It is open. The Magic of Disney Animation soft opening started today at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, three days ahead of the official September 14 date.
If you are in the park right now, you can walk in. Guests are getting the full building — Olaf Draws!, Off the Page! character meets, the Once Upon A Studio Theater, Drawn to Wonderland, and the enchanted art gallery.
One important caveat before you head over: soft openings are never guaranteed and can end at any time. Here is what is open, what changed with the characters outside, and how to check before you walk across the park.
Quick Summary
- The Magic of Disney Animation soft opened today, three days before its September 14 official opening
- All five experiences inside the building are accessible
- Characters that were roaming the courtyard have moved inside to dedicated meet-and-greet spaces
- Pluto, Jiminy Cricket, and the White Rabbit now appear intermittently in the courtyard
- Soft openings can end without warning
- The official opening date remains September 14
What Is Open Right Now
Guests in the park are able to walk in and experience everything inside the building:
- Olaf Draws! — the drawing class hosted by the Audio-Animatronics Olaf
- Off the Page! — character meet-and-greet spaces themed to the animation process
- Once Upon A Studio Theater — the short film with enhanced in-theater effects
- Drawn to Wonderland — the Mary Blair-inspired indoor playground
- The enchanted art gallery — animation artwork that comes to life
The interior map is on display near the entrance, which is genuinely useful given how much is packed into one building.
The main lobby carries color-coded sections along the upper walls for Story, Layout, Animation, and Lighting — each holding a meet and greet. That is the Off the Page! concept made physical, and it reads clearly in person.
Olaf Draws! is already running timed classes, with signage showing when the next one begins and which character it features. Reports from today show Mickey Mouse as one of the rotating characters.
Drawn to Wonderland is open for the youngest guests, and the enchanted art gallery corridor is displaying color storyboards including work from “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” and “Colors of the Wind.”
There is also a Studio Store gift shop inside, stocked with apparel, Mickey ear headbands, and plush.
The Characters Have Moved Inside
This is the change that affects your day even if you skip the building.
The characters that spent the summer roaming freely in the Walt Disney Studios courtyard have moved inside to their dedicated Off the Page! meet-and-greet spaces.
If you were counting on catching them outdoors, that era is over.
The courtyard is not empty, though. Pluto, Jiminy Cricket, and the White Rabbit are now appearing intermittently in the outdoor space.
Jiminy Cricket and the White Rabbit are both genuinely uncommon meets. If either is on your list, the courtyard just became worth a detour — though “intermittently” is doing real work in that sentence, so do not plan around it.
How to Actually Get In Today
Soft openings are not guaranteed and can end at any time. That is the single most important line here.
If you are in the park today, head to Animation Courtyard and check availability at the entrance. Do not assume it is open because you read it here an hour ago. Soft openings get pulled without notice, sometimes mid-afternoon.
A few practical notes:
Go now rather than later. Soft opening access is most reliable earlier in the day, before crowds build and before Disney decides it has tested enough.
Expect a walk-up, not a queue system. Soft openings typically run without the full operational setup, which cuts both ways — faster entry, less predictability.
Do not build your whole day around it. If it closes while you are eating lunch, you want a plan B.
What This Means for September 14
The official opening date remains September 14. Nothing about today changes that.
What a soft opening does tell you is that Disney is confident enough in the building’s operation to put real guests through it. That is a good sign for opening day running smoothly.
It also means the first-day crowds may be slightly thinner than they would have been, since a portion of the enthusiast audience will have already been through.
Worth remembering for planning: the attraction’s operating hours shorten to 10am-6pm from September 28, so the generous 9am-9pm window only covers the opening stretch.
The Bottom Line
The Magic of Disney Animation soft opening is live today at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, three days early, with all five experiences accessible plus the Studio Store.
Characters have moved indoors to Off the Page!, while Pluto, Jiminy Cricket, and the White Rabbit now rotate through the courtyard outside.
If you are in the park, go to Animation Courtyard and check the entrance. If you are not, the official opening is still September 14 and nothing has changed about that. Just know that soft openings end as suddenly as they start, so today’s access is a bonus rather than a promise.
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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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