A Look Inside Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida at Disney’s Hollywood Studios Two Decades After ‘Lilo & Stitch’ Was Made There

In 2002, Lilo & Stitch was released by Walt Disney Animation Studios. The film was made by Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Today, the building is no longer used to make animated features. Instead, it is used for different things. Rain Blanken, an Editorial Optimization Manager for Disney, shared about the building, its legacy, and Lilo & Stitch. Read what she shared on the Disney Parks Blog here:

As a cast member, each day I walk into work at Walt Disney World I can feel myself stepping into history. From strolling the famous utilidors under Magic Kingdom to examining a disassembled teacup at Central Shops, I’ve had so many moments that eight-year-old me would never believe. 

But the most unbelievable part, by far, is that I’m typing this from backstage at Disney’s Hollywood Studios (which only cast members can access). This is where Walt Disney Animation Studios created the beloved classic, “Lilo & Stitch,” which inspired the new live-action take on the film of the same name, now in theaters. 

And today you’re in luck because I’m taking you with me, for the first time, inside Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Along the grand tour, we’ll go back in time to the opening of the Feature Animation building, chat with Clark Spencer, the producer of the animated “Lilo & Stitch” and now president of Disney Animation, about his days here backstage, and I’ll tell you a bit about today’s Feature Animation office vibes where legendary Disney works came to life. 

Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida 

As we celebrate the continuous success of “Lilo & Stitch,” now in theaters, let’s visit the birth place of the original animated classic of the same name, that was released in 2002, over a decade after Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida started to help produce Disney Animation classics such as “The Little Mermaid,” (1989) “Beauty and the Beast,” (1991) “Aladdin,” (1992) and “The Lion King” (1994). 

In these early years, the work was sketched and inked under the watchful eyes of curious guests touring through The Magic of Disney Animation (currently where Star Wars Launch Bay stands today). The tour opened with the park in 1989, winding groups of guests behind the desks of the animators. 

Nine years later, just before the release of “Mulan” (1998), an additional four-story Feature Animation building was added next to the Magic of Disney Animation to accommodate the growing animation team.  

The grand opening ceremony commenced on the afternoon of April 22, 1998, with Roy E. Disney (nephew of Walt Disney and then vice chairman of The Walt Disney Company) and Michael Eisner (then chairman and CEO) who were fresh from opening Disney’s Animal Kingdom that same morning.  

A blustery storm threatened the grand opening of Feature Animation. Disney, Eisner, and Peter Schnieder (then president of Walt Disney Feature Animation) presented from a temporary stage. Eisner’s tie blew over his shoulder as Disney started to compare the overcast day to the time his uncle Walt orchestrated the 1960 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremonies.  

Disney said of the end of the snowstorm that nearly canceled the 1960 Opening Ceremonies, “The sky opened up, the sun shone down on the ceremony, and it was perfect.” The wind picked up at Feature Animation, almost too loud to hear him continue, “And ever since then, it was known as ‘Walt’s Miracle.’ We all believe to this day that if Walt likes stuff we do, he brings the good weather …”  

As if on cue, the wind at Feature Animation stopped and the sun came out over the crowd. Roy smiled and finished, “And he loves it!” Amid cheers, Feature Animation Florida was open. 

The Making of Lilo & Stitch at Feature Animation 

A small section of the first floor at the new Feature Animation building also became a part of the Magic of Disney Animation tour through a set of windows where the buildings connected. Guests were able to able to see desks and cubicles where work on “Lilo & Stitch” was soon underway. 

Director duo Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois led the effort, with one of Sanders’ old sketches of a weird little alien creature who eventually became Stitch, the chaotic blue menace with a big heart. 

Working off Sanders’ drawing style, “Lilo & Stitch” took on an original look, with soft watercolor backgrounds and unique character shapes. The animators studied hula, Hawaiian language, and got help from cultural advisors to make sure they got it right. 

Chris Sanders didn’t just direct—he also voiced Stitch, giving the little guy that now-iconic raspy voice. Dean DeBlois brought a lot of story muscle to the table, helping shape the emotionally powerful relationship between Lilo, a lonely little girl dealing with loss, and Stitch, a creature learning how to be part of a family. 

Clark Spencer, producer of “Lilo & Stitch,” managed everything from budgets to creative decisions, making sure the film’s small team had the freedom to get weird—in the best way possible. He believed in Chris Sanders’ and Dean DeBlois’ unique vision and worked at the Florida studio to help bring Stitch and his ‘ohana to life. 

Clark Spencer on the Making of Lilo & Stitch 

To get a better idea of what the days were like at Feature Animation, I asked Clark to share a few insights with us. 

Rain: Was there an ‘ah-ha’ moment that changed the course of the making of Lilo & Stitch that you want our readers to know more about? 

Clark: “When director Chris Sanders first started development on Lilo & Stitch, the story was set in Kansas – not Hawai‘i. In telling a story of an alien creature landing on Earth and being mistaken for a dog, Chris knew the story needed to take place in a remote, small-town setting where Stitch could more easily blend in, and Kansas seemed like the perfect place.  

“But after taking a trip to Hawai‘i, everything changed. Chris was sitting in his office thinking fondly of his amazing vacation and looking at a map of the Hawaiian islands when he thought to himself, ‘What is more remote than an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean? 

And that changed everything about the story – bringing in the culture and beauty of Hawai‘i and its people. It also gave the story its emotional core: Ohana means family, and family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten.”   

Rain: What was really cool about working at Feature Animation in Florida?  

Clark: “One of the most amazing things about working at Disney Animation Florida was the fact that the studio was in the middle of the theme park. And whenever you were having a difficult day, all you had to do was walk into the theme park to be reminded of what a privilege it is to work at a company whose stories and characters impact people all around the world.  

It was truly a powerful experience. It was also pretty cool to see and experience the ‘behind the scenes’ at Disney Parks. The organization and precision it takes to manage such a vast operation is truly amazing and makes producing an animated film seem easy!” 

Rain: Since Lilo & Stitch, you’ve had the chance to see how the animation process has changed. Can you talk a bit about the development of animation from your perspective? 

Clark: “The animation industry has certainly evolved over the past 23 years since ‘Lilo & Stitch’ was released. As I reflect on my career, I feel so lucky to have been a part of incredible hand-drawn films like ‘Lilo & Stitch,’ and ‘Winnie The Pooh’ (2011) as well as CG-animated films like ‘Wreck-It Ralph’ (2012), ‘Zootopia’ (2016) and ‘Encanto’ (2021). 

“And while the tools have changed, the one constant is the artist at the heart of each Disney Animation film. There are 24 frames per second, and the artist is sculpting each frame to bring the characters and the world to life in a believable way. I am still in awe of the talent, the passion and the care that is in each and every film made at the studio.”

Inside Feature Animation Today 

On quiet days in my office, about every 10 minutes or so, I can hear Slinky Dog say ‘…woah!’ as he winds again through Toy Story Land. When I walk to my car later, the aroma of “Evil Dr. Smoked Ribs” at Roundup Rodeo BBQ will tempt me. 

The landscape at Hollywood Studios has changed a lot over the years, but inside Feature Animation, much has been preserved from Clark Spencer’s days.   

As part of the Digital Integration team for Disney Experiences, I help share the latest news (and history) about your favorite Disney destinations across the globe on Disney Parks Blog. For this creative team, it isn’t lost on us that we’re working in halls rich with Disney history. 

Each morning, I walk in the doors of Feature Animation, greeted by ‘Sneezy,’ one of the log-shaped ride vehicles from Snow White’s Scary Adventures, and ‘Winky,’ a blue car from Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. Here in the lobby, cast members from all over Disney World often gather for special backstage events, like our recent Earth Day bash where I had my photo taken with a fairy during my lunchbreak.  

On the left side of the lobby is the Screening Room, where animators previewed the films they created here, including “Lilo & Stitch.” The first of many reminders that I’ve entered a place designed from the ground-up to bring creative ideas to life. 

Down the main hallway, a display case takes up most of the left wall. Inside are over 50 background prints and sketches from Disney Animation films including, “Meet the Robinsons,” “Alice in Wonderland,” and “Hercules.”  

A set of aqua (and decidedly cartoonish) porthole window double doors slide open to reveal huge blue pencil sketch murals of Stitch, Simba and Mushu on the walls. 

I report to the third floor by way of a big staircase that spirals up the grand atrium at Feature Animation. A skylight apex pours sunlight over four stories of balconies, bridges, and glass block panels. 

Interplay between the floors is a running theme throughout the architecture that adds to its cartoonish spirit; it’s easy to find seemingly random bridges, overlooks and keyhole openings to floors below. 

In the bright atrium, cast members can eat lunch near tropical foliage where a Dumbo ride vehicle poses in mid-flight amid the fronds. Here I wonder which animators also looked up at the preserved ‘90s architecture that freely mixes with retro art deco style: Patterned carpeting, chrome, and shades of aquamarine and coral are diffused throughout Feature Animation. 

Creative Inspiration Around Every Corner 

Each floor of Feature Animation is themed to a film that was worked on by the Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida team. Meeting rooms are named after characters, sweeping murals demonstrate animation methods, and the building is a veritable museum of framed original sketches, storyboards, and character studies. 

The first floor is themed after “Brother Bear” (2003) with conference rooms named Denahi and Sitka. Every day as I climb the stairs past the second “Mulan-” themed floor, I resist the urge to examine, again, the paint swatches in the color study for the “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” scene or the Grandmother Fa sketch collection. Nearby, a full mural of “Mulan” characters stretches down the hall.  

Arriving on the third floor (which we all lovingly call the “Stitch floor”), I’m greeted every day by a mounted Elvis Presley “Blue Hawaii” record, kicking off a “Lilo & Stitch” mural that stretches toward my office.  

The pieces I linger by most often are the detailed character studies of Stitch and Lilo near the stairway, maybe making me late to a meeting in the “Cobra Bubbles” room. 

You can also find me hustling upstairs to a meeting in “Timon” or “Nala” on the fourth floor. Here, you guessed it, the theme is Disney Animation’s “The Lion King,” for which about 20 minutes of the film, including the “I Just Can’t Wait to be King’ musical sequence was animated by the Florida team.

Every day, cast members mingle with reminders of the past sprinkled throughout the building. Tucked away on the third floor, one of the hulking animation desks sits with its light box still shining bright next to a collection of film editing equipment.  

Frosted windows on the first floor are a remnant of the spot where guests could watch animators at work and just around the corner, and in this area, the grand lighting emulates the Art Deco style of the Hollywood Studios entrance gate.  

There are so many bits of history here to discover, in fact, that while working on the photoshoot for this very story, I heard from another cast member about an entire wall of specialty paints and inks that were used by animators. Here, colors like “Disney Bengal Rose” are in the same jugs and jars from the days of ink and paint. 

Creative Inspiration from Animation History 

In the former mailroom, a wall of animation team notes and sketches can still be perused, which include signatures from Clark Spencer, Chris Sanders, and Roy E. Disney. This might be the boldest reminder of the legendary personalities that once walked these halls. 

From the lobby to the atrium to my office and all the hidden gems in between, cast members who work here often swap looks of amazement and honestly nerd out together about the animation history around us every day. There are many days when I discover a new artifact just around the corner or just wonder what conversations about my favorite little blue alien happened right in my office. 

To the team who worked to bring Disney Animation classics like “Lilo & Stitch” to life, know that those of us who walk in the doors today count ourselves lucky to be inspired by your creative legacy. It’s an incredible opportunity and honor to continue to share Disney stories right here at Feature Animation Florida.  

Be sure to stream the 2002 animated hit, “Lilo & Stitch,” exclusively on Disney+. And don’t miss the new live action adaptation of the film, in theaters everywhere!