Pixar Fest is a celebration at Disneyland that honors the popular Pixar films including iconic favorites like Toy Story, Up!, and Coco. This new, reimagined Pixar Fest also incorporates the new Pixar films into the celebration like Elemental and Turning Red.
Pixar Fest was last held in 2018 at Disneyland and has returned to Disneyland “bring guests together of a celebration of friendship and beyond.” I was at the 2018 Pixar Fest and I loved this event especially the Pixar-themed Together Forever! fireworks spectacular. This fireworks show even includes the Up! house flying behind the castle! This is such a great event to revamp and bring back for the 2024 spring and summer. The 2024 Pixar Fest also includes a brand new parade in addition to an updated version of this amazing Pixar fireworks show.
Keep reading for our full guide to this newly reimagined Pixar Fest including the fireworks, all the details of the new parade plus Pixar character meet and greets based on our personal experience during opening week of Pixar Fest at Disneyland!
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Pixar Fest 2024 Dates
Pixar Fest is taking place at Disneyland from April 26th, 2024 through August 4th, 2024.
Disneyland, California Adventure, hotels, and Downtown Disney are all filled with colorful Pixar-themed décor for the celebration. For Pixar Fest, the resort features brightly-colored banners, sculptures that double as photo locations, and more. Guests will be able to enjoy an over 25-foot-tall sculpture celebrating friendship and highlighting the iconic Pixar Ball in the esplanade between the parks. At Disney California Adventure, you can also use your MagicBand+ to interact with a Pixar-themed installation.
During the 2018 Pixar Fest, the Cars Land entrance also received two cars in Buzz Lightyear and Woody costumes for guests to take photo ops with. This year these same car photo ops are featured in Downtown Disney so all guests can enjoy them without needing to enter the theme parks.
The new Disneyland Star Wars celebratory event, Season of the Force, is also running in conjunction for part of the dates of Pixar Fest making this a great opportunity to enjoy both these new additions.
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Pixar Fest New Sculpture Revealed
There is a new Pixar Fest sculpture at Disneyland in honor of Pixar Fest! This move follows the tradition of placing iconic monuments at the entrance of the park. The Main Street, U.S.A. sculpture is part of the colorful decor and photo opportunities that will be featured throughout the resort during Pixar Fest!
You can see a look at the sculpture above, which features Pixar friends like Woody, Buzz, and Jessie from Toy Story, WALL-E and EVE from WALL-E, Dug and Russell from Up, Wade and Ember from Elemental, and more. This will be a really great photo opportunity during the festival!
There is also a large Pixar Fest sculpture in the esplanade between Disneyland and California Adventure to enjoy photo ops in front of.
Pixar Fest NEW Parade
Pixar Fest’s most exciting entertainment is the brand new parade at California Adventure! The new parade is called Better Together: A Pixar Pals Celebration!
Better Together: A Pixar Pals Celebration! will run twice a day, featuring high-energy dancing and appearances from over two dozen Pixar characters, including characters from “Luca,” “Soul,” “The Incredibles,” “Turning Red,” “Coco,” “Toy Story,” and “Monsters, Inc.”
You can expect to see Red Panda Mei and her friends rocking out to their favorite boy band, 4*Town, Joe Gardner and 22, Luca, Alberto, and Giulia, and more. In the grand finale, guests can see Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl, Miguel, Mike and Sulley, and Woody, Jessie and Buzz Lightyear. This is a great mix of beloved Pixar characters, and we’re excited to see it come to life!
This new parade replaces the previous one (Pixar Play Parade) that ran during the 2018 Pixar Fest which was rather short in comparison to other Disney parades.
I am excited that Disneyland put in the effort to create a whole new parade although I am sure we did see some returning floats from the original Pixar Play Parade. I was glad to see the return of the Pixar UP! float. Can you tell what my Pixar movie is yet?
Together Forever! Fireworks
Pixar Fest Disneyland also features Together Forever – A Pixar Nighttime Spectacular which celebrates the unbreakable bonds between pals, such as Woody and Buzz for Pixar Fest. This dazzling pyrotechnic show includes musical themes from the beloved Pixar movies and highlights the unlikely friendships and adventures of Pixar friends. It includes moments like Pixar pals meeting for the first time, embarking on adventures and overcoming challenges, and forming everlasting bonds.
Every single Pixar movie is represented in this fireworks show including 59 existing characters from the previous run of the fireworks show in 2018 including 17 new characters plus 5 new emotions from Inside Out!
There is also a special castle flyover by Buzz Lightyear and the house from “Up” suspended by balloons flying over Sleeping Beauty Castle. This is one of the best parts of this fireworks show which is why using the time to get a coveted castle viewing fireworks spot might be worth it.
Together Forever! has not been seen at Disneyland since 2018 when it debuted with the first run of Pixar Fest. I loved this fireworks show especially as a huge Up fan. The house from Up was a stunning inclusion of the fireworks show. This is a Disneyland fireworks show that you should not miss!
The Together Forever fireworks show also features brand new scenes! Moments from the original show are featured, like Miguel strumming his guitar and the iconic “Up!” house floating above the castle we mentioned above, along with new scenes featuring characters and moments from “Onward,” “Soul,” “Luca,” “Turning Red” and “Elemental.”
The show features projections, colorful lasers, and music. On most evenings, there will be fireworks featured. The show will also interact with your MagicBand+ as lights and vibrations are synchronized to the music. You’ll be able to watch it at multiple locations including the Rivers of America, the facade of “it’s a small world,” and Main Street U.S.A.
Club Pixar at the Hollywood Backlot
During the daytime at the Hollywood Backlot in Disney California Adventure, guests can take photos in front of Pixar-themed backdrops, play games, and encounter characters. At night, Club Pixar will feature a nighttime party in the area inspired by the stories of Pixar Animation Studios. You can look forward to an interactive DJ dance party, live performances, games, photo opportunities, themed food, specially crafted beverages, and more.
Pixar Pals Playtime Party
At the Fantasyland Theatre in Disneyland Park, the Pixar Pals Playtime Party offers families the opportunity to dance and play, with a high-energy show, interactive games, photo locations, and activities inspired by Pixar feature films, as well as a selection of iconic shorts on the big screen.
Here is the full schedule:
- 10:30 to 11:30 am- there will be one character set at a time, every 15 minutes
- 11:30am – 5:30pm- the venue will be open and characters will swap out every 30 minutes
Characters featured in this area include Luca and Alberto from Luca, Wade and Ember from Elemental, Russell and Dug from Up, plus Ian and Barley from Onward.
Characters in this area won’t be signing autographs but plenty of photo ops are available. No autographs is likely to keep lines moving quickly so everyone can experience as many characters as once especially since they swap in and out so often.
Rare Pixar Characters
Pixar Fest also includes rare Pixar characters for guests to meet which is always a good highlight of any celebration at Disneyland. And in the case of Pixar, it’s great to see these beloved films get this sort of attention and love.
Some of the characters announced for Pixar Fest at Disneyland include Ember and Wade from “Elemental” (who will be making their debut at the Disneyland Resort) and Red Panda Mei from “Turning Red.”
Guests will be able to meet several Pixar characters at various locations across both of the parks, including friends from “Inside Out” and “The Incredibles” as well.
Pixar Place Hotel
Pixar Place is the new name of the reimagined Paradise Pier Disneyland official hotel. This hotel has undergone a massive Pixar retheme and opened on January 30th, 2024 so the renovations are completed in time for Pixar Fest.
The completion of the Pixar Place retheme may have even inspired Disneyland to bring Pixar Fest as it’s perfect timing to be promoting this Pixar hotel while also celebrating Pixar in the theme parks.
Pixar Place offers new dining options, a Pixar-themed pool and splash pad area, Pixar-themed rooms, and a stunning lobby featuring Pixar artwork and tributes.
Pixar Fest Merchandise & Themed Food
Like with any celebration at Disneyland, you can expect a variety of Pixar Fest-themed merchandise. This also might lead to a surge of new general Pixar merchandise beyond the offerings we see in Pixar Pier. Merchandise will include everything from Pizza Planet baseball caps to Mike Wazowski sweatshirts, and limited-time Pixar Fest merchandise will arrive in April. You can see all the Pixar Fest foods coming to Disneyland here.
For a limited time, guests will also find medallions themed to favorite Pixar films around the resort, with the opportunity to collect ones inspired by classics like “Toy Story” and “a Bug’s Life” to newer releases like “Lightyear” and “Elemental.”
Pixar Fest also includes a list of brand new popcorn buckets including the Pizza Planet truck featured above.
There is also a large variety of new merchandise for Pixar Fest which you can see the full list of in our Pixar Fest merchandise guide along with our exclusive preview of this merchandise!
As a new offering this year, the Troubadour Tavern menu at Disneyland Park will transform to feature Pixar-inspired foods and beverages. Paradise Garden Grill in Disney California Adventure will serve “Coco”-inspired items.
Starting May 10, six Pixar-themed marketplaces will be featured in Disney California Adventure and be available throughout the festival. Each location will celebrate a unique film!
- Summertime dishes inspired by the Italian coast at Portorosso Pasta from “Luca”
- Reimagined classics at Gusteau’s To-Go, themed to “Ratatouille”
- A playful mélange of elements at The Elemental Table, inspired by “Elemental”
- Fun foods perfect for a tween, boy band (or anyone, really!) at 4*Town Fav*4*ites from “Turning Red”
- Feel-good foods that feed your soul at The Spark, inspired by “Soul”
- Flavors to appeal to all of your emotions at Hanger Management from “Inside Out.”
I imagine we’ll see some devoted Pixar Fest menu items at Lamplight Lounge as this is the iconic Pixar restaurant in California Adventure!
🍰You can read all about the Pixar Fest food items in our Pixar Fest food guide.
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