Animation Academy at HS

[lovndisney12]

We have never done this before and thought it might be fun activity for our family now that the kids are older. How long of a wait and is it hard to get into? We would be going right before Christmas when the parks will be busy.

 

[BebopBaloo]

You could end up waiting an hour (maybe more) as we've waited half that at much less busy times. It is a lot of fun though and I think it's worth the wait since you've never done it. The main thing to know about the wait is that there is a roped off section that a cm will allow a certain number of people into (The right amount to fill the next class.). Then there will potentially be a line to wait to be in that area. Your whole party must be with you when you are counted into the roped off area. They will not be allowed to join you later.

 

[tinkerbella16]

We did this for the first time in Nov amd loved it. Not sure how long the wait can be all the time but we only waited 10 minutes. It is very short, about 20-25 minutes maybe but fun. We got to draw minnie mouse. Can't wait to do this again during my upcoming trip. It wasn't hard to get into at all but it also was not as busy as it will be Christmas week. The wait will probably be longer than our 10 minute wait.

 

[sdomino11]

I've never done this around Christmad time, but I've done it several times in April-May. Never waited longer than the length of one class. My kids did it last year when they were 7 & 5 and they liked it. They got a little frustrated in the beginning but they loved their art work once it was all said and done.

 

[JaimieJ]

Depends on how busy it is. But if you get into the little roped off area the wait is pretty much just the time of the class ahead of you until they clear out the room, about a half hour. Its definitely worth it though, I love doing it, I travel with my father and I've had times where hes just left me and continued walking around the park so that I could do i multiple times. haha

 

[mshanson3121]

You could end up waiting an hour (maybe more) as we've waited half that at much less busy times. It is a lot of fun though and I think it's worth the wait since you've never done it. The main thing to know about the wait is that there is a roped off section that a cm will allow a certain number of people into (The right amount to fill the next class.). Then there will potentially be a line to wait to be in that area. Your whole party must be with you when you are counted into the roped off area. They will not be allowed to join you later.

Wow. I had no idea the wait could be that long. How long would you expect for a wait in the afternoon the last week of June? Or even in evening? Will they work with you with DAS card at all, as there is absolutely ZERO possibility of my children being able to wait in line that long.

 

[Cando86]

When we did this in January we loved it. We did it multiple times but did learn you do have to get there pretty early to ensure you get in the next show. They have a queue where people line up and then right past that a 'holding' room and that's where they let the people in for the next show. The first show, we arrived about 20 minutes prior and they had already loaded the 'holding' room and there was still a line. So, even if you get in line you are not guaranteed to get in the next show and in fact we noticed that even when we felt we were going to make the next show we got cut off. And if you don't make that show, you have to wait in line for a half hour until that show is over and the next one begins. So our experience showed us that you should arrive pretty early, at LEAST a half hour and that was in January after the holidays so a slower time.

That all being said, it was DEFINITELY worth it and we'll never miss it on future trips!

 

[JaimieJ]

Wow. I had no idea the wait could be that long. How long would you expect for a wait in the afternoon the last week of June? Or even in evening? Will they work with you with DAS card at all, as there is absolutely ZERO possibility of my children being able to wait in line that long.

Not sure about DAS, but I know that every time that I've gone later in the night there has been little to no wait and even some empty chairs. I've never been in June though so not sure ow much of a difference that would make.

 

[mom to minnie&mickey]

The DAS is for attractions which have a fp line. This does not so there is no return time to give out so I doubt very much DAS will be accepted. Your best shot is later on in the evening or very early in the am when most people are going for the major rides.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

We went at night near park closing and only had to wait until the last class let out, about fifteen minutes. We had so much fun learning to draw Jiminy Cricket, and we're planning to go back and do another class this December. It doesn't take any skill level at all, and even though I'm a trained illustrator I learned some new stuff.

 

[Canuck16]

We did this last year during a rain storm so it was nice to get out of the weather.

It was not something that we intended to do but we enjoyed it so much that we HAD to do it again when we were at DLR in March.

This is a new must do for our family on our Disney vacations

 

[mshanson3121]

When we did this in January we loved it. We did it multiple times but did learn you do have to get there pretty early to ensure you get in the next show. They have a queue where people line up and then right past that a 'holding' room and that's where they let the people in for the next show. The first show, we arrived about 20 minutes prior and they had already loaded the 'holding' room and there was still a line. So, even if you get in line you are not guaranteed to get in the next show and in fact we noticed that even when we felt we were going to make the next show we got cut off. And if you don't make that show, you have to wait in line for a half hour until that show is over and the next one begins. So our experience showed us that you should arrive pretty early, at LEAST a half hour and that was in January after the holidays so a slower time.

That all being said, it was DEFINITELY worth it and we'll never miss it on future trips!

How often do the shows run? Is it like an every 30 minutes type thing? Just wondering how you know when to show up?
I was really looking forward to this, but really not sounding like it'll happen for us. Definitely will have to see what it's like in the evening.

 

[JaimieJ]

How often do the shows run? Is it like an every 30 minutes type thing? Just wondering how you know when to show up?
I was really looking forward to this, but really not sounding like it'll happen for us. Definitely will have to see what it's like in the evening.

Yep, every 30 mins.

 

[Stacey012345]

Does anyone know if they start these classes during EMH mornings or at regular park opening time? Is there a standard schedule for starting time?

 

[jhaig]

Does anyone know if they start these classes during EMH mornings or at regular park opening time? Is there a standard schedule for starting time?

And does it require that you have a magic band to enter?

 

[hpriamson]

We did the Animation Academy twice on April 25. The class is in a single auditorium, and runs every 30 minutes - they were keeping pretty well to starting on the hour and half hour the day we were there - 10:00, 10:30, 11:00, 11:30, etc. Since it's a single room and they close the doors when they begin, you may wind up waiting a full 30 minutes even if it's practically empty that day - given the format of the class, letting you into a half empty class 10 minutes in would be pointless.

The first class we took was the 10:30 class, and there was no "wait" - as in people who walked up at 10:28 still got into the class. We personally waited around 20 minutes, since we showed up at 10:10. The second time, we got there at 2:20 to try to get into the 2:30 class - we wound up being about 6 back from the cutoff. So my youngest daughter (who was the one who was really interested in taking it again) and I waited for the 3:00 class, while everyone else did other things in the park. By the time we got in at 3:00, the CMs were telling people walking up that if they lined up then, they'd be in the 4:00 class, so the wait was definitely extending as the day went on. So I'd suggest doing it right after your rope drop rides for the shortest wait.

It is a lot of fun, even for people with terrible drawing skills like me. The first time we did Baymax, which was kind of disappointing, but there were a bunch of 8 year old boys in the audience, so Baymax won in the vote. The second time, the illustrator just announced we were doing Donald Duck, which was great. My favorite moment was after drawing the initial circle & a few guidelines, my 10 year old daughter looked at my circle and at hers, and announced "We're trading papers!" and took mine.

No magic band needed.

 

[jennab113]

Just a note, the roped off area holds less people than the actual room, so don't be discouraged if you aren't in it. They usually end up taking people from the line outside the area. I've been able to get in after being as far back as the door to the gallery.

 

[KarmaCat]

No magic band required to enter! The Animation Academy is one of our favorite things to do at HS. We've never waited more than 20-30 minutes to get in. THe nice thing about the waiting area is that you're not in a constantly moving line; you're just staying in the same place, and it's a carpeted indoor area, so the kids can sit down if they're tired while we're waiting. I like to pack a Uno card game in my purse or something like that so that the kids have something to do and don't get bored.

A great tip I read on these boards before our last trip was to get a small mailing tube (I bought a narrow 14" tube at Staples) to use to store and protect our finished artwork. I just stuck it in my backpack and appreciated having a place to keep our pictures so that they didn't get crushed while we kept touring the park. It was also great on the flight home, because I could just slide it into the edge of my suitcase and know that the pictures were protected in transit. I've also heard people say they use the tubes from paper towel rolls for this as well, but I appreciated the extra sturdiness of the mailing tube.

 

[lovndisney12]

Do you have to do the Magic of Animation portion of the attraction first or can you go straight to the waiting area for the Academy? Also, what size paper - is it standard 8 1/2 by 11?

 

[jennab113]

You don't have to do the Magic of Animation first. You can go straight to the line for the Academy. The paper is larger than 8.5 by 11.

eta: just googled it and it says it is 15 1/4" x 10 1/2"