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Walt Disney World >> Disney's Hollywood Studios >> Animation Courtyard & Mickey Avenue

The Magic of Disney Animation

The Magic of Disney Animation walks you through the animation process, though it is less reality-based than it used to be. Entering the courtyard, there is an area for meeting Disney characters. The first things you do is watch a movie called Drawn to Animation hosted by Mulan's Mushu (voiced by Eddie Murphy). In the 10-minute film, Mushu and Mulan animators explain how an animated movie is made. Following the movie, you enter what used to be the actual working space of Disney animators; Now it houses three activity centers. One has you answer questions to determine what Disney character you are most like and the second lets you provide voiceover for a clip from a Disney movie. The third section, and most popular, is an "animation academy" where you'll learn to draw a Disney character.

General Information - Hide Section
  • Location: The back side of the Animation Courtyard, to the right of Voyage of the Little Mermaid.
  • Date Opened: October 17, 2004 (in current form).
  • Capacity:
  • # of Shows: Continuously through the day, ever 15 minutes.
  • Characters: Various characters rotate through this location for meet and greet opportunities.
  • Photos and Autographs: Yes
 
Time Commitment Information - Hide Section
  • Wait Times: It shouldn't often be necessary to wait through more than two showings of the Drawn to Animation film, and generally not even that long.
  • Length of Show: Drawn to Animation is 10-minutes long. The area after the movie is self-guided and most people will take 20-30 minutes.
  • FastPass: No
  • Queue Description: None
Access Information - Hide Section
  • Health Restriction: None
  • Ride Access: ECVs are not allowed into the show building, it will be necessary to transfer to an available wheelchair.
  • Wheelchair Transfer: Not necessary
  • Service Animals: Yes
  • Audio: Assistive listening devices and reflective captioning devices are available for the film portion of this attraction from Guest Services.
  • Weight and Size Issues: Should be none
Parenting Information - Hide Section
  • Height Restriction:
  • Child Swap:
  • Other Issues:
History and Trivia - Hide Section
  • At this location: The Magic of Disney Animation has been in this location since the park opened in 1989.
  • The Attraction's History: When Disney's Hollywood Studios opened it was to be used as a active film studio, and this included opening a branch office of Walt Disney Feature Animation. The office got its start doing animated shorts and portions of features such as Beauty and the Beast. It eventually graduated onto full feature projects and over the years did most or all of the animation for titles such as Mulan, Lilo & Stitch, and Brother Bear. In January 2004, it was announced that work on a film by the name of A Few Good Ghosts would be halted and Feature Animation - Florida would be closed, laying off 250 employees.

    Up until that time, the focus of the Magic of Disney Animation attraction had been interaction with real animators and a tour around the actual workplace of the animators where in progess animation could be seen. Ceasing any actual work in the space eventually requires restructuring the attraction into what it currently is.


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