The One BIG Issue with Hollywood Studios’ NEW Attraction

Disney recently just temporarily closed Rafiki’s Planet Watch in Disney’s Animal Kingdom to make way for the new “Bluey” experience coming for Cool KIDS’ SUMMER, but the Animation Experience unfortunately closed for good.

The Animation Experience was where you could sit down with a Disney animator/artist and learn to draw one of your favorite Disney characters in real time. It was a surprise what character(s) would be drawn each day, and many guests loved coming back each trip to draw new characters and enhance their skills. We were stoked when Disney announced that, to replace the Animation Experience, a similar experience will be coming to the new Walt Disney Studios section of Disney’s Hollywood Studios this summer, however, there’s something VERY different about this experience — the animators are pre-recorded instead of live.

This new Animation Academy experience will be located inside The Magic of Disney Animation and will be called Olaf Draws! Olaf takes center stage in the form of a new audio-animatronic and invites guests to sit down and draw their favorite characters with the help of Disney animators.

If you’ve seen the popular Once Upon a Studio film, you may recall a part where Olaf is sitting in an animator’s office drawing characters — that’s where the idea of this new experience comes from! Guests will sit down at sleigh‑themed tables and animator‑desk–style workstations to bring their drawings to life, and you’ll want to look around for all the nods to Frozen in the room.

Olaf himself can’t draw, though, so he asks for help from some Disney animator friends, and this is where the controversy is coming in. Instead of having real-life Disney animators and artists like we saw in Animal Kingdom, or you can find over in Disney California Adventure, they will be pre-recorded. In fact, we already have a list of all the different characters you’ll be able to draw with their subsequent Disney artist.

• 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)

While we’re looking forward to drawing these characters and hearing from these artists, lots of guests feel that not having in-person, live animators and artists really takes away from the experience, especially since it’s all supposed to be to celebrate art and the magic it can create. It also means that, unless more are added in the future, these are the only characters you’ll be able to draw, and the surprise aspect will be no more.

From what it sounds like, it seems like Disney’s current plan is that there will be no live animators or artists at all in this section, not even to assist guests with drawing if they’re having trouble following the video instruction. As we’re still a few months away from this new area of the park opening — Summer 2026 is its current opening timeline — it’s possible we could see something change, but we’re also not holding out hope for it.

We’ll be sure to keep you updated on all the latest Disney World news, so stay tuned to AllEars!

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How do you feel about this change? Tell us in the comments!