Disneyland preps Droid Depot for its animatronic Anzellan droidsmiths
Black Spire Outpost is getting new inhabitants. Disneyland has started prepping Droid Depot for a crew of animatronic Anzellan droidsmiths, the diminutive alien species best known as Babu Frik's people from "Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker." A built-in shelving unit behind the shop's main cash wrap has been cleared out and reworked into three themed workstations where the Anzellans will sit while they "work."
The surrounding set dressing is doing a lot of the storytelling: wall panels, interactive shelves, fake grease and grime, and wires hanging from a tube in the ceiling, all built to sell a lived-in droid-repair workshop. Disney hasn't confirmed an exact debut date, but the completed prep work suggests the animatronics are close to running.
These interactive audio-animatronics were first shown off by Walt Disney Imagineering at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event this past summer. Anzellans have popped up across Star Wars media beyond their "Rise of Skywalker" debut, including "The Mandalorian" and "Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures," and their arrival adds another beat of kinetic detail to Batuu, alongside the outpost's other ongoing enhancements.
Olaf's audio-animatronic debut is a week away as cast previews begin at Hollywood Studios
The Magic of Disney Animation opens at Disney's Hollywood Studios on September 14, and cast members are already stepping inside for previews. Construction walls around the reimagined courtyard have come down, and Imagineering has been adding finishing details in the days since, a sign the attraction is entering its final stretch before debut.
The centerpiece for animatronics fans is Olaf Draws!, an animation class built around a new Olaf Audio-Animatronics figure with original dialogue recorded by Josh Gad. In the attraction, Olaf sits at an animator's desk as a fellow student, joining guests as they learn to draw one of nine Disney characters, taught via prerecorded lessons from real Walt Disney Animation Studios artists and directors. It's a different approach than the class's past life as Animation Academy, which always ran with a live cast-member host rather than prerecorded media.
The pavilion replaces Star Wars Launch Bay, itself a replacement for an earlier version of The Magic of Disney Animation, and will also include a character meet-and-greet hub and an "Alice in Wonderland" playground. Disney hasn't said whether a public soft opening will happen before the 14th, but cast member previews are usually one of the last steps before a park attraction opens its doors.
Harry Potter's first permanent Forbidden Forest land, animatronics included, is coming to Abu Dhabi
Miral and Warner Bros. Discovery Global Experiences announced three new Harry Potter-themed lands for Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi on September 7: Diagon Alley, Hogwarts, and, for the first time anywhere, a standalone Forbidden Forest land. The dangerous woodland has shown up inside other attractions before, most notably Universal Orlando's Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, but it has never had its own dedicated land until now.
The three lands will cover roughly 63,000 square meters and are part of a wider expansion that also includes the previously announced "Kryptonite Collider" and "Superman Up and Away" DC attractions, growing Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi by more than 50%. Construction is targeted to finish in 2029, and no individual rides have been detailed yet.
Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi hasn't disclosed specific animatronic figures for the new lands, but Forbes reports the "interactive experiences" promised for the space will build on the wand-driven scenery tricks already used at Universal's Wizarding World parks, where a well-cast Silencio spell can stop an animatronic bird cold. If Abu Dhabi's Forbidden Forest follows that playbook at full land scale, it's a good bet the woodland will be considerably more alive than a static walk-through.