A virtual queue for “Olaf Draws!” will be needed when The Magic of Disney Animation opens September 14, but it’s not the standard app-based virtual queue most guests are used to, according to Cast Members in the Animation Courtyard. You’ll have to physically show up at the experience’s entrance to get added to the waitlist, so the earlier you can get there, the better your odds of actually getting in that day. Space is limited, and while we do not know the exact number of people who can do this at once, it does not look like over 100 at a time.
“Olaf Draws!” replaces the old Animation Academy with a brand-new Audio-Animatronics figure of Olaf, seated at an animator’s desk in a scene inspired by a moment from Once Upon a Studio. Guests are walked through basic character drawing step by step, guided by recorded lessons from real Disney Animation artists and directors covering characters like Mickey Mouse, Genie, Moana, Stitch, and Olaf himself.
Unlike most virtual queues at Walt Disney World, this one can’t be joined remotely through the My Disney Experience app from somewhere else in the park. Guests need to be physically present at the entrance to get added to the waitlist, which makes this closer to an old-fashioned standby sign-up than the virtual queue system most people associate with attractions like TRON or Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind.
That in-person requirement is worth planning around. A virtual queue you can only join by showing up removes the biggest advantage virtual queues usually offer, being able to secure a spot while doing something else in the park. Guests who want a real shot at “Olaf Draws!” on a given day should treat it like an early rope-drop priority rather than something to sort out later.
We covered the full deep dive on this experience just yesterday, when Disney released a First Look walkthrough video alongside an Imagineering Easter egg tour ahead of opening day.
Olaf Draws! Virtual Queue Confirmed
