the Sorcerer Hat that already tops the building. Rather than a straight walk-in, Imagineering has built it as a gathering spot where families can pause, take in the “Walt Disney Animation Studios” signage, and get a photo before heading in to explore Drawn to Wonderland, Off the Page!, Olaf Draws!, and the Once Upon a Studio Theater. It plays the same role the outdoor Walt Disney Studios courtyard has played since May, giving guests a reason to slow down before the doors even open
The centerpiece of the Atrium Courtyard is a banner reading “Open House,” and Imagineering staged it as though the characters had just finished hanging it themselves. Mickey Mouse stands closest to the building with paint splattered on his gloves. Next to him, the Mad Hatter holds a paintbrush in his green coat and pointed hat, with Flounder from The Little Mermaid perched right on top of that hat like he climbed up to get a better view. On the other end of the banner, Moana holds her wayfinding oar with a paint can hooked over the blade, and Minnie Mouse stands nearby watching the whole scene come together. Above the “S” in “House,” a Lost Boy character climbs the fabric and adds a gold flourish with his brush. That figure is a callback to Robin Williams’ Lost Boy from Back to Neverland, the pre-show film that ran as part of the original Magic of Disney Animation until it closed in 2015. At least one other outlet’s coverage of the reveal also lists Tinker Bell as part of the lineup, though the characters clearly visible in our own photos from the courtyard are the six described above.
Pardon Our Pixie Dust is hosted by Michael Hundgen, Walt Disney World’s portfolio executive creative producer, and it is Imagineering’s regular behind-the-walls look at projects currently under construction. In this episode, senior producer Jackie Herrera walks through what has changed in the courtyard before pulling back the curtain on the new entrance sign herself. As we reported in July, senior creative director Danny Handke continues to lead the overall Imagineering effort on The Magic of Disney Animation, with Herrera’s team handling the day-to-day work of bringing pieces like the Atrium Courtyard sign to life.
The same episode also checked in on the new otter splash pad figures at Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge and a new walkway connecting Avengers Campus and Cars Land at Disney California Adventure, and the full video is worth a watch for anyone tracking Imagineering’s current slate.
Mickey and Minnie on a sign are expected. Putting the Lost Boy from Back to Neverland front and center, gold paint flourish and all, is not. That character has not had a presence at Walt Disney World since the original Magic of Disney Animation closed in 2015, so choosing him over an easier, more recognizable face says something about how closely Imagineering is reading Once Upon a Studio’s own spirit of pulling deep-cut characters out of the archive. We will take a callback like that over another obvious lineup of the usual suspects any day, and it is the detail we will be looking for more of once the doors open on September 14.
FLN has been tracking this project since Disney first announced it, including our look at the Olaf Draws! concept back in February, every character hidden in the outdoor courtyard’s map guide when that space opened in May, and our full breakdown of the interior experiences once Disney confirmed the September 14 opening date. The Atrium Courtyard reveal is the last major piece before all of it opens to guests.
