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4/26/24 - Disneyland Resort - Pixar Fest Opening Day
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4/26/24 - Disneyland Resort - Pixar Fest Opening Day

Hello Everyone!

Pixar Fest 2024 started Friday at the Disneyland Resort. I had a fairly long list of things to see and people in town to visit with so my day turned out to be busy. The parks themselves felt like a regular Friday. The early afternoon was moderate in wait times and crowds walking around. The popcorn lines were extremely long all day long as guests waited for the new buckets. As the sun set the regular Friday crowds descended and the parks felt much more crowded. The weather was good topping out near 70 with a slight breeze but as evening came the temps dropped toward the low 60s and the winds picked up unfortunately.

Thoughts and Observations:

  • My day started off with mixed results. I did not have to wait long at the light and no wait at the toll booth but there was a backup on the ramp up to the parking level as they were directing all cars to a single lane feeding the roof. So it was slow going to the level then traffic flowed better. I was directed into a far corner of the Pixar Pals roof so it was a moderate hike to the escalators, used the Mickey and Friends ones since they were closer. No wait at security or for a tram.
  • The Esplanade between the two parks has a giant sculpture for Pixar Fest. It features characters from most Pixar films. I was surprised there is no motion on the sculpture. It is very static. Also at night there are no lights on it at all, so its just a dark mass in the center of the Esplanade. Wonder if it is still a work in progress or if that is the final look. Seems even a few flood lights on the light stands near by to light it up would be worthwhile.
  • I did not spot any new decorations along Main Street USA, so what we saw last week looked to be the final set. I am surprised no additional bunting or banners like last time.
  • The Fantasyland Theatre is hosting the Pixar Pals Playtime Party. This ran from 11:30-5:30pm today and will be open daily through August 4th. Inside the theater you will find a number of photo ops from Pixar films, some with characters some without, as well as ongoing entertainment on the stage featuring dancers and characters. The atmosphere was festival and when we stopped by all seemed to be having a great time. The character lines were not too crazy. Maybe a dozen groups in each we saw. This is similar to the Princess Fair that was held in the space years ago. Or the various events that used to be held at the Big Thunder Ranch. The theater seating is available too so you can sit in a covered area and relax too, as long as you do not mind the loud music/noise. Overall I thought it was a nice offering. Seeing several pairs of characters that are not usually out for regular park hours is great and I am happy to see that again. In recent years it seems the trend has been to have them at after hour events but not during the day as much. The Playtime Party includes a number of characters including Onward, Luca, Elemental and Up! out for photos and on the stage Toy Story and Inside Out.
  • Spend some time in Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge with friends who had not visited in a while. They did the Seek and Find game and really enjoyed it. Since it was daylight they needed very few hints from me. We also spent some time observing the BDX Droids.
  • The Dapper Dans have added a Pixar Medley to their set for Pixar Fest. I was able to catch most of it, they are on my list for next visit to see the full set.
  • I mobile ordered at Flo's and it took a very long time for a single hamburger to come up. I did not pay attention to the time but others in my group had time to walk to Hollywood Land and get a drink and another to Ghiradelli to get a shake and both made it to a table at Flo's before I did.
  • To celebrate Pixar Fest there are a number of Alien Pizza Planet delivery trucks hidden around the Disneyland Resort. I have read there are 50 of them. They are decorated to match the area they are in and are roughly the size of the popcorn bucket. We spent a little time looking and found nine of them only. It was a fun activity and looking forward to continuing my quest next visit.
  • As I was waiting for the parade a number of cast members pushing out door vending carts and supplemental supplies for them set up camp right in front of us. On the boxes for the popcorn buckets they had the number of boxes in the shipment and quantity. So being the geek that I am I ran the numbers and did a post with the number of Pizza Planet Trucks, Coco Guitar and Dug buckets and the revenue they could generate if all sold. Here is a post with my math.
  • The "Better Together: A Pixar Pals Celebration!" parade travels through Disney California Adventure twice daily during Pixar Fest. The first parade started in Hollywood Land and the second in Pixar Pier today. The parade reuses a number of units from the Pixar Play Parade and adds a few new ones. The newer films are well represented with floats featuring Turning Red, Soul and Luca. I thought the parade felt short and could have used a few more units and the floats themselves were not as engaging as the Pixar Play Time ones. Overall the parade felt stuck somewhere between an extended cavalcade and a full parade to me. The second parade is a tad awkward to view right now. It runs at 6:30pm and half the parade route you are looking into the setting sun to see the parade coming your way.
  • The Pixar Fest sculptures in Downtown Disney and Disney California Adventure can be activated with your Magic Band and audio of some famous lines from your favorite Pixar films is played. This was a nice plus and I heard well over a dozen sound bites with no repeats.
  • Today was national pretzel day. Wetzel's Pretzels in Downtown Disney was celebrating by giving away free pretzels form 3pm until closing. All you had to do was wait in line and ask for one. They had cast members out waving and letting guests know. I only had to wait about 5 minutes and others I know waited until 10 minutes. The team at Wetzels kept the queue moving and it was a great treat!
  • Club Pixar takes over the Hollywood Backlot area Disney California Adventure from 4:30pm until 8:30pm. There is a DJ, dancers, photo ops, a drive in theater playing Pixar Shorts and free games to play. I stopped by around 5:30 and again after dark. There was a moderate crowd compared to other parties held in the area. It was not a ghost town nor a full party. The party did not feel like it was clicking with the audience and was much more mellow than the more lively parties like the Mad T Party or Glow Fest. It did not even seem to have the energy of Electronica or Freeze the Night. It was just the first night so maybe it will grow. The drive in theater was a fun plus and seemed popular. Closing at 8:30pm when the park was open until 10:00 seemed odd to me. The area looked better under the lights but with an early close you do not have a lot of time after dark. Seems on a Friday night it should be open later.
  • An updated Together Forever – A Pixar Nighttime Spectacular has returned for Pixar Fest. The show has been reworked to include the films released since the original 2018 version. On select nights the show includes fireworks to go with the projections/lights. Friday due to the wind the fireworks were cancelled. Also Friday the Up! balloon was not used. I was not a huge fan of the original show and this one felt the same to me. Without the fireworks the projects seemed to lag in spots and I really prefer to see the fireworks.


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