Walt Disney Imagineering just gave away all of its own secrets. A full behind-the-scenes tour of The Magic of Disney Animation walks the building from the reception desk to Olaf Draws!, and the Magic of Disney Animation Easter eggs it reveals are the kind most guests would never catch on a first visit.
This is presented by the WDI team themselves, which makes it different from a guest walkthrough. They explain the design decisions, not just the details.
Spoiler warning applies here more than anywhere. If you want to discover this building yourself on September 14, close the tab.
Quick Summary
- Walt Disney Imagineering released a room-by-room tour of the building
- The reception hall is based on the real Walt Disney Animation Studios lobby in Burbank
- A lost and found shelf holds items lost by characters from Disney films
- The theater features brand-new hand-drawn and CG animation exclusive to this location
- Drawn to Wonderland draws on Mary Blair’s original artwork rather than the film
- Olaf sits on a copy of The Illusion of Life, the animation textbook
The Reception Area
The entrance hall is based directly on the Walt Disney Animation Studios lobby in Burbank, California, including a large tile color wheel mural.
The centerpiece is a paint chandelier whose colors shift with the lighting, casting different hues across the surrounding mural. The paint brushes on it carry colors chosen by the ink and paint department from films they have worked on — including one labeled “Simba 103,” which gives away its orange tone without needing an explanation.
Then there is the lost and found shelf running along one wall, stocked with items lost by characters from Disney films:
- The Black Cauldron, lost by the Horned King
- The Shepherd’s Journal from Atlantis
- Figaro, taking a catnap on top of the lost and found box
That shelf is the single densest joke in the building, and it is in the first room. Do not walk past reception.
Once Upon A Studio Theater
The theater lobby has characters woven into the carpet in sketch form, referencing the animator’s process where everything begins with a pencil drawing. Visible in the lobby: Timon and Pumbaa, Lilo and Stitch, Pegasus and Stargaze jumping rope with Kron, and Baymax.
The theater itself is the bigger reveal. It features brand-new hand-drawn and CG animation created in partnership directly with Walt Disney Animation Studios, exclusive to this location, showing characters jumping out of their portraits to reach the group photo from the Once Upon A Studio short.
New animation made by the actual animation studio, for one theme park building, is not a small thing. That is not stock footage repurposed for a park.
Drawn to Wonderland
The playground sits within the Visual Development department, introduced by a piece of Mary Blair artwork that appears to bloom out of its frame, letting guests step into the world she created for Alice in Wonderland.
The design details inside:
- Butterflies that start as flat wall graphics and physically pop off the surface in three dimensions as they appear to fly around the room
- A play floor lit with pink and purple light to match Mary Blair’s color palette — colors that could not be achieved with floor paint alone
- A Mad Tea Party table with spinning pieces, sounds, and light triggers
The most important detail: all of it is inspired by Mary Blair’s original artwork rather than the film or the theme park ride. That is a deliberate and unusual choice. Disney had two easier options and took neither.
Off the Page!
The character greeting area is divided into sections reflecting different stages of the animation process: Story, Layout, Hand-Drawn Animation, CG Animation, Lighting, and Effects.
The Hand-Drawn Animation section contains a reference to James Algar, director of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.
A sketchbook in the CG Animation area references Mulan, Lilo and Stitch, Brother Bear, and My People — a film that was actually in development in this very building when it was an active Disney Animation studio.
That last one is the deepest cut in the whole tour. It only means something if you know the building’s history, which is exactly why it is there.
Olaf Draws!
The drawing class space uses Chouinard-style animator desks for adult guests, with Arendelle sleighs brought in so younger kids can sit closer to the stage. Each sleigh is themed to a different Frozen character’s color palette.
On stage, Olaf is seated on a copy of The Illusion of Life, the animation textbook by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston — the same book Olaf sits on in the Once Upon A Studio short.
The stage is dressed with maquettes from animated films, VHS tapes from the 1990s, toys, and props designed to feel like a working animator’s loft.
How to Actually See This Stuff
Start slow at reception. The lost and found shelf and the paint chandelier are in the first room, and that is where crowds move fastest.
Look down in the theater lobby. The carpet is the detail nobody looks at.
Read the sketchbook in Off the Page! The My People reference ties the building to its own history.
Look at what Olaf is sitting on. Not at Olaf.
For the guest-side version with MagicBand+ details and the Gallery Wrap Party. Imagineering also detailed the animator’s office and its real artifacts earlier.
The Bottom Line
These Magic of Disney Animation Easter eggs show a building designed by people who expected you to come back more than once. Paint chips named after specific characters, a lost and found for fictional objects, and a film reference that only lands if you know what was made in that building.
It opens September 14 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Go slowly, look at the floors and shelves rather than only the headline experiences, and accept that the best details are the ones you have to hunt for.
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Meet the Author: Nate Bishop
I’m a die-hard Disney fan with 38 years of visits under my belt, having stepped into Disney World 120+ times. Proud to be a Disney Annual Passholder, a Vacation Club member since ’92, a Castaway Club Member, and a runDisney enthusiast. Oh, and I’ve graduated from the Disney College of Knowledge. Need Disney insights or planning tips? I’m your guy!
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