Hollywood Studios just got a date to circle. Disney has announced that The Magic of Disney Animation will open on September 14, 2026 — the walk-through centerpiece of the reimagined Animation Courtyard, now styled as The Walt Disney Studios. It's the building with the giant Sorcerer Hat on the facade, and it's the biggest single addition to this park in a while.
What it actually is
This isn't a ride — it's a collection of experiences housed in the building that most recently held Star Wars: Launch Bay, and long before that was the working animation studio when the park opened as Disney-MGM Studios. The interior is themed to Walt Disney Animation Studios' real headquarters in Burbank, and it takes its spirit from the 2023 short Once Upon A Studio. Here's what's inside:
- Olaf Draws! — a step-by-step drawing class led by an all-new Audio-Animatronic Olaf, with real Disney animators guiding each lesson on screen. The roster of characters and their animators is a genuine who's-who: Mickey with Dan Abraham, Moana with Samantha Vilfort, Genie with Eric Goldberg, and Judy Hopps & Nick Wilde with Zootopia director Byron Howard, among others.
- Drawn to Wonderland — an Alice in Wonderland playground inspired by Mary Blair's artwork, with the Mad Hatter's house, the Queen of Hearts' rose garden, and the Cheshire Cat's Tulgey Wood.
- Off the Page! — character meets themed to animation departments: Mulan in Story, Rapunzel in Layout, Chip 'n' Dale in Hand-Drawn Animation, Donald and Daisy in Computer Animation, Goofy in Lighting, and Stitch in Effects.
- Once Upon A Studio Theater — the acclaimed short shown with enhanced effects, plus an enchanted art gallery where characters hide in the artwork along the walls.
A walk-through, a playground, character meets, and a real drawing lesson from real animators — this is built to eat up a genuine chunk of a Hollywood Studios day, which is exactly what this park has needed.
Is "September" a delay? Sort of.
Here's the honest footnote. Disney had previously said the attraction would open "later in summer 2026." September 14 technically still falls within astronomical summer (which runs to September 22) — but by Disney's own usual calendar, anything after Labor Day reads as fall. So depending on how you count, this is a slight slip. Not a big one, and the courtyard outside is already open and worth a walk, but worth being straight about rather than pretending "summer" and "September 14" were always the same thing.
The bigger picture at Hollywood Studios
This is one piece of a park in the middle of a real transformation. Rock 'n' Roller Coaster recently reopened re-themed to the Muppets as they moved out of their old courtyard — which is now becoming Monstropolis, the Monsters, Inc. land. Between the finished Animation Courtyard and the land rising next door, Hollywood Studios is shedding its long-standing "half-day park" reputation faster than it has in years. And with D23 landing in August, there may be even more to come.
What to do
If you're visiting after September 14, build in time for it — a new walk-through with this much inside will draw crowds early. Before then, the reimagined courtyard is already open, so you can wander the Burbank-styled campus and meet the characters stationed outside while the main building finishes up.
Details accurate as of July 15, 2026, and confirmed by Disney Parks. Opening dates and experience details are subject to change.