Stuck In Time: A Peek Into Disney Feature Animation Florida Suggests It Might Be Time For Something New
A new post from Disney Parks Blog takes readers into the former Walt Disney Feature Animation Building at Disney’s Hollywood Studios - the four-story expansion that cannot be accessed by guests visiting the Walt Disney World Theme Park that was added in 1998. Back when the park opened in 1989, The Magic of Disney Animation was an attraction that took guests on a walking tour through a functioning animation studio - Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida.
However, this was a time when the fortunes of Walt Disney Feature Animation (now called Walt Disney Animation Studios) were just tipping to be on the rebound. After nearly shuttering their doors in Hollywood, this new Animation studio at the Florida theme park was designed purely to support the efforts in Burbank and Glendale, as well as produce animated short films. That way - theoretically - guests would always be able to see something in production while on the tour.
Later, after the success of The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and more - the team was rapidly growing in Southern California, and in Orlando as well. In fact, Mulan was entirely created in this Orlando studio, and now the facility was expanding beyond what can be seen by guests into a four-story building in an off-limits area backstage that opened in 1998, the same year that Mulan came out. Guests never experienced this building as part of the Magic of Disney Animation tour, but it was key to Walt Disney Feature Animation, and was home to the full productions of Lilo & Stitch and Brother Bear as well. Mulan however was the big change for the Florida studio, as it moved the location from more of a B unit support to California, to their own fully-functioning studio.
This location stopped producing animation in 2004, relegating this building into a glorified office space, as emphasized by this new Disney Parks Blog post that shows how it looks inside today. Throughout the post, we are shown relics and treasures of what history that was created in the building: color tests and concept art adorn the walls, murals celebrating characters from this era of Disney Animation history, all with a knowing wink that guests cannot access these areas to see these items for themselves.
It’s this passage from the post that serves as a stark reminder that this building has been office space far longer than it was a functioning animation studio (1998-2004: 6 years animation; 2004 to present day: 21 years of various offices). It reads: “As part of the Digital Integration team for Disney Experiences, I help share the latest news (and history) about your favorite Disney destinations across the globe on Disney Parks Blog….It isn’t lost on us that we’re working in halls rich with Disney history."
According to the post, and several provided pictures, we can see the space with a design that appears stuck in 1998 in the greatest way, and ride vehicles from Walt Disney World peppered throughout the space. One of which is described (but not pictured) as “one of the log-shaped ride vehicles from Snow White’s Scary Adventures," which if memory serves - you rode in a Dwarfs mine cart - but I digress. There is a strong focus on Lilo & Stitch in the post - with Clark Spencer, a producer of the original animated classic, now president of Walt Disney Animation Studios, providing an interview. Largely because of the success of the live-action adaptation that debuted a few weeks ago, and maybe the fact that today is June 26th (6/26). As such, we get to see a lot of Stitch remnants in the office space today. Again with the reminder, this is backstage and off-limits to guests.
The final film produced in full by the studio, Brother Bear, goes largely unmentioned outside of a bit that the first floor features art from it, since “Each floor of Feature Animation is themed to a film that was worked on by the Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida team...The first floor is themed after Brother Bear with conference rooms named Denahi and Sitka." At its surface, what this entire post does is reaffirm that the building has not been changed much since it was the studio, with the current Cast Members that occupy the space (and nobody else) getting to look at remnants from that time. It’s more of a permitted version of what those Urban Explorers (AKA Trespassers) did with the old Nickelodeon Studios at Universal Studios Florida on YouTube. The vibe that says “Look at all this cool stuff that was left behind" - but now these Cast Members work surrounded by it.
That’s why so many fans (including myself) pegged this section of Disney’s Hollywood Studios as the home of the new Monsters, Inc.-themed land coming to the park. This building, an artifact of a very special time, is now just a recycled space to use, in lieu of building new annexes and office space, say, near Team Disney by Disney Springs. It’s not too incredibly different from Walt Disney Imagineering turning the recently shuttered Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser into office space. Can’t wait for that blog post - “I’m surrounded by this immersive storytelling when I work, and sitting in the atrium of the ship is just truly inspiring."
It would have been no surprise for a complete demolition of this building and former attraction space (currently the Star Wars Launch Bay) to be developed into the highly sought after new land. And frankly, it should have, especially given the outcry of the classic Muppet*Vision 3-D attraction and that area, which inevitably closed for the new Monsters, Inc. experiences. As a purist and a fan of all things Feature Animation Florida, it does hurt a little bit to say that - but it’s time.
Since we’re NOT doing anything drastic in that area, let’s go in and take many of those artifacts from that office complex and completely re-do the Star Wars Launch Bay back into a celebration of Disney Animation. Especially since that seems to have happened in reverse - the post shows Meet the Robinsons art in a display case that looks suspiciously like displays from 2007 when that film was being promoted in the parkside experience. Just put it all back! The section of the park is still called “Animation Courtyard" from that era, with the surrounding area playing host to a new show based on The Little Mermaid, and the Disney Jr. presence at the park. At this point, Star Wars in this end of the park is redundant. You have Star Tours just off Echo Lake directly across the park, and the full land - Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, not connected to it but further down the path from that, taking up that entire corner of the park. Do it like how it’s done with Star Wars - make it the museum/gallery space but also a character meet & greet experience embedded within, even with newer (synergy!) or even more obscure characters. Perhaps until that time comes where future developments bullseye the building for their location. That’s kind of what this corner of the park feels like anyway.