Animation Courtyard at Disney's Hollywood Studios is taking up way too much space these days and if the Disney company is pledging a large sum of money to upgrade and add to their parks, demolishing this area is a great start.
The idea isn't my own although I fully support the thought and will explain why shortly. The idea to bring it to life, well that belongs to Daniel & Zach, because well, you can't do Disney without them.
Move the Star Wars meet and greets to Galaxy's Edge and either level the entire Animation Courtyard area and put in a new themed land or... do...something. Anything, really. Please.
— Don’t Do Disney…Without Daniel & Zach 🌈 (@wdwaristocrafts) September 21, 2023
Earlier this month we talked about this very thing, well, sort of. What we talked about was the big mistake the Imagineers made when they didn't connect Star Tours to Galaxy's Edge and why The Muppets remain between the two. You can read that here.
When the above Twitter/X user posted the idea of tearing down and rebuilding Animation Courtyard, well, I simply couldn't agree more.
First you need to know what is A.C. It's a place mainly designed for children where they can meet several of the Disney Jr. characters like Doc McStuffins. It used to house the Little Mermaid live action show, and still is home to the Star Wars Launch Bay (Which I still contend should be over at the outside of Galaxy's Edge).
I have kids. Young kids and I have spent my day taking those kids, and others to meet their faves from the Disney Jr. lineup. I have sat "criss-cross" on a carpeted floor below a stage at Disney Jr. Dance Party, and I have sat through the live Little Mermaid show when it was running.
I get that there isn't a lot for younger kids and as Daniel and Zach would later say to a commenter about what would the kids have it that area was gone, it doesn't have to be rethemed for adult enjoyment. It just needs to be rethemed.
Here is where Disney could fail or rise to the top. The Little Mermaid has remained vacant for years, Launch Bay should be moved and it takes up a LOT of space, the Dance Party could be redesigned and the entire area could be turned into something far more interesting for younger kids or even pre-teens.
What about bringing Bluey, a very popular kids show, to the area? What about simply making the entire area a Disney Jr. paradise where the characters are not relegated to a side wall and guests could take a journey through decades and decades of Disney television properties utilizing the Launch Bay area as an exhibit? Take down the Little Mermaid vacant building and turn it into something new that actually might get used and visited.
Maybe the simplest is to turn Animation Courtyard into an animated courtyard. Hmmmm, that's a novel idea.
The reality is, it doesn't have to be elaborate. It just needs to be more refined, structured, and far more enjoyable that it is. Instead, it's a place to go and wait in lines to meet characters, stare at an empty building, or peruse the history of Star Wars (that again should be on the other side of the park) and it should be something that brings families into the courtyard rather than simply a meet, greet, and leave. Or a place you wander into and ask why the heck you wandered into it at all.