Methods and systems are provided for generating an animated display for an aircraft. The method comprises receiving a user request for a change in a layer shown on a display that shows a view of the flight plan data for the aircraft. The user request is received by a user interface (UI) that is part of a map layer display system located onboard the aircraft. The system determines which specific layer corresponds to user request for a change to the display. When the user request is to add the layer to the display, the opaqueness of the layer increases from zero percent to one-hundred percent. When the user request is to remove the layer from the display, the opaqueness of the layer decreases from one-hundred percent to zero percent. Finally, the system generates instructions to display the layer at the opaqueness on the display.