Mar 23, 20212 min read

Pixar Pier

When the park first opened in 2001, Paradise Pier originally resembled a modern seaside amusement park, similar to that of the Santa Monica Pier, or Santa Cruz Boardwalk. As part of the Disney California Adventure $1.1 billion expansion project, Paradise Pier was re-themed to evoke the charm of Victorian era seaside amusement parks of the 1920s.

The first change was the addition of Toy Story Midway Mania!, which opened on June 17, 2008.

The boardwalk games were then re-themed to incorporate more familiar Disney characters (completed on April 7, 2009), and the Sun Wheel was transformed into Mickey's Fun Wheel with a new color scheme, new lighting effects, and a "pie-eyed" Mickey Mouse face replacing the original sun face (completed on May 4, 2009).

Following these changes, the "Route 66" area was completely re-themed, with the "S.S. rustworthy", and "Dinosaur Jack's Sunglass Shack" being completely demolished. The Orange Stinger underwent extensive re-theming to become Silly Symphony Swings, based on Walt Disney's 1935 short film The Band Concert.

Silly Symphony Swings opened on May 28, 2010. Cosmetic changes were also made to California Screamin': the Mickey Mouse silhouette was altered to represent a sunburst pattern, with a large Paradise Pier sign hanging above the loop, and the scream tubes were also repainted a darker shade of blue.

Walt Disney Imagineering created World of Color, a new nighttime spectacular featuring fountains and projection effects, for Paradise Bay. An area on the northern waterfront was repurposed into a viewing area for the show, known as Paradise Park. World of Color premiered on June 11, 2010, and plays nightly.

Pixar Pier features