It’s kinda’ wild how Disney World has just been opening up things early ahead of their official opening dates, but we’re not complaining!

So May 26th is a HUGE day in Disney World, with a lot of things scheduled to open on that day, which could be why they’re opening a little earlier just to prevent some sheer chaos. So we’ve already seen Soarin’ Across America open early in EPCOT, but before that, The Walt Disney Studios opened up its new courtyard, and we were STUNNED. There are so many great details in this new land, and we’re going to point them out for you.

Animation Courtyard closed in September 2025 to be transformed into The Walt Disney Studios, an area that would be inspired by Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California. But the idea here is that Disney’s animated characters will “leap off the screen and into our world.”

And that’s exactly what you’ll discover walking through the area, with all the little details that are a nod to the Burbank Walt Disney Studios lot and Disney’s characters. For example, you’ll find an homage to Pluto’s Corner, which is a replica of Pluto’s Corner at the Burbank lot, complete with a street sign and a fire hydrant.

The street sign is even nearly identical to the one in Burbank.

There’s even a replica of the entrance sign you’ll find if you visit Disney’s Burbank headquarters.

The fencing in the area has little Mickeys all over it. This is similar to the fence you’d see at the Burbank offices!

You’ll also find movie posters and signs indicating stages, as if this were a real working studio (and yes, we remember there really WAS a real working animation studio here!).

However, it’s the sprinkling of characters throughout the courtyard that really gives this space, well, REAL character. Also, we love that Lucifer from Cinderella gets to hang out in the courtyard. You’ll find him behind the seating area with the benches.

Be sure to look all around you because you don’t know where these characters will pop up. Oh, hi, Zazu!

Look up and you’ll see some pretty famous mice that AREN’T Mickey.

Pua and Thumper are just hanging out on the grass.

Abu is peeking out from The Studio Store sign.

You never know who you’ll see. We found Zootopia’s Mrs. Big hanging out with Sir Hiss from Robin Hood.

You’ll also want to take time to look at the handprints of some pretty famous Disney characters, like Quasimodo.

We love all the details Disney managed to squeeze into this area, and it’s such a big improvement over what used to be here. We’re excited to see the rest of the area open later!

We’ll keep an eye out for more updates in Disney World, so stay tuned to DFB for more.

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What do you think of The Walt Disney Studios so far? Let us know in the comments!