We’ve lived in both California and Florida, and we’ve spent lots of time at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World. There are distinct things we love about each location. For instance, we love the many hotel choices at Walt Disney World. With a variety of choices, the price points vary from value, to moderate, to deluxe. Guests of Disneyland, though, have fewer on-property hotel choices. There’s the Grand Californian, Disneyland Hotel, and Pixar Place Hotel (formerly Paradise Pier Hotel). But some recent changes have improved the guest experience.
In 2023, The Villas at Disneyland opened. The 12-story tower has rooms and suites that sleep from 2-12 guests. This is a Disney Vacation Club property, but available to the general public when space is available.
Paradise Pier transforms into Pixar Place
Now in 2024, a big transformation is taking place at Paradise Pier. It’s now Pixar Place Hotel. While the renovations don’t add more hotel rooms, they do bring more amenities to a hotel that was previously lackluster. Not only is the theming new, but the updates also include new dining options and family activities.
Accommodations at Pixar Place Hotel
All of the hotel rooms are being remodeled from a seaside theme to a Pixar theme. This isn’t just a paint job, everything in the rooms is new from floor to ceiling, including the bathroom fixtures. The updated rooms are more fun and contemporary.
Most rooms are configured with either a king bed with a queen sleeper-sofa, or two queen beds with a daybed. However, there are suites as well, with the largest one sleeping up to 11 adults.
We booked a 2 Queen Premium View room. A premium view means that you have views of Disney’s California Adventure Park. From our room we were able to see World of Color. Standard View rooms look out on to Disney Drive and the parking area.
Our room could accommodate up to 5 people because of the daybed sofa. There was plenty of drawers and closet spaces within the room. The elevated beds allowed for under-the-bed storage of suitcases.
The room had a refrigerator and Keurig coffee maker. Perhaps most importantly it had plenty of outlets for charging devices.
Pixar art adorns the walls, and the iconic Pixar Lamp sits on the desk. The theming is classy, not overdone.
Standard hotel rooms at Pixar Place range from about $415-575 per night depending on travel dates.
KidTripster Tip: Self-service laundry facilities are available on the seond floor of Pixar Place Hotel. There are several washers and dryers, as well as laundry detergent for sale. No coins needed to operate. You can use a card for payment.
Activities at Pixar Place Hotel
Although we spent all of our free time at the theme parks, the resort offers activities exclusive to guests.
Pool & Sports Deck
The pool deck was also refurbished and it looks great! The updates make the space more fun and inviting. There’s the large Pixel Pool, a hot tub, a Finding Nemo-themed splash pad and a 186-foot slide called Crush’s Surfin’ Slide. If you want a private hangout space, cabanas are available for rent. The pool deck also features a bar and a Pixar Shorts play court. In the evenings, guests can watch Disneyland’s fireworks.
KidTripster Tip: Life vests are available for complimentary use at the pool.
Resort Activities
At check-in, you’ll receive a calendar of resort activities. These include fitness, behind-the-scenes tours, and entertainment options. Some of these activities are free, while others come at a cost (typically ranging from $25-35).
Character Appearances
Appearing for the first time at any Disney property, Bing Bong from Pixar’s “Inside Out” makes his world debut at Pixar Place Hotel. At select times, he may be found creating core photo memories with guests. And at select times, Joe Gardner from “Soul” may be seen and heard playing the piano near the hotel’s staircase.
[ Related: Review: Disney’s Riviera Resort ]
Dining at Pixar Place
At long last, Pixar Place Hotel offers on-site dining options! There hadn’t been a restaurant here in several years. Hungry guests could order (and still can!) lobby delivery from restaurants in Downtown Disney.
Hooray, the Great Maple Modern American Eatery is now open on the ground floor of the hotel. The restaurant serves modern comfort food in a stylish space. It’s open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Additionally, there’s a coffee shop adjacent to the lobby called the Sketch Pad. It serves coffee, tea and grab and go snacks. It’s open from 6-11 a.m.
On the pool deck is Small Bytes. It hadn’t opened yet during our visit, but we’re told this quick service restaurant will offer drinks and light snacks.
A small assortment of snacks and drinks are available at the StorE.
Additional Amenities
Paradise Pier has its own entrance into Disney’s California Adventure. To get there, just cross the street and access the private entry gate using a hotel room key. Then it’s just a short walk down a pathway to the entrance. The only time we’ve encountered a line here is first thing in the morning for early entry. Guests can access Disneyland by walking through the Grand Californian – or by the Monorail which drops off in Tomorrowland.
One of the best parts about staying on property at Disneyland is exclusive early entry privileges into the parks. Early entry alternates between Disneyland and Disney California Adventure. While it’s just 30 minutes early, you might be surprised at how much you can accomplish in that time. At Disneyland, we’ve conquered all of Fantasyland in 30 minutes, longer than the typical minimum wait time for Peter Pan’s Flight. At Disney’s California Adventure, we typically head to the Avengers Campus for Web Slingers and Guardians of the Galaxy. We’ve been able to ride both attractions a few times before the park opens to the general public.
Disneyland Travel Tips
Be sure to download the Disneyland app prior to your arrival. You can check into your room, access digital keys, make charges, and order food all within the app.
The app is also essential for navigating the theme parks. You’ll find wait times for all of the attractions, your photo pass photos, mobile food ordering, etc. Disney Genie+ costs extra, starting at $30 per person, per day, in addition to your park ticket. Although it adds significantly to the price of your ticket, it’s helpful in getting you on rides quickly, allowing you to do more. Individual Lightning Lanes are also available for purchase. During our visit it coast $26 per person for a Lighting Lane to Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. And it was $16 per person for Radiator Springs Racers. You don’t have to buy Lightning Lane passes to access these attractions, you’ll just have to wait in line. Given their popularity, wait times can be significant.
If you haven’t been to Disneyland for awhile, know that MagicBands are available here. They arrived at the park in 2022, almost 10 years after their introduction at Walt Disney World. MagicBands do cost extra. The price varies depending on the style. You don’t necessarily need them at Disneyland. You can link them to your park tickets and use the bracelets to enter the park. We also find them helpful for accessing Lightning Lanes. Each person can scan themselves into the attractions.
We also highly recommend making dining reservations. Table service dining within the parks is limited. Without reservations, you may not get a table. We like to have at least one meal (lunch or dinner) at a table service restaurant. The other meals we order on the go, using mobile ordering within the app. Disneyland opens dining reservations 60-days in advance. Place like Blue Bayou, Lamplight Lounge, and Oga’s Cantina get booked up early.
[ Related: Is Oga’s Cantina Overrated? ]
We book all of our Disney and cruise travel through our partners at Magic Family Getaways. Their services come at no additional cost to you, but their expertise can save you time and money. As a partner, we do receive a small commission from all bookings. But again, this comes at no additional cost to you.
