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Disney in a Minute: What is Silhouette Art?

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We’re here with a series of quick posts, “Disney in a Minute,” bite-sized nuggets of information that can better help you understand a Disney term or planning topic. Enjoy!

Custom silhouettes make a great gift for family members.

Perhaps you’ve strolled by a cart on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom or at Disney Springs and seen loads of black frames displayed. Why? Who wants so many black frames? Well, those carts do sell frames, but they’re not the main attraction. The primary purpose of the carts is to host artists who will create silhouette portraits of your family.

Sitting for a silhouette portrait takes only a minute or two. You sit still, posing in profile, while an artist cuts black paper to match the shape of your face. The paper the artists use is actually two sheets. The cut creates two images at once, so you can display the portrait in either direction or keep one and give the other to another family member. The artists can cut profiles of sleeping children (sometimes easier if you have a squirmer) or even use a photograph as the model. [During the pandemic, photos references may be required.]

The silhouettes are among the most affordable personalized souvenirs available at Walt Disney World. Prices can change, but a single portrait costs just $10. Additional cutouts are $10 each. Several can be framed together to make a single portrait of a couple or family.

Silhouette cart in Liberty Square

Those oval black frames (they’re plastic) cost an additional $10 each. You can use any frame you like to showcase your art, or none at all, but the oval is a traditional presentation. If you do happen to like the frames, you can purchase those separately, without buying the art.

There are silhouette carts located on Main Street and in Liberty Square (across from Sleepy Hollow) in Magic Kingdom and in the Marketplace area of Disney Springs. Hours vary but are typically shorter than overall park hours, opening mid-morning at the earliest.

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Erin Foster

Erin Foster is an original member of the Walt Disney World Moms Panel (now PlanDisney), a regular contributor to TouringPlans.com, and co-author of The Unofficial Guide to Disney Cruise Line. She's been to WDW, DL, DL Paris, Hong Kong Disneyland, Aulani, DVC Vero Beach, and DVC Hilton Head. She's a Platinum DCL cruiser and veteran of 10 Adventures by Disney trips. Erin lives near New York City, where she can often be found indulging in her other obsession - Broadway theater.

4 thoughts on “Disney in a Minute: What is Silhouette Art?

  • Erin,
    We missed this when we were there last week. Is there any way we can send pictures and get them delivered to us? Or are we out of luck?

    Reply
    • I have never seen an option to do this via mail/email/etc – sorry. Silhouette art is not unique to Disney, you may be able to find someone local to you who can do something similar. Absent that, perhaps your best bet would be to find a friend who is going to WDW and ask them to bring your photos to the silhouette carts.

      Reply
  • We have seen the silhouette artists (and the caricature artists in Liberty Square) working during the pandemic, though their hours have been shorter than in the Before times. These days the artists typically work from photographs, rather than with live models. So, if you want to do this, have good profile photos of your family at the ready. Or you could take photos at WDW while you’re seated to have a meal or snack.

    Reply
  • Hi Erin –

    I see this article was posted on Jan. 26, 2021. So can you confirm that the silhouette portrait carts are open and operating during this time of Covid-19? If so do they allow you to take your mask off? We’re going next week, and these portraits are a family tradition. Thanks!

    Reply

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