For years now, I have been entirely on the train of "demolish Animation Courtyard, put an entirely new build there that completes the loop down to Sunset Blvd".
With the opening of the new Courtyard, along with the renovations and additions made to Little Mermaid and the Disney+ theatre show, I have been proven dramatically wrong. They pulled it off. They have completely proven to me that maintaining Animation Courtyard is not only good for the short-term of the broader resort, but is the preferable outcome moving into a long-term future of DHS.
It's remarkable just how much the general feel of DHS is improved simply by knocking down that mini archway. It makes AC feel not like an abandoned culdesac, a rotting dead mall with multiple temporary band-aids applied to the carcass thankfully hidden away from view by a big pointless sign; but instead, like a seamless and really beautified aspect of the parks' hub space.
Looking at the area from the hub, the new Mickey Mouse mural is a really welcoming and pleasant addition to the "skyline", as it were; and the newly prettied up soundstage buildings also look surprisingly inviting with their fresh signage, paintjobs, and the general infrastructure and look of the surrounding benches, gates, and patios. Gone are the aesthetics of cheap fading tan boxes. AC is genuinely appealing, and fits very well within the park and hub space. And it's all brought together with the return of the Sorceror's Hat to DHS as part of the refit of the main structure to become the Disney Animation Studio itself.
It's actually remarkable just how appealing the area looks - especially compared to the rotting left skyline of the hub, featuring a scenic look at a bunch of drab and sun-beaten box buildings. The kind we're so used to by now. There's an ABC sign in view of the hub so worn down that the normally black logo is a soft and splotchy light yellowish-grey. Kind of a statement on that specific brand as a whole.
The Courtyard space remains as small as ever, but has been greatly re-tuned; maximized for feel, comfort, and use by guests. It has the walkability, shading, and aesthetics of a college-type campus, while legitimately boosting the actual feeling of being in the midst of Hollywood soundstages and warehouse buildings.
The area feels practical and built-to-be-used in a way very opposite to a lot of the design decisions made during the Galaxy's Edge-minded Project Stardust days. The soft paints, green shading, soft benches and lawn, it's all not only inviting and relaxing, but also classic and purposeful. It visually looks and practically feels like this could be where the Disney animators take their breaks, and given their appearances around the land, the Disney characters also frequent this cozy corner too. I'm really impressed by the marriage of feel, use, and purpose in this area's design.
As mentioned, this area features a couple of really fun references to the animated canon. Little fiberglass figures of Disney animals are hanging around; including some really fun obscure pairings, like going for Robin Hood's Hiss rather than the nearly identical and far more popular Kaa and having them hangout with the Godfather rodent's daughter from Zootopia? Inspired.
In front of the Magic building itself is a Hollywood Walk of Fame-type area featuring the handprints of a collection of Disney animated characters, some of which I was really pleasantly surprised to see! It's fun that Ralph needed to take up nearly 5 whole squares to himself! and I can't imagine it was easy to figure out how Long John Silver's cybernetic hand would look partially imprinted in cement haha, that was a heck of a choice!
And it's choices like that that make it clear that, at some level of the process, there remains an air of "We could phone this in, but let's shoot for the moon". Even in decisions and theming choices that small. They could've just had Goofy's glove there instead, and probably 90% more people would recognize it for far less effort, but someone on some level cared enough to put way more effort in something significantly more niche. All these little figures and details genuinely invited me to hunt for even more small details. For such a small area, I believe they make the most of it.
I'll talk about the shows really fast here too. I can't compare The Little Mermaid to the original show as it has simply been too long since I've seen that version. This is just my thoughts on the current show itself. Same for the most recently defunct Disney Jr. show.
After a very poor first impression with some early era Barbie movie-style CGI and some definite choices in terms of show pacing and line delivery, I think The Little Mermaid finds its' footing with some great vocal performances, really energetic puppeteering, and a brisk runtime through the key moments of the story. The scene where Eric helms the ship against Ursala is legitimately stellar and inspired stagework, and is an undeniable improvement on the original out-of-nowhere scene in the movie. I was gaffawed seeing that for the first time. I wish Ariel had her sparkly pink 80s dress at the end of the show.
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Live is actually the best show at DHS and I'm not kidding. At least during the performance I saw, the performers are truly giving it their all. Dancing, singing, hosting, getting the kids involved. Including a ton of fun references for the adults to zero in on into the CGI screens touring you through the Clubhouse and everyone's houses. Energy, music, and pacing is shockingly on-point here. Disney used to do random Mickey & Friends live shows like this every season or two, just to kinda do it. There's a great legacy of this brand of live show at the parks, and this is literally that kind of show, finally returning to the parks outside of the same big MK Castlefront show we've had for 20 years. Very nice renovation and a great return to form for the underappreciated Mickey & Friends live show. I also like that the included Keyblade in Mickey's room implies that Sephiroth exists during the events of the show, simply off-screen for the duration.
Disney World has long had an issue with meet and greets, where they have had to run in a very mechanical format in order for kids and fans to have a genuine experience with the characters that they expect to have - without the character and their handlers getting trampled as a horde of families push their kids towards Mickey or Elsa the moment they stroll onto the guest pathways. I have noticed a very pointed recent effort to provide experiences with Disney characters here in WDW that act a lot more like the more intimate Disneyland interactions; I did not expect Animation Courtyard to be a part of that push, but here we are in the good timeline (for once haha). Rapunzel sits out in the grass and braids little girls' hair. Mulan will sit out there with the kids and tell stories too. Pluto, Goofy, the Chipmunks were all just walking around and dancing around the back side of the courtyard. None of them were being rushed or treated poorly in my experiences, it was all a remarkably calm and intimate offering. One that they absolutely did not have to do, but which raises the bar for DHS, especially for families and little ones. There is just a lot of genuine positive energy taking a walk around here.
Mix those offerings with the campus infrastructure - soft grass to sit on, lots of shaded benches and areas to hang out and take a breather around, the two family-oriented indoor shows, and newly redone and prettied up child-care center immediately nearby - it all makes it feel like DHS actually has something for families to do now! Like it's a significantly more complete and premier park than it was only a month or two ago. It's the kind of area that more Orlando parks need implemented. A spot to sit down and take in the atmosphere, to let your kid play around with some fun characters and cast members, and to slow down your day a little bit. And the main attraction hasn't even opened yet.
It's actually shocking how many people are walking around that inner area of the MoDA exterior under the hat, which currently just features a bunch of random stills of Disney films. I would say something about that. Something about the sheer power of Disney IP, that an "attraction" that boring and mundane is so genuinely busy - but I also cannot say anything, because I've been in there myself to check it out like 3 or 4 times at this point, which is at least a couple degrees worse than what those average tourists are doing haha!
It generally feels right to give Disney Animation Studios a specific home in the parks, especially one with legitimate history as a working studio for a number of its' films. It emphasizes the Hollywood Studio part in Disney's Hollywood Studios more than I thought it possibly could.
It makes me realize just how beautiful USF could look. If they were to ditch the cheap overlay and "temporary" convention theming of Villain Con, Minion Mayhem, or even of the Wicked Store, or the random Military box structure hosting Transformers. If they were to lean hard into glamour, aesthetics, greenery, practicality. They could have something genuinely stunning to show off to the world. I don't even think it necessarily means making those showbuildings less fun or appealing, those elements just have to be thoughtful and purposeful. Instead, USF's aesthetics very often come off as tacky and shortsighted. To my own eyes, at least.
I worry that I've hyped up this tiny bit of pavement too much here. It isn't an E-Ticket. It's a couple benches and two kid shows. There's nothing that remarkable or innovative here, if I'm frank. But also ... even if that is all true, maybe there actually still is? Animation Courtyard looks and feels better than it genuinely ever has before. It has been redone in such a tasteful, pointed, functional way to the point where this area of the park that used to be essentially empty is now consistently utilized and visibly pops for the guests in it. It is such a success story. It points to a bright future for Hollywood Studios, and for Walt Disney World as whole. It feels like this weird C-List park with a handful of World-Class rides is finally finding its' identity and voice. It feels like it is actively working to utilize the very most of its' ideas and its' strange small footprint.
I believe my wildly positive reaction to Animation Courtyard here is simply a symptom of the general feeling that these parks are going in the right direction, and in seemingly good time. Once Villains opens in 2030, it has really been feeling to me lately like the parks will finally have caught up to themselves. 2030 WDW will finally feel like how Disney World should feel in 2030: Capitalized, expanded on, big, exciting, high-budget, tasteful and thoughtful, classic and new. I hope the winds keep blowing that direction for a long time.
I realize I've written quite a beast here. If you did read through even part of it, I appreciate you giving my thoughts your time. It's been a moment since I've written one of these, but this one really got me going. I genuinely thought this would be a quick short rundown when I started haha.