News Paradise Pier Becoming Pixar Pier

[Disney Analyst]

The sign is cute enough (the Jessie statue still creeps me out), but looking in the background...


…seriously?! It took a year to do that?! All they've done is swapped out the animals and given it a fresh coat of paint.

I don't know what I was expecting within the already-lowered expectations of Pixar Pier, but this is just pathetic for the amount of downtime it required. A travelling carnival would have completely built and disassembled its carousel dozens of times in that same timeframe. Even with Disney's slower timelines (due to the constraints of working within an operating theme park and using heavier-duty components for longer lifespans), the current refurbishment of the Astro Orbiter is every bit as extensive and will be completed in a quarter of the time.

Anybody want to guess how many millions of dollars this "reimagining" cost?

I mean It doesn’t feel truthful to say “it took a year”.... when did construction actually start?

They shut it down after everything else was already under construction... then it sat untouched to spread budgets out to the new quarter...

 

[TROR]

Pixar Pier has zero charm. It's far more soulless than Paradise Pier.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Pixar Pier has zero charm. It's far more soulless than Paradise Pier.

Agreed. It’s one of the worst areas of the park, very corporate and cheap.

 

[Rich T]

...A travelling carnival would have completely built and disassembled its carousel dozens of times in that same timeframe. ...

The Santa Cruz Boardwalk managed to install 2 major new thrill rides, completely rebuild their year-round walk-through haunt AND construct a new entry plaza/ticket booth center in that time frame.

 

[ObscurityPoint]

Just curious... why do you prefer it over Paradise Pier?

Eh, just a little more “Disney-ish” than the casual upscale boardwalk theme. I love Pixar films, and the addition of little things like the Pixar Ball, Luxo Lounge, and the Toy Story Midway Mania area give it a quaint little feel. Love the colors and music too. Nothing against the OG paradise pier, but i just feel like it’s a cool way to incorporate Pixar films into the park.

 

[ObscurityPoint]

Agreed. It’s one of the worst areas of the park, very corporate and cheap.

I feel like the Hollywood section at DCA is far cheaper and a bigger mess than Pixar Pier. I hope Marvel Land takes over soon because MB is a real eyesore with all those plain studio buildings surrounding it. And don’t even get me started on Monsters Inc (an overlay to Superstar, the Frozen show, and the complete removal of Muppets for no good reason).

 

[Californian Elitist]

I feel like the Hollywood section at DCA is far cheaper and a bigger mess than Pixar Pier. I hope Marvel Land takes over soon because MB is a real eyesore with all those plain studio buildings surrounding it. And don’t even get me started on Monsters Inc (an overlay to Superstar, the Frozen show, and the complete removal of Muppets for no good reason).

That’s why I said one the worst. Hollywood Land is up there as well, and I’m not banking on this Marvel area.

 

[fctiger]

Pixar Pier has zero charm. It's far more soulless than Paradise Pier.

All I can tell you is tell that to my younger family especially my nephew and niece who are around ten years old love it. They enjoy it way more now than Paradise Pier. Only because its alive with Pixar characters they know. And they love the new coaster. They liked Screamin too but Incredicoaster is more fun for them.

I just don't know exactly what people are missing with Paradise Pier? Its literally the exact same stuff, just with Pixar overlays on it. The Incrdicoaster is really the only major change. Everything else is just with a new paint and character additions. There was nothing there before Pixar Pier that made me like the area any more or less. But I was never a fan of the area in general. We would go to ride Screamin and TSM and leave. Pixar Pier has at least given it a more festive and fun vibe IMO.

 

[chadwpalm]

All I can tell you is tell that to my younger family especially my nephew and niece who are around ten years old love it. They enjoy it way more now than Paradise Pier. Only because its alive with Pixar characters they know. And they love the new coaster. They liked Screamin too but Incredicoaster is more fun for them.

I've tried this argument so many times over the past several years on multiple Disney boards, but there are quite a few classic Disney fans that would rather see today's kids conform to loving the things they loved as a kid rather than see Disney conform to the things today's kids love. It's just the way human nature and nostalgia work and it's usually what fuels the IP vs. Non-IP arguments which I SWEAR I'm not trying to start. I think there can be a happy medium somewhere. I also understand that many also feel that Disney is not just for kids, so I understand both sides of the argument.

I'm by no means a pixie-duster who feels everything in the parks is perfect, but I also don't automatically find everything that's new or attached to an IP to be evil either. I personally enjoyed Pixar Pier the one time I got to see it. I also can open-mindedly see where others are coming from since taste is subjective (though I've also come across people who don't believe that). I love the parks (hence why I'm here), but I also try not to take things too seriously or it ruins my experience and the true reason for going.......to get away from the hardships of the real world for a few days and have fun. (It's also why I would be scared to get an AP. I tend to get tired of things I experience too much and I never want to get tired of the parks!)

 

[Suspirian]

I just don't know exactly what people are missing with Paradise Pier? Its literally the exact same stuff, just with Pixar overlays on it. The Incrdicoaster is really the only major change. Everything else is just with a new paint and character additions. There was nothing there before Pixar Pier that made me like the area any more or less. But I was never a fan of the area in general. We would go to ride Screamin and TSM and leave. Pixar Pier has at least given it a more festive and fun vibe IMO.

For me I don't really miss Paradise Pier but I miss what it could have been. Pixar Pier is completely restricted to Pixar characters now and what they did with them is really not that impressive to me or really makes sense. Paradise Pier had room to grow that wasn't restricted by a single brand and could've been a great area had they put effort into it. It could've even included aspects of Pixar Pier if they wanted to along with other Disney properties and original ideas. I think its just part of a larger issue of Disney making branded lands instead of just finding interesting ways to include characters in areas that already exist. I guess we'll see what Pixar Pier evolves into later on. I think it can be a really cool area if they put effort into creating memorable attractions, but I would rather have that without the corporate feel.

Also it still bothers me that Pixar Pier has nothing related to Nemo lol. I should also mention that I think the aesthetic changes the made for the most part are really pretty (except the yellow light poles) I loved the star shaped string lights.

 

[fctiger]

For me I don't really miss Paradise Pier but I miss what it could have been. Pixar Pier is completely restricted to Pixar characters now and what they did with them is really not that impressive to me or really makes sense. Paradise Pier had room to grow that wasn't restricted by a single brand and could've been a great area had they put effort into it. It could've even included aspects of Pixar Pier if they wanted to along with other Disney properties and original ideas. I think its just part of a larger issue of Disney making branded lands instead of just finding interesting ways to include characters in areas that already exist. I guess we'll see what Pixar Pier evolves into later on. I think it can be a really cool area if they put effort into creating memorable attractions, but I would rather have that without the corporate feel.

Also it still bothers me that Pixar Pier has nothing related to Nemo lol. I should also mention that I think the aesthetic changes the made for the most part are really pretty (except the yellow light poles) I loved the star shaped string lights.

Actually that's a good point. I don't really disagree with you. I think they could've opened it up and done something else with it or at least make it something a bit more interesting. I was always hoping the last helix of Screamin they would've added another big original dark ride there like TSM. They have the room but never happened of course.

For me, the problem was PP never really changed all that much from when it was introduced back in 2001. IIRC people generally hated everything about it outside of Screamin. But everything else just felt bland and cheap. When TSM came that was a nice improvement and you can see them trying to set a different mood and time period. They added some Victorian architecture, moved ugly eye sores like Maliboomer, etc, but it never went far enough. Most of what they did was just cosmetic. They made the signage on store fronts nicer, gave the ferris wheel a new Mickey face, etc but it was still the same bland area save for TSM. They said they were going to do stuff like enhance the queue for both Screamin and the ferris wheel but that never happened either. Screamin still looked like a modern day coaster but 'set' in the 1920s now which made no sense of course.

Today now they miss it. OK.

I just don't really understand what is there to miss??? Outside of Screamin its the same pier with the same rides, games, shops, food, etc as before, just with Pixar stuff on it and more characters walking around. But I agree with you its sad DCA has lost any real identity for just more brands, I'm just not convinced PP had much of an identity to begin with. And sadly I think what's happening is management is only giving areas any major redo if they get a movie/character brand because they probably think it will be worth an update if they can sell more merchandise.

I never thought about the Nemo thing until now lol. That's a good point. Why not make the new spinner or the Merry Go Round a Nemo theme?

 

[fctiger]

I've tried this argument so many times over the past several years on multiple Disney boards, but there are quite a few classic Disney fans that would rather see today's kids conform to loving the things they loved as a kid rather than see Disney conform to the things today's kids love. It's just the way human nature and nostalgia work and it's usually what fuels the IP vs. Non-IP arguments which I SWEAR I'm not trying to start. I think there can be a happy medium somewhere. I also understand that many also feel that Disney is not just for kids, so I understand both sides of the argument.

I'm by no means a pixie-duster who feels everything in the parks is perfect, but I also don't automatically find everything that's new or attached to an IP to be evil either. I personally enjoyed Pixar Pier the one time I got to see it. I also can open-mindedly see where others are coming from since taste is subjective (though I've also come across people who don't believe that). I love the parks (hence why I'm here), but I also try not to take things too seriously or it ruins my experience and the true reason for going.......to get away from the hardships of the real world for a few days and have fun. (It's also why I would be scared to get an AP. I tend to get tired of things I experience too much and I never want to get tired of the parks!)

I don't think everything has to have IPs and cutesy characters in every land but in PP case its only a plus to me compared to what was there before, which wasn't much. When you go to areas like MS, NOS, Frontierland, etc, they work because they try so hard to set a certain mood and realism. You feel like you're in a place you only read about.

PP felt exactly like every boardwalk pier I've ever been to. There was nothing charming or unique about it. Nothing offensive but just another pier with simple rides and games. I went to school in Santa Cruz and the pier there feels like its own identity and history because it is. It's old. It's like DL itself, there is a sense of nostalgia and captures the mood of NorCal. PP felt more in line with the Santa Monica pier. Decent but bland and small. Like I said in the other post they finally did try to give it its own identity and set a mood but never did much for me. I don't think anybody ever went there and felt they were walking a boardwalk from another era. If we were actually losing something like a NOS or MS vibe for more character stuff, OK, I get it. But I never felt that way at all.

Pixar Pier actually sets a mood. It has its own identity and a brand everyone knows, especially for kids. Screamin was a fun rollercoaster but it had no identity on its own. It was just a wooden rollercoaster. You could literally put it in any other non-Disney theme park and no would ever know it was a Disney attraction. That completely sums up PP to me. You could put it anywhere, no one would've noticed the difference. Incredicoaster at least looks and feels like a Disney ride and why its so popular.

If people think its cheap I can't argue with them, because it was. But so was PP, that's why I don't get the difference. All I know is my family loves it a lot more now. Its just a more fun atmosphere. I don't see how anyone can say PP felt more fun? Especially if you have kids.

 

[Phroobar]

People around here have a pattern.
Disney announces something - people are excited.
Disney shows concept art - people are shocked.
Disney starts construction - people hate everything about it. (it's destroying what was there)
Disney opens the area - people line up for hours to do it.
People split into two camps - most people love the changes. Others go back to hating it forever. It makes you wonder why people go to a place they hate so much.

 

[Stevek]

Agreed. It’s one of the worst areas of the park, very corporate and cheap.

It's interesting how well it appears to resonate with younger adults (teens) though. Pretty much every kid we know, daughters, their friends, etc...they all love the area.

 

[shortstop]

I just don't really understand what is there to miss???

I don’t think anybody really misses Paradise Pier, aside from the fact that it actually attempted to have a cohesive theme.

 

[lazyboy97o]

All I can tell you is tell that to my younger family especially my nephew and niece who are around ten years old love it. They enjoy it way more now than Paradise Pier. Only because its alive with Pixar characters they know. And they love the new coaster. They liked Screamin too but Incredicoaster is more fun for them.

I just don't know exactly what people are missing with Paradise Pier? Its literally the exact same stuff, just with Pixar overlays on it. The Incrdicoaster is really the only major change. Everything else is just with a new paint and character additions. There was nothing there before Pixar Pier that made me like the area any more or less. But I was never a fan of the area in general. We would go to ride Screamin and TSM and leave. Pixar Pier has at least given it a more festive and fun vibe IMO.

It represents a complete abandonment of themed entertainment in favor of Six Flags-style branding.

 

[TROR]

We should only appeal to the uneducated children instead of trying to create intellectuals. Y'all defending Pixar Pier because kids like it are the ones responsible for the dumbification of American children.

 

[MisterPenguin]

I totally agree that "Pixar" is not a theme. When WDW wanted a "Pixar Land" in DHS, I'd argue against it. Thus, to me, Pixar Pier is not really a themed land.

But, in the same vein, neither was Paradise Pier. The boardwalk piers with rides was just that: a pier with a bunch of unrelated rides. Copying that into a theme park did not make that themed. It was still a bunch of unrelated rides grouped together simple to copy a place, namely an amusement park, which is not a theme park, just a thing one can find in California (which is the theme of DCA, which in itself, is not a theme).

So, the pier went from one unthemed place setting to another unthemed place setting.

The big disappointment is that the money spent might have been spent to convert the pier into a real themed land.

The only upside is that in some way, the refurbed land is "more Disney" in that Pixar characters are now Disney characters. So, at least you know you're in a Disney park and there is some emotional reaction to the characters one knows, even if they're crammed into the land with no discernible overarching theme.

Given that poor compromise with the land as a whole, the next criterion is how well did the conversion of each ride go with respect to theming that one particular ride with its assigned Pixar IP? Here we can critique the self-aware story of the Incredibles and Jack Jacks on sticks. Or if Jesse's creatures really place set you into the Toy Story world. Or if the Bing Bong thing had any artistic or imaginative flair. And that will be left as an exercise for the gentle reader...

 

[Rich T]

I totally agree that "Pixar" is not a theme. When WDW wanted a "Pixar Land" in DHS, I'd argue against it. Thus, to me, Pixar Pier is not really a themed land.

But, in the same vein, neither was Paradise Pier. The boardwalk piers with rides was just that: a pier with a bunch of unrelated rides. Copying that into a theme park did not make that themed. It was still a bunch of unrelated rides grouped together simple to copy a place, namely an amusement park, which is not a theme park, just a thing one can find in California (which is the theme of DCA, which in itself, is not a theme).

So, the pier went from one unthemed place setting to another unthemed place setting.

The big disappointment is that the money spent might have been spent to convert the pier into a real themed land.

The only upside is that in some way, the refurbed land is "more Disney" in that Pixar characters are now Disney characters. So, at least you know you're in a Disney park and there is some emotional reaction to the characters one knows, even if they're crammed into the land with no discernible overarching theme.

Given that poor compromise with the land as a whole, the next criterion is how well did the conversion of each ride go with respect to theming that one particular ride with its assigned Pixar IP? Here we can critique the self-aware story of the Incredibles and Jack Jacks on sticks. Or if Jesse's creatures really place set you into the Toy Story world. Or if the Bing Bong thing had any artistic or imaginative flair. And that will be left as an exercise for the gentle reader...

My main self-forehead-slapper is that the Pier had started on a great remodeling focused on classic Mickey. It was a fantastic step in the right direction: The pier could have become a wonderful tribute to Disney's work of the 30's and 40's! Classy and whimsical! (I think most people could overlook Midway Mania at the far end). Now we have a mess and a Pixar Pal-Around featuring Mickey Mouse. Moron Avenue.

 

[chadwpalm]

But, in the same vein, neither was Paradise Pier. The boardwalk piers with rides was just that: a pier with a bunch of unrelated rides. Copying that into a theme park did not make that themed. It was still a bunch of unrelated rides grouped together simple to copy a place, namely an amusement park, which is not a theme park, just a thing one can find in California (which is the theme of DCA, which in itself, is not a theme).

This was always my argument. As a native Northern Californian I am 45 minutes from the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk (Paradise Pier), 45 minutes from S.F/Fisherman's Wharf/The REAL GG Bridge (Pacific Wharf/Bay Area Lands/Front Entrance), 90 minutes from the real Rte 49/Sierra Nevadas (Grizzly Peak), 10 minutes from Moffett Field and 20 from the Hiller Air Museum (Condor Flats), 90 minutes from Napa (Bountiful ValleyFarm/Winery), and 6 hours away from the real Hollywood (Hollywoodland).

I never once stepped into DCA before 2012 because I was a hop skip and a jump away from the REAL sights of California. Why visit a caricature version? So I never did.

The big disappointment is that the money spent might have been spent to convert the pier into a real themed land.

This is where I feel Disney was "picking their battles" so to speak. There is a lot of money going in to SW:GE, Marvel, Mickey's Runaway Railway, and HOPEFULLY some future upgrades to Tomorrowland and Fantasyland. Yeah, updating the Pier was cheap in comparison to building a whole new land, but fans need to pick their battles too.

The only upside is that in some way, the refurbed land is "more Disney" in that Pixar characters are now Disney characters. So, at least you know you're in a Disney park and there is some emotional reaction to the characters one knows, even if they're crammed into the land with no discernible overarching theme.

The thing I've always stepped back and looked at is that in the '50s, '60s, and '70s that generation turned on the television and went to the movies and saw westerns, pirate adventures, and futuristic sci-fi entertainment and they got to go to Disneyland and live out those things. Today's generation turns on the television and goes to the movies and sees Pixar, Star Wars, Marvel, etc., so why does this generation have to be hindered from living out the fantasies they see in entertainment because the nostalgic older generation somehow believes their generation of pirates and westerns was somehow better or superior? As long as NOS and Frontierland exist, the parents can spend some time with their kids sharing the things they loved as kids, and at Pixar Pier, the kids can share with their parents what they love as kids. IDK....seems like a win-win to me. <shrug>