TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

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.

Hotel was clean and nice, staff was nice and welcoming. Food, well, we have some great food and other times not so great. My biggest concerns was the elevators. The dumbest design ever. At first I thought it was the coolest thing. (we got their late and it was not busy at all) Their is a pad outside the elevator. You push the number your floor room is at and wait for a letter to open up. ( A-D, but D was not working so there was only 3 working at a time. Great, when it's not busy, but the worst experience mostly in the mornings. Some people are checking out, some are heading to the park. Others are getting breakfast. Some of the elevators had room to go up, but if it wasn't your letter it won't stop their. The last day before check-out, I stayed in the 5th floor of the hotel. When I pressed the the L button ( ground level) and waited. every single time I waited the elevator was full. Then I had to push the (L) button again. I waited 20mins, after that. I decided to take the stairs. I felt bad for the other people that waited their due to having wheelchairs. The elevator suck. Bring back how they use to be. The buttons inside the elevator.

MAJOR POOL SAFETY CONCERNS. pool deck was extremely slippery- multiple children falling even while just walking. Apparently not a new issue-l other guests said same spot was slippery last year. Complained to Matt at pool deck who placed a mat over spot but it was gone the next day. Made fun of me for pointing out safety concern. Matt is clearly incompetent at his job and would like the hotel to get sued for injured guests. Pool was also very cold- everyone was in hot tub but max 8 ppl allowed. Disappointing since it’s a kids hotel. Slide was closed over the weekend for “maintenance” Front desk was amazing. Restaurant and room service were amazing.

For the least expensive Disneyland properly hotel option, Pixar Place impresses with its theming, amenities, and location. It feels much more like a brand-new hotel than a remodel. The special details and artwork, that represent just about every Pixar movie ever released, make walking the grounds, lobby, and hallways a truly fun and uniquely Disney experience. The staff is top tier, especially Frances who assisted with our check-in. This is a perfect hotel for small children. Our toddlers loved pointing out their favorite characters, and the pool area is fantastic with a Nemo-themed splash pad. There were two pack-and-plays waiting in our room when we arrived. The “secret” entrance to DCA is a huge time saver, and walking across Downtown Disney to the main gates takes just a little over 10 minutes. We didn’t get a chance to try the restaurant, but we stopped by the incredibly cute coffee shop every morning. The only complaint is the elevators, which use a different kind of system and would get very backed up at busier times. The system accounts for what floor a guest needs to go to, but not the size of their group, so it would often assign multiple groups to the same elevator, creating logjams. We will definitely stay at Pixar Place again on our next Disneyland trip. It blew away our expectations and made us feel immersed in Disney magic during our entire stay.

We absolutely loved the hotel. The Paradise Pier was clearly gutted and this remodel is fabulous. The rooms are well laid out, well lit, spacious with a bright spacious bathroom. The beds and pillows were comfortable. The elevators with the system of selecting your floor in advance can be slow but one elevator was down during our entire visit, so once that is in working order the situation may be improved. I read reviews saying you could hear noise from other rooms easily and when we walked into the room there was a sound machine which made me nervous about potential noise. I tend to be a light sleeper. There was no problem at all. The sound machine was just a nice addition if you wanted to use it. We stayed on the 14th floor with Club access. The Club was great (what a great coffee machine; cappuccinos, lattes) although the variety of food options could be better. I do think the club should be open later than 8pm though. The staff in the hotel were incredibly nice; every single one we encountered. The Pixar theme is well done including the live piano player from Soul to the appearances from Bing Bong in the lobby. It's a short walk just across the street to California Adventure through the dedicated gate for Pixar Place guests and a quick walk through the Grand Californian Hotel to Downtown Disney and on to Disneyland. This hotel is actually much closer to the parks than the Disneyland Hotel. We would highly recommend this hotel.