Special Hands (and Paws!) Add Unique Touches to Walt Disney Studios Courtyard at Disney's Hollywood Studios

Special touches (from hands and paws!) are being brought to the concrete outside the newly reimagined Magic of Disney Animation coming later this year to Disney's Hollywood Studios.

What's Happening:

• Devotees may recall that changes are underway at Disney's Hollywood Studios to bring a whole new look to what was formerly known as the Animation Courtyard at the park.
• The newly named Walt Disney Studios Courtyard is adapting the look of, well, the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California complete with a replica of the famous "hat building" that serves as the home of the Animation Studios. This will play host to the return of The Magic of Disney Animation at the park, though the experience won't be that of a working studio. Instead, it will be a number of different experiences celebrating the art of animation, using the popular short, Once Upon A Studio, as inspiration.
• Now, we're learning that outside of the experience, the courtyard itself is taking inspiration, not so much from the Walt Disney Studio lot (unless you count the Disney Legends courtyard), but rather that of Hollywood's (and Disney's Hollywood Studios) Chinese Theater.
• Outside, the concrete of the courtyard has been populated with hand and paw prints from various characters from the history of Walt Disney Animation Studios. Some have fun touches - like Cinderella's has one shoe print and one bare foot.
• It's also special to have Stitch there too, considering Lilo & Stitch was animated at the former studio just a few steps away. Mulan and Brother Bear were also fully animated here, but there does not appear to be any tribute to those based on the video tease.

You can see the other characters featured in the video below.

• Later in summer 2026, The Magic of Disney Animation opens with a Mary Blair-inspired playground, interactive experiences, and an all-new character greeting experience with “Off the Page!”
• The storyline for the new experience is that the animators have temporarily stepped away… but the building is still buzzing with activity as the characters have come to life and they’re ready to play!
• Beloved Disney characters will appear across six unique departments from the animation studio, while an Audio-Animatronic Olaf will host "Olaf Draws!" – a new Animation Academy-type show featuring lessons from acclaimed Disney animators.