I’m still catching up on D23 Expo news and will be writing short updates about each one.  Once finished with that, I will be adding my own commentary to each post.  I’ll put the new post on top of the blog with each update.  On to the news!

While most of the D23 Expo announcements centered around Walt Disney World, the west coast got a little love.  Here is what was announced:

• A Marvel themed area will be coming to the park, although not many details were given on the upcoming land.  The area will be around the already built Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission BREAKOUT! Here’s the Disney Parks post on the subject. 
• Paradise Pier will be renamed Pixar Pier in 2018 and there may be some new additions or layovers to make the area fit.  I’ve read a few blog posts on this and listened to the actual announcement.  To be honest, I’m still really confused about what exactly this is.  I’ll have more reaction below.
• Paint the Night will make it’s grand reappearance across the esplanade at California Adventure, and will feature a new float.
• I’m going to sneak in some Disneyland news here because it’s loosely attached to these other announcements.  Pixar Play Parade will be moving to Disneyland and a Pixar themed fireworks show will be debuting.  This is all part of a Pixar festival that’s starting in 2018.  Again, pretty confused about all of this but more commentary is on the way.

Via Disney Parks Blog

Here is the Disney Park’s Blog post on the Pixar news.

My reaction to the news:

Since I threw all of the announcements into one big Disneyland thread, I’ll react to each of them individually.

The Marvel Land announcement was no surprise.  What was somewhat surprising is the lack of details that went along with it.  They didn’t announce what will go into the land, what characters would be in there, or where the land would go.  This was a “We’ve got something coming and Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission BREAKOUT! isn’t totally out of place” announcement.  That’s fine.  Until there’s more details I don’t have many thoughts here.  It will be cool to have Marvel in the parks if used and placed correctly.

Paint the Night moving to California Adventure is a good move to help counterbalance the crowds for Disneyland’s nighttime spectaculars.  I think the mood of Paint the Night fits better in California Adventure anyway.  What I don’t get is Pixar Play Parade moving to Disneyland.  I don’t like that parade and certainly don’t think it commands the day parade slot at one of the best parks on earth.  Hopefully a new daytime parade is on the way to Disneyland once this ‘Pixar Fest’ ends.  Frankly, I wish they had kept the Pixar Festival just as a part of California Adventure instead of having it at both parks.  Disneyland doesn’t have much in the way of Pixar so why try to shoehorn it in an already crowded park?  In that same vein, I don’t like a fireworks show themed to Pixar in a Disney park.  I get why most people wouldn’t care, but having a fireworks show based off a non-Disney franchise as the nighttime spectacular in Disney’s original park doesn’t leave the best taste in my mouth.  It’s not a big deal, just a little annoyance.

Via Disney Parks Blog

That all leads to the most confusing moment of the expo to me – Paradise Pier becoming Pixar Pier.  I’m hopeful that this new Pixar Pier will just be a subsection of a larger Paradise Pier.  Pixar Pier could stretch from Toy Story Midway Mania to the Paradise Garden Grill.  The concept art shows a candy store and ‘theater’ coming into that stretch.  If that’s all it is then this announcement is pretty harmless and could even enhance a somewhat rundown area.

What I worry about though is the whole area being rethemed as Pixar Pier.  Will California Screaming be cheaply overlaid?  What about Cove Bar and Ariel’s Grotto?  The Little Mermaid attraction?  This won’t make sense if the whole area is dubbed Pixar Pier.  Frankly, I’m not a big fan of Paradise Pier as an area but it is better than a cheaply thrown together area.  I’m worried about this certain announcement but am curious to hear more details.

What did you think about these Disneyland Resort announcements?  Let us know in the comments.  If you enjoy what you’re reading here on Wandering in Disney please subscribe to the blog.  You can do that on the right side of the page, along with finding links to our social media accounts.  Thank you for reading!