New concept art revealed for the Pixar Place Hotel at Disneyland Resort

6 days ago in "Disneyland Resort"

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Pixar Place Hotel concept art at Disneyland Resort

Posted: Thursday May 25, 2023 2:52pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Disney has shared new concept art of the reimagined Paradise Pier Hotel that will become the Pixar Place Hotel at Disneyland Resort.

The 15-story Paradise Pier Hotel remains open during the transformation, which will be completed by the end of 2023. The finished project will be the only fully Pixar-themed hotel in the U.S.A.

As guests enter the hotel lobby, they will be greeted by the Pixar Lamp. A whimsical, colorful character-inspired mobile will hang above, welcoming guests to the new, reimagined lobby atrium.

Pixar Place Hotel concept art at Disneyland Resort

Opening this summer, an all-new water play area inspired by "Finding Nemo" will include a 186-foot-long waterslide.

Pixar Place Hotel concept art at Disneyland Resort

Coming soon to the deck is a family play court featuring activities inspired by Pixar's beloved short films. Engaging games and imaginative free play will showcase favorite characters from "La Luna," "Bao," "For the Birds," and "Burrow." After all the fun, guests can unwind with food and drinks under the romantic umbrellas from "The Blue Umbrella."

Pixar Place Hotel concept art at Disneyland Resort

This fall, the hotel will debut a new restaurant at the resort, Great Maple. This Southern California-based modern American eatery specializes in playful takes on upscale comfort food. The restaurant will serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner all day and will be conveniently located on the ground floor for hotel guests, local residents, and visitors to the theme park.

Pixar Place Hotel concept art at Disneyland Resort

Signature dishes will include the Buttermilk Fried Chicken & Maple Bacon Doughnuts, the Cajun Shrimp & Cheddar Biscuit Benedict, and the Soda Pop-Braised Baby Back Ribs. Great Maple will also have a full bar, including beer, wine, and cocktails.

Pixar Place Hotel concept art at Disneyland Resort

Great Maple will also offer food and beverage service at the pool, as well as a new grab 'n' go coffee shop and café near the lobby and eventually at the hotel's new concierge lounge.

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DavidDL15 hours ago

Touché. -and who am I kidding, even if Disney did try and go full-on "whimsical" with this transformation, at best we'd probably just get another Pixar Pier in hotel form. Which they also did an awful job with. It's not like doing a good job with Pixar properties is an impossible task for them, either. But lately it's felt really hit or miss. Looking at individual attractions like Astro Blasters, It's Tough to be a Bug, Ratatouille or full on areas like Cars Land and Toy Story Land make what we're seeing with things like the Pixar Place and Contemporary hotels all the tougher to stomach.

Adventureland Veranda16 hours ago

I know there's not much you can really do with this building but I preferred the beach theme which felt more welcoming. I would have updated that look rather than the sterile space they chose. The new roof deck is an improvement but the theming is odd with all the random Pixar references clumped together there.

jmuboy1 day ago

I’m really hoping the artwork they adding ( please tell me they are adding art ) in the common spaces will be of a bright and vibrant nature. Which would explain why the base coloring is so sterile. Overall it’s not going to fully overcome the sterile look. But hoping there is some improvement. After seeing Art or Marvel in Paris this place is laughable

BubbaisSleep1 day ago

Yeah this whole thing looks so sterile and horrible. I actually liked the beach theme a lot and miss my stays at the PPH, especially when we had a view of PP. I will say the remodeled outdoor deck area by the pool and water slide looks like a huge win in the concept art. That area needed life for a while and as a “resort” I’m glad to see a lively area for guests to sit around, play games, or enjoy the hotel under the sun. The worst part is how this looks from Pixar Pier now. Before it looked like a skyscraper building that at least tried to match the pier in color. Imposing but muted a bit by its paint job. Now it looks like the hospital building Jack Jack gets sent to everyday so he can remove those sticks from his back.

TP20001 day ago

Spot on regarding Great Maple not making any sense in this Pixar hotel. The La Jolla one closed because La Jolla is a tough town to do business in, and not just because the rents are high and parking is scarce; the locals are very faithful to their long-term favorites (I know a few that are downright ornery about it), and the tourists just want SoCal Beach Scene stuff or "Seafood!" instead of hipster coffee shops. The Hillcrest location was the first one, and I think it's still the best. I have no idea what they were doing by putting a Great Maple in the Pixar hotel, but then judging by the aesthetics of this Pixar hotel I don't think anyone on the project knew what they were doing.

PiratesMansion1 day ago

This is all true, but was there EVER a day of its entire existence that the Pan Pacific/DL Pacific/Paradise Pier/Pixar Place Hotel didn't look like an ugly corporate product inside and out?

DavidDL1 day ago

We watched a video for this one last night (at least what's been completed so far) and we both agreed it looks just.. awful. It was the first time I'd ever heard my wife use the word "corporate" to describe something Disney's built in my entire life. "Where is the color? Where is the life? This isn't what I think about when I think of Pixar." The fact that a Great Maple, of all things, is taking up the resort's dining real estate sends me for a loop, too. No colorful, fun dining options with the Pixar characters. Just a restaurant chain that'd feel more at home in Downtown Disney that I could have driven to Hillcrest or La Jolla for. Actually, the La Jolla location closed down.. maybe they packed up shop and headed up to the new hotel?

lazyboy97o1 day ago

This is the case with most of the single tenant buildings at Disney Springs.

the.dreamfinder2 days ago

For example, Cirque du Soleil owns its building at Disney Springs and leases the land.

lazyboy97o2 days ago

Yes, because Disney owns the hotel. It’s possible to own a building and not own the land.

Ne'er-Do-Well Cad2 days ago

Just wish they would've put a little more thought into how it looks from inside DCA. It looks slightly better (IMO), but still feels intrusive when you're walking around Pixar Pier / Paradise Gardens Park.

mlayton1442 days ago

Would it be too crazy for Disney just to take their name off of it and let it rot for a few years (I assume the owner would make no money off of it in that scenario). Of course I’m sure there is more to this story

the.dreamfinder2 days ago

Not so sure there. Resort President could make the effort to advocate for funding to do the buyout, but that requires political capital and time. With current managment, they’ll only tear it down if the minority investor wants to sell or bookings and guest sats went down and stayed low because it’s an overpriced product.

josh20002 days ago

We have no clue how much the former owners want but I'm assuming that if it was a reasonable price, Disney would have already paid it a long time ago. As it stands, the former owners are making a lot of money off the current hotel so I have to imagine it would cost a lot to buy them out. I recall the story of how the Yamabuki restaurant at the hotel had to close permanently. Disney wasn't making enough money due to a substantial percentage of the restaurant's profits having to be paid to the former owners.