A Non-Reviewer’s Review of Pixar Pier

I have to start this out saying that this is my first review ever! I consider myself the average Disney fans and passholders. We don’t get the special preview events, we don’t get free meals, and we don’t always get into the fancy restaurants. I have an average, if somewhat picky, taste which is always made up for by my fiancé’s willingness to give anything a try. I love rides and dislike waiting in line but will stick it out if it’s something worthwhile. All in all just your average couple who loves Disneyland.

This past Sunday, I went to Disney’s California Adventure for the opening weekend of Pixar Pier. Like most Disneyland annual passholders, I have been anxiously awaiting the opening of Pixar Pier for months and months. While I absolutely loved Paradise Pier and had many amazing memories there, I could tell it needed a bit of an upgrade if Disney wanted to level out the attendance of Disneyland and DCA, especially with the opening of the new Star Wars land on the horizon. So while I mourned the loss of my beloved Cove Bar and California Screamin’, I set my sites on what Pixar Pier could be- and here’s how it delivered.

On this particular day, both Disneyland resort parks opened at 8am and Magic Morning was 7-8am in California Adventure. So even though we were one of the first to line up outside the DCA gates, there were already hotel guests in an hour before we would gain access. They started letting guests through the turnstiles around 7:40 and had those looking to get into Pixar Pier line up through Grizzly Peak. As soon as we got settled, we splurged and bought Max Pass for the day. The moment the park opened, the line started to shift and move towards the pier and we got our first full look. Once you pass through the entryway, Lamplight Lounge is on the right, occupying the place where Cove Bar and Ariel’s Grotto used to be, and Knick’s Knacks complete with Snowman snow globe, sit on the left. Just beyond Knick’s Knacks is The Adorable Snowman Frosted Treats stand. Further down, the once beach themed billboards that led the way to California Screamin’ have been replaced with billboard of Pixar characters with sayings like “Adventure is down there!” and “Find your special moment.”

For reference, Pixar Pier is divided into 4 neighborhoods, Incredibles Park, Toy Story Boardwalk, Pixar Promenade, and Inside Out Headquarters. The first neighborhood we encountered was Incredibles Park. The first thing we did there was make our way to the Incredicoaster line. While it was a bit of a wait, it was only around an 80 minute line at park opening. For comparison, the line opening weekend of Ariel’s Undersea Adventure was about a 2.5 hour wait and the line for Mission: Breakout was 5 hours for standby and a full hour just to get a fastpass. I enjoyed the new theming of the loading station and the light fixtures that dotted the line. They all gave off that cool midcentury modern vibe and really set the mood just right. In the line were signs explaining all the powers of the Parr family. While I felt these were a bit unnecessary, I did like that the signs made it easier to avoid the awkward eye contact that can happen in switchback lines. At the top of the stairs, before the loading area were television screens explaining the plot of the ride- Municiberg has dedicated a roller coaster to the Incredibles as a thank you for saving the city, however, Jack Jack and Edna Mode are too short to ride so Edna offers to babysit Jack Jack while the rest of the family rides. I enjoyed this little bit but the line was moving so quickly, I didn’t get a full grasp on the video until my third ride through. In my opinion, the signs in line could have been better suited to explaining the story in advance of the safety video as opposed to a run through of the character’s powers. I won’t recap the whole ride, but I would recommend going on it more than once as some things can only be experienced on the left or right side. The ride seems quite a bit faster and some of the banking turns seem a little steeper. I noticed the first tunnel helps the rider forget that a drop is coming and you can feel the excitement of the drop a little more. The one tunnel I was a bit disappointed in was the Elastigirl tunnel. From previews I thought that Mrs. Incredible would be a dynamic character perhaps using screen or projection technologies, however Mrs. Incredible is one static, plastic looking figure. The fun surprise that took my mind off that disappointment though was the smell of chocolate cookies! That smell made me hungry for cookies and luckily right at the exit of the Incredicoaster was Jack Jack’s Cookie Num Nums. I had imagined the cookie stand would be more of a counter service location similar in style to The Adorable Snowman, but instead it was more along the lines of a churro cart. They have 3 cookies on the menu- a sort of deep dish chocolate cookie, a gluten free cookie, and a shortbread cookie along with a variety of milks to choose from. I was surprised to see that the shortbread and gluten free cookies were premade and packaged cookies similar to those you’d find in any merchandise store. The milks were also standard milk boxes and Nesquick bottles. I got the Cookie Num Num and it was somewhere between a cookie and a pizookie. It was crunchy on the outside and gooey on the inside- just like a cookie should be. While I loved my cookie, I feel like this location could have benefitted from a larger stand and perhaps custom milk blends and it definitely needed the options to include ice cream. (Potential food hack- have someone grab soft serve from Adorable Snowman while you grab cookie, combine and enjoy.)

The neighborhood just past Incredibles Park is Toy Story Boardwalk. As of right now, Toy Story Boardwalk felt like it was missing something special. Jessie’s Critter Carousel will not open until 2019 which leaves Midway Mania as the only other attraction. While I have a good time on Midway Mania when I do go on it, it’s been there for years at this point and it doesn’t feel special enough for a premier weekend. I thought because it had been shut down for a while during the renovations that Midway Mania would get a fresh coat of paint and news sets of glasses. However, when I went on Midway Mania, the Mr. Potato Head figure had been shut down due to technical issues, the glasses I got were so scratched up and bent I could hardly see through them, and the cars had not received a fresh coat of paint. The food in Toy Story Boardwalk was definitely more exciting than the attractions and there are two options to grab a snack- Senor Buzz Churros and Poultry Palace. Senor Buzz Churros has the classic Disney churro as well as a “caliente” option (which I chose not to get because I have the personal belief that my desserts should not be spicy). Poultry Palace has the standard turkey leg and corn on the cob fare that you can find at various stands throughout the park, but the real stand out here was the chicken drumstick box. The meal comes in the world’s cutest packaging and contains 3 chicken drumsticks and a side of coleslaw. Originally I had only intended to have a taste of the chicken but soon found myself devouring the whole drumstick. The spice coating on the chicken was right on with a perfect blend of saltiness with just a little kick. The coleslaw was pretty good as far as coleslaw goes, and I do like that it balanced out the kick from the chicken and that it wasn’t drowning in sauce. I definitely see myself coming back to this location for a quick lunch often.

Adjacent to Toy Story Boardwalk was Pixar Promenade with a re-themed Ferris wheel, now called the Pixar Pal Around, along with new boardwalk games. To be honest, I did not feel the need to go on the Pixar Pal Around as it is just a simple re-theming of the Fun Wheel. I thought the boardwalk games were cute, Bullseye’s Stampede remains along with new games based on Wall-E, the Pixar Short La Luna, and Heimlich for Bugs’ Life. I was especially excited to see the La Luna game and will definitely be stopping by that game in the future. Replacing the shops on the pier is a new bandstand where musicians will be playing. It is a smaller bandstand than I was expecting but I’m excited to see what kind of entertainment they put there.

At the end of the pier is the area where Inside Headquarters will be. It wasn’t until a few days before the pier opened that we found out the Inside Out Neighborhood would not be opened until 2019. We are still waiting for an Inside Out themed attraction and Bing Bong’s Sweet Shop. The only thing opened in Inside Out Headquarters is the quick service stand, Angry Dogs. There are only 2 food options at this stand: The Angry Dog and the Slightly Annoyed Dog. My fiancé got the Angry Dog with hot fries and I opted to be Slightly Annoyed which comes with plain Lay’s potato chips. We asked if we could both get Lay’s chips but evidently there is no switching what chips your dog comes with. To the side of the registers are a variety of condiments ranging in spiciness from regular ketchup to buffalo hot sauce. We thought that they could have benefited by having the options of onions and relish. The Angry Dog was a normal hot link that my fiancé added sriracha ketchup and hot fries to. The Slightly annoyed Dog is a plain hot dog. Neither of our hot dogs were anything special and I even said out loud, “who would I buy this when I could go to Award Wieners across the park for a dollar or two more?”

After we rode the Incredicoaster a couple more times (thanks Max Pass!) and a stroll through Knick’s Knacks, we headed over to Lamplight Lounge. I was the only person in my group that had been to both Cove Bar and Ariel’s Grotto so I was excited to see how they had repurposed this location. Cove Bar was known for being a relaxing bar type location which served up refreshing alcoholic drinks with a full secret menu of twists on a long island iced tea. The signature food at Cove Bar was their lobster nachos and I’m pretty sure there was rejoicing when Disney announced that Lamplight Lounge would also serve the lobster Nachos. Ariel’s Grotto on the other hand, was in a constant identity crisis. It used to serve meals all day long, then it became character dining, then it became a princess breakfast only. I feel like Ariel’s Grotto never reached its full potential and I am glad that Lamplight Lounge is taking its place.

I don’t know if it was because it was opening weekend and they hadn’t allowed reservations that day or if it will always be like this, but there were 2 lines to get into Lamplight Lounge. The shorter line was for seating upstairs in the old Cove Bar area, but we saw that the tables and chairs remained largely unchanged from the Cove Bar days. So, with our stomachs full of Pixar Pier snacks, we braved the longer line for downstairs seating, and I am so glad we did! The theming down stairs is incredible. It is very similar to a gastro pub with fun little touches of animation all around. The walls displayed art from various Pixar movies, some foreign posters, as well as cast and crew exclusively apparel from the movies’ production. The kitchen doors were marked “Inside” and “Out” to distinguish which doors cast members should go in and out of. The hallway leading to the bathroom gave the effect of a chalkboard wall with assorted Pixar movie quotes that tug at your heartstrings.

We were seated at the bar top with a full view of the water and the Incredicoaster and our seats also offered us a view of how the drinks were made. We were first given water on coasters with rough sketches of different Pixar characters with them. Among my group, we tried 7 drinks: The Sequel, Sunrise Spectacular, Plot Twist, Scream Canister, Open Ocean with a Splash, Server Room Chill, and The Last Word. The most unique of the offerings were The Sequel and the Server Room Chill, both dry ice drinks. These drinks come in a fun glass into which they inject dry ice under a filter that keeps the dry ice from coming loose while you drink. The dry ice gives the typical smokey effect but also keeps the drink bubbling the whole experience. While I love these drinks for the occasional visit, I probably wouldn’t order them all the time as it was a little intimidating to drink while they were bubbling so strongly and the glasses threatened to tip over at any time so I had to hold my drink the whole time. The consensus among my group was that our favorite was The Last Word. It tasted almost like a peach white wine sangria and was refreshing and the addition of thyme really gave it something extra. For lunch, my fiancé and I split the deviled eggs for an appetizer and the Salmon PLT for a main course. The deviled eggs were nothing to write home about, but I always love a good deviled egg. I though the price at $12 was a bit high for 4 deviled eggs with toast. The Salmon PLT was $23 and is essentially a salmon burger with pancetta, lettuce, tomato, and a lemon aioli. While the price tag made me a little nervous, this sandwich was a total knockout. The salmon was cooked perfectly and the saltiness of the pancetta and tart creaminess of the aioli really made this a meal to remember. We were so full by the end of our meal that we totally forgot about dessert! One thing to note about Lamplight Lounge being so new is that one of our group members had asked if they could do a 2319 (a non-alcoholic drink) with a shot of rum and they were unable to accommodate that because they could only charge for the drinks as-is. Overall, I loved the feel of Lamplight Lounge and I’m itching to go back and have another Salmon PLT.

I think the perfect ending to a day at Pixar Pier would be the “It’s Lemon!” from Adorable Snowman which is a lemon Dole Whip. I’ll even be controversial and say that I prefer the lemon Dole Whip over the pineapple version in Disneyland and I like it almost as much as Citrus Swirl over in Magic Kingdom in Florida! I love that it is just the right amount of tart to balance the sweetness. It also doesn’t melt as quickly as the pineapple Dole Whip, which can develop a frothy quality as it melts. If you’re feeling extra adventurous, you can order the parfait which comes with layers of lemon Dole Whip and blue raspberry slushy. The slushy definitely adds quite a bit of sweetness but it’s a fun occasional treat and is more than enough for 2 people to share.

Between the attractions and food locations, we spent about 6 hours in Pixar Pier in moderate crowds.  I definitely see the benefit to the changes that were made to the former Paradise Pier and can see this absolutely bringing larger crowds to the back of the park and away from not only Disneyland but also Mission: Breakout and Soarin’. I think these changes are especially timely with Star Wars land opening soon and the impending closure of Bug’s Land to make way for a new Marvel themed land.

 

If you get a chance to visit Disney’s California Adventure, be sure to check out my favorites of Pixar Pier!

Favorites:

Attraction- Incredicoaster

Quick Service- Poultry Palace

Snack- It’s Lemon at Adorable Snowman

Table Service- Downstairs at Lamplight Lounge

A Special Occasion Meal at Lamplight Lounge

I was lucky enough to be able to experience the downstairs eating area and Lamplight Lounge for the first time on opening weekend. (In my previous review, I was able to give a general overall rundown of what having a drink and a snack at the bar was like.) However, I had already made reservations for a meal at LLL months prior. Our reservation for a full, sit-down meal was scheduled for July 3rd– my last dating anniversary with my fiancé before our wedding! When we finally made it to the Disneyland Resort after double the usual traffic, we went straight into Disney’s California Adventure and got our “Happily Ever After” buttons from Guest Services. We arrived at Lamplight Lounge about 20 minutes before our reservation and checked in. The cast member at the check in desk noted that it would be a few minutes because we were early and asked if we preferred outdoor or indoor seating. We asked for indoor seating, as the outdoor seating looked to be mostly patio style lounge chairs and coffee tables. The cast member asked for our phone number and informed us that we would receive a text message when our table was ready.

As we waited for our text message, we strolled through Knick’s Knacks and talked with some cast members who saw our “Happily Ever After” buttons and my “Bride 2 Be” custom ears and congratulated us. It was in that moment that I realized the cast members in Lamplight Lounge had never asked if we were celebrating something special, as is customary at Disney restaurants. It ended up being a bit more than a 30 minute wait to get the text message letting us know that our table was ready. We went downstairs to the seating hosts, who were incredibly nice, and they asked our name and escorted us to our “table”. I say table in quotes, because not only were we not inside per our request, we were seated out the outside portion of the bar top at a jutted out section that allowed us to face each other but the seats were still bar location and height. We looked around and noticed at the same time we got seated, and noticed people who had shown up for same day reservations were being seated at regular tables inside. I thought this was a bit unfair as we made reservations so far in advance and waited extra only to be sat at the exact opposite of our request and it felt like the cast members were prioritizing the walk ups over the people with reservations. I was willing to make the most of it since we had already seen the inside of the restaurant, but after sitting there for a couple minutes, we noticed there was a patio heater pointed directly at us. We asked a cast member if they could turn it down as it was still 75 degrees outside, but they informed us that the heaters could not be turned down, only off, and they needed to leave them all on “in case another guest gets cold”. Once again, it was OVER 70 DEGREES outside. I felt like my skin was going to melt off of me, we were that close to the heater. We asked if we could be moved and their solution was to move us further down the bar, forgotten in the corner, and not even facing each other at this point. Now, I’m not one to complain and I don’t want to be considered the pushy guest, but I was pretty upset that I saw walk ups being seated at tables and I was sitting at the bar, being completely ignored by servers, and not even facing my fiancé on our anniversary date. So even though I’m chronically afraid of complaining, I pointed the situation out to another cast member and told her I was willing to wait, or if we couldn’t move I would be fine leaving. The cast member then went inside, looked at a table, came back to us and said, “Fine, but this is the last time I’m moving you two” in a sarcastic tone. My fiancé pointed out that she probably meant that as a joke, but my nerves were already so fried trying to deal with the situation, that it came across as extremely rude to me.

We eventually got settled inside the indoor dining room at a table meant for 4 people. The table next to us was a two person table and they were paying their bill as we were being seated. I would have been more than happy to wait for them to be done so the 2 of us weren’t taking up a 4 top table, but I settled in and prepared for the upcoming meal. By the time we got situated, it was 9pm and the park was closing at 10pm. We ordered a couple drinks we hadn’t tried during our previous visit. My fiancé ordered the Carne Asada Roll for his appetizer, and I ordered the Potato Skins. One thing I will point out before we get into the food reviews- after we ordered a drink and appetizers, our waitress asked if that would be it for the evening, like again we were seen as bar patrons and not people looking to have a relaxing anniversary meal. We said we would be ordering entrees and more drinks but she still took one of our menus, leaving us to share one menu to look over the entrees.

But enough of that- let’s talk about food! When the Carne Asada Roll came, my fiancé let me know that he was surprised it was a sushi roll, as he thought it was a wrap. The roll comes with wasabi and soy sauce and several large pieces of sushi. The sushi was definitely better than I thought it would be, the steak was rare, the avocado creamy, and the sauce just the right amount of spicy. For my appetizer I got the potato skins which are really more like potato pancakes. We were served four large, fried disks which really were more like potato pancakes instead of potato skins. In fact there wasn’t any skin on the potatoes at all. The potato skins were plated with a brown butter yogurt and a paprika aioli in place of the traditional sour cream. I did really enjoy the Potato Skins, but I can see how someone would be disappointed if they were expecting traditional potato skins. I liked the paprika aioli just a tad more than the yogurt but I thought both complemented the potatoes well.

For our main entrees, my fiancé got the Spinach Salad and I tried their Cheddar Burger. The spinach salad is a vegetarian salad without meat, but it does come with wild mushrooms, a poached egg, and what they are calling “shiitake bacon”. The first thing my fiance did when he got his salad was break the poached egg, and he was very glad he did because the dressing tasted even better when mixed with egg yolk. Be forewarned, this salad has a LOT of mushrooms is in, so if you’re not a mushroom person, I would skip this entree. The shiitake mushrooms were thinly sliced and crispy and while they didn’t resemble or taste like bacon, they added a fun flavor and texture to the salad. I did make some changes to the burger from the way it’s presented on the menu. The Cheddar Burger usually comes with roasted plum tomato, red onion, and an avocado ranch spread. I don’t usually eat tomatoes or avocado so I requested my burger without tomato and substituted the avocado ranch spread for the lemon bacon aioli that usually comes on the Salmon PLT. The burger came to the table with both sides of the bun absolutely slathered in the lemon bacon aioli, so much so that I had to take my knife and scrape off some of excess aioli before I could even get a good bite of my burger. I requested the burger medium and I think it was more on the medium-well side. The burger was juicy and the cheddar is flavorful, but all in all not worth the sit down restaurant cost. The meat seemed on par with the burgers at Smokejumpers Grill but the burger at Lamplight Lounge is double the cost. Overall, I enjoyed it but I definitely regretted not just ordering the Salmon PLT again.

Right as we were taking our first few bites of our entrees, our waitress came around to let us know that it was not half hour before park closing and as such was last call. We ordered the Nectar in the Rye and The Last Word and when they were delivered to our table, we realized these two drinks were very similar with just one big difference- the Nectar in the Rye is a whiskey based drink and The Last Word is a white wine based drink, with all the other ingredients being the same. We joked that they were “his and her’s” drinks. We both love peach so the peach liqueur added a fun, refreshing vibe to both drinks. For dessert, we ordered the only dessert on the menu- donuts! This dish is served with 5 mini donuts coated in granulated sugar and accompanied by a raspberry  dipping sauce, and a chocolate dipping sauce. The raspberry sauce was a fun surprise because (spoiler alert) it has pop rocks in it! Imagine my surprise when I dipped my first donut in the raspberry sauce, took a bit, and immediately started hearing the signature crackling noise! While the donuts were a fun treat, I wish that the dessert menu had more options available.

As we were served our donuts, a recording came over the loudspeakers throughout the park, announcing the park’s closing. We expressed our apologies to our waitress for staying after closing. She let us know that she understood as we had not been seated until late and did not mind helping us wrap up. When she brought us our bill, I inquired about the location of “The Office”- a private, hidden dining room somewhere in the restaurant. We were some of the last people in the restaurant and our waitress decided that instead of telling us where The Office was, she’d show us instead! The Office is down an unassuming hallway that I would have thought was for cast members only. The entrance is a giant vault style door and I had to crank the handle many times before all the lights on the door lit up and the buzzing sound let me know I could enter. As the door was opening, I was hit with a strong smell of new leather. The office is designed to be for groups of 8 or more and has a large dining table, a nook for playing board games, and even its own private terrace overlooking the Incredicoaster launch. Lining the walls are self portraits of Pixar animators past and present. Each portrait had its own unique design and I could have spent an hour just studying the walls. Our waitress also let us know that there were 2 drinks exclusive to The office, a cocktail and a mocktail but we were unable to get the details on that.

Somehow in the course of exploring The Office, it finally came up that it was our anniversary dinner and while she was processing our payment, our waitress brought over a raspberry sorbet with the raspberry sauce on top and to be honest I liked the raspberry sauce on top of the sorbet more than I liked it paired with the donuts and I wish you could just order the sorbet off the menu!

Our tour of The Office and the raspberry sorbet definitely made me feel special and made that the most memorable thing of the evening, and not the rocky beginning. If you are going to Lamplight Lounge, be aware that there is still some confusion regarding seating and there is no clear distinction between guests with reservations and those who simply walk up. On a good note though, the food and drinks are super fun and I think Lamplight Lounge has the potential to be a really fun hang out spot for years to come.