Inside Disney’s StudioLab, where the company tests and previews cutting-edge technology

StudioLab is a facility within the Walt Disney Studio, opened earlier this summer to explore and showcase cutting-edge technologies.

Walk the halls of the Old Animation building on the Disney Studios lot in Burbank, California, and you’ll encounter constant reminders of the company’s history, with walls full of framed sketches of iconic Disney characters from decades past. But turn a corner, and you might find yourself face to face with the company’s future – an illuminated glass door displaying a glowing, animated Mickey silhouette, with the iconic mouse head morphing into play buttons, cogwheels, and networked nodes.

Behind that mysterious door is the Walt Disney Studios’ StudioLab, a facility the company opened earlier this summer to explore and showcase cutting-edge technologies. Typically, the lab is only open to studio creatives and executives. But earlier this month, the company closed it down for the day to keep any still-unannounced projects safe from prying eyes, and invited the media for a tour.