When Disneyland announced it would be closing a longtime attraction, news broke widely enough that even “Saturday Night Live” picked up on it. But really, even for longtime fans, it couldn’t have been that surprising. Beast’s Library, a small section of an attraction in Disney California Adventure Park, will close on Dec. 10. 

Beast’s Library is located inside the Sorcerer’s Workshop, which is one of several attractions inside the Animation Building in the Hollywoodland section. The space also holds Animation Academy, where an animator leads a class on how to draw a Disney character; Turtle Talk with Crush, an interactive comedy show where kids “talk” to the turtle from “Finding Nemo”; and a “Frozen” meet and greet with Anna and Elsa. 

The first section of the Sorcerer’s Workshop is a lesson on the basics of how animation works: People can draw their own cartoon strips, and then place them in a zoetrope that spins and shows their images appearing to be in motion. Above the action is the magic mirror from “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” only the mask inside doesn’t talk about the “fairest of them all” — instead, it talks about what you’re about to find in the next room. 

“Behind these doors are magic books and mirrors that can change your looks,” it says. “Your characters from A-to-Z reflect your personality.” 

Then, the doors open, and you walk into Disneyland’s version of the library in an 18th century French chateau. Glowing books reach to the ceiling, and several high-backed chairs around the room face open “magic books.” Sit down, and you’ll answer a few questions in one of the books to reveal which Disney character you are. A few examples:

“Are you more ruled by your passionate heart or your logical head?”

“Do you usually like to plan things out or wait to see what happens?” 

“Would you rather eat lunch with nice people or eat nice people for lunch?”

Spoiler alert: If you choose the second option for that last question, your Disney alias will be the Evil Queen. I get her every time. It’s delightfully wicked.

There’s another magical effect in the room, too. As you sit, the room gets progressively darker. Rips appear across the portrait of the prince above the fireplace, signaling the Beast’s descent into despair and rage. The petals fall off the magical rose. But then, the rose glows, and the room is set right again. There’s a happy ending, after all.

I hadn’t been inside Beast’s Library since before the park’s pandemic closure. While I think it’s cute and definitely worth a visit, I feel the same about it that many people probably do: that without anything changing inside or character interactions, once or twice is enough to get the idea. 

A week or so ago, I went back to experience the attraction one last time. One thing was completely different: a long line to get inside, with most of the people who wanted to see it wearing “Beauty and the Beast” clothing and accessories to get one last photo op. Inside, everything was the same as it was four years ago. My answers in the book were the same as always, and I watched my portrait morph into that villainess yet again. It was probably the last time it will happen for me. 

If you want to experience the magic books one last time, you have until Dec. 10, when the attraction closes for good. The Sorcerer’s Workshop is slated to remain open. This isn’t the first time part of that attraction has closed. There was formerly a third room, Ursula’s Grotto, where guests could impart their own voices to Disney dialogue and songs on screen. That attraction closed in 2014 to make space for Anna & Elsa’s Royal Welcome, the “Frozen” character meet and greet area. 

What’s now Beast’s Library will become space for Disney’s Imagination Campus, an educational experience for kids. According to the Disney Parks Blog, “through a comprehensive collection of workshops across a range of performing arts and academic subjects tiered to different grade levels,” the Imagination Campus helps “students learn how to apply their imaginations to solve a lifetime of challenges – in wildly creative ways.”

The Imagination Campus is currently housed in the Blue Sky Cellar building outside Wine Country Trattoria. When the experience moves, that building will become a Disney Vacation Club welcome center.