News Paradise Pier Becoming Pixar Pier

[Rich T]

...making it Pinocchio would be a good idea but I can't exactly visualize it.

Put it indoors in the dark. You're lifted into the air and then a gigantic Stromboli face lights up laughing at you. Strobe lights reveal discarded marionettes hanging beside you, axes in their stomachs. All goes dark and you drop (really drop, not the gentle float Jellyfish does) into a simulated furnace. All goes dark again. Lights go up as Jiminy Cricket says, "Next time, listen to your conscience!"

 

[Ismael Flores]

I'd tear out Mermaid, too. No one will miss it if something better replaces it. And Jellyfish isn't even a good kid's ride. It's too intimidating-looking for many small fry to ride alone, and too boring for adults who accompany them. There are far, far better kid's rides out there that don't overwhelm the landscape.

They should really just ask us and I'm sure we can come up with some ideas to strengthen some dead spots of the park.

I'm still trying to figure out why they haven't come up with a way of using the huge piece of land between Sorain and Grizzley rapids.

reroute the walking path so it runs closer to the hotel then use that whole piece of land to add an outdoor miniature family ride. Think mine train thru natures wonderland in miniature form. use an updated coaster track and create a mini thunder mountain that doesn't have a height requirement. some moving boulder elements, a few simple animatronics, maybe a small cave.
It would be like a cross between casey junior train and mine train thru nature.

That plot of land is actually bigger than all of heimlich, they could even go the cheap way and use the same kind of track system but that limits elevation changes and the heimlich trains are to bulky

here, didn't even need to go on a research trip. LOL

orange area would make for a nicely themed wooden tressle and purple area could be used for queue, maybe that way the smoking section would dissapear

 

[TROR]

Put it indoors in the dark. You're lifted into the air and then a gigantic Stromboli face lights up laughing at you. Strobe lights reveal discarded marionettes hanging beside you, axes in their stomachs. All goes dark and you drop (really drop, not the gentle float Jellyfish does) into a simulated furnace. All goes dark again. Lights go up as Jiminy Cricket says, "Next time, listen to your conscience!"

Next time you check into a puppet theater on the dark side of Italy, know just what kind of show you're filling.

 

[nevol]

If you didn't like Mission Breakout, would you still feel it's an awesome park? Because for me, Hollywood Land is now bad, Paradise Pier is now bad, and half of Grizzly Peak is now not as good as it once was. The only things I personally really enjoy at DCA are Radiator Springs Racers, the area surrounding Grizzly River Run, and Buena Vista Street. That's it, though.

I view DCA's roster this way. There are six E-Tickets: Tower of Terror, Soarin' Over California, California Screamin', Toy Story Midway Mania, Radiator Springs Racers, and Grizzly River Run. Now of these six, only two are Disney quality, those two being Tower of Terror and Radiator Springs Racers. The other four are all very basic (Screamin' is a bare bones coaster, Soarin' is a movie, GRR is a rapids ride, and TSMM is a video game) and removing them wouldn't do huge damage to the park so long as their replacement was ok. For example, while Soarin' Around the World isn't as good as Soarin' over California, it's not terrible. So long as Tower of Terror and Radiator Springs Racers exist, changing up Screamin', Soarin', TSMM, or GRR isn't going to be a big deal. Now Incredicoaster is terrible but if Tower of Terror was still around, it wouldn't be a big deal because you still have Tower of Terror and RSR plus the other three. But now you don't have Tower of Terror, just Radiator Springs Racers because Mission Breakout is also terrible. So now we have an inferior version of Soarin', an ugly overlay of Screamin', a bad replacement for Tower of Terror, two basic rides, and a really good attraction in Radiator Springs Racers. That's simply not enough to really hold the park for me.

And Radiator Springs is more fun to walk around than to ride, for me. I like to watch the cars go by from the area behind flo's.

View attachment 295109

They moved it for some reason. It was supposed to be facing inward onto the center of the park so you'd be able to see it better. I think it was reoriented so that it would look good from the grand californian hotel rooms, and now its basically invisible because the trees have grown in. The other issue with its placement was where the water would drain, and rather than having it on the perimeter of the park so that they could have a giant pool to empty it into each night, they pump the water into and out of the pacific wharf area of paradise bay (which I thought was all one body of water, but isn't). SO, thank the beancounters who wanted to optimize a few guest room views over the entirety of the theme park's design harmony that has to be experienced by 10 million visitors a year.

Shanghai Disneyland was supposed to be a more Universal Creative style approach to development.

Isn't it obvious...

Maybe they should even think about relocating it, doesn't take much footprint and keeps the ride for the little ones, The perfect little spot would be nestled between the mermaid ride and seaside souvenir.
Why not integrate facade and shell of the existing shop and turn it into partial queue and shop. Add some nice rockwork and props and turn it into a mermaid themed ride to compliment the Mermaid ride next to it. They can even add a small hidden scene using the roof of the building.View attachment 295272

make the parachutes emotion balls and enclose the inside out "neighborhood" so that it isn't so mediocre. Eventually build a dark ride, heck, even a repurposed star tours through inside out.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

That whole section between Goofy and Mermaid seems like such a bad use of real estate

Seems like? It is. You can include those rides as well as bad use of real estate.

 

[Kram Sacul]

They should really just ask us and I'm sure we can come up with some ideas to strengthen some dead spots of the park.

I'm still trying to figure out why they haven't come up with a way of using the huge piece of land between Sorain and Grizzley rapids.

reroute the walking path so it runs closer to the hotel then use that whole piece of land to add an outdoor miniature family ride. Think mine train thru natures wonderland in miniature form. use an updated coaster track and create a mini thunder mountain that doesn't have a height requirement. some moving boulder elements, a few simple animatronics, maybe a small cave.
It would be like a cross between casey junior train and mine train thru nature.

That plot of land is actually bigger than all of heimlich, they could even go the cheap way and use the same kind of track system but that limits elevation changes and the heimlich trains are to bulky

here, didn't even need to go on a research trip. LOL

orange area would make for a nicely themed wooden tressle and purple area could be used for queue, maybe that way the smoking section would dissapear

View attachment 295275

Nah. It's fine the way it is.

 

[Antaundra]

Im finally seeing Pixar Pier in person. My gut reaction is the same as when I saw Tomorrowland 98 for the first time. The “new” land is nothing more than some beautiful new signs and a coat of paint. It’s clear where they spent their money but not clear why they spent money where they did. When this project was announced I had hoped they would use this opportunity to expand the Victorian theme. Instead they made what was already Victorian themed more elaborate while ignoring the rest of the tacky 2001 pier.

Then there’s the Incredicoaster. It would be the best ride at Paramounts Great America. It was way below Disney standard before and it still is. But now they’ve dumped twice as much money into creating a ride unworthy of being in a Disney Park.

@mickEblu I’m curious what your reaction to the Pier is? In the beginning you predicted aesthetic upgrade but a thematic downgrade which I expected to agree with. Ultimately I think it’s themeaticly neutral (terrible to awful) and an aesthetic downgrade (tolerable to awful)

Oh and that chicken shack sticks out like a sore thumb and can be seen from most of the park.

Just like Tomorrowland 98 I predict 20 years from now we’ll be decrying this as one of the worst makeovers the parks have ever seen.

 

[mickEblu]

Im finally seeing Pixar Pier in person. My gut reaction is the same as when I saw Tomorrowland 98 for the first time. The “new” land is nothing more than some beautiful new signs and a coat of paint. It’s clear where they spent their money but not clear why they spent money where they did. When this project was announced I had hoped they would use this opportunity to expand the Victorian theme. Instead they made what was already Victorian themed more elaborate while ignoring the rest of the tacky 2001 pier.

Then there’s the Incredicoaster. It would be the best ride at Paramounts Great America. It was way below Disney standard before and it still is. But now they’ve dumped twice as much money into creating a ride unworthy of being in a Disney Park.

@mickEblu I’m curious what your reaction to the Pier is? In the beginning you predicted aesthetic upgrade but a thematic downgrade which I expected to agree with. Ultimately I think it’s themeaticly neutral (terrible to awful) and an aesthetic downgrade (tolerable to awful)

Oh and that chicken shack sticks out like a sore thumb and can be seen from most of the park.

Just like Tomorrowland 98 I predict 20 years from now we’ll be decrying this as one of the worst makeovers the parks have ever seen.

I haven’t seen it in person yet but I think it’s a moderate thematic downgrade. I say moderate because even when it was Paradise Pier it was supposed to be an old timey pier yet it had Disney IP everywhere and a launch coaster. But the bigger factor here is aesthetics. Paradise Pier was pretty bare bones when it comes to theme. No waves, sand etc. that made you feel like you re a pier/ at the ocean. For me it was more about atmosphere and how the land felt, especially at night. As far as aesthetics, I think it’s a mixed bag. Upgrades in certain areas and downgrades in others. I think the Pier entrance, lamplight lounge and Pixar Promenade are upgrades. I’m not sure how I feel about the Incredibles area and reserving judgement til I see it in person but that arch and water feature look cool (in a vacuum at least). I also like the mid century modern look of the Incredicoaster Q. The food stands look kind of tacky.

I think the Incredicoaster ride experience is the biggest letdown of all. Screamin wasn’t high art but it worked. Now they draw our attention to static figures, TSMMs roof, and babies on sticks. Not to mention the cringey dialogue and the fact the rides repeatability factor took a hit. Oh ya, not a fan of the nighttime lighting package, especially the red lights. And not crazy about how those red scream tunnels look in the day either.

 

[Antaundra]

I haven’t seen it in person yet but I think it’s a moderate thematic downgrade. I say moderate because even when it was Paradise Pier it was supposed to be an old timey pier yet it had Disney IP everywhere and a launch coaster. But the bigger factor here is aesthetics. Paradise Pier was pretty bare bones when it comes to theme. No waves, sand etc. that made you feel like you re a pier/ at the ocean. For me it was more about atmosphere and how the land felt, especially at night. As far as aesthetics, I think it’s a mixed bag. Upgrades in certain areas and downgrades in others. I think the Pier entrance, lamplight lounge and Pixar Promenade are upgrades. I’m not sure how I feel about the Incredibles area and reserving judgement til I see it in person but that arch and water feature look cool (in a vacuum at least). I also like the mid century modern look of the Incredicoaster Q. The food stands look kind of tacky.

I think the Incredicoaster ride experience is the biggest letdown of all. Screamin wasn’t high art but it worked. Now they draw our attention to static figures, TSMMs roof, and babies on sticks. Not to mention the cringey dialogue and the fact the rides repeatability factor took a hit. Oh ya, not a fan of the nighttime lighting package, especially the red lights. And not crazy about how those red scream tunnels look in the day either.

I’m suprised you haven’t seen it yet. I look forward to your response after you see it in person. The promenade, entrance etc... worked much less in person than they do in pictures.

 

[mickEblu]

I’m suprised you haven’t seen it yet. I look forward to your response after you see it in person. The promenade, entrance etc... worked much less in person than they do in pictures.

I was actually there on opening day, super early, and chose to go to Disneyland instead. I just had no urge to deal with any crowds for the crap I saw in the videos and pictures. However, I’m going this weekend so I’ll check it out and report back.

 

[Californian Elitist]

I was actually there on opening day, super early, and chose to go to Disneyland instead. I just had no urge to deal with any crowds for the crap I saw in the videos and pictures. However, I’m going this weekend so I’ll check it out and report back.

It’s all garbage in person as well.

 

[TROR]

Can't wait to experience Pixar Pier and the new Pirates of the Caribbean auction scene in just under a month!

 

[Kram Sacul]

Can't wait to experience Pixar Pier and the new Pirates of the Caribbean auction scene in just under a month!

Also go on Mission: Brake Zone so you can experience the trifecta of suck.

 

[TROR]

Also go on Mission: Brake Zone so you can experience the trifecta of suck.

The Matterhorn's going to be closed when I go so I guess that's one way to get my yeti fix.

 

[Daveeeeed]

If you didn't like Mission Breakout, would you still feel it's an awesome park? Because for me, Hollywood Land is now bad, Paradise Pier is now bad, and half of Grizzly Peak is now not as good as it once was. The only things I personally really enjoy at DCA are Radiator Springs Racers, the area surrounding Grizzly River Run, and Buena Vista Street. That's it, though.

I view DCA's roster this way. There are six E-Tickets: Tower of Terror, Soarin' Over California, California Screamin', Toy Story Midway Mania, Radiator Springs Racers, and Grizzly River Run. Now of these six, only two are Disney quality, those two being Tower of Terror and Radiator Springs Racers. The other four are all very basic (Screamin' is a bare bones coaster, Soarin' is a movie, GRR is a rapids ride, and TSMM is a video game) and removing them wouldn't do huge damage to the park so long as their replacement was ok. For example, while Soarin' Around the World isn't as good as Soarin' over California, it's not terrible. So long as Tower of Terror and Radiator Springs Racers exist, changing up Screamin', Soarin', TSMM, or GRR isn't going to be a big deal. Now Incredicoaster is terrible but if Tower of Terror was still around, it wouldn't be a big deal because you still have Tower of Terror and RSR plus the other three. But now you don't have Tower of Terror, just Radiator Springs Racers because Mission Breakout is also terrible. So now we have an inferior version of Soarin', an ugly overlay of Screamin', a bad replacement for Tower of Terror, two basic rides, and a really good attraction in Radiator Springs Racers. That's simply not enough to really hold the park for me.

You should really say IMO. Mission: Breakout is actually a phenomenal ride— it just shouldn’t have replaced Tot and shouldn’t have gone in DCA, but the ride itself is fantastic. Of course that’s IMO, but objectively it’s a solid replacement.

And really? Disney ‘quality’. Go over to Disneyland and ride Mr. Toad. Awesome rides don’t need to be the biggest budget rides.

I love TSMM, most people do. It’s not the grandest ride in the world, but it fits in Paradise Pier, and it is FUN. It checks both of the main things for me: a good fitting theme and fun.

Pixar Pier was not a good choice, but it was more a waste of money and a failure of a theme than making me enjoy the park that much less as you are describing.

You should head on over to Hollywood Studios where only one of the four rides: Tot, by your standards, should even be there. I think it’s the best ride there but RNRC, TSMM, and Star Tours are also a ton of fun. Most people would argue that HWS is simply short on rides with only 4 (technically now more).
DCA has countless flat rides, beautiful areas, half a dozen e-tickets, a Broadway style musical, and some c-tickets, one of the best night shows ever made, and yet you are trying to tell me that the park sucks?

Boy, am I glad I am a happy enough person to be able to have fun at DCA. They’ve made some mistakes recently, and Hollywoodland has always been lacking, but the rides, the cast members, and the theme in some parts is gorgeous. It frustrates me when disney makes questionable choices, but if you refuse to have fun at DCA and have so much hate towards it, why do you even spend time on a forum dedicated to Disney? 15 years ago if we were having the same discussion obviously DCA sucked, but today? Or even a couple years ago? You must dislike Universal even more then.

 

[TROR]

You should really say IMO. Mission: Breakout is actually a phenomenal ride— it just shouldn’t have replaced Tot and shouldn’t have gone in DCA, but the ride itself is fantastic. Of course that’s IMO, but objectively it’s a solid replacement.

Of course it's my opinion, but it's objectively garbage.

Really, the thing is ugly, lacks any narrative on ride, lacks atmosphere, and brilliance. You can say it's a fun ride, and you can even say it's a good ride, but is it a brilliant ride? No. Tower of Terror certainly was, however, thus making Mission Breakout inferior. I could definitely go on and on about the brilliance of Tower of Terror and the lack of it in Mission Breakout but this really isn't the place.

And really? Disney ‘quality’. Go over to Disneyland and ride Mr. Toad. Awesome rides don’t need to be the biggest budget rides.

I love TSMM, most people do. It’s not the grandest ride in the world, but it fits in Paradise Pier, and it is FUN. It checks both of the main things for me: a good fitting theme and fun.

Oh, absolutely it fits in Paradise Pier and it's absolutely fun. My point is just that it's a great supporting attraction but without other big draws like Tower of Terror or Radiator Springs Racers, it wouldn't be worth it. It's like imagining Tomorrowland with no Space Mountain and all you have is Star Tours. Star Tours is fine with Space Mountain, but without Space Mountain I'd never go to Tomorrowland just to ride Star Tours.

Pixar Pier was not a good choice, but it was more a waste of money and a failure of a theme than making me enjoy the park that much less as you are describing.

You should head on over to Hollywood Studios where only one of the four rides: Tot, by your standards, should even be there. I think it’s the best ride there but RNRC, TSMM, and Star Tours are also a ton of fun. Most people would argue that HWS is simply short on rides with only 4 (technically now more).

Tower of Terror can carry the park all by itself over there because of how grand it is. Without Tower of Terror there, I'd see no reason to visit DHS. RNRC, TSMM, and Star Tours are all skippable attractions that I would never trek out to DHS just to see, only if I was already in the park for Tower of Terror.

DCA has countless flat rides, beautiful areas, half a dozen e-tickets, a Broadway style musical, and some c-tickets, yet you are trying to tell me that the park sucks?

Countless flat rides isn't a selling point. But it certainly does have beautiful areas, a lot that really go under the radar. Other than Radiator Springs Racers, those half a dozen E-tickets aren't anything special. The Broadway style musical left in 2015. I haven't ridden The Little Mermaid yet but it looks cute.

Boy, am I glad I am a happy enough person to be able to have fun at DCA. They’ve made some mistakes recently, and Hollywoodland has always been lacking, but the rides, the cast members, and the theme in some parts is gorgeous.
Maybe I’m just a happy person.

I don't know what you're talking about, I love DCA. Throw me back two or three years and I could spend a whole day there. I was even considering it in June of 2016 before they announced Mission Breakout. That really killed any interest in DCA for me. It's such a plague on the park that's really ruined what was a great romantic history of California. There's so much potential with a California themed park that it angers me they're wasting it. I hope there's someone in ten, twenty, thirty years who went to DCA as a kid and is now a big shot at Disney and wants to give DCA its own identity. It's clear that management, Imagineers, and most fans don't have any respect for that park. Tom Staggs was our only hope.

 

[JohnyKaz2078]

Tower of Terror can carry the park all by itself over there because of how grand it is. Without Tower of Terror there, I'd see no reason to visit DHS. RNRC, TSMM, and Star Tours are all skippable attractions that I would never trek out to DHS just to see, only if I was already in the park for Tower of Terror.

Countless flat rides isn't a selling point. But it certainly does have beautiful areas, a lot that really go under the radar. Other than Radiator Springs Racers, those half a dozen E-tickets aren't anything special. The Broadway style musical left in 2015. I haven't ridden The Little Mermaid yet but it looks cute.

I pretty much agree with everything else in your post but:
1) DHS now has 6 rides and this will have increased by 50% to 9 rides next year.
2) No. TOT is not the reason to go DHS. That's at least what 95% of the visitors think that, especially after the opening of Toy Story Land. And even before, there was pretty much nobody that wouldn't wanna ride Rock n' Rollercoaster, Toy Story Mania and Star Tours at least once. These are GOOD rides and they shouldn't be treated like some fillers to support ToT and have guests do something else other than riding it all the time. And the wait times speak for themselves.
3) Yes. Countless flat rides isn't a selling point. But they are doing a good job in drawing guests away from the headliners, especially if they are well done like Luigi's Rollickin Roadsters, Mater's Junkyard Jamboree and Filk's Flyers. And again the fact that one ride supports the whole park is WRONG. Who wouldn't recognize the brilliance of Soarin and Toy Story Mania and of course who wouldn't want to ride them. Mission Breakout is a different case but, objectively speaking, it's a good ride.

 

[Disneylover152]

The Broadway style musical left in 2015.

The Broadway Style Musical was never there PERIOD.

No show at the Hyperion even comes close to a Broadway Show. I've seen better regional theatre than the Hyperion shows.

 

[TROR]

I pretty much agree with everything else in your post but:
1) DHS now has 6 rides and this will have increased by 50% to 9 rides next year.

And of those six rides, only Tower of Terror makes me want to visit. Maybe Mickey will but I haven't been sold on it yet. Galaxy's Edge is something I can get at Disneyland so it's not tempting me.

2) No. TOT is not the reason to go DHS. That's at least what 95% of the visitors think that, especially after the opening of Toy Story Land. And even before, there was pretty much nobody that wouldn't wanna ride Rock n' Rollercoaster, Toy Story Mania and Star Tours at least once. These are GOOD rides and they shouldn't be treated like some fillers to support ToT and have guests do something else other than riding it all the time. And the wait times speak for themselves.

If The Great Movie Ride was still there I would agree, but I've been on Toy Story Midway Mania and Star Tours. I don't care for the new Star Tours and Midway Mania's nothing brilliant. I love Aerosmith but if there was no Tower of Terror I would not trek all the way to DHS just for that one ride.

3) Yes. Countless flat rides isn't a selling point. But they are doing a good job in drawing guests away from the headliners, especially if they are well done like Luigi's Rollickin Roadsters, Mater's Junkyard Jamboree and Filk's Flyers. And again the fact that one ride supports the whole park is WRONG. Who wouldn't recognize the brilliance of Soarin and Toy Story Mania and of course who wouldn't want to ride them. Mission Breakout is a different case but, objectively speaking, it's a good ride.

Why do people keep doing this? Good is an opinion, thus subjective. Something can't be objectively good or bad. If you're just judging Mission Breakout on its thrill levels, then sure it's good. Of course it's good, Tower of Terror was good on that basis alone. But Tower of Terror was so much more. The slow reveal of everything, the detail, the atmosphere, the set pieces. Everything worked so well in that attraction. Mission Breakout is a bunch of screens and mindless noise.

The original Soarin' over California was definitely a good show, but it wasn't that grand. The music was great and so was the movie, but it's no Peter Pan's Flight. Toy Story Midway Mania, like I said, is nothing more than a video game that used to have a beautiful exterior. LEGOland and other amusement parks have the same thing. It's nothing special. I mean, even other places have copies of Soarin' that do the job just as well as Soarin' Around the World does. Incredicoaster's not good. Mission Breakout's not good. Grizzly River Run would be really good if they added wildlife animatronics. Radiator Springs Racers is the only big pull for me and I'm not willing to spend an entire day at DCA just for that. I wouldn't even parkhop if I wasn't gifted tickets.

The Broadway Style Musical was never there PERIOD.

No show at the Hyperion even comes close to a Broadway Show. I've seen better regional theatre than the Hyperion shows.

Talk about a controversial opinion! My goodness!

Anyways, Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular had better music than Hamilton. Don't @ me.

 

[Disneylover152]

Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular had better music than Hamilton.

I don't disagree with you on that.