Get ready for even more Disney World changes! Lately, Disney World feels like a never-ending sea of change, which can sometimes be fun and sometimes sad.

Walt Disney Studios — Animation Building

We’ve lost some iconic attractions, but we’ve also gained some seriously exciting new additions to the parks. Now, over in Hollywood Studios, even more changes are on the horizon, and they kick off VERY soon.

Get your pencils, animators! The Magic of Disney Animation is only one week away from opening. The newest Hollywood Studios expansion officially opens on September 14th, and there will be quite a bit to see and do. The new expansion is located in the spot that was previously home to Star Wars: Launch Bay!

The Magic of Disney Animation sign!

Inside, you get to step into the Disney Animation building when the animators have stepped away, and magic comes to life. The experience is inspired by the Disney short “Once Upon A Studio,” which we highly encourage you to check out if you haven’t seen it before! It’s online and on Disney+. The Magic of Disney Animation will include 4 distinct areas for guests to explore.

©Disney

Olaf Draws will be an animation class where an animatronic Olaf and a Disney animator teach you how to draw classic Disney characters. The animator will be on a screen (so no live animators), and you can draw characters like:

• Mickey Mouse, with Dan Abraham, director (Once Upon A Studio, Baymax!)
• Minnie Mouse, with Hyun Min Lee, animator (Frozen 2, The Princess and the Frog)
• Donald Duck, with Austin Traylor, animator (Once Upon A Studio, Moana 2)
• Genie, with Eric Goldberg, animator (Aladdin, Hercules)
• Moana, with Samantha Vilfort, story artist (Encanto, Zootopia 2)
• Stitch, with Fawn Veerasunthorn, director and head of story (Wish, Raya and the Last Dragon)
• Olaf, with Trent Correy, director (Once Upon A Studio, Frozen 3)
• Ursula, with Michael Woodside, animator (Big Hero 6, Encanto)
• Judy Hopps & Nick Wilde, with Byron Howard, director (Zootopia, Zootopia 2)

©Disney

Guests can also meet Disney characters in “Off The Page”. This area of the new expansion will have different Disney characters across six departments, including Story, Layout, Hand-Drawn Animation, Computer Animation, Lighting, and Effects. The characters include:

• Mulan in Story (posing in front of an oversized storyboard panel)
• Rapunzel in Layout ( in “a setting inspired by the classic multiplane camera”)
• Chip n’ Dale in Hand-Drawn Animation
• Donald and Daisy in CG Animation
• Goofy in Lighting
• Stitch in Effects

©Disney

Don’t forget about the Drawn to Wonderland playground! This playground is inspired by Mary Blair’s artwork for Alice in Wonderland, so even the youngest members of the family can have a place to explore. Disney has shared some sneak peeks of the area and confirmed it will include an “oversized flower garden with musical instruments, a Mad Tea Party playset, and a Tugley Wood exploration area.”

Drawn to Wonderland Playground Concept Art ©Disney

Finally, guests can explore the Once Upon A Studio Theater, which will show the Emmy Award-winning short film Once Upon A Studio. You know, the short that inspired this entire area? Disney also shared that the theater will have “enhanced effects” to “add an extra layer of magic.” They teased that “you may spot characters popping up within the artwork along the theater walls, placing you right in the middle of this enchanting story.”

©Disney

This new section of the park is the second half of the phased opening for the Walt Disney Studios, a new land in Hollywood Studios. The first section of this land opened in May 2026 for guests to explore. We can’t wait to explore it all once it finally opens next week! As always, be sure to keep following DFB for more Disney news, updates, and more!

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What do you think of the new land? Tell us in the comments!