Pixar Pier Review
Pixar Pier is a “new” land at Disney California Adventure, and in this post, we’ll review this addition and assess what it brings to the table at Disneyland Resort. While it’s being marketed as new, Pixar Pier is better viewed as an overlay or refresh to parts of Paradise Pier, with the main change being that the Incredicoaster offers a re-skinned version the California Screamin’ roller coaster.
This review does not address the “fun level” of Pixar Pier. At all. None of the attractions in Pixar Pier have changed materially from their Paradise Pier incarnations, so there’s simply nothing to discuss in that regard. Just as its predecessor was, Incredicoaster is still a very fun roller coaster with a great track layout. None of the “plussings” to it change that for better or worse. No other attractions changed in any meaningful way, so that’s the substance of this Pixar Pier review for those who view theme parks solely as collections of rides.
I mention this because several readers complained that our Toy Story Land Review was overly long and didn’t say much…despite the warning from the outset: “what follows is critique for fellow Disney nerds who enjoy thinking critically about Disney parks.” If you disliked the style of that review, this one is even worse. It’s long and doesn’t say much. Don’t read it.
With this Pixar Pier review, I want to start out by conceding that Paradise Pier was far from the paragon of Imagineering. In our review of Disney California Adventure 2.0 from June 2012, we identified it as a lingering area in need of improvement. We lauded the place-making that was done in swapping out gaudiness for more Victorian stylization, but noted that most of the new details were bland, lacking in character, and devoid of thematic richness.
Our ultimate conclusion was that “Paradise Pier has exponentially improved from 2001 when it was a land of giant flying cheeseburgers and sunglasses-wearing dinosaurs, but it still lacks that inarticulable quality that makes the lands found in Disneyland special.”
At that time, Paradise Pier mostly got a pass, as it was widely assumed among fans that Paradise Pier was slated for a deeper makeover, with Maliboomer Park and Goofy’s Sky School both “Phase 2” replacements that would be dealt with in a few years. I say this upfront because this might read as a harsh review of what I feel was an ill-conceived project, but it’s still not as if Disney replaced New Orleans Square with Superstar Limoland.
While reasonable minds may differ, I think it’s fair to judge Pixar Pier by a higher standard than Paradise Pier. This is the case for the same reason fans subconsciously hold Cars Land to a higher standard than, say, Pacific Wharf. The latter aspires to fully immerse guests in the world of Cars. The latter attempts to be a glorified food court. At their respective ambitions, each is largely successful and fulfills a vital role in Disney California Adventure, even if their quality levels differ significantly.
Paradise Pier aspired to be an homage to classic California coastal amusement parks that populated beaches in the state from the turn of the 20th century until the 1940s. It was not a high bar, but it took a concept with which all Californians are familiar and strived to idealize it. Following the DCA 2.0 makeover, Paradise Pier was a modest thematic success, but nothing special.
By contrast, Pixar Pier strives to take guests into Pixar films. Judging it by the same high bar as Cars Land seems onerous and unfair given the significantly lower bar of Paradise Pier. Since Pixar Pier is a quick retrofit of that land, it can only be so good. Stated differently, the pier’s “quality ceiling” is a lot lower than Cars Land.
Pixar Pier was never going to be immersive or transportive in the vein of Cars Land. I don’t think anyone with realistic expectations thought that was even within remotely possible. At best, this was going to be a Condor Flats to Grizzly Peak Airfield level of redo. Nevertheless, Disney made the choice to associate the pier with the rich worlds of Pixar–places we have seen on film and that filmgoers have dreamed of visiting.
Part of the reason critique of Toy Story Land and Pixar Pier might seem so harsh to those who don’t like Disney being criticized is because Pixar has done such an excellent job of world-building in its films. Taking a thematically unambitious land and associating it with Pixar is a recipe for squandered potential and failing to live up to expectations consistent with the film studio’s output.
And fail to live up to them, it does. Marketing copy and PR fluff aside, I’m not sure it’s fair to say Pixar Pier strives to take guests into the worlds of Pixar. In fact, I’m not sure it’s fair to say that Pixar Pier is aspiring to do anything whatsoever. There is no theme to speak of (Pixar is not a theme, it’s a studio).
Rather, there’s a bunch of different Pixar stuff (plus Mickey Mouse), most of which is presented in different styles that are incongruent with one another. The closest these areas get to feeling like lived-in places are when viewing the Incredicoaster queue from the outside and when walking through some of the Victorian areas. From a thematic perspective, Pixar Pier never even attempts to work at establishing a sense of place.
Contrast this with its closest counterpart, Toyville Trolley Park at Tokyo DisneySea. While it’s hardly the exemplar of themed design in the world’s best theme park, one of the reasons Toyville Trolley Park works is because it is fairly well-themed, in a way similar to Paradise Pier. However, Toyville Trolley Park is not themed to Toy Story, but to Luna Park.
Within that framework, Toy Story provides stylization and artifice, or a way of Disneyfying a real world place. It works (barely) not because of all the Toy Story elements, but because it follows the overarching formula of American Waterfront, just with some Pixar ornamentation.
As we noted in the original announcement of Pixar Pier, there was potential for Pixar Pier to work the same way. It could have really reinforced the notion of a Victorian, turn of the century boardwalk, but with a layer of Pixar characters slapped on top. This wouldn’t be ideal, but Paradise Pier never has been ideal.
Instead, it feels like the Pixar Pier place-making project is the result of about 5 competing visions, none of which are compatible with one another, that were all greenlit for some reason or another. There’s the aforementioned ‘enhanced Victorian detailing’ which is the unequivocal highlight of Pixar Pier. In areas around the entrance and bandstand, there are obvious improvements that provide a layer of richness and depth that were mostly absent from Paradise Pier.
Once you get past this, the wheels fall off. The most notable instances of thematic clashing are with the mid-century modern architecture of the Incredicoaster queue, the ‘oversized stuff’ of the food stands, and the repurposed hipster warehouse of Lamplight Lounge. Each of these styles could work on their own, but they definitely do not work together.
I’m usually one to grant a lot of deference to Imagineering, with the assumption that they were playing the hand they were dealt. After all, WDI recently gave us Cars Land, Buena Vista Street, and Grizzly Peak Airfield in Disney California Adventure, while making lemonade out of lemons in other areas. Those are demonstrable successes of the creative team in reinventing arguably the most half-baked concept of the late Eisner years.
With Pixar Pier, it’s entirely possible that the overlay is a mandate from on high, and Imagineering is once again trying to make lemonade out of lemons. Perhaps an influential executive (or former executive) within Pixar who has expressed an affinity for Disneyland Resort was irate when he heard of plans to replace ‘a bug’s land’ with Marvel. Perhaps that executive, known for meddling in the parks, demanded a concession and got Pixar Pier. Speculation, but certainly within the realm of possibilities.
That conceivably explains how Disney California Adventure ended up with the concept of Pixar Pier, but it does not explain away the design failures of the land. It’s difficult to fault anyone but WDI for the clashing concepts at play here, and the decision to incorporate so many disparate “neighborhoods” in such a small area where their transitions or distinctions would be imperceptible to guests. The neighborhoods explanation doesn’t pass the smell test when reading backstory copy in the abstract, let alone when walking through Pixar Pier.
That’s my biggest criticism of Pixar Pier, and a problem that was easily foreseeable to some random dude on the internet with no design experience. This would’ve been easily avoidable by choosing a singular, cohesive style for the different Pixar IPs. Instead, the end result predictably clashes, with the Incredibles and Toy Story areas being particularly discordant next to one another. I still have a really difficult time believing the creatives at Imagineering didn’t foresee that the finished product would be thematically jarring, and I really want to believe that their hands were tied here.
With all of this said, Pixar Pier was not nearly as awful as I anticipated. While my expectations were incredibly low, there was a decent amount that I liked. For one, the Victorian detail-work has been elevated in some areas, and looks really nice. If this makeover would’ve been solely about injecting Pixar into the boardwalk games, shops, and dining while enhancing the pier’s Victorian qualities, I think it would’ve worked a lot better.
The areas along the promenade–at least the ones that are now open–generally look nice and work thematically. The place-making that was done here back in 2011-12 to peel back the ostentatious and pun-laden signage and props was clearly done on a low budget. While it was “good enough” at the time, this all feels much more polished now.
Speaking of ostentatious, the new food stands that represent a reversion to DCA 1.0 (if we’re going tacky, at least give me a fly dinosaur wearing shades, Disney) are not nearly as noticeable as I feared. Yeah, they are hideous, but I didn’t find my eyes drawn to them like a train wreck while strolling along Paradise Pier. It’s possible I just tried to mentally block them out, but they did not stick out to the degree expected.
I’m a sucker for the boardwalk concept, and Paradise Pier has always been one of my favorite areas at Disney California Adventure, warts and all. California’s beach cities resonate with me on a personal level, and I love that Disney attempted to make romanticized versions of those promenades. Execution has always been suspect, but I’ve felt that the ambiance is pretty close to pitch-perfect.
With Pixar Pier, I still get that same vibe. Strolling through the land at night, under the popcorn lights with the kinetic energy of the roller coaster overhead, the Ferris Wheel to the side, and boardwalk games lining the promenade remains something special for me.
The Pixarmonic Orchestra–perhaps my favorite aspect of this place-making project–also helps with setting the perfect mood. After so much criticism of Pixar Pier, this might seem like a surprising concession–but just because I think the area’s overlay is half-baked doesn’t mean I think the land has been stripped of its charms.
At the end of the day, the oddest thing to me about Pixar Pier is its very existence. Setting aside my quibbles with its jarring thematic qualities, I really wonder how this moves the needle. I have no doubt that Incredicoaster is being well-received; it was popular before, and the core experience of a fun roller coaster remains unchanged. (Irrespective of my other opinions on it, Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout is at least a materially new ride; the essence of the Pier’s roller coaster remains the same as before.) However, once you set aside cynics and Pixie Dusters, is the general public really going to view anything within Pixar Pier as markedly different than before? Are guest satisfaction numbers going to improve?
If a temporary shot in the arm via marketing was the goal, it seems like so much of what has “changed” could’ve just as easily been accomplished with seasonal menus and a temporary overlay to California Screamin’ (a la the various versions of Space Mountain). Adding infrastructure to California Screamin’ to facilitate quick seasonal overlays in the tunnels and a scattering of props elsewhere probably would’ve been a savvy move, as it would allow different versions of the attraction–as well as the original–all of which could be used to draw people at different times of the year. Call all of this the “Pixar Pier Takeover,” make it a limited time event, and I have a difficult time believing it’d be any less successful than the permanent Pixar Pier. But what do I know. Even after experiencing it, my biggest question with Pixar Pier remains, WHY?!
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Your Thoughts
Do you agree or disagree with our assessment of Pixar Pier? Thoughts on the Incredicoaster, new games, dining, or anything else? Any questions? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Attractions aside, my husband and I went to the new Lamplighter Lounge and were very impressed. It offers really nice, tasty food options, including a “secret” vegan option that is really special: the Impossible Burger. I have no idea why this wouldn’t be on the actual menu, as Impossible Burgers are selling out everywhere and Disney needs to upgrade its vegan options. It was DELICIOUS. The Lamplighter Lounge chef outdid him/herself by adding spices to the burger and even vegan cheese. We had a lovely lunch.
When my husband and I went this Spring, that was exactly my response… Where is this “new” Pixar Pier??!! It was the pits, so disappointed, not my favorite place to start with, we were out of there in 3hrs. What a bunch of hype!
So glad that meddling executive has been shown his walking papers. While shepherding Pixar’s early years with genius, meddling in the parks is an abomination. Leave that work to Joe Rhode.
I definitely think it was partially the west coast answer to Toy Story Land. I’ve seen a lot of articles and comments about how both Disneyland and Disney World have new Toy Story Land. People are confused because while Toy Story Land is a new land with new rides, Pixar Pier is just an overlay to existing rides in an existing area. Plus with the Pixar Fest at Disneyland, a lot of the general public doesn’t know what is where. Disney certainly isn’t trying to clarify if the confusion will bring more people to any of the parks.
Like you mentioned, the same thing has happened with Star Wars, where some people thought the Seasons of the Force stuff was the new Star Wars land.
I have a theory about why so many Disneylanders reacted so negatively to Pixar Pier’s announcement, even when Paradise Pier (and DCA itself) was not much loved. I think with all the forced and cynical feeling instances of franchises being inserted into the parks, people could kind of half justify it to themselves by believing Disney was responding to short term guest demand… Kids love their Frozen, Star Wars, Marvel, etc. But Pixar Pier seems to reveal that Disney’s insistence on IP isn’t because they believe it’s best for the parks… They believe it’s best for the IPs. Pixar Pier helps Pixar far more than it helps the Pier. It feels like Parks and Resorts has no more meaning to Disney than their lunch box decal division. The presence of their franchises must be increased! Pixar Pier makes perfectly clear what was only suspected before.
Of course as an East coaster I have felt this way about Disney consistently since 2005 (we have no equivalent of the DCA redo to throw us off), so I don’t have a lot of shock left in the tank lol
I was able to,wrap my head around Tower of Terror changing to Guardians of the Galaxy, as I had convinced myself that it was just the first step in creating an immersive Marvel land that would “all make sense” once it was in place, somehow.
But Pixar Pier…..I just can’t see this as anything but a step in the wrong direction. I completely agree that a temporary overlay would have been a much better approach. What they have now is tacky, has a definite shelf-life, and is nothing short of a regression from what little charm Paradise Pier 2.0 did have.
I still don’t think Mission – Breakout will be connected (at least via a logical story) to the rest of Marvel Land, but I understand the desire to add something Marvel quickly after sitting on the IPs for so long.
This doesn’t even make sense in that regard. There’s already plenty of Pixar at DCA.
We saw you guys outside Adorable Snowman Frozen Treats in July 16th, right as the park was about to close. I would have said hi, but my six year old was dying for lemon flavored soft serve.
Anyway, my wife had fun doing a checklist of Pixar themed treats, and I enjoyed a bit of the Pixar Fest stuff, but I agree with your review, overall. The only Pixar themed things there are only loosely connected. Knick’s Knacks is cool, but hardly worth going to the park for.
Still, as others have said, it is better than it had ever been, even if only incrementally.
Ha, we were also dying for some lemon flavored soft serve, but the line had already been cut when we got there!
As for Pixar Fest stuff, I thought it was surprisingly good. Moving Paint the Night to DCA, in particular, makes a ton of sense.
Having not actually seen it in person yet, I mostly agree with your review (as I usually do!). I have kind of justified it to myself as a sort of equal to Hogsmede in Universal Orlando. Diagon Ally is so emersive and Hogsmede feels more like what would happen if someone were to just say “I want a Harry Potter theme park. I am here for the rides, but I want them to have a slight Harry Potter theme to them.” I feel like that is kind of the route they went with Pixar Pier. Whereas Toy Story Land at WDW or Cars Land at DCA are more immersive a la Diagon Ally. Again, I haven’t seen it in person, so have no first hand experience walking through it, but that’s how I kind of justify it to myself, if that makes sense.
Personally, I think that’s pretty hard on Hogsmeade, although I do agree that Diagon Alley is the far superior WWoHP land.
People disagree with Tom Bricker? Don’t they know the only thing he’s ever been wrong about was Animal Kingdom? And he eventually came around on that…
Kidding aside, these thoughts seem to reflect all my worries from what I’ve seen online. I’m an East coaster, and have only spent a few days at DCA (though one of those days was for the opening of World of Color in 2010). So I have no attachment to Paradise Pier. But I feel WDI has come so far from where they were 15 years ago, making improvements in the theming and immersion experienced on both coasts… and this just feels like a big step backward. And it’s much worse than Toy Story Land in my opinion. At least TSL picked a theme–not a very strong one–but they chose one and struck to it. This just looks like a mess, like some kiddie area at a Six Flags where they slapped cartoon characters onto signage for existing rides.
I am glad to hear some of the charm is still intact, though. Let’s just hope this is a misstep they learn from and not a sign of things to come.
I agree that Toy Story Land is better than Pixar Pier, and that’s not saying much…
Maybe Pixar Pier was intended to be Toy Story Lands counterpart on the West Coast?
Great points Tom. I will say that the marketing machine in media is working well for them. So many folks have asked me “so where in Disneyland is this new land” or ” what’s this new stuff with Pixar”. When commercials and radio personalities inundate you with “all new” comments most folks buy it.
In fairness, the same thing happened with ‘Season of the Force’ at Disneyland. The marketing machine plays very fast and loose with how it presents seasonal offerings, and I spoke with several people who thought that seasonal event *was* Star Wars Land. I can only imagine the disappointment once they got to the park and found out it was mostly just a cheap overlay to Innoventions.
When my husband and I went this Spring, that was exactly my response… Where is this “new” Pixar Pier??!! It was the pits, so disappointed, not my favorite place to start with, we were out of there in 3hrs. What a bunch of hype!
Great review. I completely agree with your assessment, to the extent possible given that I have not yet seen Pixar Pier in person (just photos and videos so far). Ever since it was announced it struck me as a weird overlay – why add Pixar to a boardwalk? They don’t seem to go together. And yes, Pixar is not a theme! I prefer immersive themed lands, not an assortment of different Pixar properties where none of them ends up being immersive because they’re all smashed together using different thematic elements, resulting in an incongruous mess, on a boardwalk of all things. Toyville Trolley Park (which I actually have been to) at least chose one more cohesive theme and only one Pixar property (Toy Story).
Also, I have always thought that by building a California boardwalk-themed land in a landlocked park with a relatively small lagoon as the only water feature, you are missing out on one of the main appeals of a pier, which is the actual ocean! A smallish lagoon is not a substitute. Part of the feeling of a boardwalk is being next to or out over the water, with a beautiful ocean view. Otherwise it’s mostly just a carnival/amusement park, which are none too appealing in my opinion. Paradise Pier always was lacking the ocean aspect, and Pixar Pier is no different. Now if they were to resurrect the Port Disney concept, that could work because it would actually be on the beach! If they felt like they needed to “fix” Paradise Pier, my preference would have been for them to scrap the whole thing and just build a new immersive themed land in that area, or maybe two, since it’s a pretty significant sized space.
As cool as Port Disney sounded–and I think it would still “work” today–I doubt it’ll ever happen. If Disney wasn’t willing to have Star Wars and Marvel anchor a third gate in Anaheim, I don’t think we’ll get a park elsewhere in SoCal.
Totally agree that the neighborhoods idea doesn’t really work from a cohesion standpoint, but I find the changes pretty harmless. And Lamplight Lounge is great, with a really entertaining menu–essentially expanding the Cove Bar to the whole building was a great idea, IMO, and all the details inside make it feel more like a fancy breakroom at Pixar studios (you know, one of those fancy ones a company spends way too much money on), than a trendy gastropub!
Really eloquent review, you make some great points.
The only thing I’d definitely disagree on is the Screamin’ to Incredicoaster move, which I believe to be a lateral move at worst and a definite improvement at best. Part of me wishes they had spent the pier budget just on renovating that attraction into the Incredibles E-ticket it deserves to be, rather that the somewhat lackluster improvement we got despite it being an improvement none-the-less.
Setting aside most of what was Paradise Pier, I am a big fan of the new entrance to Pixar Pier with Knick Knacks and Lamplight Lounge (I never set foot in Ariel’s Grotto). I’m certainly drawn more to the Pier now than before.
I agree with many of the criticisms and perhaps with more money, they can improve it over time. Personally, I’d like to see Pixar Pier extended… “Linguini’s Pizza and Pasta” and if I could, I’d move Little Mermaid to the Fantasyland expansion and move the Inside Out neighborhood to the San Francisco-inspired buildings. I’d go on an Inside Out dark-ride in Riley’s mind in Bing-Bong’s wagons =o)
My teen daughter and I just returned from DLR and we checked out the new Pier too. To be fair, Paradise Pier is one of my least fave places in any park, so my bar was really low. I don’t find California boardwalks enchanting, I guess. I agree with most of your views too. The Pixar additions were uninteresting to me as well, although I was happy to see Up given some love as it’s one of my fave movies.
The Lamplight Lounge did look pretty cool – we walked around inside and couldn’t believe how big it was – but there were no ADRs available and we didn’t want to wait in the very long line. I look forward to your review of it at some point.
We rode the Pixar Pal-A-Round – still fun and I’m glad they left the Mickey in the middle – and the IncrediCoaster twice. My only piece of advice is to ride it at night. The Incredible details stand out MUCH more.