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CaptSmee
01-29-2009, 02:01 AM
Out of all the times we've been to WDW, I've never stumbled upon this section of the Animation Tour at DHS! I can know say it is going to be my new "can't miss attraction" when visiting in the future! Our whole family had a lot of fun learning how to draw Bolt, and our drawings came out great and are going to make unique souveniers!

I also found out later that there is another one within DisneyQuest in the "create zone". If you haven't tried this before, check it out! It's in the far corner of the first room you step in to meet characters (where the Incredibles currently are).:mickey:

Dragongirlx
01-29-2009, 04:10 AM
Thanks for posting this. I have never been to this before but because of your post I am definatly going to try it in September
:thumbsup:

big blue and hairy
01-29-2009, 08:08 AM
Although I firmly believe that for the most part WDW ruined the Magic Of Disney Animation when they took all the animation out of it, the Animation Academey is the exception. It was a terrific addition to the area. Unfortunately, it's the only one, but DW and I go to it most times we are at DHS.

:sulley:

kakn7294
01-29-2009, 08:13 AM
We tried this out on our last trip (because we weren't able to get in on previous trips) and had a blast! I can't wait to do it again! We got to draw Jiminy Cricket.

Coccinelle
01-29-2009, 08:39 AM
My oldest daugther loves to draw and i am very happy that we will be able to have her see this place. Is there a cost to keep your drawing??? Thanks!

dixielandings
01-29-2009, 09:04 AM
Although I firmly believe that for the most part WDW ruined the Magic Of Disney Animation when they took all the animation out of it, the Animation Academey is the exception. It was a terrific addition to the area. :sulley:

Totally agree with you! I miss the tour terribly. But I love this part. I cannot stick figures so coming out with a pretty darn good drawing of Dopey is quite an accomplishment for me! The only problem is you don't have a lot of control over who's being drawn and you don't know until you get in there - so I have 3 pictures of Pluto!

crazyred11588
01-29-2009, 09:28 AM
My oldest daugther loves to draw and i am very happy that we will be able to have her see this place. Is there a cost to keep your drawing??? Thanks!

There isn't a cost to keep your drawing if you do the Animation Academy at MGM/DHS, but if you go to the DisneyQuest animation program there is a fee since you are actually drawing on a computer screen. I think it was like $30 got you your drawing, a certificate of completion, and a DisneyQuest Animation pin.

Definitely was a fun experience. We found the AA on our trip in May of 2007 and I had a blast. I will say however that I saw a lot of adults who came up just before we were let in pushing and shoving to get in the room past those of us who had been waiting since the end of the prior class. But hey, the class is fun and I had a blast!:mickey:

luvDaMouse
01-29-2009, 10:37 AM
:thumbsup:I love this attraction as well, my husband and I were able to draw :smickey: then when we were done we got him to sign them!! I framed them and they are now hanging on my wall in our living room. Photopass took pictures of Mickey signing them while we were looking on so I ordered them in black and white and hung them by each of our pictures. :D

dixiepixie
01-29-2009, 12:07 PM
We just got back from WDW and I have to say this was one of our highlights of the trip too! We had never done it before, and had so much fun drawing Mickey, we had to go back. We drew Chip our second time and could have gone back again. It is so relaxing to sit in there in the dark and draw. Something about it makes you feel so rested when you get up to leave. The kids loved it too and kept begging to go back. This is now a must do for all future trips.

DonaldsBFF
01-29-2009, 12:15 PM
One of our favorite things to do at DHS. We did it four times on our trip over the Holidays and luckily we got to do four different characters. As previous poster stated you never know what you will be drawing until you get in. We got to do:goofy2::pluto::pooh:and Donald. I would have to say that Pooh was hard to draw as we did a full body drawing. The rest were just faces. If you do get the chance to do this I would highly recommend it. You don't have to see the pre-show to do this and you can keep going back to do the drawing as many times as you want. This is another great way to bring home a piece of the Diney magic!

barnaby
01-29-2009, 12:36 PM
We did it last trip and loved it - a definite highlight. We did a drawing of Dopey.
Also, Frozone was doing a character meet n greet nearby, so the kids got pics with him.

Another attraction that may get overlooked, that I really enjoyed is Walt Disney: One Man's Dream. It has some cool memorabilia and an interesting short film at the end about Walt's life.

Imagineer1981
01-29-2009, 02:48 PM
However cool it is, it is nothing like it once was, where Robin Williams and Walter Cronkite used to give the tour and you saw the real animators working and even had an artist drawing live for you...way cool

big blue and hairy
01-29-2009, 03:26 PM
However cool it is, it is nothing like it once was, where Robin Williams and Walter Cronkite used to give the tour and you saw the real animators working and even had an artist drawing live for you...way cool
Exactly right. The first time I went through the new and improved version, it depressed me. It used to be one my favorite places to go in all of WDW. Now we only go to the Animation Academy and skip everything else. We don't even go to the AA as often as we went to the tour. I'm pretty sure some Disney people read this board, so now I'm asking you directly, please bring back the animation tour!!

:sulley:

Coccinelle
01-29-2009, 03:44 PM
There isn't a cost to keep your drawing if you do the Animation Academy at MGM/DHS, but if you go to the DisneyQuest animation program there is a fee since you are actually drawing on a computer screen. I think it was like $30 got you your drawing, a certificate of completion, and a DisneyQuest Animation pin.

Definitely was a fun experience. We found the AA on our trip in May of 2007 and I had a blast. I will say however that I saw a lot of adults who came up just before we were let in pushing and shoving to get in the room past those of us who had been waiting since the end of the prior class. But hey, the class is fun and I had a blast!:mickey:

Thanks !

CaptSmee
01-29-2009, 05:50 PM
Another attraction that may get overlooked, that I really enjoyed is Walt Disney: One Man's Dream. It has some cool memorabilia and an interesting short film at the end about Walt's life.

Another one of my favorites! I see something different every time I go through there! and the Jungle Cruise & Peter Pan Flight models are back from Disneyland!

rkwctw
01-29-2009, 09:29 PM
We have done this many times and have framed some of our own art work when we get back home. We have teenage kids and they love it.
:mickey:

BananaAnna838
01-30-2009, 12:20 PM
We just recently discovered this, I think on our last trip in 07. One of my new favorite things to do!! :number1: We went 4 times I think in one trip, doing a different character each time (we either stayed after to do a 2nd one if the line wasn't long, or talked them into doing one, because I wanted to do Stitch :blush: ).

It was very interesting however because one of the people said they were from Philly, and we are kind of close so that was fun, until we found out that he does/did all the artwork for the Wings-to-Go on the East coast! It was pretty exciting to find that out. :)

handmaidenofprincesses
01-31-2009, 02:23 PM
... you saw the real animators working and even had an artist drawing live for you...way cool

That was my favorite part, and although it hasn't been brought back, there was an artist painting cells for the gift shop when I was there a couple of weeks ago (where the animator used to be if I recall correctly) You could stand there and watch her paint, which I thought was pretty neat (better than an empty office)

Animation Academy is definitely my favorite, mostly b/c it seems to be the only place where I am capable of drawing anything remotely resembling a character (must be all that pixie dust :pixie:) So far I have drawn Tigger, Pooh, Goofy, and most recently a vintage Goofy as he was in 1939, which was pretty neat, but very difficult (My vintage Goofy has some serious issues! lol)

minnesotafreeze
02-01-2009, 12:46 AM
I discovered the Animation Academy on my last trip and had a great time. Before I attended the class I was apprehensive if I should even go in since everything I have ever drawn has not been good. My penmanship is even sloppy. I was amazed that with a little guidance my Goofy turned out great. I even framed it and hung it in my sons room. I also purchased a book on how to draw simple Disney characters at DHS, which has been fun. I highly recommend the Animation Academy.:mickey:

IamBelle
02-02-2009, 08:02 AM
We love this!! We have drawn Goofy and Minnie and they came out really good. Sometimes, waiting for the doors to open, a CM draws a character, when we went last time, he was drawing Stitch and gave it to some people waiting! The drawings you make in there are fun to do and a nice, unique souvenir.