Olaf animatronic coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios
A new Olaf Audio-Animatronics figure will debut at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World in late summer 2026.
The Olaf figure will be part of Olaf Draws!, a new attraction debuting inside The Magic of Disney Animation. Disney revealed Olaf Draws! on Feb. 23, 2026, following the initial summer 2025 announcement of The Magic of Disney Animation at large.
New Olaf Audio-Animatronics figure in Olaf Draws!
Olaf Draws! will be an animation class teaching guests how to draw one of nine favorite Disney animated characters (see the full list below). Olaf himself will be a student alongside the guests. The instructor will be a real animator or animation director from Walt Disney Animation Studios, teaching guests via a prerecorded video.
In the concept art for Olaf Draws!, Olaf appears to be sitting on a stool at a desk. He is not depicted walking around. There are no signs so far displaying evidence of this being the free-roaming Olaf animatronic that Disney highly publicized as coming to Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland.
Actor Josh Gad returned to the recording booth to voice the titular snowman in Olaf Draws!
Once the attraction opens, Olaf will appear in Audio-Animatronics form in two of Disney World’s four theme parks: Disney’s Hollywood Studios with Olaf Draws! and Epcot with Frozen Ever After. The latter received an animatronic upgrade of its own for Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff earlier this month.
List of characters in the Olaf Draws! animation classes
There will be nine different variations of the show, each teaching guests how to draw a different Disney character: Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Ursula from “The Little Mermaid,” Genie from “Aladdin,” Stitch from “Lilo & Stitch,” Olaf from “Frozen,” Judy Hopps & Nick Wilde from “Zootopia,” and Moana.
From live human to prerecorded media
Olaf Draws! isn’t the first animation class offered at Walt Disney World, but it may be the first to feature prerecorded instructions. Versions of the experience at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Disney’s Pop Century Resort, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom, often called Animation Academy over the years, always featured a live Walt Disney World cast member teaching the lesson.
Photo by Attractions Magazine
Other attractions have likewise gone the way of prerecorded media after being known for their live hosts. Living with the Land at Epcot was previously guided by a live cast member on each boat, but now features prerecorded narration. The same went for the now-defunct Backlot Tour, which closed in 2014 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios to make way for Toy Story Land and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
Live cast members continue to be part of the attraction experience elsewhere, such as on Jungle Cruise at Magic Kingdom and Kilimanjaro Safaris at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
More new experiences beyond Olaf Draws!
The Magic of Disney Animation is a pavilion-style attraction opening in late summer 2026 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. It replaces Star Wars Launch Bay, which closed in 2025 and itself replaced a former version of The Magic of Disney Animation.
Olaf Draws! is just one experience among the selection of attractions guests can find within The Magic of Disney Animation when it opens. The building will also feature a high-concept character meet & greet hub, an “Alice in Wonderland” playground, and screenings of the 2023 short film “Once Upon a Studio.”
History of this important Disney theme park space
From 1989-2004, the backstage building adjacent to The Magic of Disney Animation was a working animation facility, a satellite campus of Walt Disney Animation Studios. The entirety of “Mulan,” “Lilo & Stitch,” and “Brother Bear,” as well as significant portions of “Aladdin” and “The Lion King,” among other productions, were created right here at Walt Disney World.
The concept art for Olaf Draws! features a nod to the attraction’s former self. The previous version of The Magic of Disney Animation featured a pre-show starring Mushu from “Mulan,” who stands as a maquette near the Olaf animatronic in Olaf Draws!
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