Animation Academy

I enjoy the step by step class with a Disney artist in a large studio with lighted desks and they provide the paper and pencil. Even the children can enjoy the step by step drawing that’s randomly picked characters. You keep your drawings to take home.
It’s definitely a great feeling when you come out of the class with a great character drawing. Merida was my last drawing. Turned out great I must say!

This was a super fun activity to do while we waited out a rain storm. Tons of seating! Everyone gets their own little swivel stool and drawing area on long tables. There is a stage up front with a projector for the artist, so everyone can see what they’re doing. The day that we went, the character we were drawing was Fred from Big Hero 6 in his monster suit. They switch up the characters, so you never know who you’re going to get.
My husband is a professional artist so I knew he wouldn’t have a problem following along. My grandma and I tried our best, but in the end we weren’t too thrilled with the final product. That was at no fault of the instructor, he was very detailed and patient and went over each step at a good pace. I was ok with mine, but Grandma wanted hers to go into the trash lol. My husband’s looked like a masterpiece, but whatever. Fun activity to do inside and away from the crowds. Our wait to get in wasn’t too bad — it’s right next to a meet and greet area for characters so we saw Baymax and Mickey from a distance, and Sophia the First and Jake (from Jake and the Never Land Pirates) walked right by us. The academy empties out into a good size gallery, that leads to a gift shop. We were in a hurry to get to a fastpass ride a ways away, so we didn’t get to look around very long. I would enjoy doing this activity again.

Wow! The animation academy is becoming so popular!
Back in the day we would be able to take class after class with no wait, but now the line goes out of that area.
While waiting there are drawings on the tvs that is fun to try and guess who it will turn out to be.
Once you enter you sit at a table that has a pencil and drawing sheet. Then you follow the teachers directions on whichever character you are drawing.
This is also a awesome free souvenir to take home.

So to start off we went to this near the end of the day and several areas were closed. However, the parts that were open were interesting. The guide we had seemed like he had been at the park all day too. His energy level was low and did not add to the information much. Waits in this area were pretty long and the last show had been called in several areas. Based on the other reviews I think I would try to get here earlier to really enjoy it!

We had a great time at the Animation class. Our artist had pre-​picked drawing Tigger for our class, so no voting here. The class was packed and a lot of fun. The artist told some disney facts and asked the group a Disney Trivia question. The lady who answered the question right in our group «won» her drawing of Tigger.
We did wait 20 minutes and we’re glad we did!

A hidden treasure in Hollywood Studios! Unleash the inner artist with you with the comfort of a professional instructor. Participants sit in on a 15 minute class drawing a surprise disney character. The instructor leads guests through a step by step process of how to draw the specific disney character. At the end of the class, you are allowed to take it with you! It’s a keepsake you couldn’t find anywhere else and is specifically personal to you and your experience.

This is an awesome class (drawing)located in Hollywood Studios. It’s twenty minutes long (time flies) and in each class the instructor selects a character to draw from the 154 possible for the class.
The instructors we had were Brian and Megan… Both did an excellent job in their instruction of the class… And most importantly they kept it fun (that’s what this class is about after all)!
If you love Disney characters and enjoy drawing (no matter your skill level), then this class is a fun one for you! Each artist has certain characters he or she can draw, so you’re never entirely sure of which one you’ll draw until you get inside the class… Depending upon the artist… You may vote on a character to be drawn, they may pick at random and tell the character, you might get a surprise character (and get to guess during the class)… And depending upon the artist you might get to select the character yourself!
I suggest anyone to attend this class… even if it’s only once! You’re not gonna regret it!

************** Review #1300 **************
This is the best kept secret at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Ok, it’s not actually a secret, but so many people do not know it’s here. Or, people see it while they are inside The Magic of Disney Animation, don’t know what it is, don’t ask, and just walk right past it.
This is a 20 minute drawing class that starts every 30 minutes on the hour and on the half our. There are 154 different characters that you can learn to draw here. During each class, one character is drawn and taught.
There are different instructors. So far we have had Megan and Brian; they are both absolutely wonderful! Not every instructor is licensed by Disney to teach all 154 characters, so each instructor teaches and draws different characters. Sometimes the instructor already has the character picked out before a class starts, and sometimes the instructor will name 3 or 4 characters and have the class vote on which one they want to learn to draw.
I am definitely no artist, and the characters I draw at not the best by any means; but, it’s so.much.darn.fun! So far I have drawn Minnie, Piglet, Sorcerer Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Winnie The Pooh. (And we’re headed back tomorrow to do it again!) The best I did was probably Donald.
The room is setup like a studio. Each person has their own desk they sit at and paper and pencils are provided. The instructor is at the front of the class and walks you through each and every single step.
This is completely hands on and it’s fun for all ages. I can’t recommend doing this highly enough!

What a fantastic experience. I traveled to Disney World solo after a conference and had done a little research ahead of time. I’m so glad I found out about this place. I love to draw, but never truly developed any skill at it.
This little gem is in the back of the Magic of Disney Animation attraction at Disney Hollywood Studios. I took two back to back classes with two different instructors. Both were very good, but Ryan was fantastic. His detailed instructions made it very easy to draw and follow him at the same time, whereas the woman I had the second time around was very nice but the instruction was less clear.
I wouldn’t see this attraction with young children, but any kids (and their parents) who like to draw and can sit for 20 minutes should definitely check this out. You won’t be disappointed.

Do not miss this attraction. Even if you think you can’t draw the professional Disney artists who teach this show will have you drawing a popular character. Great for kids and adults.

Now you probably don’t know this because there is rarely a long line and it’s certainly no Space Mountain, but right around the corner from the Animation Gallery is a little location called the Animation Academy. Definitely wait for this as long as your children are older than maybe 5. It’s an animation class and the instructors are great! You’ll be taught how to draw one character and last time we were there the instructor allowed us to choose who the class would draw. Step by step and we drew Dopey. Incredibly it turns out great! No erasers so prepare yourself and take the challenge. You’ll leave a bonafide Disney animator.
Take my advice and do it. Our whole family always want’s to do this first.
If you’re a Disney fan, and you probably are if you are here this is a must visit every time. When you exit there is a great art gallery and usually there is an actual Disney animator there drawing. They are amazing!

If you or your kids have ever dreamed about being a Disney animator or are even interested in drawing, this is the experience for you. Your instructor, a Disney artist will let the group of about 35 people choose the character that they draw out of a couple choices. You are then walked step by step over the next 20 minutes on how to draw the character. A couple interesting notes: 1. No erasers. You’re encouraged to draw lightly then darken the specific lines you want to keep. Just like the pros. 2. The tables do not spin. If you have seen an animator work, you expect the light box table to spin. These do not. 3. You can repeat the course as many times as you like. They won’t repeat a character during a given day so you can do it many times and get new characters each time.
Overall, this is one of my favorite experiences in all of the parks. Highly recommended.

If you or your children are into animation, you’ll enjoy it. They have a follow along animation class (30 minutes) where you draw characters along with an instructor… pretty neat. Other than that, unless you’re into art, not much to do.