Happy Tuesday! We took Monday off to recover from an amazing celebration of Dusty’s big birthday (it’s a shocking number, but who’s counting). Brian Pinsky is filling in this week with a closer look at the new Pixar Pier. We’ll also showcase the changes happening at Downtown Disney and the new parking structure.
Pixar Pier: An In-Depth Review
Now that I’ve had a couple of weeks to visit the new Pier and sample its main attractions, some of the details are starting to gnaw at me. There’s some good, bad, and ugly here . . . stick with me . . .
The Entrance
We will begin this walk-through of Pixar Pier by starting at the Incredicoaster.
Looking at the outside of the coaster we can already see some problems.
There’s currently a broken exterior scream tube light on the largest lift hill.
Unfortunately, the queue area is not completely covered. There are umbrellas, but they only provide partial shade. The queue feels warmer than the old Screamin’ version.
Then as we ascend to the upper queue, we can see the re-cemented ground for the supports of the Incredibles family signposts. They jackhammered the 2001 cement and placed some regular gray cement in its place. We can also see where the handrails dividing the queue were filed down. Strange that they didn’t try to match the paint color or repaint the concrete after installation.
As we ascend, you can also see where the landscaping is incomplete. They left the sand base under the main walkways but didn’t add more sod to cover it.
Now, let’s examine the ride from onboard the trains.
New to the coaster are straps to hold bags, but they’re only in row 1. I hope they’re added to every row as they’re definitely useful.
Let me start by saying this . . . did you enjoy California Screamin’? Then you’ll probably enjoy the Incredicoaster as well. And those of you who appreciate the attempt at story and zippy music will likely be drawn to the new overlay as well. But there are some things about the new version of the ride which baffle me . . .
The Dash effect seems to be working better . . . but still very hard to see while you are actually on the ride.
As we ascend the first scream tube we can see Jack-Jack’s laser blast, but there is no motion from any of the characters. The lasers don’t look like they bounce or move naturally, either. Although you move through the tube in about 5 seconds it’s still noticeable.
Moving on to the second tube, we slowly pass Elastigirl stretching out towards Jack-Jack as a projection on a rounded piece of plastic on the ceiling. The positive here is that there is some motion in the baby projection. But the rear-projection on plastic dome is unfortunately odd looking.
Then as we fall down the drop we quickly see Mr. Incredible offering a cookie num nums to the baby, but there is still no movement. Even a little bit of motion with the cookie wiggling would have gone a long way.
Then, Mr. Incredible announces that he’s in the next tube ahead and for Violet to use her forcefield to protect the train following a spin through the loop.
And now for the Jack-Jack-kebabs…
We then spin around the final helix and stop see yet more still figures in a room.
If you zoomed by this scene the way you do all the others, this might pass . . . but this is on a brake run at the end of the ride where guests will frequently see this scene for a long enough period to know that these figures are frozen solid.
As we step off the coaster, we can see how quickly this update was applied as huge portions of the track have not been painted, and rust can be seen bleeding through.
Also, it looks strange that they did not paint all of the sun decals. They are red on one side and gold on the other.
The back of the Incredicoaster photo room still has the old signage.
The idea of the Incredicoaster isn’t bad. And the ride itself is fun. But all of these little problems were likely caused by lack of time dictating what could be accomplished on a tight construction timeline. A little figure motion would have gone a very long way. Having time to paint patched concrete would have given a more polished and less rushed look. They needed more time on this one in my opinion. I’d have been happy to wait a few more months for a ride that felt complete. What are your thoughts?
During the weekend, there appeared to be a problem with the fountain which shields the old King Triton Carousel, although it’s hard to tell that water actually flows over the back wall even when it is working. The pools that are on each side turned green quickly as the water stagnated in the base of the fountain.
Moving on.
The carousel is scheduled to open in 2019.
At Toy Story Midway Mania, Disney has shifted the queues to create room for a new meet-and-greet.
The wait time sign is still a work in progress. They need to add more numbers so it can be used when wait times exceed 75 minutes.
The slightly annoyed hot dogs are quite popular, as they ran out when these pictures were taken.
Mickey’s Pal-A-Round…and more!
Although the Pixar Pal-A-Round has a fresh coat of paint and refurbished gondolas, the ride experience itself is mostly unchanged. That being said, it still provides spectacular views of the Disneyland Resort and Southern California.
The Pixar Promenade is currently home to the Pixarmonic Orchestra. This is the sort of quality entertainment you expect from Disney.
More of Bing Bong’s Confectionary was unveiled this week.
The Inside Out Neighborhood is a work in progress. Disney has added some character art to walls, which makes for perfect selfie opportunities. 
Portions of the old Maliboomer are still intact. This will soon be cleared to make way for the new Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind.
Right now, the transition between Pixar Pier and Paradise Park is somewhat undefined.
I finally tried the Adorable Snowman’s Parfait…its good! But why are there no snow cones here?
Disney had snow cones last year for Summer of Heroes. I wonder if those machines could be added?
The Lamplight Lounge is a runaway success, and I was able to try it this week.
The inside is beautiful, and it’s a showcase of Imagineering’s best efforts.
The wallpaper by the restrooms is awesome.
Here are my final thoughts on Pixar Pier: I believe that the rumored budget cut and short construction schedule definitely hurt the whole project. TDA (Team Disney Anaheim) should have extended the closure of the pier to allow for a complete repair and remodeling of the coaster and Pier buildings. That includes Midway Mania, which has not seen a real update since Toy Story 3 was released. The bad mixture of concrete types throughout the land just doesn’t look right. The pier is a lot more photogenic, but that does not necessarily extend into improving the guests’ experience. The Poultry Palace is a cheap retheming of Don Tomas (they didn’t even touch the inside paint job). $10 for three chicken drumsticks feels way overpriced. The Games of the Boardwalk look rushed with significantly less detail than what was already there. The quick-service stands cannot keep up with demand, and never will because of the lack of space for the CMs and the amount needed to serve the items. The name Pixar Pal-A-Round is the most ridiculous name I’ve ever heard, and most guests will call it something else, most likely Mickey’s Fun Wheel.
For me, this whole project feels like a start to an unfinished goal. Budget cuts didn’t help either. I’m disappointed in the end product, and I hope that work continues to improve Pixar Pier.
Our own Stephenie Lodermeier has some excellent nighttime Pixar Pier shots to share:
One our Micechat staff was able to get a tour of Pixar Pier as a part of the Disney Parks Blog walkthrough and was sharing on our Twitter last night. Here is some of what they saw:
Why did WDI choose #PixarPier? Here’s 3 reasons
1) Pixar is in California
2) Emeryville is near Piers
3) Pixar has the color and energy common to boardwalks in CA— MiceChat (@MiceChat) July 3, 2018
“Pixar Pier has been here all this time but has evolved over the years”
We’ll have more details throughout the #PixarParty Parks Blog Meet-Up!
— MiceChat (@MiceChat) July 3, 2018
Lamplight Lounge drew inspiration from Nomad Lounge through a similar backstory – instead of sharing stories of adventures to Africa and Asia, it’s a place where Pixar employees would hang out #PixarPier
— MiceChat (@MiceChat) July 3, 2018
Dante’s Churros was one of the themes considered for Señor Buzz Churros, but it wasn’t able to be located in a neighborhood that matched
— MiceChat (@MiceChat) July 3, 2018
Some Fun Facts for #PixarPier:
– WDI drew inspiration from Toyville Trolley Park at Tokyo DisneySea
– Imagineers went to Germany to find granite for the water ball— MiceChat (@MiceChat) July 3, 2018
California Adventure:
The park is a lot busier than it has been recently due to the pier reopening.
Fastpass On The Move:
On Friday, Disney moved the Fastpass distribution for Radiator Springs Racers back over into Cars Land. Temporary carts for distribution are in the Cadillac Range viewing area across from Flo’s. This was done to get Bugs Land ready for Marvel Land Construction.
Speaking of Marvel Land, this clip came out of Disney’s Research Group that may definitely will have some implications in the new land. Maybe not in an attraction per say, but maybe in a show.
Over at the Sunset Theater, Incredibles 2 has packed up, and the Pixar Short Film festival should be returning very shortly.
The sneak preview banners have yet to come down on Hollywood Blvd.
Over at the Blue Sky Cellar, crowd levels have dropped to see the Pixar Pier preview. Hopefully, Disney will open a Galaxy’s Edge exhibit soon.
Paint the Night:
Lately, Disney has dropped the popular Paint the Night parade down to just one viewing a night. Since it’s just one viewing, the entire parade route from gate to gate has been filling with guests on a nightly basis.
The new Incredibles float looks great, but I feel like the music mix doesn’t match the rest of the parade. Ironically, that was the same complaint most folks had about the old Frozen float that the Incredibles have replaced.
Downtown Disney
Many changes are starting today in Downtown Disney. All traffic for Downtown Disney is being sent to the Simba Lot in order to allow construction to begin on the new hotel.
Over the last week, new trailers were brought into the lot to start the construction setup.
The security check on the parking lot side is also now closed, leaving the only security on the Disneyland Hotel side for now.
Over in Downtown Disney, all of the tenants being evicted for the new hotel are now gone.
The fairly new Starbucks already has shuttered their doors.
Machines have started to show up in the Grand California Self Parking Lot.
Below is the concept art of the new hotel.
Mickey and Friends Parking Structure
Disney is working at near light speed to get this new parking structure completed quickly. I’m not sure if they are going to make the Star Wars Land opening, but it looks like it’s going to be close.
Disney 4th July
Disneyland doesn’t have any information about 4th of July fireworks on their current park entertainment guide. That has led many to question whether Independence Day fireworks will happen this year. According to the Disney Parks Blog, “Guests can wrap up their Fourth of July celebration with a special patriotic finale after “Together Forever – A Pixar Nighttime Spectacular.”
There will be two Marine bands in the park. One on the 3rd and one on the 4th.
That’s all for today’s article. What do you think about Pixar Pier and Downtown Disney? Please comment below. We hope you have a happy and safe July 4th, and we’ll see you Monday with an update from Disneyland Park.
