Credit: DisneyThis week has been a busy one at Disneyland Resort as guests rush to experience the magic of Pixar Fest for the first time.
Of Disney’s two theme parks in Anaheim, California Adventure has always embraced Pixar the most. Not only does it boast an entire Pixar-themed land in the shape of Pixar Pier (a refurbished version of the OG Paradise Pier), but it also has a separate Cars (2006) area and, as of earlier this year, an adjacent Pixar hotel, Pixar Place Hotel.
As of this month, the park is delving even further into its Pixar obsession by hosting the majority of Disneyland Resort’s Pixar Fest, a “celebration of friendship with Pixar pals and more.”
Kicking off yesterday (April 26), this involves the return of Together Forever – A Pixar Nighttime Spectacular, which takes place on Main Street, U.S.A. each night (although it only includes pyrotechnics on certain dates). At Fantasyland Theatre, guests can also take part in the Pixar Pals Playtime Party, where parkgoers are encouraged to “get into the groove with some favorite Pixar pals in a high-energy show.”
Related: Disneyland’s Pixar Hotel Leaves Disney World in the Dirt
The rest of the celebration takes place in California Adventure, where guests can enjoy the new daytime parade, “Better Together: A Pixar Pals Celebration!” and participate in Club Pixar, a dance party complete with a handful of Pixar favorites. The park also hosts the Festival Marketplaces, a selection of six Pixar food booths such as the Ratatouille (2007)-inspired Gusteau’s To-Go and the Inside Out (2015)-themed Hanger Management.
As with any Disney event, there’s also limited-time Pixar merch available throughout Disneyland Resort. The most anticipated items are, as always, the popcorn buckets. This event’s offerings – which are shaped like the Pizza Planet truck, Ernesto de la Cruz’s guitar from Coco (2017), and Dug from Up (2009) – generated longer lines than most attractions yesterday.
Images shared on X (formerly known as Twitter) by @laughing_place show lines stretching so long through California Adventure that they nearly hit the entrance of the park.
The line for the #PixarFest2024 popcorn buckets go almost the the entrance of Disney California Adventure. pic.twitter.com/fbAI1NXck0
— LaughingPlace.com (@laughing_place) April 26, 2024
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen Disney parkgoers go crazy for popcorn buckets. Back in 2022, Disney caused chaos when it unleashed its first-ever Figment popcorn bucket at EPCOT, with guests waiting up to five hours to get their hands on a plastic recreation of everyone’s favorite dragon.
Since then, Disney has had to introduce tight caps on how many pieces of merch each guest can purchase in an attempt to control resellers who went on to sell Figment (as well as plenty of other popcorn buckets) on eBay for hundreds of dollars.
Related: Is Your Disney Popcorn Bucket Worth $750?
Guests hoping to snap up their own Pixar popcorn bucket can do so at any time between now and August 4, 2024, when Pixar Fest will come to an end. This is just in time for D23 2024: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, which will take place from August 9 to August 11 at the nearby Anaheim Convention Center and (for the first time ever) the Honda Center.
The latter will host Disney’s biggest panel events, such as the Disney Entertainment Showcase, Disney Experiences Showcase, and the Disney Legends Ceremony, where the likes of Harrison Ford, Miley Cyrus, John Williams, Angela Bassett, and James Cameron will be initiated into the company’s most esteemed collection of collaborators and employees.
Do you plan on attending Pixar Fest this year? Let us know in the comments!