Pixar Place Hotel

“4 star Hotel 5 Star Disney experience”

Just returned from a four night stay yesterday. I’m happy to say that our family of three thought it was a great choice for our stay. I had been to Disneyland previously as a child, but I have not returned for many years. So while I consider myself a fan of Disney, I am not a “super fan”. (Mean… more

Just returned from a four night stay yesterday. I’m happy to say that our family of three thought it was a great choice for our stay. I had been to Disneyland previously as a child, but I have not returned for many years. So while I consider myself a fan of Disney, I am not a “super fan”. (Meaning, I don’t go annually, don’t have Magic Key annual passes, don’t know all of the characters and theming by heart, don’t wear special themed coordinated family Disney outfits, etc, etc). Not that there is anything wrong with that. Just mentioning. + Hotel + I had never been to the previous incarnation before the remodel, but all I can say is that the remodel must have cured all ailments. It was clean, fresh, modern….it appeared brand new. The common areas as well as the room felt new. Beds were comfortable and bathroom counter space was ample. + Reception + Greeted immediately, by two people. Check in was smooth and the cast member was very informative. The pianist from the Disney movie Soul was playing the baby grand in the lobby. Awesome start. There was a little mis-information given about the pool “Small Bytes” snack shop still serving food until the end of the fireworks show (not true, they stopped serving food at 2pm). But other than this, we experienced a great reception and check in. + The Dreaded Elevators + If you read TA reviews (and you do, because you’re reading this one), you’ll see a bunch of negative comments about the elevators. I didn’t find them so dreadful at all. YES, they are non-traditional in that you enter the floor level you’re needing, then it tells you which of the four elevators to enter to take you to that chosen floor. You do not jump into the most convenient elevator, or the first to appear ready, hoping to choose your floor once in. If you understand this going in, you won’t be frustrated at all. As far as them being “slow”, as some TA posters have written, I’ll concede they are, at peak times. But I’ve found this to be true at any busy full-house hotel I’ve ever been to. That’s a byproduct of a lot of people needing an elevator at the same time…..not a result of a non-typical elevator system. + Location + We loved it. We thought it was great. To the TA reviewers who say “the extra cost to stay at a Disney property is a waste of money because there are some non-Property hotels that are closer to the main gates” I’ll say this: you are correct, in reference to the main gates only. But this doesn’t account for other location-related factors such as the special Key-coded Pixar Place entrance to California Disney, right across the street. We were literally in DCA within 3 minutes of leaving our room. Nor does it account for the short 4 or 5 minute walk to Downtown Disney’s shops and restaurants. Or the 6 minute walk to the Monorail entrance. Or being 2 minutes away from entering the Grand California’s massive lobby and grabbing a drink by the fireplace and chilling to live Christmas music. These other factors added up for us and made the location choice completely worth it. + Park Hopper + A no-brainer. Do it. + Lightening Pass + A no-brainer. Do it. Especially if you have kids. We could not believe some of the stand-by wait times for those who did not have the lightening pass. 2+ hours at times. Way too long of wait times for us to have tolerated. The lightening pass is worth its weight in gold.

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“Across the street from DCA, that's about it.”

across the street from DCA. lots of Pixar elements across the hotel. There's a designated entrance to DCA for Hotel Guests. For Disneyland you will have to go to downtown Disney to use either the monorail or the entrance at the other end of the downtown Disney. It's really pricy. We can get a suite… more

across the street from DCA. lots of Pixar elements across the hotel. There's a designated entrance to DCA for Hotel Guests. For Disneyland you will have to go to downtown Disney to use either the monorail or the entrance at the other end of the downtown Disney. It's really pricy. We can get a suite in Westin 1 mile away with the same price.

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“Birthday at Disneyland”

The hotel is very nicely updated with a lot of Pixar characters and pictures. The bathroom was very nicely redone. The animators lounge provided decent refreshments throughout our stay. The elevators were extremely confusing and slow. The hotel could also benefit from additional soundproofing … more

The hotel is very nicely updated with a lot of Pixar characters and pictures. The bathroom was very nicely redone. The animators lounge provided decent refreshments throughout our stay. The elevators were extremely confusing and slow. The hotel could also benefit from additional soundproofing given the clientele that stays there.

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“Pixar Place Hotel a place to go?”

The new/old Pixar Place Hotel, one of three Disneyland Resort property hotels, offers that Disney magic with a new twist. Disney did a great job overhauling the Hotel and retheming it to Pixar. There are so many details in the lobby and the rooms, it now looks like a traditional yet modern Disney… more

The new/old Pixar Place Hotel, one of three Disneyland Resort property hotels, offers that Disney magic with a new twist. Disney did a great job overhauling the Hotel and retheming it to Pixar. There are so many details in the lobby and the rooms, it now looks like a traditional yet modern Disney Hotel than it did when it was the Paradise Pier Hotel. Let’s get to it… --PARKING-- Parking is easy. There is a dedicated parking structure directly next to the hotel itself. The walk from the parking structure to the hotel is a real breeze. A plus compared to its sister property hotels. Disneyland Hotel since it’s so big is a longer walk from the parking lot to your actual room, and unless you did valet at the Grand Californian, that parking lot is across the street! So, Pixar Place gets points just for the lot being closer and more convenient! --CHECK-IN-- Check-in is relatively easy as it is with all Disney Hotels. You can check in online or choose in person check-in. One thing you will notice though is that the Check-In area is significantly smaller compared to its sister property hotels. That really doesn’t have an impact on the process though, just something that you will notice. --ROOM-- The biggie!! What’s the room like? I want to say that THESE ROOMS are far more themed than Grand Californian and the Disneyland Hotel! Grand Californian is more about the décor, while Disneyland Hotel is more about the history. So, this hotel looks like they had a little bit more freedom on the theming as well as a lot to work with as far as the source material. Each floor is themed to a Pixar movie. The floor my family and I stayed at was Monsters and it was appropriately the 13th floor! While the floors are themed to a Pixar movie, the rooms aren’t. Just a clarification, the room will NOT reflect the floor theme. Each room is decorated with artwork from Pixar with little details such as a Luxo ball roll pillow, and a Luxo Jr. lamp. Beds are comfy, the room overall is vibrant and not blah! The restrooms have been updated and they now have a modern look to them. Speaking of the restroom, a sliding door as opposed to a swinging door is placed for privacy. I get it, with space being limited, one must get creative and use a sliding door which is practical, and it blends well with the room. With that being said, the door slides pretty fast. A word of caution, keep your hands and fingers away from the door as you are closing it. The way the handle is placed will definitely smash your fingers as you are closing the door behind you. There are no stickers giving you that warning. Obviously, what is supposed to happen is you guide the door till it lines up with the lock on the door frame, at least that’s the thought behind it. But without thinking about it, one may hold and guide the sliding door thinking it’s going to stop when it doesn’t and SMASH goes your fingers! BE CAREFUL! --ROOM VIEW-- The position of the hotel, you either have an eastern view which is sold as the Premium View, or a western view which is sold as the Standard View. Obviously, having a Premium View is AWESOME! You have direct sight of California Adventure and the Grand Californian! Standard View, is it all that bad? I’ll say this, compared to the Disneyland Hotel’s southern view which is their Standard View, it’s BETTER THAN the Disneyland Hotel’s Standard View. The Standard View which is the room we had, overlooked the Pool and Splash Pad area. With a direct western view, you will see an amazing sunset! It’s not all that bad. --POOL DECK-- Let’s talk about the pool. Sorry folks, this is where things take a small dive. Compared to the Disneyland Hotel and the Grand Californian, the pool here is significantly smaller. I know over the years they have tried to upgrade this area but it’s small. I think it’s a situation where Disney had to work with what they had. The Pool Deck is located on the 3rd floor as opposed to floor level. The pool itself is a rectangle and nothing more. It’s approximately 50 feet long and about 20 feet wide. The spa looks like it’s smaller than the sister property hotels and there’s only one. The splash pad and the slide takes up the other half of the pool area. The splash pad is cute, and the slide is rather decent but slow. Don’t expect a fast speed like at the Disneyland Hotel or the Grand Californian. BUT aside from the pool, there is a large outdoor lounging area with games (need to be a guest to play them) themed to Pixar movies, tables, chairs, sofas with Pixar theming, a fireplace, and a few fire pits themed to Pixar( just think Jack Jack). In addition, there’s also a snack bar called Small Bytes that includes a bar that is open throughout the day up until 10p.m. At night, this place comes alive as a perfect viewing area for the Disneyland fireworks. AMAZING! If you want to just chill, have a bite and a drink, it’s PERFECT! --DINING-- This hotel does have a couple of places to dine. The Great Maple, the main restaurant offers a great menu and the food is delicious. Great place to eat if you don’t feel like going far. There is a quick service restaurant inside the hotel as well. Can’t tell you much about it since we have never been. Finally, as mentioned in the Pool review, there is a quick service restaurant and bar called Small Bytes. Food here is quite good. The smash burger is a different take on the burger, they basically used 4 dinner rolls to make one burger. It’s actually good! Chips and Ceviche is good…and to wash everything down, something from the bar is a great option. Try the adult floats! --ELEVATORS FROM THE TOY STORY 3 FURNACE-- There’s only ONE, ONE DRAWBACK to this place that makes sense but doesn’t. The elevators! OMG the elevator system here is TERRIBLE! I’m not sure if this was a holdover from the original ownership or a weird didn’t think it through upgrade after the initial takeover. Here’s the thing. Four elevator cars, A,B,C, and D (Glass Elevator). Each one goes L through 15. BUT, each car only goes to the floor you press on the keypad OUTSIDE of the elevator, and when you press a floor, you are assigned to a car. For example, if there is let’s say a dozen people in the lobby and they are going to multiple floors, instead of that dozen people cramming into one car, this “system” will essentially separate the trips for the most efficient ride. So, if floors 12 and 14 were pressed, that group will be sent to Car A. If floors 4, 7, and 9 were pressed, that group would be sent to Car C. Something like that. And you can’t pick floors once you are inside the elevator car. If you mistakenly get into a random elevator thinking you can stop on your floor on the way up or down, that’s not going to happen. You have to get off on any of the floors that the car stops on and then once outside, you press your desired floor and wait for an available car. You can’t just ride the elevator either because you can’t select any floor from the inside. While this seems efficient or was thought of as efficient, it makes for a longer wait. It seems like some of the Cast Members know this just by the comments made. There’s nothing that can be done though. There are stairs but like many buildings, it’s a one-way trip. So, you can exit your floor through the stairs, you just can’t go back up because the doors are locked from the inside. Take this into account when time planning. Oh and Elevator D, the Glass Elevator, you can’t select that elevator just to ride it. Again, the “system” assigns the elevators based on the desired floors. Many guests want to ride the glass elevator because of the view, and if you are lucky enough to ride it, it’s quite stunning. But, lucky is the key word. You more than likely be assigned cars A through C first before ever getting car D. --OVERALL-- The Hotel is definitely a place to consider while staying at the Disneyland Resort. As for the pricing for the rooms, is it worth it? To be honest, that is really subjective. Can you find a cheaper hotel along the Anaheim Resort Strip that has amenities equal to this hotel? Probably could. Don’t forget as with any of the Disney properties, you are paying for the convenience, the theming, and the name. It’s really up to you to decide whether or not it’s worth it. In the end, the kids will love it! Aside from the elevators, if I had to score this place out of 10, I would give a 7.5.

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