Disney Movie Magic

Disney Movie Magic: show at Disney's Hollywood Studios, Walt Disney World — showtimes, live status, and planning data on MouseHub.

Visitor sentiment

4.9· 14 Google ratings

The MouseHub take

Disney Movie Magic is a 12-minute projection show that plays after dark on the facade of Grauman's Chinese Theatre, at the top of Hollywood Boulevard in Disney's Hollywood Studios. Scenes from the Indiana Jones and Pirates of the Caribbean series flicker across the building, cut together with moments from other films. The show is projected onto the theater itself, so the building's outline frames every scene instead of sitting behind it. There are no fireworks and no seating.

Treat it as a bonus rather than the anchor of your evening. It draws a smaller crowd than the park's other nighttime entertainment, so you can arrive a few minutes ahead and still find a clear line to the facade, which is rare at Hollywood Studios after dark. Twelve minutes later you can head for the gate or move on to something else. The guests who come away disappointed are the ones expecting a story. Scenes jump from film to film with nothing tying them together, and the score never builds to the payoff the bigger nighttime shows deliver.

At a glance

Best for
Movie fans who want a nighttime show they can walk up to, and families with young kids who will not last through a full-length spectacular.
Skip if
You want fireworks or a story with an emotional arc, and you would rather spend the last hour of the night in a ride line.
Ride type
Nighttime projection show on a building facade
Intensity
Gentle. Loud movie audio and bright projections, no motion and nothing to board.

The good

  • The theater is the screen
    A compilation of favorites flickers across the facade of Grauman's Chinese Theatre, and the building's own shape frames each scene. Watching a park landmark double as the canvas is the part people describe afterward.
  • Indiana Jones and Pirates anchor the reel
    Disney's lineup pulls memorable scenes from both series, plus moments from other films. Two adventure franchises carry the montage rather than a scattershot mix of everything.
  • Twelve minutes, start to finish
    Disney lists the run time at 12 minutes, which is short enough that small kids hold out and short enough to fit around anything else you had planned.
  • Wheelchair and ECV users stay put
    Disney's guest policies list the show as May Remain in Wheelchair/ECV, so nobody in your party transfers to watch it.
  • You can turn up late and still see it
    The plaza fills nothing like the areas guests stake out for the park's bigger nighttime shows. A few minutes of lead time usually gets you a workable spot.

The bad

  • Nothing happens in the sky
    The whole show plays on the front of the building. Guests who plant themselves expecting pyrotechnics spend 12 minutes waiting for something that was never on the bill.
  • Tall guests and trees eat the sightlines
    The picture is on a building rather than overhead, so whoever stands in front of you is in the frame. Trees around the plaza clip the outer edges from a lot of spots.
  • You watch it standing on pavement
    There is no seating in the viewing area. At the back end of a full park day, another 12 minutes on your feet costs more than it sounds.
  • The clips never add up to a story
    Scenes change fast and nothing connects them. Guests who want a narrative come away describing a long trailer.
  • It lands lighter than the headline shows
    The music does not build toward much, and the ending arrives without the emotional payoff people carry out of other Disney nighttime entertainment.

Veteran tips

  • Check tonight's showtimes before you plan around it
    The schedule moves with the season, and the same facade also hosts Wonderful World of Animation. Use the showtimes listed on this page rather than assuming a fixed slot.
  • Stand in the center, not off to the side
    A straight-on view keeps the picture square. From the far edges of the plaza the projections skew across the front of the theater.
  • Give yourself depth as well as position
    Standing close to the theater cuts off the edges of the facade. Backing up toward Hollywood Boulevard puts the whole building in view.
  • Get there before the clear gaps go
    Crowds are lighter than the other nighttime shows, but the unobstructed spots fill first. A little lead time is the difference between a gap between the trees and a spot behind one.
  • Keep off the taped walkways
    Cast members tape pedestrian lanes across the plaza before the show. Stand inside one and you get moved right as it starts.
  • Expect the crowd flow to change around you
    The theater is also the entrance to Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway, so cast members redirect foot traffic through the courtyard as showtime approaches. Follow them instead of holding your ground.
  • Walk straight out when it ends
    Hollywood Boulevard runs from the plaza to the front gate, so this is an easy last stop of the night. Leaving on the final scene puts you ahead of the heavier exit crowd.

MouseHub editorial, written from visitor reports and official Disney sources. Last reviewed .

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