Top 10 Best Things About Disney’s California Adventure’s Pixar Pier
Everybody and their mothers has been whining nonstop about the transition from Paradise Pier to Pixar Pier at Disneyland California Adventure. Whether they find the redesign lazy, or they think Disneyland is capitalizing on Pixar’s success, or they’re too blinded by nostalgia, people hate it. But if you ask me, those people need to actually go to the park themselves before they pass harsh judgement, because Pixar Pier is actually one of the best additions to Disney Parks I’ve ever seen. And here are 10 reasons why.If you think about it, Pixar movies have done much better than most traditional Disney movies, at least with their overall quality. While there are several Disney movies that were critically panned, there's not a single Pixar movie that was. Well, except for Cars 2, but that's one failed movie compared to dozens. So honestly, I think the Pixar movies deserve their own land, especially the movies Disney parks give no attention to, even if they're some of the best they've ever made. Seriously, how did it take them this long to make an attraction for Inside Out? Probably because they were too busy giving their weaker films like Bug's Life and Cars their own lands.
This ride is legitimately my favorite ride in all of DCA. It's fast, it's fun, it's creative, and unlike most coasters, it has a story. "Oh, but California Screamin' was so much better because it wasn't a lazy redesign." Okay...so you're judging a new coaster on how it looks and because it replaced an old coaster you loved. I'm sorry, but those aren't good enough reasons to hate a roller coaster and it's clearly a strong case of judging a book by its cover. Sure, there are some things you can say are bad just by looking at them, but a roller coaster, or any ride for that matter, is not one of them. To properly judge a roller coaster, you need to actually ride it to get the experience for yourself (and watching a point of view video on YouTube doesn't count). Judge the ride based on how much you did or didn't enjoy riding it, not by the way it looks or how much you miss its predecessor. You can still make comparisons between the old and new after riding though. Also, I should mention that I have ridden California Screamin' before it closed, or rather was repainted. And sure, it was a fun ride. But...it wasn't anything special. I've ridden several coasters like California Screamin' before, so it didn't really have a unique identity. "Oh, but it played music." So does Space Mountain and the Rock n Roller Coaster. So it wasn't even unique in its own land. Incredicoaster however, definitely gave the ride the unique edge it needed. And that's why I love everything about it. Well, not everything. I don't like how they didn't include Frozone.
This is probably the brightest part of the whole California Adventure park. It's so much more attractive than the original Paradise Pier.
I'm super hyped for this ride. I probably won't like it as much as the Incredicoaster, but it's still satisfying to see Pixar's best animated film get its own attraction. Like the Incredicoaster, people are pre-judging this one because it's a repaint of Flik's Flyers. First of all, recoloring something doesn't automatically make it bad. Like I said, judge the ride by the experience you get from riding it. Second, since "a bug's land" closed down recently, shouldn't we be glad that they're, in a way, keeping one of its rides? The recoloring literally doesn't matter since it's the same ride either way. Besides, Inside Out is better than A Bug's Life.
This band is incredibly talented. If there's one thing I love, it's a tribute band and this is one of them. The performance brought back so many memories of watching these beloved films. I especially loved hearing "Remember Me" from Coco, my second favorite Pixar movie.
Inside Out is my favorite Pixar movie of all time, so you can imagine my reaction to seeing a whole sweet shop inspired by it. The store not only has sweets of any kind but also some Inside Out merchandise to satisfy the hardcore fans. Not to mention, they serve character-inspired slushies like the "Rainbow Unicorn" and the "Imaginary Pal." They don't have one for Fear though, which is a shame since he's my favorite. But still, a pretty cool idea (no pun intended).
Pixar is known for its creativity. So of course a whole area dedicated to it is going to be creative as well. The stores and food stands are great examples of how creative the area is. Because they're all inspired by characters and scenes from the movies. And some inspired by the shorts.
Of course, I haven't tried any of the food so whether it's good or not, I have no idea. But I have seen reviewers online claim that it's one of the best things about the land. I will say though, that the designs for the food and snacks look incredible. The cake pops are especially cute since they're inspired by Pixar characters and themes. Another thing I can say for sure is that I love the themes for each of the food stands. I think my favorite is the Poultry Palace (inspired by the Toy Story short Small Fry) which literally looks like a kids meal box. It's so adorable.
In one of the stores, I saw the cutest Minnie Mouse ears inspired by the movie Up. The bow was made of little pom-pom balls to represent the balloons and in the center was a grape soda bottle cap (aka the Ellie badge). If you're a fan of Up, it's the perfect souvenir. Of course, they have merchandise for pretty much every Pixar film, including the shorts.
One thing that Disney parks try to do is make each of their lands not only distinguishable from each other, but from other amusement parks. They try their damnedest to make sure that each land can't be found anywhere else. And that's what makes Pixar Pier so special. Because there's no other place that's like it. Not even in another Disney park. There's more than one Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge and more than one Toy Story Land, but only one Pixar Pier. Many people say that Disney parks need less lands based on their IPs and that's the pier's biggest problem. The original Paradise Pier wasn't based on any Disney IP and instead was themed around a California boardwalk. Which is fine, but it's not really unique. And sure, they had some Disney-themed stuff but not enough to make the land stand out from something like Cars Land. Furthermore, if I wanted to see a boardwalk in California, I'd go to a boardwalk in California. I go to a Disney park to see Disney stuff, stuff that I wouldn't see in any other non-Disney theme park. That's why a place like Pixar Pier is more likely to get me excited than Paradise Pier.