News Paradise Pier Becoming Pixar Pier

[nevol]

"This as you may recognize is a maintenance service elevator, still in operation, waiting for you."

No, no it isn't. That's just how we get to the lower level of the Lamplight Lounge at Pixar Pier.

"What is this warehouse power plant doing in a trolley park/seaside pier?"

It's magic.

 

[dweezil78]

Warehouses on piers do exist. DCA's Pacific Wharf is based primarily on Monterey -- so it wouldn't be totally unusual for a warehouse to exist at the transition between the Wharf and the Pier.

 

[nevol]

Remember when I called this?

 

[No Name]

I feeling like I’m be trolled for comments that were in the past.

If you don't stand by your past comments that means you've learned something. We now agree that a brand name doesn't make a theme and that Pixar isn't a theme. Wonderful! We agree on something!

 

[nevol]

Warehouses on piers do exist. DCA's Pacific Wharf is based primarily on Monterey -- so it wouldn't be totally unusual for a warehouse to exist at the transition between the Wharf and the Pier.

A warehouse with fanciful Victorian trolley park towers shooting out of its roof?

 

[mickEblu]

Seeriously. A warehouse? How do you explain the boardwalk/trolley park touches on the roof? Just a lazy excuse of a theme to get away with not reskinning the rest of the complex with its corrugated steel and those airplane toilet water tinted windows. Truly shocked. A seaside pier... in the warehouse district of los angeles? Will the cast of Fast and Furious be signing autographs throughout the meal?

I mean, I guess they're still kind of nailing the California theme. Expectations of coastal beauty but in actuality urban / industrial wastelands, power plants, warehouses, and homeless encampments.

"This as you may recognize is a maintenance service elevator, still in operation, waiting for you."

No, no it isn't. That's just how we get to the lower level of the Lamplight Lounge at Pixar Pier.

"What is this warehouse power plant doing in a trolley park/seaside pier?"

It's magic.

It’s funny you say this because I was going to say this project reminds me of the TOT conversion. I hope this practice of choosing new “themes” for overlays based off existing infrastructure goes away and they start focusing on purpose built attractions.

 

[mickEblu]

A warehouse with fanciful Victorian trolley park towers shooting out of its roof?

Don’t forget the mid century modern house down the way.

I think I get. They re going for a dystopian, character driven, branded Fantasyland.

 

[dweezil78]

A warehouse with fanciful Victorian trolley park towers shooting out of its roof?

Yeah... I admit that's the puzzling part about this, eh? The current concept art doesn't give any indication of this being there or how it fits, although we really don't see that side of it I guess. I wonder if we'll be seeing some newly revamped artwork soon. Strange they made this announcement without anything to show with it.

 

[TP2000]

Man, reading the description of the theming gave me lumbago. A converted factory? Pixar toys? Help me Jesus

That Parks Blog announcement goes down as one of their best. The cubicle drones really earned their keep. I have done us all a favor and cut and pasted the most relevant of buzzwords and tired cliche's from the Parks Blog to sum up this faux warehouse Family Fun Drinkery:

discover a new hot spot at the Lamplight Lounge
elegant yet fun
organic yet sophisticated
Renovated from an old warehouse factory
given new life as ceiling panels and floors
tell the story of its past
California casual gastro-pub cuisine
celebrates the creativity, inspirations and personalities
knick-knacks and collectable toys of beloved Pixar characters
furniture style echoes a relaxed feel
end result is an open, airy and bright place
Come discover the treasured keepsakes and tastes of Lamplight Lounge
Lobster Nachos!

Of course, they wouldn't have needed to use the department Thesaurus so heavily if they had just had one, single piece of WDI concept art to share.

But they don't. Which tells me this project is being slapped together at the last second. I have to wonder if the original concept was called "Lasseter's Lounge", celebrating the tastes and unique interests of John Lasseter during the cocktail hour(s), and all their original work was destroyed by that pesky HR Department and a nosy free press?

 

[mickEblu]

Yeah... I admit that's the puzzling part about this, eh? The current concept art doesn't give any indication of this being there or how it fits, although we really don't see that side of it I guess. I wonder if we'll be seeing some newly revamped artwork soon. Strange they made this announcement without anything to show with it.

You know what, maybe @Dr. Hans Reinhardt is right. Maybe Disney knows we’ll keep going for those nasty lobster nachos, keep buying those pins and riding Haunted Mansion for the 45th time this year no matter what crap they serve us.

EDIT: yeah I said it. The lobster nachos are nasty and overrrated. Just like the montecristo. Well the montecristo isn’t nasty, it’s just overrated.

 

[Hatbox Ghostbuster]

You know what, maybe @Dr. Hans Reinhardt is right. Maybe Disney knows we’ll keep going for those nasty lobster nachos, keep buying those pins and riding Haunted Mansion for the 45th time this year no matter what crap they serve us.

It would seem that they not only know, but are completely comfortable operating out of that knowledge from here on out...

 

[Hatbox Ghostbuster]

That Parks Blog announcement goes down as one of their best. The cubicle drones really earned their keep. I have done us all a favor and cut and pasted the most relevant of buzzwords and tired cliche's from the Parks Blog to sum up this faux warehouse Family Fun Drinkery:

discover a new hot spot at the Lamplight Lounge
elegant yet fun
organic yet sophisticated
Renovated from an old warehouse factory
given new life as ceiling panels and floors
tell the story of its past
California casual gastro-pub cuisine
celebrates the creativity, inspirations and personalities
knick-knacks and collectable toys of beloved Pixar characters
furniture style echoes a relaxed feel
end result is an open, airy and bright place
Come discover the treasured keepsakes and tastes of Lamplight Lounge
Lobster Nachos!

Of course, they wouldn't have needed to use the department Thesaurus so heavily if they had just had one, single piece of WDI concept art to share.

But they don't. Which tells me this project is being slapped together at the last second. I have to wonder if the original concept was called "Lasseter's Lounge", celebrating the tastes and unique interests of John Lasseter during the cocktail hour, and all their original work was destroyed by that pesky HR Department and a nosy free press?

As a writer, it kills me to read those horribly trite, buzz phrases...

As for the idea of Lasseter's Lounge...have you ever seen the man's office? It looks like a toy store.

 

[Hatbox Ghostbuster]

I am actually a bit curious to know how much of this project JL oversaw prior to his departure...and how much they're now having to just throw something together at the eleventh hour.

 

[Curious Constance]

I like that mug. Where can I find it?

Everyone's arguing about theme and brand and IP placement, and @mickEblu 's all, "I feel like doin some shoppin."

 

[TP2000]

Yeah... I admit that's the puzzling part about this, eh? The current concept art doesn't give any indication of this being there or how it fits, although we really don't see that side of it I guess. I wonder if we'll be seeing some newly revamped artwork soon. Strange they made this announcement without anything to show with it.

It's very strange. Not one single piece of artwork to show. That tells me they are slapping this together, and it will be the Pixar version of a Chachkies or Flingers from Office Space.

I just have this sinking feeling that somehow John Lassetter, the founder and face of Pixar, was going to be heavily featured in this dining concept until three months ago when he was placed on leave for his well-known behavior. They've been scrambling for 90 days to remove the Lassetter from the Lasseter's Lounge concept and reinvent it quickly.

Thus, no concept art and a Parks Blog forced to use every 50 cent word in their arsenal.

 

[mickEblu]

Everyone's arguing about theme and brand and IP placement, and @mickEblu 's all, "I feel like doin some shoppin."

You already know. LOL

 

[nevol]

Yeah... I admit that's the puzzling part about this, eh? The current concept art doesn't give any indication of this being there or how it fits, although we really don't see that side of it I guess. I wonder if we'll be seeing some newly revamped artwork soon. Strange they made this announcement without anything to show with it.

The outside looks like an improvement, a move away from the post-modern interpretation of pier architecture toward more craftsmanship, and then this press release states that the interior will have exposed brick. Super weird. It's like it was worked on by two different teams that weren't communicating. One trying to improve the conditions of the site and the other tailoring their bar/restaurant to what was already there.

 

[Magic Feather]

So, to recap...
A bunch of Pixar employees used to visit an old warehouse/factory that was built at the entrance to a Californian Pier. Coincidentally, the Parr family also decided to place their residence at the foot of the pier, where an old wooden roller coaster loads and unloads. Meanwhile, the Toy Story Gang has brought a giant spinning top out for guests to ride on, or enter a Victorian parlor to play life sized midway games. Continuing further down, guests will be surrounded by Victorian inspired architecture with character clip art slapped on the side, where guests can ride a wheel with Mickey’s face on the side. Finally, after having the chance to purchase a dead character’s tears, guests can suddenly be immersed in the world of inside out, as they are surrounded by a wall meant to remove them from the painfully obvious Rollercoaster around them, while riding physically (and emotionally) on Mood Swings.

Did I get that all right?

 

[nevol]

I have to wonder if the original concept was called "Lasseter's Lounge", celebrating the tastes and unique interests of John Lasseter during the cocktail hour, and all their original work was destroyed by that pesky HR Department and a nosy free press?

Spot on. Open air reclaimed wood contemporary Californian gastropub, lots of windows so it is light and airy, and then crammed full of Pixar collectibles and toys. But still somehow light and airy, so not tooo much clutter? The king of clutter is John Lassetter.

 

[Hatbox Ghostbuster]

So, to recap...
A bunch of Pixar employees used to visit an old warehouse/factory that was built at the entrance to a Californian Pier. Coincidentally, the Parr family also decided to place their residence at the foot of the pier, where an old wooden roller coaster loads and unloads. Meanwhile, the Toy Story Gang has brought a giant spinning top out for guests to ride on, or enter a Victorian parlor to play life sized midway games. Continuing further down, guests will be surrounded by Victorian inspired architecture with character clip art slapped on the side, where guests can ride a wheel with Mickey’s face on the side. Finally, after having the chance to purchase a dead character’s tears, guests can suddenly be immersed in the world of inside out, as they are surrounded by a wall meant to remove them from the painfully obvious Rollercoaster around them, while riding physically (and emotionally) on Mood Swings.

Did I get that all right?

Bingo!