The visitor center is conveniently placed to the left of the entrance of the grounds and is an information hub. Wilshire guides have a stand inside and are waiting to answer any question you have and to help you plan your experience. There is also a small kiosk that sells things you may need or have forgotten. Outside of the VC stands a statue of Gaylord Wilshire, looking out over the park bearing his name. Upper levels in the Visitor Center are home to offices and break areas for the Wilshire Park Cast Members to utilize.

During the day, a group of performers set up shop in the amphitheater on the grounds and involve the audience in retellings of famous stories from Aesop to Shakespeare and beyond. This space is also designated as a Disney Performing Arts stage for visiting choirs, bands, and dance troupes. On weekend evenings, the theatre space is host to a swing band, inviting Guests to listen and dance the night away. The stage is accessible from backstage to assist with staging Guest groups, and to provide Cast Members and performers a hidden exit.

The Wilshire Museum, a new and modern addition to the grounds, covers the history of Los Angeles as a self-guided tour. The museum offers headsets to those who would like an audio tour, and each major event in LA history is represented in kinetic miniatures like the windows of Disneyland’s Main Street Emporium. See the opening of the LA public library, the addition of a second line of the Santa Fe Railroad, the first fossils discovered at the La Brea tar pits, or the erection of the picturesque Hollywoodland sign. The two-story museum covers the more than 250-year modern history of Los Angeles and California.

Dedicated to the memory and work of Walt and Lillian Disney, this portion of the grounds features roses of all kinds, and two small model train lines. One of the trains is a true miniature that travels through each portion of the rose garden, making appearances as Guests traverse the garden. The other is available for rides just like the Carolwood Pacific Line in the Disney’s Holmby Hills home, operating during daylight hours and loading inside a replica of Walt’s Barn.

It’s a bar inside a gazebo. Pretty simple. There are two kinetic zoetrope installations in the upper section of the gazebo, one mechanical and one operated by wind. Drinks are served in glasses that appear to be zoetrope drums. This design is a nod to the animation history of both Los Angeles and Hollywood as well as the land Wilshire Park occupies.

Connected to the full-service restaurant, this angled trolley is inspired by Los Angeles’ Angel’s Flight. The trolley makes a direct trip to the side of the Wilshire Theatre, and then returns to the restaurant to pick up the next group of Guests. At the end of each show, the trolley serves as a way of moving Guests from the Wilshire Theatre towards the entrance of the grounds. This elevated trolley track gives Guests a new point of view of the Wilshire Museum, the Wilshire Amphitheatre, and the Atrium on the grounds.

After you pass under the Rise to Stardom, you can see a glass atrium which contains the more arid plants that would otherwise drown in the Florida rainfall. Cacti galore, mesquite trees, and desert willows fill this glass building and greenhouse. Guests are able to explore at their own pace, but Cast Members are present to answer questions and to tend to the plants if they need attention.

Opposite of the Wilshire Theatre sits the Animation Institute. Established in the 1930s in partnership with the Chouinard Art School and the Walt Disney Animation Studios, this multi-story building houses a slew of Guest attractions much like the Animation Building in Disney California Adventure Park. This partnership has lived on and the school is currently sponsored by CalArts. Guests can connect with Ralph and Vanellope in a Turtle Talk with Crush style meet and Greet, utilizing the internet to the fullest extent of its capability. Another section of the building contains a two-step process that follows the process of voiceover and animation work. Guests step into a recording booth and lend their voices to one of a selection of lines in our most popular films, then moving into a room with animation desks where Guests can try their hand at animating the scenes they just recorded. Most importantly, in room A113, we are bringing back the Animation Academy to Disney’s Hollywood Studios! The whole of Wilshire Park is self-enclosed, but a back hallway from the Fine Arts School attaches to One Man’s Dream and helps tie together the impact of Walt Disney on animation, Los Angeles, and pop culture.

Inside the grounds sits the Wilshire Theatre, a marvelous performance venue inspired by the Griffith Observatory with mezzanine and balcony seating, a lobby bar, and host to a touring show each evening. During the daytime, the theatre serves as a space for a classic Disney theatrical show in the vein of Frozen - Live at the Hyperion, Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular, and Finding Nemo - the Musical. When night falls, the doors to the theatre open once more to welcome Guests with tickets to a touring show making a stop in Orlando. Tickets can be paired with dining reservations at the restaurant on the grounds or purchased outright.

It may be small, but the hedge maze is a fan favorite destination. The center of the maze features a statue of Walt Disney and the Sherman Brothers atop an interactive water fountain