The Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California began celebrating all things Pixar back in 2018, with the debut of the first ever “Pixar Fest.” The festival kicked off with the grand opening of Pixar Pier in Disney California Adventure, and ran from April to September.
Pixar Fest didn’t return as an annual event in the parks, especially when the pandemic hit soon after. But in 2024, the festival returned to Disneyland for the first time in six years! Pixar Fest 2024 ran from April 26 to August 4, and my family and I were lucky to be there for the festivities (a huge treat since we’re big Pixar fans!)
While both Anaheim parks hosted some Pixar-themed offerings for the festival, Disney California Adventure had more festival theming than Disneyland Park. Read on for all the details on everything offered at this Pixar-perfect festival and where to find it!
Fest-ive Fun
One of the most noticeable things about Pixar Fest is all the fest-ive decorations throughout the parks. As mentioned before, DCA has more Pixar Fest theming, so the decorations and food can be found there all throughout the park. In Hollywood Land, there were fun neon signs, cute Pixar-themed games, and a great retro “drive-in” which showed Pixar shorts all day long.
Of course, what would a Disney festival be without merch? We found the best selection of festival swag in Disney California Adventure, but you can find some items everywhere, even in resort hotels.
Pixar Eats
Disney festivals are all about themed treats, and sampling them is one of my absolute favorite things!
In Disney California Adventure, a Pixar Fest Marketplace focused on the themed eats. Beautifully designed, festival-specific food stands were set up from Hollywood Land to Paradise Gardens Park. (If you’ve ever been to DCA’s California Food & Wine Festival, it was very much like that.) Each stand was themed to a particular Pixar movie and featured small bites based on that film.
My son loved the Joyful Mac n Cheese at the Hanger Management kiosk, and I really enjoyed the spicy, plant-based dish Smoked Firewood at Elemental Table.
Gusteau’s to Go had a tiny but tasty Ratatouille Pizzetta and a yummy, crème brule flavored Gusteau Macaron, while The Spark had a Soul-inspired Half Note Jazz Cake that was beautiful but a bit dry.
Some festival foods were also offered at permanent locations throughout DCA and Disneyland Park for a limited time. I was surprised at how good the Mr. Potato Head Chip Churro was at the stand by Goofy’s Sky School! (Salty and sweet is always a winning combination.) We also tried the Luigi & Guido Cone at the Cozy Cone 3 in Cars Land (pretty but not my fave) and the Adventure is Out There Sundae at Clarabelle’s Hand-Scooped Ice Cream, which was hot fudge simplicity and simply delicious.
We were excited to try the adorable Mike, Nemo, and Dory treats in DCA’s Trolley Treats, which could have tasted fresher but were so artfully made. We really enjoyed the Pixar Fest Cake at Disneyland’s Plaza Inn, which was one of the star items in that park. With so many special treats to try we needed to space out all our sampling!
Special Meet and Greets
If you ask my son, he will tell you that the best part about Pixar fest is the opportunity to meet rare, special characters. And I can’t argue with that! The meet and greets we scored were awesome, but they didn’t just happen without strategizing.
I’d advise anyone who wants to meet certain characters to pay attention to the Disneyland app, talk to cast members with the “Ask me about Characters” buttons, and stay near the locations of your favorites so you can get on line early. One disappointing thing we encountered was when we’d join a line late and a cast member said it was closed because the character was wrapping up.
If you’re hot on certain characters’ (literal) tails, one place you don’t want to sleep on is the Fantasyland Theatre (which is also a good place to literally have a quick, cool snooze if you’re an exhausted mom like me.)
The Pixar Playtime Party is part show/part meet and greet station, and it’s without a doubt the best Pixar Fest representation in Disneyland Park. It happens basically every hour on the hour and you can stay for as short or as long as you like. You can also keep returning to meet any characters you missed. We stayed a while and met rare characters like Ember and Wade, Barley, Luca & Alberto, Russel, Dug, and Merida. While you can’t pose either others, you can dance with fabulous Pixar friends like Woody & Jessie, Sadness & Joy, Mr. & Mrs. Incredible, Frozone & Edna! This place is Pixar-star central!
“Better Together” Parade
Confession: I’m not really a parade person. As much as I love Disney, I can usually take or leave their parades, especially because of the crowds they create.
The new parade for Pixar Fest is the exception!
“Better Together” is a fantastic, colorful celebration of friendship filled with all your favorite Pixar characters and the catchiest covers of Pixar’s most iconic songs. The floats were fabulous and the interaction was great; what a joy it was to see how happy these classic Pixar friends made even all the adults in the crowd! Better Together is hands down my favorite Disney parade, and I hope it returns in the future!
Pixar Fest was an absolute treat in every way, and I’m so happy I was able to experience its return. I’ve always felt that Disneyland doesn’t have enough festivals in comparison to Walt Disney World, but Pixar Fest made up for that, and is a welcome addition to Anaheim.
While Pixar Pier and the new Pixar Place Hotel offer year-round Pixar fun, I’d love to see more Pixar representation in the Parks, and this fun festival does just that. Hopefully Pixar Fest becomes a regular event so Pixar fans and foodies like me can enjoy it year after year.
What Lara Wrote 