New Updates to Audio-Animatronics Figures at Walt Disney World

For more than seven decades, Walt Disney Imagineering has brought beloved stories and characters off the screen and into reality through the revolutionary innovations of Audio-Animatronics figures. From classic attractions to brand-new adventures, these incredible creations are part of the fabric of iconic Disney storytelling that keeps guests coming back year after year. There’s always something new to inspire. 

As we continue to invest in new and well-loved experiences, there are even more Audio-Animatronics figures updates on the way to Walt Disney World Resort!

Starting at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park, get ready to clap your paws and click your claws when Zootopia: Better Zoogether! opens on November 7 in the iconic Tree of Life Theater.  

It’s a “4D” show you won’t want to miss, as the residents of Zootopia are gearing up for Zoogether Day, a citywide celebration. On this special day, all kinds of animals join together with performances from many of the diverse biomes that make up the city. In Zootopia: Better Zoogether!, the Tree of Life Theater is the epicenter of Zoogether Day with fast-talking, loud-howling wolf host Heidi Howler presenting a watch party where the audience of mammals big and small will catch all the festivities via livestream. 

I hope you’re ready to join in the fun, because we’re all invited to join the audience too! Thanks to the special “Carrot Vision” glasses we’ll wear as part of the watch party experience, some of your favorite characters from Zootopia and Zootopia 2 will “jump” off the screen … except for Gazelle’s number one fan and off-duty ZPD officer. That’s right, Benjamin Clawhauser himself will be in the theater with us, in the form of an all-new Audio-Animatronics figure. 

When we met Clawhauser in Zootopia, he was sporting his ZPD uniform (and sometimes a tasty donut, too). At the Zoogether Day watch party, he’ll be decked out from head to tail with a brand-new look: glow necklaces, bracelets, and his favorite, glittery Gazelle tee shirt. 

This larger-than-life fan wants nothing more than to be picked as the V.I.Z. (Very Important Zootopian – the lucky mammal who will get special access to the Zoogether Day performers). And when that doesn’t work out, he has to take matters into his own paws. 

In the heart of the Norway pavilion at EPCOT, Frozen fanatics have been sailing through the story of Princess Anna and Queen Elsa on Frozen Ever After since it debuted in 2016. It is full of Audio-Animatronics figures – from Sven and Kristoff, an ice-skating Olaf, Marshmellow and a whole herd of Snowgies, and of course, Anna and Elsa. 

Many of these figures were groundbreaking in the world of Audio-Animatronics – not just as part of the first Frozen attraction, but also as the first attraction to have all electric Audio-Animatronics figures, and the first to combine electric motors and 3D printing. That’s a lot of firsts! 

To build the attraction and make it feel like the enchanted Frozen story, it all came down to one wrist. Elsa is known for her magical, ice-forming hand gestures; for her Audio-Animatronics figure to handle the fluid movements just like Elsa does on screen, Imagineers needed enough space to run cables and motors down her arms and hands. They figured out how big Elsa’s wrist needed to be and scaled everything else in the attraction to match. 

Since then, Walt Disney Imagineering couldn’t “let it go” (sorry, I had to) and has built upon that very technology of all-electric motors, 3D printing, and scaling for every figure they produce – from Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Walt Disney World and Disneyland, to Rapunzel’s Lantern Festival at Tokyo DisneySea, and World of Frozen at Hong Kong Disneyland. 

And, in a full circle moment of innovation, the Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff Audio-Animatronics figures will soon receive new updates after ten years of delighting fans in Frozen Ever After. Taking inspiration from the advancements seen in figures at World of Frozen in Hong Kong Disneyland, the Frozen Ever After figures will face the future of Audio-Animatronics (see what I did there?) 

Early next year, this investment will bring a more true-to-film look for these beloved characters. Just looking at the photos from Hong Kong Disneyland, I can tell we’re in for a treat here at Walt Disney World! 

At Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets, you bet we’ll have rock as we roll across Hollywood on a wild ride with the Electric Mayhem – complete with backstage chaos, high-speed thrills, that signature Muppet humor… and an all-new Muppet Audio-Animatronics figure.  

Side by side with a dedicated team of penguin audio engineers, Scooter, in his capacity as band manager, will be trying hard to convince the Electric Mayhem to stop laying down tracks so they won’t be late to their own concert. This will be the first time Scooter has ever been imagined as an Audio-Animatronics figure, and I hear he might not be the only Muppet Audio-Animatronics figure joining the attraction… but we’ll have to wait to learn more about that. 

And if you’d like to paper that psychedelically sweet poster everywhere, you’re in luck – The Muppets have a downloadable wallpaper here for you to add some rock ‘n’ roll to your desktop.

Now, I can imagine you’re ready to go pedal to the metal and experience the high-speed hijinks of The Muppets in this latest story. Well, the wait will be over before you know it: Get ready to rock out when Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets speeds into Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Summer 2026! 

All this excitement about Audio-Animatronics figures to come is the next chapter in a long, iconic story that dates all the way back to Walt Disney himself.  He discovered an antique mechanical singing bird in New Orleans, and after returning to California, tasked Imagineers to learn how the little bird worked. His curiosity and the talents of his Imagineers laid the groundwork for future Audio-Animatronics figures.  

The first-generation of Audio-Animatronics figures, known as the A-1, debuted in the 1960s at Disneyland in attractions like Jungle Cruise, Mine Train Through Nature’s Wonderland, and Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room that featured over 200 singing birds.  

The technology and artistry of Audio-Animatronics figures didn’t stop there:  

The desire to captivate, immerse, and entertain is woven into the fabric of Disney’s DNA, and the development of the Audio-Animatronics figure is proof of our goal to always do more and deliver more for our guests. Each new figure builds on the legacy of time, talent, and skill of generations of Imagineers. We continue to invest in this technology because – as someone we all know once said – we keep moving forward. I, for one, can’t wait to see the stories these new Audio-Animatronics figures will tell! 

Interested in learning even more about our iconic figures and the tech that makes them tick?  Take a deeper look in the We Call It Imagineering Audio-Animatronics episode.