News Paradise Pier Becoming Pixar Pier

[Stevek]

It’s not that deep. They keep making the rides less fun for me. They re turning theme parks into brand parks. And they also seem to have lost their way and don’t understand their brand anymore when it comes to the parks. As I said, if I had a DCA only AP, this latest change would be enough for me not to renew. But then I guess I wouldn’t have a DCA AP in the first place. The only reason my AP has any value to me right now is DL and that is even diminishing because of the crowds.

Oh ya, they re not the same experiences after the overlays and this is especially true for Soarin Around the World and GOTG. With Screamin, i can kind of see what you re saying but they still managed to take a coaster that didn’t need anything and slap on a bunch of tacky figures and annoying dialogue to make the experience worse.

So if they replaced all of the POTC AAs with Avengers AAs and changed the soundtrack but kept the same track layout and boats that would be the same experience for you. An odd assessment for someone who spends so much time on theme park boards.

EDIT^^ ok maybe not the best example for Soarin Around the World or Incredicoaster but definitely applies to GOTG: MB.

Re: POTC...completely different level for me and I can imagine the fanrage would be 1000x any disappointment folks are feeling about Pixar Pier. So yes, I would be really upset about that. I guess different attractions strike a different chord with folks. GOTG, was disappointed in the change until I experienced it. Soarin, yep, the original was better but not enough to bother me much. Screamin, again, not attached to it per se because it wasn't much theme-wise to begin with...doesn't really ruin anything for me. I've said multiple times that I don't love the fact that IP is being shoehorned more and more in the parks but unfortunately, it's the nature of the beast and every individual will decide whether the changes cross the line. For you, this is your breaking point. For me, probably would take a bit more than changes at DCA which has continually changed for many year.

 

[Disney Irish]

I read a lot of comments saying the jack jacks should move around. I think that would help a little bit. Would make the visual more fun. Won't remove the fact that they're on sticks though.

Well adding some mechanics wouldn't be hard either. So paint the poles black and add some movement, there you go.

Remember they can always go back and plus it up later....

 

[Stevek]

Lol. I didn’t make it to that part but I’ll take your word for it.

I unfortunately just skipped to the middle and that's where I landed. I'm sad and scared now.

 

[dweezil78]

I'm wondering if they can paint the poles black to try to hide them if that would help....

I'm still curious to see how this all looks at night. Like I said before, it's like they designed all these show elements for a dark coaster without thinking about how sunlight (or any light for that matter) would affect it.

Case in point... this relatively cool effect at the end of Space Mountain instantly becomes lame once the lights turn on:

 

[TwilightZone]

You have no idea how much I hate this. It's not even just Pixar, it's Disney Animation too. Pretty much everything after Winnie the Pooh has used this. Wreck It Ralph, Frozen, Big Hero 6, Zootopia. I guess Moana did a reverse. But Pixar's done it with Up, Toy Story 3, Cars 2, Coco, and Incredibles 2. So sick of it. I miss having straight up villains in Disney movies and I don't feel like we've had one since Mother Gothel.

What I would like for the twist villain is if they didn't act overly evil once the twist is revealed. It just ruins the point. You know have them act like real people.

 

[mickEblu]

Re: POTC...completely different level for me and I can imagine the fanrage would be 1000x any disappointment folks are feeling about Pixar Pier. So yes, I would be really upset about that. I guess different attractions strike a different chord with folks. GOTG, was disappointed in the change until I experienced it. Soarin, yep, the original was better but not enough to bother me much. Screamin, again, not attached to it per se because it wasn't much theme-wise to begin with...doesn't really ruin anything for me. I've said multiple times that I don't love the fact that IP is being shoehorned more and more in the parks but unfortunately, it's the nature of the beast and every individual will decide whether the changes cross the line. For you, this is your breaking point. For me, probably would take a bit more than changes at DCA which has continually changed for many year.

Disneyland is still great so I’m not at my breaking point so long as annual passes include both parks.

I see where you re coming from but there is no way you can tell me that GOTG is the same experience as TOT.

 

[Rich T]

Its art imitating life. In life its not so cut and dry who the villains are, they are usually hidden in plain sight.

That approach is okay in reasonable doses, but Disney and Pixar have milked it too far. One great freedom of fantasy and animation is the chance to personify abstract concepts like greed, selfishness, etc. and turn them into characters that can be confronted physically--which usually doesn't happen in real life. It's wish-fulfillment and escape, and I wish Disney would re-embrace that more often.

 

[Rich T]

I read a lot of comments saying the jack jacks should move around. I think that would help a little bit. Would make the visual more fun. Won't remove the fact that they're on sticks though.

They should be plush Jack Jacks fired out of air cannons into riders' faces.

 

[flynnibus]

From D23

• 
• Breaking News: Inside Out Attraction Debuting at Pixar Pier in 2019
  JUNE 22, 2018
  By Courtney Potter
  The incredible new Pixar Pier officially opens to guests this Saturday, June 23, at Disney California Adventure park—and when it does, guests will go “to infinity and beyond” as they discover its four unique neighborhoods: Incredibles Park (which features the reimagined Incredicoaster); Toy Story Boardwalk (home to fan-fave Toy Story Midway Mania!); Pixar Promenade (full of charming games and the Pixar Pal-A-Roundwheel); and Inside Out Headquarters… which happens to be the scene for today’s big announcement from our pals at Disneyland Resort!
  
  
  
  Located on the western end of Pixar Pier, the colorful Inside Out Headquarters is the future home of Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind; this whimsical family-friendly attraction—inspired by the Disney•Pixar animated hit Inside Out—is set make its big debut in 2019, and it’ll be (as you might imagine) chockablock with emotions! Take a gander at a nifty sneak peek of the attraction, above.
  That’s not the only fun to come at Pixar Pier in 2019: Jessie’s Critter Carousel, a reimagined classic boardwalk-style attraction featuring all manner of adorable wilderness critters (inspired by the Woody’s Roundup TV show in Toy Story 2), will offer guests a rootin’, tootin’ good time beginning next year.
  There’s so much to see, do, and enjoy at Pixar Pier—including truly delicious food and drink at the new Lamplight Lounge!—so start planning those Disneyland Resort vacations now… and keep your eyes peeled for more candy-colored info as it becomes available.

Disney... "inspired by..." you keep using that word... I do not think it means what you think it means...

 

[lazyboy97o]

It's interesting how personally, hearing music in Star Tours and Indy doesn't bother me- but this does. Maybe it's because those rides embody the spirit of their source material, and are far more cinematic experiences than the Incredicoaster.

In the Indiana Jones Ride, I feel like I'm inside an adventure inside an Indiana Jones film. The whole thing is incredibly cinematic and epic, which the score helps build on. Same with something like Space Mountain, I accept it because for some subconscious reason, it works.

Perhaps if the Incredicoaster wasn't a hamfisted "this ride is named after you, the Incredible family" and was instead The Incredibles Adventure with an immersive queue, convincing effects, and a far more engaging story than chasing Jack Jack I'd accept it.

Indiana Jones Adventure transports me into the world of Indy, allowing me to be lenient and hold it to those rules while the Incredicoaster transports the Incredibles to the real world, causing me to hold it to those standards.

I think it is just an issue of diegetic consistency. At no point in the Indiana Jones Adventure are you told that you are riding an EMV, one that you already know has an on board audio system. In both the movies and the attraction the score is non-diegetic. The Incredicoaster establishes a contradiction in which the score is suddenly both.

They just had to continue with the Victorian theming and it would have been a solid land. They were so close too - a new Victorian dome over the carousel (maybe enclosed like the Santa Monica Pier), a new enclosed queue for Screamin' (they could have used the open helix to make something more immersive), and a new dark ride with the entry at the Maliboomer pad (a great spot to integrate some Pixar characters without breaking the area... Nemo? Coco?).

You can't fix the crappy restrictive layout, terrible sightlines and bay that looks more like a mall fountain though, which is why I hope this whole area is demolished in a few years.

More Victorian design (which is really a number of styles and not a single style) would not have been a real fix. The whole Mictorian shtick is overplayed to be almost meaningless, something that looks “detailed” but derives its meaning from the success of Main Street, USA. It’s the safe answer to make nearly every problematic space look more “Disney.” The height of the seaside amusement parks is firmly rooted in the early 20th century, not the late 19th century. The design sensibility is eclectic but it’s also one retreating from the horrors of the Great War.

Everything original to Asia has a time period where it cannot be built anywhere else iirc.

It is something Hong Kong started with their three land expansion of Hong Kong Disneyland that was 100% Disney financed. The exclusivity was not uniform, Toy Story Land was only exclusive to Asia while the other two lands were globally exclusive. Disney of course immediately validated Hong Kong's concerns by shoving Toy Story Land into Shanghai Disneyland.

You're throwing away the baby with the bathwater then. The real issue is that the theme park industry is way more competitive than it used to. Parks used to go years without seeing any changes to speak of. Every park out there now needs something new for the summer. This is that thing.

They could have done something, you know, new.

 

[Disney Analyst]

I'm wondering if they can paint the poles black to try to hide them if that would help....

As someone who grew up in the theatre... the concept was if you wear black the audience can’t see you... it’s not true.

 

[fctiger]

Yup. I've been arguing this for at least 5 years now. P&R's primary job is to generate revenue by leveraging Disney brands. That's all.



It's the fans who don't understand the parks' brand. Disney understands it perfectly, and their quarterly revenues prove it.

Yes to this 100%! Disney understands what it fans want all too well. How else do explain raising ticket prices to ridiculous levels every year and the parks are still as packed as ever?

I look at my own family about this. They get excited when they hear a Marvel, Star Wars land or new character ride is coming because its what they know. But they only go a few times a year, take their kids and NOT on any Disney message boards. I think they would laugh if they found out I was spending my time talking about Disneyland all the time online. They are fans but they are CASUAL fans which is what the majority of people who go these parks are. For the record no one in my family cares about Pixar Pier but no one seems to remotely care the old boardwalk is gone either. No one thinks about this stuff like us people online does who spends hours a day over analyzing it.

And honestly this 'outrage' will be like everything else in the last ten years. People will discuss how much DL has 'fallen' they no longer care about the 'quality' and it willl have lasting effect, blah, blah, blah just like I heard when they put Jack Sparrow in POTC or adding animated characters in IASW (remember that???). Most people won't care and will just consider it another addition like my family and move on.

 

[Disney Irish]

That approach is okay in reasonable doses, but Disney and Pixar have milked it too far. One great freedom of fantasy and animation is the chance to personify abstract concepts like greed, selfishness, etc. and turn them into characters that can be confronted physically--which usually doesn't happen in real life. It's wish-fulfillment and escape, and I wish Disney would re-embrace that more often.

Well this gets into a larger discussion on Hollywood, the audiences that go see the products they put out, and even still a larger cultural discussion beyond that. Current Hollywood is a product of the cultural shifts in society and thus the products they put out represent those cultural shifts. Disney/Pixar is no different in this respect. The writers/directors are writing films based on what they've learned and how they were shaped by the cultural and society around them.

 

[Stevek]

Disneyland is still great so I’m not at my breaking point so long as annual passes include both parks.

I see where you re coming from but there is no way you can tell me that GOTG is the same experience as TOT.

Completely different, but enjoyable nonetheless. TOT was my wife's favorite ride, she love's GOTG:MB.

 

[Disney Irish]

As someone who grew up in the theatre... the concept was if you wear black the audience can’t see you... it’s not true.

Well there is some amazing black paint out there now. Anyways I get your point, all I'm saying is they can come back the address some of these issues at a later time.

 

[mickEblu]

Completely different, but enjoyable nonetheless. TOT was my wife's favorite ride, she love's GOTG:MB.

Ok ok that’s where I was confused. I thought you said they were the same earlier.

 

[fctiger]

Completely different, but enjoyable nonetheless. TOT was my wife's favorite ride, she love's GOTG:MB.

Same. I was really gutted when I heard TOT was going but I have to admit GOTG: MB is a really fun and well done ride. If I could have TOT back tomorrow I would but I can't deny this is clearly a well received and popular ride.

 

[DABIGCHEEZ]

I don't think anyone expected full on dark ride type scenes... but still expected better. Static figures, Jack Jack on sticks... honestly I've seen better at Six Flags.

Yeah... pretty sure even Six-Flags would've voted against the Jack Jacks on sticks.

 

[Squishy]

From D23

• 
• Breaking News: Inside Out Attraction Debuting at Pixar Pier in 2019
  JUNE 22, 2018
  By Courtney Potter
  The incredible new Pixar Pier officially opens to guests this Saturday, June 23, at Disney California Adventure park—and when it does, guests will go “to infinity and beyond” as they discover its four unique neighborhoods: Incredibles Park (which features the reimagined Incredicoaster); Toy Story Boardwalk (home to fan-fave Toy Story Midway Mania!); Pixar Promenade (full of charming games and the Pixar Pal-A-Roundwheel); and Inside Out Headquarters… which happens to be the scene for today’s big announcement from our pals at Disneyland Resort!
  
  
  
  Located on the western end of Pixar Pier, the colorful Inside Out Headquarters is the future home of Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind; this whimsical family-friendly attraction—inspired by the Disney•Pixar animated hit Inside Out—is set make its big debut in 2019, and it’ll be (as you might imagine) chockablock with emotions! Take a gander at a nifty sneak peek of the attraction, above.
  That’s not the only fun to come at Pixar Pier in 2019: Jessie’s Critter Carousel, a reimagined classic boardwalk-style attraction featuring all manner of adorable wilderness critters (inspired by the Woody’s Roundup TV show in Toy Story 2), will offer guests a rootin’, tootin’ good time beginning next year.
  There’s so much to see, do, and enjoy at Pixar Pier—including truly delicious food and drink at the new Lamplight Lounge!—so start planning those Disneyland Resort vacations now… and keep your eyes peeled for more candy-colored info as it becomes available.

Do I get money for riding it?

 

[Disney Analyst]

Well there is some amazing black paint out there now. Anyways I get your point, all I'm saying is they can come back the address some of these issues at a later time.

Haha. They need some invisipaint.