Disney’s Hollywood Studios has been busy with major updates to well-known attractions, like Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets and the Mandalorian and Grogu joining Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run. The park now turns toward its next big opening, the return of a defunct attraction developed for a new generation.
Walt Disney World revealed the opening date and new artwork for the newest attraction coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. We have details on what to expect from this unique experience and how it differs from the attraction’s former version of the park’s early days. Mickey Visit brings you the latest Disney news and planning resources, including rookie Disney money mistakes and sold-out dates for Disney World’s Halloween party.
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Disney Animation Attraction Returning to Disney’s Hollywood Studios
The Magic of Disney Animation, a pavilion-style attraction that operated at Disney’s Hollywood Studios from 1989 to 2015, is returning to the park in a new way.
This space once functioned as a working studio facility, a satellite branch of Walt Disney Feature Animation (now called Walt Disney Animation Studios). The entirety of Mulan, Lilo & Stitch, and Brother Bear were created right here at the theme park, as were significant portions of Aladdin and The Lion King.
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Now, the attraction is framed as a fantasy version of Disney Animation’s California headquarters. The artists are all away, and as guests step inside, the animators’ character creations come to life to show everyone around.
The Magic of Disney Animation will officially open on September 14, 2026. Disney previously shared the attraction would open in “late summer,” and the opening date keeps that promise, though it cuts it close.
The attraction will be unique from most Disney World experiences in that guests will enter the building and have their pick of several different small-scale experiences. In this way, it recalls the feel of a traditional EPCOT pavilion. Disney previously revealed the four experiences that will be found inside The Magic of Disney Animation, and just shared new poster artwork for each of them, which we’ve included below with additional artwork of each mini-attraction.
Once Upon a Studio Theater will screen the 2023 short film Once Upon a Studio, in which over 500 Disney characters inhabit the halls of Disney Animation’s offices. Special effects inside the auditorium will enhance the film. The look and feel of Once Upon a Studio informed the rest of the design and storyline of the new iteration of The Magic of Disney Animation.
Olaf Draws! will be a drawing class hosted by an Audio-Animatronics figure of Olaf from Frozen, as well as a prerecorded video of an animator or director from Walt Disney Animation Studios. Guests will learn to draw either Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Ursula, Genie, Stitch, Olaf, Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde, or Moana. This makes for a great free souvenir.
We expect the Olaf Audio-Animatronics figure to be as advanced as any of Disney’s latest tech, but we don’t anticipate him being the free-roaming version of the character that debuted earlier this year at international Disney parks.
Notably, Olaf Draws! differs from the classes in the former version of The Magic of Disney Animation hosted by live cast members.
Off the Page! will be a series of character meet and greets located in photo-ops depicting different stages and principles of the animation process, such as storyboarding and layout. Goofy, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Chip, Dale, Mulan, Stitch, and Rapunzel will all greet guests here.
Drawn to Wonderland will be a play area inspired by the late Mary Blair’s concept art for Disney’s 1951 Alice in Wonderland film. Blair was a celebrated artist whose work was especially influential in the creation of “it’s a small world”. She also made the huge mural hanging in the concourse of Disney’s Contemporary Resort.
We do not expect Disney to offer Lightning Lane reservations for any of the experiences inside The Magic of Disney Animation.
This building was most recently home to Star Wars Launch Bay, a museum-like attraction with character greetings, that operated from 2015 to 2025.
The area immediately outside of The Magic of Disney Animation was recently refurbished. Formerly known as Animation Courtyard, the plaza is now The Walt Disney Studios, continuing the “fantasy California headquarters” motif of The Magic of Disney Animation with playful statues of Disney animated characters and “handprints” of some of Disney’s most famous stars.
The Walt Disney Studios opened in May 2026, along with the new Disney Jr. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Live! indoor stage show. The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure, which opened in 2025, was annexed into the area.
The Magic of Disney Animation’s September 14 opening comes in the middle of a busy autumn season for Disney World. Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party and the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival will both be in full swing by then.
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Looking ahead, Disney’s Hollywood Studios is under construction on Monstropolis, a new land themed to Monsters, Inc. Disney will share new details about Monstropolis at a major event next month. Here’s what we think Disney will reveal.
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