Will DLR be more or less Pixarized now?

[Lore]

We all know Disney and Pixar have merged. Unlike the Muppet buyout which saw no new muppet rides (other than the rehash at DCA), the Pixar merger brings with it the creative people from Pixar. Will the new management keep stuffing Pixar rides all over the place, theme be damned, or will they have different ideas, even... new ideas?

[cindersgirl]

I'm thinking John Lasseter is going to show more orignality than that. He's a story teller, and he understands the basic stories behind each of the lands at Disneyland. I'm at least hopefull he's going to want to remain true to that, but I could end up being wrong!

[sir clinksalot]

I honestly think it will become less pixarized if that makes any sense. John Lasseter is a former Disneyland CM who obviously understands the importance and the history of "Disney".

I would hope that we will see less 'movie' rides and some originality coming out of WDI. I know they have original concepts, and they are awesome, I just hope now they will be able to present them.

[Club 33]

Well, it has to become less Pixarized. Pixar is now part of Disney, so all Pixar films and characters are now Disney films and characters.

On a more serious note, I think so. This change will affect the entire company, but mostly animation and imagineering, which are the two most important departments when we're talking new attractions.

[PragmaticIdealist]

The Pixar stuff is really it's own thing. It has very little to do with Disney in terms of creating a sense of timelessness or an evocative setting. None of the Pixar films have been especially strong in that regard, so I hope that Pixar, and digital animation, in general, is kept separate from that, which is considered traditionally Disney.

Disney needs to let digital illustration exist on its own terms and not confuse it with the drawings and paintings that are more appropriate for fairy tales and other timeless stories.

In the case of The Magic Kingdom of Disneyland, none of the Pixar properties are appropriate, really. There exist several opportunities for Disney to explore Pixar's subject matter in other arenas, however.

[Exotica Tiki Room]

John Lasseter will not likely have much say, if any, in what goes on at DLR or any other Disney theme park, at least for the foreseeable future, as he is the new President of Walt Disney Feature Animation and will have his hands full with that job.

However, the fresh infusion of Pixar talent will certainly be felt in other parts of the company, particularly Imagineering, although that's really just speculation.

[Baloo]

It all depends how you want to look at it. Since Pixar is owned by Disney you could very well stop the idea of Pixarification since everything done under the name of Pixar is owned by Disney.

Just as if you were to do a show or attraction based on the Muppets, Miramax, Touchtone and every subdivision of Disney. they are all Disney now.

Besides do you actually think they would have bought the studio and then abandoned such a lucrative division. Disney depends quite a bit on its large albums of characters for shows and attractions including the new DISNEY family members based on Muppets or Disney's Pixar

[FrumiousBoojum]

The Pixar stuff is really it's own thing. It has very little to do with Disney in terms of creating a sense of timelessness or an evocative setting. None of the Pixar films have been especially strong in that regard, so I hope that Pixar, and digital animation, in general, is kept separate from that, which is considered traditionally Disney.

I'll have to disagree on that...

Pixar films, unlike the recent Disney counterparts, are *mostly* void of humour of the times. They play off of nostalgia (Toy Story, The Incredibles, and Monsters, Inc.) and timeless tales that are more in line with the traditional Disney films of the Walt-era.

Chicken Little and other more recent films have had too much in them that just made them movies of the day.

Pixar films will probably be remembered much more fondly than the last few timely Disney films.

As much as I like Emperor's New Groove, Pixar has more timeless value and more place in the Disney parks than movies like that.

[DLandFansAZ]

I honestly think it will become less pixarized if that makes any sense. John Lasseter is a former Disneyland CM who obviously understands the importance and the history of "Disney".

You took the words right out of my mouth. Personally from what I've seen, John Lasseter seems to be a person who has both a very creative mind and is very in touch with delivering what the public wants. I would suspect that if had any control, he would not have allowed BLAB to be built in TL. Mind you that I'm not saying it is a bad ride, however it does not fit the theme of the land (unless of course you believe that in the future we are going to be overtaken by plastic space ranger toys from Japan.)

I don't mind the Pixar themed rides, but they need to know their place. Woody in Frontierland bothers me as does BLAB in Tomorrowland. The only place they might fit into Disneyland would be in ToonTown. Take that as a stretch. Not that they fit into the loosely themed DCA, but they are more at home in the Hollywood section.

[SCUBAbe]

I think more pixar things will be added to the park. The kids now identify with those characters and want to see them in the park and attractions based on them as well. It doesn't bother me though. the park needs to continue to change and grow.

[CaliforniaAdventurer]

I think more pixar things will be added to the park. The kids now identify with those characters and want to see them in the park and attractions based on them as well. It doesn't bother me though. the park needs to continue to change and grow.

Exactly. Listen, Pixar characters are Disney characters now, lock stock and barrel. Expect the Cars and Incredibles rides to both go in DCA over the next two years and beyond that.

[splashmountainfreak]

I hope that they don't focus purely on movies, I don't know how many times I've said this, but I really want a new ride in DLR that isn't based on a movie or a knock-off from another park. Although I do agree that Disneyland needs to change to accomodate these new characters and stories, if more things like Club Buzz begin popping up I won't be very happy.

[BlueSkyDriveBy]

Woody in Frontierland bothers me as does BLAB in Tomorrowland. The only place they might fit into Disneyland would be in ToonTown.

What I wouldn't mind seeing, actually, is for the old Festival Arena to be connected with ToonTown, as a "transition space" with Frontierland. This would be the perfect spot for Woody, Jessie, and the Roundup Gang.

And in this "Woody's Roundup" area, I envision meet-n-greet areas for Woody and Jessie, a SIT DOWN restaurant similar to Whispering Canyon Cafe at Wilderness Lodge/WDW (heck, go ahead and rip it off in its entirety; the food is very good and it's very welcoming for families), and a solid D-Ticket dark ride with the Roundup Gang, at the same quality level of RR Cartoon Spin and the new Monsters.

Transitioning from Frontierland to ToonTown via Woody and his pals would be subtly effective. Plus, it opens up another pedestrian corridor to help eliminate the dead end at ToonTown. Rip out the old Chip 'n Dale Treehouse and connect the two areas. Create a train trestle a la Critter Country (like Discovery Bay would have had), and there you go!

This would be an example of "Pixarification of DL" I'd actually like to see.

YEEEHAAAA!!

[Jackdack]

I know everyone keeps talking about Disney becoming Pixarized, but I don't think it should be viewed that way. The Pixar films are viewed as Disney films by the mass public; they were just created by Pixar for Disney. So in fairness all of the Pixar attractions are Disney attractions. When they make dark rides or other new attractions they look at what films have been popular and seeing as how the majority of Disney pictures have been made by Pixar (at least the ones that did well) it should be expected that they want to capitalize on what people like.

[Ride Warrior]

Yes indeed, parking lot space and the wharf will both be utilized for DCA expansion. The Cars Test Trackish ride and the Incredibles dark ride/Robocoster ride are destined for these two locales. Kids and afults alike adore the Pixar characters just as much as classic and newer pre-merger Disney characters.

I doubt that the Pixar brand name will be dropped, as it is too darned popular. Brace yourself for DCA to be dropped, and a fresh moniker in it's place - possibly something along the lines of Disney-Pixar Studios. Disneyland is going to expand as well (in the next two or three years) when new attractions are added to Frontierland. Ecpect new Disney-Pixar based attractions - as well as non-Pixar Disney based attractions.

There is good news for those that want Disneyland to become a museum, and for life to stand still with everything remaining the same forever. Inspite of this attitude among a few, the park is going to remain popular, profitable, significant, and "best of all" open. Paraphrazing Walt, "As long as there is imagination left in the world, Disneyland will remain a work in progress.