Disney Parks & Resorts has officially unveiled their plans to transform Disney California Adventure’s Paradise Pier into Pixar Pier. The Walt Disney Company’s theme park division has been busy figuring out additional ways to capitalize on their Lucasfilm and Marvel Entertainment acquisitions. Their first project was retooling Twilight Zone’s Tower of Terror into Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: BREAKOUT!, which opened this past summer, while also constructing Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge - Disneyland Resort’s Star Wars-themed land - but that neither project has distracted them from their other properties.
The Mouse House initially announced plans to turn California Adventure’s current Paradise Pier (the section in which the famous Ferris wheel and roller coaster are located) into Pixar Pier - a themed area centered around Pixar Animation’s films - at D23 Expo 2017. Paradise Pier already has Toy Story Mania - one of the park’s biggest attractions - so it made sense to just build around that. Although plans were being kept under wraps, Disney Parks & Resorts have now provided concrete details on their plans to thrust park-goers into the world of Pixar come next summer.
According to the Disney Parks Blog, Pixar Pier will consist of four neighborhoods, three of which will be based on specific movies - The Incredibles, Toy Story, and Inside Out - with the fourth being a combination of various Pixar films. Pixar Pier will open in Summer 2018, which means in order to construct the new themed-area, California Screamin’, Cove Bar, Ariel’s Grotto, Mickey’s Fun Wheel, Games of the Boardwalk, and Sideshow Shirts will all close on January 8, 2018, with Ariel’s Grotto temporarily reopening in April before permanently closing down.
All the current attractions will be updated from January onward. California Screamin’ will become an Incredibles-themed roller coaster appropriately named the Incredicoaster; Mickey’s Fun Wheel will be updated, with each gondola featuring another Pixar character; Games of the Boardwalk will be reworked with Pixar characters in mind, and Ariel’s Grotto and the Cove Bar will be redesigned into “a new lounge and grill offering sparkling views of Paradise Bay.” The rest of Paradise Pier’s attractions - Paradise Gardens, Silly Symphony Swings, Jumpin’ Jellyfish, Goofy’s Sky School, Golden Zephyr and The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure - will remain under the new name Paradise Park. The only thing the announcement doesn’t address is what’s happening to King Triton’s Carousel, currently situated between Toy Story Mania and California Screamin'.
Pixar Pier doesn’t yet have an opening date, but the announcement says the new themed-area will open sometime during California Adventure’s Pixar Fest, which begins April 13, so park-goers should expect an official open sometime in early summer.
More: Things You Never Knew About Toy Story
Source: Disney Parks Blog
