Pixar Fest Means Family Fun Time at Disneyland

Disneyland means family fun any time of the year but this summer the park upped its game. Pixar Fest is here for the season. Through Sept. 3, the famous Southern California resort is celebrating friendship and all things Pixar with some of the world’s most beloved characters and stories.

Throughout the celebration, the Pixar theme will be present all over Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure. Park performers incorporate Pixar stories into their performances, menus and attractions received temporary upgrades and there are even opportunities to catch the Pixar Short Film Festival. Disneyland will probably always be billed as the “Happiest Place on Earth” but the fun of the Magic Kingdom has amped up for this summer of Pixar fun.

Running into some of your favorite Disney characters as you roam the park is part of the fun of Disneyland — it ranks up there with donning a pair of mouse ears and munching on a mouse-shaped pretzel. During this event, Pixar characters wander the park making sure guests of all ages can enjoy meeting some of their favorites, like Buzz and Woody, Mike and Sully, and Mr. Incredible and family.

Disney’s signature monorail is a familiar backdrop at the park but during Pixar Fest guests will notice some new designs as the trains zip through the parks. One train is decked out with a Finding Nemo design while another is fashioned after The Incredibles.

© Joshua Daniels | Dreamstime.com

The season-long celebration also includes two fan-favorite parades. The Pixar Play Parade will delight park guests during the day featuring floats and performers from Inside Out, Toy Story, Monsters, Inc. and Up. The Paint the Night Parade is thrilling visitors after dark. Lighting up the park with 1 million lights, the parade features the cast of The Incredibles along with Disney regulars like Ariel and Peter Pan.

What festival would be complete without some awesome food? During Pixar Fest, even the eateries are getting in on the act. Whether you are craving a cold drink, a sugary sweet or a full meal, restaurants all over the parks offer Pixar-themed and -inspired goodies. Pick up a Monsters, Inc.-inspired Chilled Noodle Salad from the Lucky Fortune Cookery at the California Adventure Park. During Pixar Fest, the noodles in this salad change color when you sprinkle lime juice on them. If a three-course meal is what you crave, head over to Café Orleans in the Disneyland Park for a Ratatouille-inspired meal featuring — you guessed it — ratatouille!

After a long day of crisscrossing the park, hitting every ride, snacking on goodies and buying irresistible Disney merchandise, the whole family will be understandably exhausted. What better way to wind down than with a Pixar-rific firework extravaganza? The Together Forever Pixar Nighttime Spectacular Firework Show, a bran- new firework display, is lighting up the skies over the park each night. Buzz Lightyear kicks off the show by flying over Sleeping Beauty’s castle in the heart of the park. There is nothing like a Disneyland firework show to wrap up a thrilling day at the park.