Please tell me about HS's Animation Academy

[mousefan73]

This time we want to spend more time and try out what the Animation Academy offers.

There is the "magic of Disney animation" presentation thing and something where you can draw a character.

who has done this? I have some questions..

1. Are there set times or can you show up whenever?
2. Are there costs???
3. My kids are 8 and 9, should be ok right? The pictures I found of the drawing class only showed adults.
4. How crowded does this get? lines etc..
5. It is indoor, therefore AC right? This would be a good cooling break.
6. How much time for all this??



Any other tips etc....

thanks

 

[Kimosabe]

No extra cost for this. The classes run throughout the day so it is just a matter of catching the next one. Seems like they are roughly 15 to 20 minutes each. There can be a line but not usually. Definitely OK for your kids' ages. Mine are 9 and 12 and have done this here, at DisneyQuest, Art of Animation and on DCL over the last few years. Fun to see their quality improve over time. And yes, it is indoors with AC...definitely a nice break in the middle of the day.

 

[karly05]

I've done this 4 times now and it's fun. There are no erasers on the pencils, and the instructors can move a bit quickly sometimes (I've had some instructors I liked better than others), so you (and kids) need to be prepared to just relax, do your best and have fun with the results. I have seen plenty of kids in the classes.

IIRC, the classes start on the hour and half-hour and run about 25 minutes. Classroom and waiting area are indoors with A/C so it really is a nice indoor break. I've only done this during lower crowd times in February; in 2012 I just missed the cutoff for the 3 pm class and waited probably about 35 minutes for the 3:30 class. All other times I've just had to wait for the class in session to finish.

So far, I have drawn Dale, Mickey (regular Mickey, face front - twice), and Grumpy.

 

[mamabahama]

This is one of our favorite things at Disney. I have drawings from three different trips now and have framed some of them. My DDs first did it when they were nine. We also have the animators Pooh drawing from one visit signed with a happy birthday note to my DDs.

You can get to the animation academy room through the gift shop as well. We like to sneak in this back way. The CM will count off the exact number of people to fit at the desks in the roped off area. There is also some bench seating with lap desks that we used once this last trip. We only travel to Disney during low crowds so not sure how this works during more crowded times.

We had one CM this last time that didn't seem as good - went too fast. The other time was great with a CM who told us a lot of trivia.

We have done Mickey, Minnie, Donald, pooh, tigger and eeyore. Some twice. The character depends on what the CM is certified to teach and then sometimes they will ask the class what they have already drawn to try to get something new for everyone but that doesn't always happen.

 

[mousefan73]

Cool! Do they supply folders for the artwork? I ask as i am anticipating keeping these and even framing the kid's stuff no matter how bad ,for me it's the best souvenir. A floppy paper will wrinkle too much by time we get back to the resort.


I will try to remember to bring an eraser too!

 

[karly05]

Don't bother with the eraser; you won't have time to use it. Seriously, just use the pencil they give you and have fun with it. They will start you drawing lightly to get the basic shapes, then you go back and darken as your drawing becomes more complete.

No folders, but I have heard others say you can get a rubber band in the gift shop afterward. Best tip I learned here: take an empty paper towel tube, roll up your drawings and put them inside. If you carry a big bag/backpack, take the tube with you. Even if you don't carry the tube to the park, it's good to have for packing the drawings to go home.

FWIW, you can go in the "front" way and skip the rest of the animation tour and just do the drawing class. If you're not sure where to go, just ask a CM.

 

[MattRyan]

Cool! Do they supply folders for the artwork? I ask as i am anticipating keeping these and even framing the kid's stuff no matter how bad ,for me it's the best souvenir. A floppy paper will wrinkle too much by time we get back to the resort.


I will try to remember to bring an eraser too!

No folders, the paper is much too big for that, they are much bigger than a piece of copy paper. They do give you rubber bands to roll it up, but unless you're immediately taking it back to the resort, I don't see how that makes it any easier to carry around.

 

[ariane37]

No folders, the paper is much too big for that, they are much bigger than a piece of copy paper. They do give you rubber bands to roll it up, but unless you're immediately taking it back to the resort, I don't see how that makes it any easier to carry around.

They'll give you a rubber band in the gift shop when you exit the class. We've kept these in our backpack for the rest of the day & as long as your mindful of them, they make it back to the resort & home fine. However, this trip I'm going to try & remember the empty paper towel rolls!

We've done this class many times, DS's now 8 & 12 love it. On our last two trips we did it 6 & 8x

 

[mesaboy2]

An interesting difference I just learned between AA at WDW and DLR.

At WDW, you don't know who you'll be drawing until you are inside the classroom and the CM instructor tells you. (I was recently told there is a pool of about 50 characters they may pull from.)

At DLR, a schedule for the day is posted on a board outside of which characters will be drawn at which classes. As DD wanted to draw a character from Frozen, we took advantage of the DLR approach and snagged an Olaf. It would be nice if WDW did this also.

Classes are indeed about 25 minutes and begin at the top and bottom of every hour. It may not start immediately at park open or run all the way to park close--that part seems to vary slightly.

 

[mousefan73]

OMG if word gets out that there is the possibility of drawing any frozen character the lines jump now to over 2 or 3 hours!!

Anyways now I am really looking forward to this.. Especially as it would give us the cool off break and for my mom a walking break in the heat and yet we are having fun all together.

and great tip for the paper towel rolls.. Even for the suitcases..

 

[shyjade]

Great idea about the paper towel rolls. Are there long enough to get the drawing inside completely without the ends getting damaged?

I came up with a great idea for our next trip: I decided to buy a mailing tube at the office supply store for $3. It's super durable (more so than a paper towel tube, but also a bit bigger). Although it's a bit clunky to carry around all day, I anticipate it will protect our drawings much better (than even a paper towel roll) as you could step on it and not break it. As a bonus, we will now be able to pack our drawings in the suitcase for the flight home instead of trying to protect it in our carry-on like last time.

 

[1stvisit0909]

This time we want to spend more time and try out what the Animation Academy offers.

There is the "magic of Disney animation" presentation thing and something where you can draw a character.

who has done this? I have some questions..

1. Are there set times or can you show up whenever?
2. Are there costs???
3. My kids are 8 and 9, should be ok right? The pictures I found of the drawing class only showed adults.
4. How crowded does this get? lines etc..
5. It is indoor, therefore AC right? This would be a good cooling break.
6. How much time for all this??



Any other tips etc....

thanks

My 7 and 11 year old at the time did it with me. my 11 yo and I loved it, my 7 year old cried b/c she is a perfectionist and she felt rushed (she was also tired). But after it was over she said she enjoyed it.

Christmas week we had to wait for the class that was in, and the class in front of us, so we waited about 45 mins to get into the room. There were some seats in the first class waiting area, but also a queue line for the next class. It is indoors yes. That day the CMs were NOT letting you leave the area with seating for ANYTHING.

 

[mesaboy2]

OMG if word gets out that there is the possibility of drawing any frozen character the lines jump now to over 2 or 3 hours!!

Anyways now I am really looking forward to this.. Especially as it would give us the cool off break and for my mom a walking break in the heat and yet we are having fun all together.

and great tip for the paper towel rolls.. Even for the suitcases..

DLR may be able to get away with a schedule because their facility handles close to 150 people--WDW can take I would guess 35 or 40 tops.

 

[Melanie98]

When and where is this at Art of Animation? We stayed there last year and must've missed it!

 

[mesaboy2]

When and where is this at Art of Animation? We stayed there last year and must've missed it!

Animation Academy is at DHS in the Animation Courtyard, not at Art of Animation.

 

[siskaren]

When and where is this at Art of Animation? We stayed there last year and must've missed it!

It's in the Magic of Disney Animation building.

 

[elyse43230]

I think it's really funny because this is one attraction where the adults get super into it and little little kids (like Kindergarten type kids) start off and then start scribbling and give up because it's way too hard for a little kid. The adults pictures usually end up looking awesome!

I drew Chip a few weeks ago, which isn't one I've seen before. The animator was super funny too and cracked jokes. It was AWESOME.

I only wish they would make this bigger or make it FP+ so that you don't have to worry about waiting. There was a holding area for the first group and then people crowded around for the next group, which means a pretty long wait if you aren't in the roped off area. You need to get lucky and walk up right when they admit a group in and just have a 25 minute wait, Otherwise it'll be longer.

 

[happybaker]

When and where is this at Art of Animation? We stayed there last year and must've missed it!

Animation Academy is at DHS in the Animation Courtyard, not at Art of Animation.

I did it at the Art of Animation as well as at DHS. It's in that little area in the lobby to the left of the check-in counters. IIRC, I think they did it twice a day.

 

[shyjade]

I only wish they would make this bigger or make it FP+ so that you don't have to worry about waiting. There was a holding area for the first group and then people crowded around for the next group, which means a pretty long wait if you aren't in the roped off area. You need to get lucky and walk up right when they admit a group in and just have a 25 minute wait, Otherwise it'll be longer.

We lucked out even though there were MANY people waiting to do this, we were able to walk right in and skip the wait because there were only a few spots left and we are a family of 2. The room was almost full and everyone else waiting was a larger party.

 

[jenninaustin]

I think you have most of your answers but I'll chime in a bit too....

It's great, I highly recommend it. It might take more time than you are expecting b/c you have to wait at least for the next class to start and maybe a little bit more - I write about that some in my trip report. We went to it right after doing RnR and ToT in the morning b/c I'd read it was getting more and more popular and I'm glad we did that. Folks behind us didn't get into our class.

My TR link is in my sig in case you want to read more about it and see the picture of Pluto my daughter drew.