Pixar Fest begins today at the Disneyland Resort, but we were able to get a preview of some of the Pixar fun happening in both parks yesterday! As with any special event at Disneyland, there is some great entertainment and fun food choices, plus loads and loads of merchandise.
Before you even enter Disneyland Park or Disney California Adventure you KNOW it’s Pixar Fest.
There are even Pixar-themed topiaries throughout Downtown Disney to give you a hint of what’s to come.
Once inside the parks, the decorations continue.
Let’s get started with the food…
For Pixar Fest, Redd Rocket’s Pizza Port has become Alien Pizza Planet, with a quick overlay. The area wasn’t changed much, but the aliens from Toy Story have hung a banner over the sign and thrown up some “travel posters” in the lobby.
Your old favorites are still there, like the Chicken Fusilli pasta, but the menu has been updated with the aliens’ favorite Cheeseburger Pizza and an Edamame-Noodle salad, featuring grilled chicken breast, marinated edamame, sweet green beans, mint, cilantro, red cabbage, shredded carrot, and cold soba noodles tossed in a ginger-lime vinaigrette.
We tried the Pizza and it was surprisingly good…just like a loaded cheeseburger.
In addition to Pizza Planet, there is Pixar-inspired food all over the resort. We also got a bit of the Pixar Lemon-Raspberry cake, which had a nice light lemon flavor, and the Habañero Meatball Cone, which had a great flavor and heat that snuck up on you.
For something REALLY sweet, try the Little Green Alien Macaron, with berry and lemon filling. That’s something you’ll want to share.
Once the belly is full, it’s time for some shopping and there is plenty of it to go around. There is some great Pixar Fest logo merchandise, but also some other new Pixar merchandise
Some of my favorite items from the Pixar Fest merchandise, including the new ear hats with matching socks and the little green alien sipper.
The ladies might enjoy the Pixar Fest collectible charms, Pixar-themed bows, or the new Dooney & Bourke Pixar purses.
In addition the Pixar Fest merchandise, there are some great new Pixar collections, including these two from Wall-E and Up.
The Pixar and Pixar Fest merchandise can be found throughout the resort, but you’ll find much of it at the new Knick’s Knacks which just opened in the old Treasures in Paradise location across from the Cove Bar.
Now that you have your new Wall-E hoodie, ears, and matching socks, it’s time for some entertainment, and as always, the Disneyland Resort delivers.
During the afternoon, the Pixar Play Parade returns, but this time it’s making its way through Disneyland Park. Much of the parade is the same (minus Cars), but includes some new elements, including a new opening float especially for Pixar Fest.
The new Inside Out float featuring Joy, Sadness, and Bing Bong is a nice addition, but the new Up element really delivers with Russell riding atop Kevin, plus Carl and Dug following behind. Incredible!
As I said, some of your old friends are there as well.
The Paint the Night parade has returned (minus Frozen) and now dances through the performance corridor each evening at Disney California Adventure.
As always, the energy in this parade is infectious.
Aside from the missing too tall Frozen float, the parade is the same, but in June a new float themed to The Incredibles!
Finally, the Disneyland Resort closes out the day with Together Forever-A Pixar Nighttime Spectacular, the new fireworks show at Disneyland Park.
In addition to classic fireworks, the show features fire effects and projection mapping around the park, plus Buzz Lightyear and Carl’s house from Up flying across the sky.
Besides the emotional Up sequence, one of my favorite parts was the Coco section where some of Miguel’s family rose from the tops of the buildings on Main Street to look down on the crowd.
With nearly every Pixar film represented in the show, I’m sure there is something for everyone.
I’ve just hit the highlights here, but there is plenty more Pixar Fest fun to come, including new meet & greets in Paradise Gardens and new Pixar Fest-inspired sets from the Disneyland Band and the Dapper Dans!
Pixar Fest continues through September 3rd, but will really ramp up when Pixar Pier opens on June 23rd.
Additional Food Photos: Disney Parks Blog
Tom is the former host/producer of the Disneyland Edition podcast and is currently the co-host of the Connecting With Walt podcast, plus is also providing Disneyland content from the parks. He enjoys traveling with friends and spending time with family, including his son and grandson. In his spare time he volunteers with Scouts BSA and Cub Scouts, and helped found his son's former Cub Scout Pack. His favorite Disneyland attraction is Space Mountain.
