Disney gave fans their most detailed look yet at The Magic of Disney Animation today, with a Disney Parks “First Look” walkthrough video and a separate Walt Disney Imagineering Easter egg walkthrough, just days ahead of the experience’s September 14 opening at Hollywood Studios.
The building sits inside the reimagined Animation Courtyard, styled after the real Roy E. Disney Animation Building in Burbank, right down to Mickey’s Sorcerer Hat sitting on top just like the original. Inside, four main experiences make up the collection.
We’ve been tracking this one closely, including our recent look inside the real animator’s desk on display. The courtyard surrounding the building has been open since May, but today’s videos are the first real walkthrough of what’s actually inside.
“Drawn to Wonderland” is an indoor playground built for younger kids, inspired by Mary Blair’s original concept art for Alice in Wonderland. Guests move through the Mad Tea Party, the Mad Hatter’s house, the Queen of Hearts’ rose garden, and the Cheshire Cat’s Tulgey Wood, all built for active climbing and play rather than a ride-through experience.
“Off the Page!” turns the building’s old animation departments into character meet-and-greet spaces, pairing specific characters with the stage of production they represent. Mulan appears in Story, posing with an oversized storyboard panel. Rapunzel shows up in Layout, set against a multiplane camera design with layered backgrounds. Chip ‘n Dale represent Hand-Drawn Animation, Donald and Daisy cover Computer Animation, Goofy handles Lighting, and Stitch is tied to Effects.
“Olaf Draws!” is the collection’s centerpiece attraction, built around a brand-new Audio-Animatronics figure of Olaf sitting at an animator’s desk. Guests are walked step-by-step through basic character drawing, guided by recorded lessons from real Disney Animation artists and directors. The character lineup covers a real mix of classic and modern Disney Animation history: Mickey Mouse with Dan Abraham, Minnie Mouse with Hyun Min Lee, Donald Duck with Austin Traylor, Genie with Eric Goldberg, Moana with Samantha Vilfort, Stitch with Fawn Veerasunthorn, Olaf with Trent Correy, Ursula with Michael Woodside, and Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde with Byron Howard.
One detail worth calling out on its own: Olaf draws left-handed. It’s a small touch, but it’s exactly the kind of thing Imagineering tends to sweat over that most guests would never think to look for, and it’s a nice bit of character consistency for an animatronic built entirely around teaching kids to draw.
Rounding out the experience is the Once Upon A Studio Theater, showing the Emmy-winning short film that inspired the whole reimagined space, with characters appearing to pop out of the artwork on the theater walls as the film plays. An enchanted art gallery sits nearby, where character artwork springs into all-new animation when guests aren’t quite looking straight at it.
The Imagineering walkthrough also confirmed something worth exploring on repeat visits: Easter eggs are hidden throughout the entire building, not just concentrated in one or two rooms. Between that and the sheer number of character and artist pairings packed into “Olaf Draws!” and “Off the Page!”, this is clearly built to reward guests who go through more than once rather than a one-and-done walkthrough.
