Disney Internship: The Animation Building

This is the entrance to what was the animation tour at Disney MGM Studio. Guests would enter here and be introduced to the process of animation. One section of the tour had large floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the animators at work.

When I started working at the studio my desk was right at the base of the tourist overlook. All day long guests would knock n the glass and give me a thumbs up. It was a nightmare. Finally a guard on the other side of the glass started pointing down into my work space. The glass was soundproof so we couldn’t talk. I finally realized he was pointing at a ledge at the base of the glass wall above my eye line. I felt along the ledge and found some tape which I peeled up. On the tape was written, “Hi My name is Tom, If you lie my work please knock on the glass and give me a thumbs up.” I groaned. The animator next to me started laughing his head off.

I caught this jazz band outside the entrance on one of my lunchtime walks through the park. I would get out each day and people watch before sitting back at my animation desk and cranking out drawings all day long.