Today the lobby of Disney’s Pixar Place Hotel reopened following a reimagining of the former Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel. We stopped by to see what the new lobby looks like.
Disney’s Pixar Place Hotel Lobby
On our walk in from the parking lot we noticed that only one section of the original paint scheme remains on the hotel’s exterior.
The temporary entrance area which was previously used to access the lobby has been blocked off. Construction crews are beginning to rip it up. A chain link fence and a sign that reads “Cast Members Only” blocks the path that previously lead to the area.
The porte cochere features black trim with pops of red, yellow, and blue color.
In the entrance rotunda, there is a plant where surfer Goofy once stood. Here is a photo of what he looked like:
There are several small seating areas near the hotel shop, which promise more artwork to come in the future.
The hotel gift shop is open. It is currently named “Hotel Gift Shop.”
The walls of the shop are covered in Pixar-themed decals.
There are some good merchandise options available.
You can also grab food, wine, medicine, and other travel essentials.
You can also buy some Disney artwork in the shop.
There’s a small table and chairs near a window with coloring sheets and crayons.
The shop has both a pressed penny and Disney100 collectible medallion machines.
At the end of this hallway, there are displays showing concept art for the new restaurant coming soon.
The restaurant will be called Great Maple.
There is new restroom signage with Woody and Bo Peep from Toy Story.
There are various Pixar characters hidden in the concrete floor, including some from Elemental!
This temporary vending area is clearly leftover from the old Paradise Pier theme.
There are vending machines, snack kiosks, microwaves, and coffee machines.
There is more seating outside the vending area.
For now, this area is a kid’s activity area. With the counter and infrastructure, we assume this will become a quick-service breakfast area soon.
There are Pixar-themed decals throughout. “Cafe” also appears on the wall.
The area also has new, creative lighting fixtures.
The check-in area has some seating.
There are still quite a few construction walls up with concept art displayed.
There are three of the new style Disney check-in desks are here. The desks are positioned in front of more concept art.
There isn’t much of the previous Paradise Pier theming in the lobby area, but we did find these holdovers.
While the guest elevators are being worked on, service elevators have been made available to guests.
In an effort to add a Disney “touch” to the service elevator, they have added a Disney100 decal to the plain, chrome elevator walls.
This workaround puts a lot of backstage areas in guest view.
The bell services desk and rental car services have moved to the hallway behind check-in.
You can check out a full video walkthrough of the lobby below.
Disney’s Pixar Place Hotel Transformation to be Completed This Winter
The reimagining of Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel into Disney’s Pixar Place Hotel is to be completed this winter. The project was first announced at the D23 Expo in 2022.
The retheme of the hotel is already underway, and we saw the sign for the hotel removed last year. The concept art shows Pixar ball lights outside and a colorful porte cochère.
Guests will be welcomed into whimsical character moments, like the iconic, playful Pixar Lamp balancing atop its ball in the lobby, as seen above.
The reimagining of the hotel will weave the artistry of Pixar into its contemporary setting. Guests will gain a new perspective on some of their favorite Pixar worlds and characters through carefully curated artwork, and décor that reveals the creative journey of the artists who helped bring these stories to life.
The announcement comes following the leak of original plans to turn the hotel into a Toy Story one, but Disney eventually opted to represent all Pixar franchises in the reimagined hotel.
A splash pad themed to “Finding Nemo” is part of the retheming of the property. Concept art shows “Finding Nemo” characters on the splash pad, including Crush atop a waterslide.
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