Walt Disney Imagineering has given fans a detailed look inside the Animators Office, a space coming to The Magic of Disney Animation at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. In a new video, Imagineer Ben walks through the space and points out a collection of real artifacts placed deliberately throughout the room. The Magic of Disney Animation opens September 14th inside the reimagined Walt Disney Studios Lot courtyard. Here’s the full list of easter eggs Ben pointed out, along with the story behind each one.
Animators Office Easter Eggs Revealed for The Magic of Disney Animation at Hollywood Studios
IN THIS ARTICLE:
- Imagineer Ben walks through the real artifacts filling the new Animators Office
- The desk itself was saved from the original animation academy at Hollywood Studios
- Personal items from Moana, Hercules, Chicken Little, and Once Upon a Studio all make an appearance
A Desk With Real History
The centerpiece of the tour is a desk with some real history. Ben explained that the desk was saved from the original animation academy that once operated at Hollywood Studios. It’s a detail easy to miss without the additional background. With that background, the desk anchors the room in the venue’s real history and is something that fans can enjoy. The desk sits roughly where guests once found a screen-used speeder bike prop from Return of the Jedi, back when the building operated as Star Wars Launch Bay. Imagineering has since transformed that same character meet-and-greet area for The Magic of Disney Animation.
Sitting nearby is a small building replica representing Disney’s feature animation facility in California, a nod to the studio that inspired the space. A mirror on display carries its own story. Once Upon a Studio director Dan Abraham found it at a flea market, and it now has a permanent home inside the attraction.
Gifts, Caricatures, and a Weekly Magazine
Several of the props trace back to items animators actually exchanged with each other. Ben pointed out a set of ping-pong balls that someone gifted to the feature animation group in California, now displayed as a memento of that studio culture. Also on display is a copy of Rabbit Rabbit, a magazine that was handed out weekly to animators working in the very building the attraction now occupies.
That same tradition of trading gifts extended to artwork. Disney animators regularly drew caricatures of themselves and dropped them off at each other’s desks. A book compiling a collection of those old caricatures now sits within the space. Ben also highlighted a stamp tied to a Mulan team gift, part of that same office culture of small, personal exchanges between animators.
Costume Pieces and Production Artifacts
The Animators Office also includes wardrobe and production pieces pulled from specific Disney films. A Moana crew hat and a Hercules production jacket both appear in the space, alongside a pair of Chicken Little’s glasses. Each item ties a specific film’s production history to the themed space.
One of the more functional artifacts on display answers a question guests might not think to ask. Ben addressed the small sticker tabs visible throughout the space. Animators used them while flipping through pages of hand-drawn work, protecting the paper from ripping on the registration pegs used to line up each frame.
Everyday Tools of the Animation Building
Not every artifact in the room came from a film production. Someone gifted a mug on display to the architects who worked on the original building when it first opened. It ties the space back to the structure itself, not just the work produced inside it.
Red rubber bands also show up throughout the attraction, and Ben explained their original purpose was practical and playful. Animators used them to hold finished scenes together once the drawing work was done. He added that they’d also shoot the rubber bands at each other.
Ben also explained how the overall look of the space came together. Early in development, the team behind the Animators Office took photos of real desks inside Disney Animation’s California studio. Those photos shaped the finished look and feel of the room. According to Ben, pulling out small, specific details is what makes the space feel real and lived in, rather than simply themed.
Full List of Animators’ Office Easter Eggs
- A desk saved from the original animation academy at Hollywood Studios
- A building replica of Disney’s feature animation facility in California
- Ping pong balls gifted to the feature animation group in California
- A flea market mirror sourced by Once Upon a Studio director Dan Abraham
- A copy of Rabbit Rabbit, the weekly magazine handed out to animators in the building
- A book collecting animators’ caricatures of each other
- A Moana crew hat
- A Hercules production jacket
- Chicken Little’s glasses
- A Mulan team gift stamp
- Paper tabs animators used to protect pages from ripping on registration pegs
- A mug gifted to the architects of the original building
- Red rubber bands animators used to bundle finished scenes
Story So Far
The Animators Office is one piece of the larger Magic of Disney Animation experience, which has been building toward its debut for more than a year:
- July 2025: Disney announced plans to replace Animation Courtyard with the Walt Disney Studios Lot concept
- September 25, 2025: Animation Courtyard closed permanently to begin the transformation
- February 2026: Disney detailed the Off the Page character meet-and-greet lineup and the Once Upon a Studio Theater
- May 20, 2026: The Walt Disney Studios Lot courtyard opened to guests, though The Magic of Disney Animation itself remained closed
- May 28, 2026: BlogMickey went behind the construction walls for a hard hat tour of the space’s layout and concept art
- July 2026: Disney announced that The Magic of Disney Animation opens September 14th
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!