The characters that made the Walt Disney Studios lot worth walking through all summer have moved indoors.
Always the plan. Always going to leave a gap.
Since the courtyard opened in May, guests have run into Rapunzel, Stitch, Chip ‘n’ Dale, and others roaming with no set locations. That is a fundamentally different experience from a queue and a photographer. Roaming characters interact. They wander over. They surprise people.
Those characters now have designated spots inside The Magic of Disney Animation, which soft opened today at Disney’s Hollywood Studios ahead of its official September 14 debut.
So what happens outside?
The answer came this morning, and it is better than a straight replacement.
Credit: Disney
Who Is Out There
Jiminy Cricket was in the courtyard at 9:30 a.m. today.
Not alone, either. The White Rabbit alternates with him throughout the day, each roaming for about 30 minutes before they switch.
Useful to know if you are planning a visit. You are not choosing between them. Wait in the right spot long enough, and you will probably catch both.
Both are also unusual picks in the best way. Neither Jiminy Cricket nor the White Rabbit shows up with any regularity at Walt Disney World, and that scarcity is what turns a roaming appearance into a find rather than a checklist item.
Alice Is Inside
One more from this morning.
Alice from Alice in Wonderland was inside at the Mary Blair-inspired Drawn to Wonderland playground, having tea with younger guests.
Smart placement. Drawn to Wonderland is built on Mary Blair’s original concept art for Alice in Wonderland, so putting Alice in that space makes it cohere instead of feeling like a play area with a theme applied over it.
It also pairs neatly with the White Rabbit outside, which suggests the characters’ picks are more coordinated than they look.
Where the Summer Characters Went
The roaming characters now have permanent homes in Off the Page, organized around stages of the animation process:
Deliberate pairings. Chip ‘n’ Dale, in hand-drawn and Donald and Daisy, in CG, match the eras those characters came from, and Rapunzel sits in a Layout space inspired by the multiplane camera.
Credit: Disney
What Else Opened
The soft opening gives access to the full attraction ahead of Monday.
Olaf Draws, an interactive drawing academy hosted by an advanced Audio-Animatronic Olaf with recorded guidance from Disney artists. Uses a Virtual Queue, and guests must sign up in person rather than through My Disney Experience.
Once Upon A Studio Theater, screening the Emmy Award-winning short that brings more than 500 classic Disney characters together.
Drawn to Wonderland, the indoor play space for younger kids built on classic animation sketches and Alice’s world.
The Enchanted Art Gallery, showcasing Disney Animation artwork that looks traditional at first, then comes to life through animated elements made for the experience.
Before You Go
Soft openings are unannounced and can end without warning. Nothing today guarantees access tomorrow.
But if you are at Hollywood Studios this weekend, walk over instead of assuming it is still walled off.
There is also a scheduling catch worth knowing well past opening weekend.
September 14 through 27, the attraction is scheduled to match park hours. Starting September 28, the currently posted schedule shows a shorter window of 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Hollywood Studios typically opens at 9:00 a.m., with Early Theme Park Entry at 8:30 a.m. for resort guests. So the attraction would miss early entry and the first hour of regular operation, and close about three hours before a 9:00 p.m. park close.
Disney can change posted hours, so treat that as current rather than permanent. Just do not save this for the end of the night after September 28.
Credit: Disney
The Name Came Back
Worth noting what today actually is.
The original Magic of Disney Animation was an opening day attraction when the park launched as Disney-MGM Studios in May 1989. Guests watched real Disney animators working on The Lion King, Lilo and Stitch, and Mulan through glass, met characters, and took drawing classes.
It closed permanently in July 2015. The space became Star Wars Launch Bay.
Eleven years later, the name is back in the same building.
What Comes Next
Soft opening character lineups are not final. The Jiminy and White Rabbit rotation could change before Monday or after.
That is the appeal. Roaming selections shift, and this courtyard has already shown it will rotate through the Disney Animation catalog rather than settling.
Heading to Hollywood Studios in the next few days? Watch the courtyard. You might run into someone you have not seen in years.
Source: WDW News Today for the soft opening character observations.
