Grab your pencils! One of Disney World’s biggest new additions of 2026 is officially just one week away from opening.
On September 14, 2026, Disney’s Hollywood Studios will debut The Magic of Disney Animation, a brand-new collection of experiences that brings guests inside the world of Walt Disney Animation Studios.
The experience includes an animation class featuring an Audio-Animatronics Olaf, a massive new character meet-and-greet area, an Alice in Wonderland-inspired indoor playground, an enhanced theater experience, animated artwork, and plenty of hidden details inspired by Disney Animation history.
The Magic of Disney Animation represents the next major piece of the transformed Animation Courtyard at Hollywood Studios, and starting next Monday, guests will finally be able to step inside.
The new experience is housed inside the former Star Wars: Launch Bay building, which has undergone a major transformation inspired by the real Roy E. Disney Animation Building in Burbank, California.
Yes, that includes the giant Sorcerer Mickey hat sitting on top. The premise behind the experience takes inspiration from Disney’s Emmy Award-winning short film Once Upon a Studio.
Imagine walking into Walt Disney Animation Studios after the animators have stepped away for the day — only for the characters and artwork they left behind to magically come to life. That’s essentially the story Disney is building around the new space.
The reimagined Animation Courtyard outside the building already opened earlier this year, transforming the former Animation Courtyard into an outdoor area inspired by the Walt Disney Studios lot in California.
Now, the doors to The Magic of Disney Animation are about to open. And there’s quite a bit waiting inside.
Olaf Draws!
One of the experiences we’re most interested to see is Olaf Draws!, which brings animation classes back to Disney’s Hollywood Studios in a completely new way.
Guests will learn how to sketch Disney characters with help from actual Walt Disney Animation Studios artists appearing through prerecorded segments. But they won’t be alone in the room. An Audio-Animatronics Olaf will sit at an animator’s desk and join the class.
Josh Gad recorded original dialogue for the experience, once again providing the voice of Olaf. Depending on the class, guests could learn to draw Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Genie, Moana, Stitch, Olaf, Ursula, or Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde. Even better, the artists teaching those characters include some major Disney Animation names.
Eric Goldberg teaches Genie, Zootopia director Byron Howard handles Judy and Nick, Wish director Fawn Veerasunthorn teaches Stitch, and Once Upon a Studio director Dan Abraham teaches Mickey Mouse. It’s a pretty impressive lineup for what could easily have been a simple drawing class.
And for longtime Hollywood Studios fans, there’s an added layer of nostalgia here. Animation instruction was once a major part of the original Magic of Disney Animation experience at the park before it closed in 2015. This isn’t a recreation of that attraction, but being able to sit down and draw a Disney character inside this building again certainly feels like a nod to that history.
āOff the Page!ā Brings a LOT of Characters Together
If character meet-and-greets are more your thing, Off the Page! may become one of the most useful stops in Hollywood Studios. The area divides its character experiences across six departments representing different stages of the animation process.
Disney has announced:
Mulan ā Story
Mulan appears alongside an oversized storyboard panel.
Rapunzel ā Layout
Her setting takes inspiration from the multiplane camera used to create depth in traditional animation.
Chip ‘n’ Dale ā Hand-Drawn Animation
Donald and Daisy ā Computer Animation
Goofy ā Lighting
Stitch ā Effects
Rather than simply placing six characters in separate rooms, Disney is using each meet-and-greet to help tell part of the story of how an animated movie is made.That could also make this an especially useful destination for families trying to meet several characters without crisscrossing the park.
As always, specific character appearances remain subject to change.
Drawn to Wonderland Gives Younger Kids Somewhere To PLAY
One of the more unusual additions is Drawn to Wonderland, an indoor play area inspired by Disney Legend Mary Blair’s original concept artwork for Alice in Wonderland.
This isn’t simply an Alice in Wonderland-themed room. Disney has taken Blair’s distinctive shapes, colors, and artwork and turned them into an environment younger guests can physically explore. The playground includes an oversized flower garden with musical elements, a Mad Tea Party playset, the Mad Hatter’s house, the Queen of Hearts’ rose garden, and an area inspired by Tulgey Wood. For families with younger children, this could fill a practical gap at Hollywood Studios.
Instead of every experience being another attraction queue or seated show, Drawn to Wonderland gives kids somewhere indoors to move around and play; something that could be particularly welcome during a hot or rainy Florida afternoon.
Once Upon a Studio Gets Its Own Theater
The short film that inspired the entire project is getting a permanent home here, too.
Inside the Once Upon a Studio Theater, guests can watch the Emmy Award-winning Once Upon a Studio, which brought together hundreds of Disney characters to celebrate 100 years of Walt Disney Animation Studios.
But Disney isn’t simply putting the short on a theater screen. The room will feature enhanced effects, including characters appearing within artwork along the theater walls as the film plays. Elsewhere inside The Magic of Disney Animation, guests will find an enchanted art gallery filled with Disney Animation artwork that may initially look completely still.
Keep watching. Disney says new animation created specifically for this experience will cause the artwork to magically come to life.
The September 14 opening marks a major milestone for a section of Hollywood Studios that has changed dramatically. The former Animation Courtyard closed in September 2025 as Disney began transforming the area. The exterior courtyard returned earlier this year with landscaping, seating, character details, the Studio Store, and the massive Sorcerer Mickey hat installed above the former Launch Bay building.
Disney Jr. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Live! also became part of the reimagined area. But the biggest piece has remained behind closed doors. That changes September 14.
The Magic of Disney Animation brings the former Launch Bay building back into active use while also reconnecting this part of Hollywood Studios with something that was once fundamental to the park’s identity: Disney animation itself.
When Disney-MGM Studios opened in 1989, animation wasn’t simply represented through attractions. Disney actually operated a working animation studio at the park.
The original Magic of Disney Animation allowed guests to learn about that process, and films including portions of Mulan, Lilo & Stitch, and Brother Bear were worked on at the Florida studio before Disney ultimately closed the production facility in 2004. The attraction itself remained until 2015.
So while the 2026 Magic of Disney Animation is an entirely new experience, bringing that name (and animation education) back to Hollywood Studios more than a decade later carries some real significance.
Keep checking back with Theme Park Scope for our coverage of The Magic of Disney Animation, along with the latest Disney’s Hollywood Studios openings, construction, and Walt Disney World updates.
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