TRIP REPORT: Disneyland Resort & Pixar Pier Opening

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Finally! I am able to type up my trip report from my most recent trip to the Disneyland Resort and the opening of Pixar Pier. I arrived the day before my friends from 360 Degrees of Disney arrived and decided to have a light day at the park. Of course, as soon as I arrived at my hotel, I got a frantic text, "The Blue Fairy Is HERE!"

So, I hopped on my little scooter and scooted my way over to Disneyland as fast as I could. I had already started preparing myself that it was a one time set and that I wouldn't be able to meet her. But, as I zipped down Main Street and headed past Snow White's Grotto, I happened to catch the beautiful blue wings of the Blue Fairy! What a great way to start the weekend!

And it was fairies, fairies, everywhere! Next, I saw the Fairy Godmother!

Another character that always seems to elude me was Pocahontas. I was so excited that I would finally get to sing with all the voices of the mountains and paint with all the colors of the wind when I saw her in the app. I made my way down to the Rivers of America to see her!

The next day, I met up with my friends and we had breakfast at Storyteller's Cafe at Disney's Grand Californian. We saw Kenai...

...and Chip...

...and Mickey...I mean, Pluto. LOL.

While the character interactions were wonderful as always, I have to say that the character dining has gone down hill over the years. I remember when you could see not just Kenai, but Koda, as well as Chip 'n' Dale, Terk, Meeko and Brer Bear and Brer Fox. Dale was at the breakfast, but he never made it over to where we were dining and we had been there for awhile. I know they are switching the theme of the breakfast soon, but, right now, I couldn't recommend it.

After breakfast, we headed over the Disney California Adventure where we got there in enough time to see Captain America arrive. I hadn't been over there since Cap was given his new uniform.

We then headed over to Paradise Gardens to see what Pixar characters were out. We were fortunate enough to see Flik & Atta!

And, after, we headed over to Disneyland to see if we could find Redd the pirate wandering around New Orleans Square.

After meeting Redd, we noticed that the line for Pirates of the Caribbean was remarkably short. So, we took the advantage of riding the attraction to see Redd on the ride. I thought the new scene and all the new effects were great.

By this time, we were ready for the Pixar Pier Premiere event we would be attending in the evening.

The first thing we did was run around and see all the characters. And there were some great characters out!

We also got a chance to ride the Incredicoaster with basically no line at all! California Screamin' was always a fun ride, but I have to admit that the addition of the Incredibles elements somehow makes the ride seem not only more thrilling, but faster. I didn't take any video on the ride out of fear of my camera flying out of my hand.

My big regret was not having taken very many photos around the Pier without all the crowds around. It was so hot outside and, by the time we met all the character, I was completely dehydrated and didn't have the will to take many non-character pictures. But, I did manage to take these...

I also didn't take pictures of food, but I did have the Pixar Pier Parfait at Adorable Snowman Frosted Treats, the Jack Jack Cookie Num Num and the IncrediCookie from Jack Jack's Num Num Cookies and assorted treats from the Lamplight Lounge. All were first class! But, those cookies were...well...INCREDIBLE.

After the event, we went to watch Paint The Night to see the new Incredibles float. I thought it looked great, but it would have been nice if they had Jack Jack on both sides of the float, especially since he does have the ability to multiply. We couldn't really see him from our side of the float. But, otherwise, it looked great.

The next day, we were there bright and early for the official grand opening of Pixar Pier. And, thanks to the determination of one of my friends who got in line very, very early, we managed to be toward the front at opening. And we went to ride on the Incredicoaster a couple times again, which was fun!

After, we headed over to Disneyland to see if we could find the Blue Fairy again. Sadly, she did not reappear. But, we did learn that John Smith and Meeko were meeting with Pocahontas in honor of their 23rd anniversary. What a treat to not only have seen Pocahontas once, but twice this visit!

After meeting Pocahontas, we watched the Pixar Play Parade...

After Pixar Play Parade, we headed back to Disney California Adventure to meet some of the Marvel characters. Just for the interest of this narrative, I'm including photos from different days here.

And, finally, to end my trip, we watched the Together Forever fireworks spectacular. When I watched the show several weeks ago, I was so irritated because I spent many hours waiting in front of the Castle only to have a woman stand right in front of me (despite her friends around her sitting and her knowing I was in a scooter). This time around, we pulled up about half hour before the show on Main Street and got a fantastic viewing spot. Its actually nicer to be on Main Street because you get all the projections on the buildings to accompany what's going on in front of the Castle. And, you feel surrounded by it all. My favorite scenes were from Coco and Up. It was a great way to end this trip!