Imagineering breaks down the Burbank references hidden in Animation Courtyard

By entgrove · August 29, 2026

Walt Disney World posted a behind the scenes clip on Animation Courtyard at Disney's Hollywood Studios, narrated by Walt Disney Imagineering creative director Alex Grayman. He walks through the layering method behind the land and points out the details that echo Disney's real studio lot in Burbank, from a wall based on the Buena Vista Street entry to the Art Deco lettering and the Sorcerer Mickey hat.

Walt Disney World shared a behind the scenes look at Animation Courtyard at Disney's Hollywood Studios, narrated by a Walt Disney Imagineering creative director who walks through how the land was themed. The clip is a preview of a new episode on Walt Disney Imagineering's YouTube channel, and it centers on the details that tie the courtyard back to Disney's real studio lot in Burbank, California.

Layering, as the Imagineers describe it

Grayman frames the courtyard as an example of a design method rather than a single build. "Transforming the animation courtyard is just such a great example of how we use layering to tell our stories," he says in the clip. "We start with the basis of the space, then we add magical details, the billboards, the character presence. They all work together to tell this one cohesive story."

The camera follows that description in order. It opens on the courtyard entrance under the Sorcerer Mickey hat, moves to the painted Stage 1 marking on a wall, and then to one of the billboards Grayman mentions.

The references to the Burbank lot

The through line of the segment is the studio in Burbank. "Throughout the courtyard you're going to see references back to the Burbank studio," Grayman says. On screen, the clip cuts to a green curb stencilled "Pluto's" beside a red fire hydrant, with the caption "back to the Burbank studio."

The clearest example he calls out is the courtyard's low red wall carrying metal Walt Disney Studios lettering. Grayman says it is "based on an entry onto the studio lot," which the video's own captions place off Buena Vista Street in Burbank.

Art Deco type and a 1940s build date

Grayman then points at the lettering itself. "You can even see details like this font used throughout the studio, very Art Deco," he says, over a close shot of the metal letters. He ties the choice to the period the real lot went up: "The studio itself was built in 1940s, right in the middle of that streamlined moderne era."

That is the reason the courtyard's architecture reads the way it does, with the curved banding, the fluted red facade and the sans serif signage across the Animation building.

The hat and the animation building

The last reference in the clip is the largest one in the courtyard. "We also have Mickey Sorcerer's hat," Grayman says, gesturing back toward the entrance. "It's based very closely on the animation building in Burbank, California."

The clip closes on the same facade with a Walt Disney Imagineering card and a line reading "new episode available now," pointing to the team's YouTube channel.

Why this matters

Nothing here announces a change to Animation Courtyard. What the clip does offer is on the record sourcing for details guests walk past, from the Buena Vista Street wall to the Art Deco type, straight from the Imagineer who worked on the space. Anyone wanting the longer version can watch the full episode on Walt Disney Imagineering's YouTube channel.