Last Updated on May 3, 2026
If you have been searching for the Disneyland Animation Academy schedule and finding nothing useful, there is a reason. Disney does not publish the daily schedule online. The schedule changes every single day, is hand-picked by the Cast Member artists working that day, and only gets posted on a board inside the Animation Building each morning around 9 AM. There is no advance calendar, no app feature, no website that lists tomorrow’s lineup.
What you can do is plan smart, know what to expect, and use a few community tricks to find the schedule before you arrive at the building. This is the complete 2026 guide.
What Animation Academy Actually Is
Animation Academy is a free 30-minute drawing class held inside the Disney Animation Building in Hollywood Land at Disney California Adventure. A Disney artist guides you through drawing a specific character step by step. You get a pencil, a sheet of paper, and the artist walks the entire room through how to construct the character starting from basic shapes. At the end, you keep your drawing as a souvenir.
The class is genuinely fun even if you cannot draw, and many guests come away surprised at how good their finished drawing looks. Within about 20 minutes you have something rough but recognizable, and the artist’s instruction style makes it accessible to all ages and skill levels. It is one of the most underrated free experiences at the entire resort.
Classes run every 30 minutes throughout the day, typically starting at 9:00 AM and continuing until late afternoon, depending on park hours. No reservation is required and no tickets beyond your park admission are needed. You simply walk in when a class is about to start and find a seat.
The Daily Schedule: How It Actually Works
This is the part that frustrates planners. The schedule is set fresh every morning by the Cast Member artists working that day and is based partly on what each artist is comfortable teaching. Different artists have different specialties. One artist might teach Mickey, Goofy, and Pluto on a particular day, while another teaches Olaf, Stitch, and Jack Skellington. The lineup reflects who is working.
The schedule for the day gets posted on a sign inside the Animation Building entrance, on the far left side of the building. It is usually up by 9:00 AM, sometimes a few minutes after. Each 30-minute time slot is paired with the character being taught at that class. Many days repeat each character twice across the schedule, so if you miss the morning Mickey class, there is a good chance Mickey is back later in the day.
This is the only authoritative place to see the day’s full schedule. There is no online version, no advance posting, and asking Cast Members at other locations will not get you the answer because they do not know either. The information lives on that one sign.
Characters That Commonly Appear on the Schedule
While the exact lineup changes daily, the pool of characters Disney artists teach is fairly consistent. If you have a specific character in mind, knowing whether they are commonly featured tells you whether to plan around it.
Characters that appear frequently across Animation Academy schedules include the classic Disney lineup of Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Goofy, and Pluto, the Hundred Acre Wood crew of Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, and Tigger, Chip and Dale, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Jack Skellington from Nightmare Before Christmas, Phineas and Ferb characters including Agent P and Perry the Platypus, Stitch from Lilo and Stitch, Olaf from Frozen, and seasonal or current-release characters tied to whatever Disney film is in theaters or trending. Recent guests have reported drawing Judy Hopps from Zootopia after the release of Zootopia 2, for example, which signals that the lineup updates with current Disney content.
Less common but still seen on schedules are characters from Pixar properties like Wall-E, Sully, and Mike Wazowski, classic villains like Maleficent, princesses including Ariel and Belle, and Star Wars characters including BB-8 and Stitch in Star Wars-style poses during seasonal events.
The takeaway: if you are hoping to draw any classic Disney character, the odds are good they will appear at least once during your visit. If you are hoping to draw a specific newer or seasonal character, your odds depend on what Disney is currently promoting.
How to Find Today’s Schedule Before You Arrive at the Building
The official schedule lives only on the sign outside the building, but the Disneyland fan community has filled the gap surprisingly well. If you want to know today’s lineup before you walk all the way to Hollywood Land, you have a few options.
Disneyland subreddit.ย The r/Disneyland community on reddit frequently has guests posting photos of the day’s Animation Academy schedule, especially during busier seasons. Search the subreddit for “Animation Academy” and check the most recent posts. On many days, someone has already snapped a picture of the morning schedule and shared it. Even if you do not see today’s schedule, you will see the previous few days, which gives you a strong sense of the typical character pool.
Disneyland Facebook groups. Several large Disneyland-focused Facebook groups including Disneyland Annual Passholders Group, Magic Key Disneyland, and Disneyland Tips and Tricks regularly have guests posting the daily schedule. Searching “Animation Academy” within those groups typically returns multiple recent photos.
Ask in real-time. If you are already at the resort and want to confirm before walking to Hollywood Land, post in any of the above groups asking if anyone is at the Animation Building and can share a photo. The Disneyland community is genuinely helpful and someone usually responds within an hour during park hours.
Call the Animation Building. This is rarely possible because the line is not publicly listed, but Cast Members at Guest Relations can sometimes call over to the Animation Building and ask. It is not reliable but worth knowing as an option.
For visitors planning a half-day visit specifically around drawing a particular character, the Reddit and Facebook approach is your best bet. Build a search bookmark for the relevant communities and check the morning of your visit.
When to Visit Animation Academy for the Best Experience
Animation Academy operates on first-come, first-served seating, and class capacity is limited to roughly 50 to 60 guests per session. On busy days, popular character slots fill up several minutes before the class begins. Knowing when to show up makes the difference between walking in and waiting for the next slot.
The first class of the day at 9:00 AM is rarely full and is the easiest to walk into without waiting. If your morning rope drop strategy includes Disney California Adventure rides like Radiator Springs Racers or Guardians of the Galaxy, you can finish those, walk to Hollywood Land, and arrive comfortably for the 9:30 or 10:00 AM class.
The midday classes between 11:00 AM and 2:00 PM are typically the busiest. Family crowds peak here and seats fill fast. If you are aiming for a specific character that falls in this window, arrive at the building 15 minutes before the class starts to secure seats together.
Late afternoon classes between 3:00 PM and 5:00 PM are often the sweet spot. Crowds have thinned, the same character pool is still being taught, and you can walk into most classes without a wait.
Final classes of the day, typically the last one or two before park close, are sometimes lightly attended and create the most relaxed atmosphere. The artist often has more time to chat between drawing steps and the room is quieter overall.
Tips for Getting the Most Out of Animation Academy
A few things that make the experience better.
Take a photo of the schedule board the moment you see it, even if you are not staying for the next class. The schedule sometimes changes mid-day if an artist swaps shifts, so the morning photo is your reliable reference for planning.
Bring the kids regardless of skill level. Animation Academy is genuinely accessible to children as young as 5 or 6 who can hold a pencil and follow along. The artists are patient with younger guests and the experience is one of the most memorable non-ride moments at the resort for kids who love drawing.
Keep your drawing flat. The classes hand out a single sheet of paper with no folder. If you want to keep your drawing in good condition through the rest of the day, bring a small folder or a clipboard, or fold the paper carefully and put it in a bag. Many guests roll the paper, which leaves a permanent curl.
Sit in the middle rows for the best view. Front rows are too close to the screens and back rows can feel disconnected. The middle of the room gives the best visibility of the artist’s drawing on screen.
Do more than one class in a day. The classes are 30 minutes long and run back to back, so you can stay for a second or third class with different characters if you have the time. Many guests do exactly this and walk away with a small portfolio of Disney character drawings for the trip.
Other things to do in the Animation Building between classes. The same building houses Turtle Talk with Crush, the Sorcerer’s Workshop interactive area, character meet-and-greets including Anna and Elsa from Frozen, and the Animation Courtyard gallery with concept art and clips from Disney films. If you arrive between class times, there is plenty to fill the wait.
Where to Find the Animation Academy
The Animation Academy is inside the Disney Animation Building in Hollywood Land at Disney California Adventure. Enter the park through the main DCA entrance, walk down Buena Vista Street, and turn left into Hollywood Land. The Animation Building is on the right side of Hollywood Land just past the Hyperion Theater. Once inside the lobby, look to the left for the Animation Academy sign and entrance.
The schedule board is outside the building entrance, on the left side near the doors. Always check it for the day’s character lineup before walking inside.
Plan the Rest of Your Day
For a complete strategy on building Disney California Adventure into your trip, including which Hollywood Land experiences pair well with Animation Academy and where to fit the drawing classes around higher-priority rides, the Enchanted Insider Disneyland Itinerary Guide covers the full plan. For the best rates on hotel and ticket packages near the resort, Get Away Today is the travel partner we use and recommend.
Animation Academy is the kind of experience guests rarely plan for and almost always rave about afterward. Add it to your day. You will leave with a piece of art and a memory that costs nothing extra.
FAQ
No. Disney does not publish the daily Animation Academy schedule online. The schedule is set fresh each morning by the Cast Member artists working that day and is only posted on a sign outside the Animation Building entrance in Hollywood Land at Disney California Adventure, typically by 9:00 AM. The lineup changes every day and reflects which artists are working.
The official source is the schedule board posted inside the Animation Building in Hollywood Land at Disney California Adventure each morning. To find out before arriving at the building, check the r/Disneyland subreddit or Disneyland Facebook groups including Disneyland Annual Passholders Group and Magic Key Disneyland, where guests frequently share photos of the day’s schedule. Search “Animation Academy” within those communities for recent posts.
The character pool rotates daily but commonly includes Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Goofy, Pluto, Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, Chip and Dale, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Jack Skellington, Phineas and Ferb characters, Stitch, Olaf, and seasonal or current-release characters tied to recent Disney films. Pixar characters, Disney villains, and princesses also appear less frequently. Most days repeat each character twice across the schedule.
Each Animation Academy class is approximately 30 minutes long. Classes run every 30 minutes throughout the day starting around 9:00 AM and typically continuing until late afternoon depending on park hours. No reservation is required and the class is included with park admission. You keep your finished drawing as a souvenir.
Animation Academy is inside the Disney Animation Building in Hollywood Land at Disney California Adventure, not Disneyland Park. From the main DCA entrance, walk down Buena Vista Street and turn left into Hollywood Land. The Animation Building is on the right side just past the Hyperion Theater. Inside the lobby, the Animation Academy entrance is on the left.