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Orlando Car Rental Travel Guide - Animation Courtyard
“Animation offers a medium of story telling and visual entertainment which can bring pleasure and information to people of all ages everywhere in the world.”
- Walt Disney
When Disney elected to lay off all of its Florida animators in January of 2004 and move its operations to California, it had a negative impact on Orlando vacationers who visit this section of the theme park. The highlight of the area - The Voyage of the Little Mermaid - is as good as it ever was and park guests will still find interesting things to do at The Magic of Disney Animation exhibit. If you have preschoolers, they will especially enjoy the Playhouse Disney Live show.
The Voyage of the Little Mermaid:
Disney employs the use of special effects, lighting, puppets, film clips and live actors in this amazing presentation which allows visitors to feel as if they are actually “Under the Sea.” The entire story of The Little Mermaid has been consolidated and is told - complete with its most popular songs - in this 17-minute show.
After they have returned their Orlando car rental, many people that I have talked to have told me that they consider this to be the best stage show in all of Walt Disney World. I can’t say that I completely agree with them ... I think it is the best show in the entire Orlando vacation area! Due to its popularity, a FastPass is available for this attraction. You may, however, choose to forego acquiring a FastPass for the show since the theater holds a great many people and you probably won’t need one - especially if you see the show in the morning. DO NOT MISS THIS ONE!
Playhouse Disney Live:
If you have preschoolers, you won’t want to miss this live stage show. Stars from the Disney Channel’s Bear in the Big Blue House, JoJo and Goliath, Stanley and The Book of Pooh all come to life in this series of stories about friendship. If you can’t bear (no pun intended ... I swear!) the thought of sitting on the ground for the twenty-minute show, there is a line of benches at the rear of the sound stage. If you want the prime “seats” (on the ground up front, that is), plan on arriving at least twenty minutes before the scheduled show times.
The Magic of Disney Animation:
Once upon a time in the not too distant past, there was a wonderful place inside of Disney’s Hollywood Studios called The Magic of Disney Animation, where people could tour an actual working animation studio and see the artists working on the next big Disney animated film. Although the building still exists, the animators are gone and the building is now more of a self guided interactive experience than an exciting sneak peek at Disney history being made. Visitors to this building can experiment with adding their own voices to the soundtracks of well-known Disney movies, use a computer to color their favorite Disney characters or take a quiz to discover which Disney character they are most like.
Perhaps the best interactive experience in the building is the Animation Academy, where participants can learn how to draw a Disney character, themselves. Children love to impress their friends by showing them how they learned to draw Mickey Mouse during their Orlando vacation!
Behind The Scenes:
For those who would like to bypass the walking tour portion at The Magic of Disney Animation and go straight to the lesson on how to draw a Disney character, they can head to the exit for the attraction and enter through the back. If you can't find it, ask a Disney Cast Member to point it out for you. Please keep in mind, however, that seating is limited and new lessons begin every 15-20 minutes.
The Voyage of the Little Mermaid show, alone, is worth a drive in your Orlando car rental to see! If you haven't done so yet, reserve your Orlando car rental here.