When we visited Olaf Draws at Disney’s Hollywood Studios recently, the experience was in “B-mode,” with a curtain covering the Olaf Audio-Animatronic and his drawing desk. The Olaf figure had broken, and a pre-recorded video notes that Olaf is on vacation. Cuts to the video also remove Olaf’s usual interactions with the animator on screen. Here’s a closer look at what to expect.
Olaf Draws B-Mode at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
IN THIS ARTICLE:
- What B-mode looks like at Olaf Draws, with a curtain over the Olaf Audio-Animatronic and his desk.
- How the pre-recorded video changes while Olaf is away.
- Photos of the full experience with Olaf at his desk for comparison.
Olaf Draws is the drawing class inside The Magic of Disney Animation, which opened September 14th in the reimagined Walt Disney Studios Lot area. An Audio-Animatronic Olaf sits at an animator’s desk while recorded lessons from Disney Animation artists guide guests through each drawing.
On our visit, Cast Members were advising guests that Olaf was on vacation and would not be present in the show. When we sat down, we saw a curtain hung over the Olaf Audio-Animatronic and the animator’s desk.
Normally, Olaf draws along with the pre-recorded animator video and reacts to it. His jokes carry the experience to an extent, which helps make up (slightly) for the lack of an in-person animator. Josh Gad recorded original dialogue for Olaf. The full show leans on that back-and-forth between the figure and the screen.
What B-Mode Looks Like at Olaf Draws
In B-mode, a curtain hangs over Olaf and his drawing desk when the figure itself has broken down. It’s a bit of an inelegant solution, but it looks like there is no other way to remove the set and Audio-Animatronic. Some Audio-Animatronics are able to be removed from a scene, such as the Navi Shaman at Animal Kingdom, but others need to be hidden in place, like Olaf and Kylo Ren.
In B-mode, the video carries the whole lesson. It notes that Olaf is on vacation, and cuts remove the exchanges between the animator on screen and the Olaf Audio-Animatronic. Guests still follow the animator’s lesson step by step, sketching at their desks.
How Olaf Draws Looks With Olaf
With Olaf in place, the stage fills out nicely. He sits on a stack of books topped by The Illusion of Life by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, with a pencil in hand. His desk holds sketches, pencil cups, art books, and character figures, so it looks like a working animator’s desk. The shelves above include wooden art mannequins and a figure of the Frozen ice palace.
In our photos, Olaf looks toward the screen as the animator’s lesson plays. Those are the exchanges the video cuts out when the show is in B-mode.
Keep Reading:
- Our first look at the Olaf Audio-Animatronic from D23 Expo shows how Imagineers planned to pair the figure with the animator video.
- Disney’s opening date announcement for The Magic of Disney Animation walks through Drawn to Wonderland, Off the Page, and the Once Upon A Studio Theater alongside Olaf Draws.
- Our original Olaf Draws announcement includes Josh Gad’s quote and the full list of characters and artists guiding each lesson.
- Our Walt Disney Studios Lot page collects the latest news and photos from the courtyard and The Magic of Disney Animation.
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!