Credit: DisneyThe best theming at Walt Disney World is the kind you find rather than the kind you are shown.
That is what makes the Walt Disney Studios Lot at Disney’s Hollywood Studios work as well as it does. Since the courtyard opened in May, Imagineering has been quietly filling it with character statues tucked into places most guests would walk right past. A cat on a roof ledge. A cricket on a directional sign. A monkey climbing through a store sign. None of it is announced. It simply appears.
And the lineup keeps growing.
Three new statues have joined the courtyard: Bolt, two Dalmatian puppies from 101 Dalmatians, and Meeko from Pocahontas.
That brings the cast to a genuinely impressive size for a space that has been open for only a few months, and it raises an obvious question. The Magic of Disney Animation opens September 14, which means there is still time on the clock. Will more show up before then?
Here is everything currently out there.
The Newest Additions
Bolt now sits in a patch of grass alongside two Dalmatian puppies.
The three of them are staged in a tug-of-war. One end of a bone sits in Bolt’s mouth, a Dalmatian puppy grips the other end, and a second puppy sits close by watching it play out.
The details hold up. Bolt has the wide eyes and raised tail that capture his excitable energy from the film, and the Dalmatian puppies keep the spotted coats and oversized floppy ears from the animated classic.
Imagineers tucked the grouping into a grassy area just to the right of the centerpiece Sorcerer Mickey hat.
Meeko has also arrived, standing upright on his own patch of grass. One paw holds a red and white striped popcorn box while the other is busy digging in.
That pose is doing exactly what it should. Meeko’s entire personality in Pocahontas is being food-obsessed, and giving him theme park popcorn rather than corn is the joke that makes the statue work in this specific setting.
New character statues have been added to the Walt Disney Studios Lot area at Hollywood Studios!
— BlogMickey.com (@Blog_Mickey) September 4, 2026
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As we get closer to the September 14th opening of The Magic of Disney Animation, characters continue to leap off the page pic.twitter.com/KOQAB5BPrq
The Full Courtyard Lineup
The new arrivals join a cast pulled from across Disney’s animated library.
- Pua and Thumper sit together in a grassy area near the courtyard entrance
- Jiminy Cricket perches atop a directional sign
- Lucifer from Cinderella grins from a ledge with teeth bared, staring up at Zazu
- Cinderella’s bluebirds appear near the Studio Theater sign
- Diablo, Maleficent’s raven from Sleeping Beauty, sits with the bluebirds
- Mochi from Big Hero 6 curls up on a roof ledge, eyes closed
- Sir Hiss from Robin Hood shares a green railing with Fru Fru from Zootopia
- Jaq, Gus, and Timothy Mouse appear as a trio, with Timothy raising a feather quill
- Zazu from The Lion King keeps watch from an elevated spot
- Ray from The Princess and the Frog perches on a lamppost
- Abu from Aladdin climbs through a store sign
The Pairings Are Doing Real Work
Look closely at how these are arranged, because almost none of it is random.
Lucifer staring up at Zazu with his teeth bared is a cat and a bird from two entirely different films, positioned so the predator dynamic reads instantly. Same with Diablo sitting alongside Cinderella’s bluebirds.
Sir Hiss and Fru Fru sharing a railing puts a 1973 villain next to a 2016 supporting character, and it works because both are small, both are chatty, and both would absolutely be gossiping.
Jaq, Gus, and Timothy Mouse, as a trio, combine Cinderella and Dumbo into what is essentially a mouse convention.
That is not a collection of statues. It is a series of small jokes, and they are rewarding to anyone who slows down enough to notice.
Why the Characters Are There
The lineup extends the open house concept behind The Magic of Disney Animation.
The framing is that Walt Disney Animation Studios characters have taken over the space while their animators have stepped away. That explains why the statues are perched on signs, railings, and roof ledges rather than displayed on pedestals. They are not exhibits. They are supposed to have wandered out on their own.
Imagineering reinforced that in late August with a new “Open House” banner installed at the attraction entrance, staged alongside statues including Mickey Mouse, the Mad Hatter, Flounder, Tinker Bell, Moana, Minnie Mouse, and Robin Williams’ Lost Boy.
How This Space Came Together
A quick timeline for anyone who has not been following it.
- July 2025: Disney announced plans to replace Animation Courtyard with the Walt Disney Studios Lot concept
- September 25, 2025: Animation Courtyard permanently closed
- April 2026: The Sorcerer Mickey hat was installed atop the attraction entrance
- May 20, 2026: The Walt Disney Studios Lot courtyard opened to guests, with The Magic of Disney Animation still closed
- Late August 2026: The Open House banner went up
- September 14, 2026: The Magic of Disney Animation opens
The courtyard has been open and evolving for roughly three and a half months, while the main attraction stayed behind walls.
Will More Statues Arrive Before September 14?
That is the question worth asking, and the pattern suggests yes.
Statues have been appearing steadily rather than all at once, with new figures showing up months after the courtyard opened. There is no indication that Imagineering considers the lineup finished, and there are nine days left before the attraction opens.
More importantly, the open house concept has no natural limit. Any character from Walt Disney Animation Studios fits the premise, giving Imagineering an enormous library to keep drawing from.
If you are visiting before September 14, it is worth taking your time walking through the courtyard. And if you visited in June, it is worth walking it again.
