Pixar Fest was the Disneyland Resort’s way to kick in the retheming of Paradise Pier, the early 20th turn of the century Californian boardwalk. When California Adventure first opened, Paradise Pier was a throwback to carnival rides and attractions that were from the seaside amusement parts of the 1900’s. Long Beach’s The Pike is a classic example of this. Paradise Pier didn’t really have much marriage to Disney intellectual property. The attractions were more themed to California attitudes and recreation. Enter the Pixar pals – Pixar Pier opened June 2018 and thus breathed new life into an area of DCA that does not get much traction.
The Bounds
Unlimited Bound Works ended up going to Pixar Fest twice during the summer. We bounded from Inside Out as Joy and Fear. Joy was a handmade retro dress. Fear was a closet case.
On our second visit, we went from The Incredibles. Jared the Greek went as Mr. Incredible in his classic super suit. I went as my spirit animal, Edna Mode. I used a Stop Starring dress and a wig from Gothic Lolita Wigs. The scarf is from Besame Cosmetics.
Pixar Fest Around the Parks
Pixar’s yellow, blue, and red banners hang around the parks as you enter either Main Street or Buena Vista Street. While most of the action is at California Adventure, the main parks had Pixar themed food offerings from churros themed to Pixar movies and some decorations to remind you to check out the new pier. We didn’t really check out the food at the main park. There was a churro challenge that amounted in $35 if you wanted to eat all of the Pixar churros in one day – the reward would be a souvenir button. Yet, our diet wouldn’t be able to handle all that processed sugar in one day.
Additionally, the main park had the Pixar Play Around running along Fantasyland to Main Street. We were able to see the parade from the Small World queue. This was a perfect summer parade because there were water effects that went into the crowds.
Pixar Pier
This was one of the hottest summer in Southern California. Pixar Fest was celebrated mostly in California Adventure. The new pier was completely rethemed to echo works of Pixar in the past 20+ years. We had characters roam around the pier. We got to see Sully run around the pier. We wanted to see Dug, the dog who loves everyone, but it was hard to catch him during his “roaming” times. We got to see Edna Mode and a few of the cast of The Incredibles for photo ops:
We went to check out the new Incredicoaster, a retheming of California Screamin’. It was a pretty big improvement since California Screamin’ was moreso themed to California recreation and board walk games. This interpretation gave the coaster a story – rescue Jack Jack as he is developing all of his super powers throughout the coaster. It does make a fun addition to the coaster. I liked the redesign and I’m quite happy with it. This is also the first time I’ve seen the coaster have waits up to 60 minutes! Usually, it’s about 30 minutes at most for plain California Screamin’
There’s a few rides that still need to open up. Jessie’s Critter Coral is still under construction. The Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind is scheduled to open at a later date.
There’s also a ton of quick eateries around Pixar Pier whether you’re looking for a grab and go or for a snack. You can see more Pixar themed food on our Youtube channel, Eat the Magic.
Pixar Pier is also praised for being “Instagram”-able. This means, there’s plenty of photo ops that can be interacted with.
The midway games were changed to be themed towards Pixar shorts and animated features. We didn’t get a chance to play these, but they look fun.
And some other photos from Pixar Fest…
Banners can be seen from Downtown Disney.
Haunted Mansion is currently closed right now to make way for Halloweentime…
You’d imagine they’d let supers into Club 33. 
And the designer to the supers.
Quite curious to see how this place with fare. This is replacing the Aladdin’s Oasis area.
Spotting Belle on the carousel. 
Edna Mode being her quirky self.
The new entrance to Pixar Pier.
Will have to check out this place eventually…
Overall
Pixar Pier breathed new life into an area of California Adventure that hasn’t attracted many people to stop by and visit. New food stands and selfie spots really help bring this place to life. In the coming years, California Adventure will be going through many changes to make way for the Marvel additions at the expense of Bugs Land. While many people have criticized Pixar Pier and California Adventure of being just a cheap intellectual property tie in, it’s what Paradise Pier needed to revitalize itself. Many other theme parks in California have a “pier” theme or are on a boardwalk or pier. Having the Pixar bells and whistles really make this place unique. While Pixar Pier isn’t complete, it would be interesting to see Emotional Whirlwind and Critter Coral soon.
Until then, we will be hitting up Halloweentime ’18.
Written by Eri Kagami
IG: @AFelineofSpectre
Twitter: @EriKagamiSewse