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DisneylandForward
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TP2000
Well-Known Member
Pixar Pier is very immersive, in a way that only Bob Chapek and Josh D'Amaro could bring to life.
It's a faux pier on a stagnant and flat body of water that is supposed to look like the ocean but just looks like a stagnant and flat body of water. But when you get near it, you can see that it's a rather shallow cement lined pond that has Sacramento-approved safety equipment and industrial plumbing in it, just like the real Pacific Ocean.
As you explore the Pier more, you understand that it's an immersive Victorian era amusement pier that has a mid-century modern superhero family living in it whose baby boy has escaped and you must find him on a 48 inch height requirement adventure that features Lightning Lane. You are further immersed.
As you work your way further down the Victorian and Mid Century Modern era pier, you encounter a talking potato who invites you to shoot non-violent things at safe targets for points that don't actually mean anything. You are further immersed.
Next you find games of skill at an additional charge, because fun isn't cheap, and a Pixar themed Ferris Wheel that has Pixar characters on one side and a corporate overlord logo on the other that has nothing to do with Pixar in Emeryville, much less the Victorian and Mid-Century Modern pier you are on. This is because you are immersed.
Please ignore the rusty nozzles. Those will make more sense at 9:00pm, especially if you buy the Dessert Package.
There's also a thing that spins, that used to be someplace else, but then the Vice President of Disney California Adventure and Guest Arrival Experience (not a made-up title, it's actually real) a man named Patrick Finnegan, dedicated the spinning ride to Pixar Pier and Victorian and Mid-Century Modern environments. Because Mr. Finnegan wanted to immerse you, since your Guest Arrival Experience earlier that morning probably kind of sucked.
Then you leave Pixar Pier and it goes back to something called Paradise Gardens, which is just plain old Victorian without Pixar or Mid-Century Modern or anything that Mr. Finnegan might be involved in. But wasn't it fun while it lasted?
mickEblu
Well-Known Member
Wow. It actually looks like a Pier. Is that the wave machine working too? Of course, just out of frame is the ugly Maliboomer.
lol i dont get the hate for PP. I do like Paradise Pier naming better, but still I quite like the area and it has like 10 rides of all calibers in one space. full of kinetic energy, amazing nighttime show, tons of food and games, parade runs through it as well....i like it. I get that its not themed heavily to something fantasy based but to me its a great disney version of a pier side amusement park. Way better than any real pier amusement park ive been to as well.
ALso home to the only ferris wheel in any disney park...and its the most terrifying ride in any disney park if your on the swinging cars.
ALso home to the only ferris wheel in any disney park...and its the most terrifying ride in any disney park if your on the swinging cars.
mlayton144
Well-Known Member
Good god , a Ferris wheel should never be the icon of a Disney park
Basketbuddy101
Well-Known Member
A hundred percent. They had the perfect skeleton in place for a land that could rival Tokyo DisneySea in terms of theming. All they had to do was give Screamin' a proper queue, re-skin Triton's Carousel , add a Mystic Manor-style dark ride in place of the Maliboomer, give the Fun Wheel a proper queue, and maybe re-theme the shops on the eastern side of the pier. They really couldn't help going backwards. And yes, 2001 Paradise Pier, tacky as it was, still did a better job of transporting you to a different time and place than Pixar Pier ever has, and probably ever will.
Phroobar
Well-Known Member
Adventureland Veranda
Well-Known Member
I'd love it if they got rid of the pier and built Discovery Bay in its place. The outside world could finally be hidden with a berm and rockwork. Add a portal to Avatar and whatever else they want to squeeze into the Simba lot.
A Coco boat ride is a no brainer.
DCA could be a great park, much of it already is. There is so much potential for it to be a true full day experience, but I think it's future is sadly an IP dumping ground without a unifying theme.
This is rather hyperbolic....
The fundamental problem with the land is that it represents the cheap, corny amusement piers that Walt built Disneyland as a way to get away from: it's not immersive or transportative because it's themed to a theme park....
I'd hardly call that a perfect skeleton. It certainly has some potential but let's not kid ourselves, fixing a few queues and re-skinning a carousel still leaves this land miles away from touching DisneySea
eddie104
Well-Known Member
Let’s not get ahead ourselves lol.
Disgruntled Walt
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
What is that second picture from?This is far better than any iteration of Pier and would rival Tokyo DisneySea. Add Coco dark ride to keep within the California theme. Why the heck doesn't DCA have a Train????
Consumer
Well-Known Member
Nonsense. Paradise Pier is just Main Street USA but with rides. People hate on it because the rides aren't elaborately themed, but there's no denying the land itself wasn't well themed. Compare the Boardwalk section of Knott's to Paradise Pier. There's no competition.
Professortango1
Well-Known Member
I think the issue is that Paraide Pier in 2012 wasn't great, but was getting better and closer to a Disney park experience. Then, they undid that and made the land feel uglier and more disjointed.
I also do not understand the popular reaction to Mickey's Fun Wheel. The swinging cars are not that scary and the stationary cars are far scarier since they stop far higher up. The swinging cars slide back to almost the center of the wheel.
I also think World of Color hurt the aesthetics of the park. The lagoon is too large in my opinion, and now that it is home to Belagio Fountains, it can't be reduced and it sits without waves or movement or energy with nozzles sticking up for a majority of the day.
I'd love to see everything from Mermaid over ripped out and reimagined. The lack of berm and limited space due to the parade corridor/WOC seating/WOC Bay, just leaves this corner of the park meh without much room to do anything about it.
I know that won't happen.
A cheaper solution would be to retheme Pixar Pier to Pleasure Island with a Pinocchio-inspired retheme of the coaster that turns us into donkeys, a Dumbo themed flying darkride like Peter Pan, and a shoot the chute style ride that splashes down into the bay. It could be themed to Pinocchio/Pleasure Island as well since the coaster won't allow for much beyond queue themeing and maybe a final mirror effect where we see us as donkeys before pulling into the station, and the flume attraction could take us on a madcap Mr. Toad/Roger Rabbit style adventure through the many wild attractions that are at Pleasure Island, but obviously too difficult to recreate for park guests (Rough House, slingshot range, fireworks factory, etc.)
Also gives you the opportunity to retheme Pinocchio's Daring Journey to a different more popular IP like Frozen, BatB, Sleeping Beauty, Brave, etc.
Consumer
Well-Known Member
I love World of Color, but it's been going on for over a decade now and I'd be ok seeing it go away. I also am totally fine with cutting any parades from DCA. The park has always been handicapped but the parade route.
Personally, what I would love, is for The Little Mermaid's plot to be consumed by Grizzly Peak. If that space was combined with RCCT, that's roughly the same acreage as Pirates of the Caribbean, making it the perfect location for a Gold Rush set boat ride.
Disney Analyst
Well-Known Member
As suspected, I think avatar is up first, and it’s in DCA.
Where did you think they were going to put it?