Explore the Best of Pixar Pier at Disneyland’s California Adventure
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Disney California Adventure: Pixar Pier
Pixar Pier has it all- the rides, the characters, the food, and the atmosphere. Every land in Disney California Adventure has its own feel to it, and if I had to sum up Pixar Pier in one word, I would say energy. Even the background music gives off a vibe of entertainment and fun. Don’t worry though, if you prefer to take it slow, there are plenty of areas to sit and people watch while you soak in the environment.
The Attractions:
The rides at Pixar Pier are a mix of family friendly for the smaller kids and higher speed for the older teens and adults.
Incredicoaster
When you first walk over the bridge under that Pixar Pier sign and turn the corner, the first ride you come across is the Incredicoaster. I’ll have to admit, I flat out refused to go on an upside down roller coaster my entire life, but my husband and siblings convinced me to give it a try this time. The area had been recently refurbished for the Pixar theme in 2018, so the coaster itself was smoother than its predecessor, California Sceamin’. Plus the addition of JackJack and other characters from the Incredibles would be distracting enough for me to manage- or so they argued. I hate to admit it, but they were right. For a comparison, I love fast rides but I don’t like feeling like I am free-falling. The ride is comfortable, entertaining, and just the right amount of adrenaline rush. Leaving the kids with our parents, we went on the coaster multiple times. I even managed to “sip tea” for our photo (we try and come up with a themed pose for every ride that takes a photo while you’re on it- not everyone remembers the plan, which makes it that much more fun when you get off the ride to see the resulting picture).
Jessie’s Critter Carousel
Jessie’s Critter Carousel is right next door which is much slower speed and for people of any height. This was a hit for the little ones, and was also a repeated attraction during our 5 day stay. I was even able to take our youngest who was 4 months old at the time. I had more fun than she did as she slept through most of it. Our oldest was just turning 3 years old and absolutely loved choosing the different critters to ride.
Toy Story Midway Mania
Next in line is one of my personal favorites: Toy Story Midway Mania. This ride does not have a height limit and is truly a great ride for all ages to enjoy. Unlike Astroblasters next door at Disneyland, your car is rotated for you to face the correct screen. You then use the pull string on the back of your cannon to complete the specific carnival game such as ring toss or target shooting. I find it much easier to aim in this ride than the laser gun in Astroblasters. We had noise cancellation headphones on our baby girl since it is an indoor ride with loud music. She sat on my lap and took a nice nap while my husband and I tried to beat each other’s scores. Our 3 year old was able to sit between us and “help” me with the aim. On repeat rides, she was ready to sit in her own seat next to one of our family members and manage her own canon. As more of an interactive game than a ride, this attraction is a must while you are visiting California Adventure, especially if you love some friendly competition between you and your family or friends.
Pixar Pal-A-Round
The Pixar Pal-A-Round is a ferris wheel with either swinging or non-swinging gondolas. We rode in the non-swinging gondola every time because of our kids. Either one does not have a height limit, but the swinging one is a bit much. The stationary also allowed for us to take our time soaking in the view- which is harder to do while you are continuing to scream…i mean, swing. It really is genius how they can have such a different experience built into the same ride.
Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind
Before you exit Pixar Pier towards Paradise Gardens Park, you will run into some Disney Pixar themed carnival games and then the Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind. The Emotional Whirlwind is a spinning balloon ride. Your hot air balloon spins while all of the hot air balloons move up and down in a circle. Another ride that is any height and fun for any age. I will caution those who are prone to motion sickness, though. It can get you a bit dizzy if you are sensitive to a teacup type sensation.
The Food
Lamplight Lounge
Lamplight Lounge overlooks the water where the World of Color takes place at night. The group devoured the lobster nachos. We had to message a thank you to our friend who recommended them to us.
Adorable Snowman Frosted Treats
If you keep walking past Lamplight Lounge, you come across the Adorable Snowman Frosted Treats. They have lemon soft serve ice cream. We bought a soft serve and the Pixar Pier Frosty Parfait which is lemon soft serve with blue raspberry swirl. This was perfect for the hot summer day. If you order food through the Disneyland app, you can pick it up at the pick up window. My husband pre-ordered and we bypassed the whole line to get our refreshing ice cream.
Jack-Jack Cookie Num Nums
While we were picking up our frosted treats, my mom was at Jack-Jack Cookie Num Nums located by the Incredicoaster just around the bend. The warm chocolate chip cookie was big enough to share and was a great addition to our soft serve ice cream. My nephew was on the carousel, so we sat down there to enjoy our snack. Plenty of shade and room to sit or stand by the strollers.
Señor Buzz Churros
I always get a churro when we go to Disneyland Parks, so we had to stop by Señor Buzz Churros after riding Toy Story Midway Mania for a Cinnamon Super Galaxy Churro. If you like spicy, they also have a Caliente Churro. I would like to mention, we were at the parks for 5 days so the Churro was on a different day then the frosted treats and Jack jacks cookies. Many people overlook planning out which snacks and meals you want to buy in the park, but if you don’t have a general idea of what you want, you might be too full when passing by a must have splurge.
Poultry Palace & Angry Dogs
If you continue further through Pixar Pier, you can get some chicken, a turkey leg, or corn on the cob (with or without chili-lime) at the Poultry Palace or keep walking to get a hot dog or popcorn at Angry Dogs.
The Characters
This was my daughter’s favorite part of her first Disneyland and Disney California Adventure visit. Her star struck expression when seeing her favorite characters from her books, shows, and toys was priceless.
Many of the Pixar characters have specific spots they rotate through. The Incredibles characters are typically right outside the entrance to the Incredicoaster which is where we met Mrs. Incredible (Elastigirl). BoPeep and Woody were outside of Toy Story Mania, and Mike Wasowski was outside the entrance to Pixar Pa-A-Round. We met Joy from Inside Out during the day and in the evening right in front of the Emotional Whirlwind.
Various characters from these Pixar films make their appearance on a rotating schedule in addition to characters from Up. Be sure to download the Disneyland app, click on the map icon, and then use the drop down menu to click Entertainment. This will give you a real time update as to which characters are currently available at their spot.
The characters are so good at interacting with guests of all ages, so don’t be afraid to get in line for that photo op even if you don’t have kids. At Disneyland Parks, the magic and fun really is for everyone.
World of Color
The World of Color is a water and lights show where the water jets create water acrobatics lit up by the colors. Also, various Disney scenes are projected onto the “screen” formed by the water and flames shoot into the sky during the Pirates of the Caribbean bit.
The show is not viewed from Pixar Pier, but rather on the water right in front of the Pixar Pal-A-Round ferris wheel. You watch it from in front of the Little Mermaid ride (Ariel’s Undersea Adventure) located right before the bridge that takes you to Pixar Pier. You can buy a dining package with your for a meal and preferred seating for the World of Color, but we opted for the FastPass.
Once you receive your FastPass you are assigned a color grouping (shown on the pass) which will determine the section you sit in for the show.
We got our FastPasses as soon as they were available that morning so our section was in the center. There were people ahead of us, but we were slightly raised on the second step level. About 2 hours before it started, we took our spots. Even though the sections are separated by FastPass groupings, it is still first come first serve within those sections. We sat down to eat our popcorn, play some cards, and just hang out for a while while the lights came on as the sun went down. Once the World of Color started, we stood up to watch; however, there were seats available for handicapped and preferred seating from select dining passes. My in-laws were able to ask for seating so they didn’t have to sit on the ground or stand. They held our baby girl while our toddler hung out with the rest of us.
Our little one was almost 3 years old at the time and sensitive to loud music (she cried during an indoor soccer game because of the noise level), so we brought noise cancellation headphones for her to wear during the performance. She absolutely loves them and was excited to wear them, be up past bedtime, and see the show while her baby sister was wearing her own set of noise cancellation headphones, sleeping in my mother-in-law’s lap.
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The show itself is spectacular. The lights, the water, the music- it really draws you in as scenes from your favorite Disney movies show up with amazing color on a refreshing spray. We didn’t get soaked where we were standing, but depending on where you are, you do receive some spray of the water as it falls back down.
PhotoPass & MaxPass
The PhotoPass has specific photo op areas throughout Disney California Adventure. By pulling up the Disneyland app on your phone, you can see where there is usually a Disney cast member photographer.
The Pixar Pier bridge is one of my favorite Disney California Adventure photo op spots, and gives a great backdrop of the Incredicoaster and Pixar Pal-A-Round ferris wheel.
One of the Disney Magic photos gave us a photoshopped guest appearance of baby Jack Jack shooting laser beams out of his eyes right in front of us. This spot and the Disneyland castle are my must-do photo opportunities. I absolutely love photos, so we had the PhotoPass for every day- but if you are budgeting, make sure you still stop by and ask the cast member to also take a picture with your camera.
The MaxPass is currently $20/ticket per day and allows you to get a FastPass on your phone from anywhere in the parks as well as download any PhotoPass pictures taken by the cast member photographers.
If you do not want to purchase this, you may still get a FastPass for approved attractions, but you will need to walk to the stationary fastPass distribution stand for each ride. This is a much more convenient option instead of going to get the FastPass, then going to another ride or area of the park, then getting your fast pass at another attraction, then going back again to use the first FastPass- it’s a lot of back and forth (although you could send a “runner” in your group to take everyones’ tickets to get the fast past and then meet the group back at a predetermined location).
Everyone in your group who would like to use the FastPass feature on the Disneyland App to get location-independant FastPasses should have a MaxPass, but if you don’t mind waiting in line (or if there really isn’t a long wait, or if you will get a FastPass at the attraction FastPass distribution stand), then you can purchase just one MaxPass for one person in your group to be able to download all of your PhotoPass pictures taken by cast members around the parks. If you really do not want to use the MaxPass FastPass features, it may be better to purchase the PhotoPass separately, depending on how long your Disneyland Parks vacation is. As of July 2020, the MaxPass is $20/ticket holder/day, and the PhotoPass is $78 for one week.
*Due to COVID-19, some features discussed in this post may not be currently available, or may be available in a limited way.
