10 Things to See and Do at Pixar Fest 2024 at the Disneyland Resort

Hi everyone!

We returned from Pixar Fest this past week at the Disneyland Resort and had a great time! We were invited to the media event prior to the April 26th kickoff, but also stayed for the remainder of a week to enjoy it on our own. Pixar Fest ends August 4th, 2024, so there is plenty of time to experience it. Pixar Fest was first held in 2018 at the Disneyland Resort, but this time around is a very different experience, in part because there are so many wonderful new Pixar characters and stories since then.

Pixar Fest is located at both Disneyland and Disney California Adventure.

Here are our 10 things to see and do at Pixar Fest 2024.

1 – Watch the “Better Together: A Pixar Pals Celebration” – We recommend viewing this lively parade more than once if possible. I watched it three times and it was on the third time I finally caught the ‘underwater’ part of the Luca float (it can be hard due to the sun reflection). Plus, you’ll see some different characters and aspects of the parade by seeing it on each side. Luca, Guilia and Alberto are new for Pixar Fest! And there are other favorite new Pixar characters in the parade, including Panda Mei with her friends and Joe Gardner with his students.

2 – Meet Rare Characters – Luca and Alberto from Luca, and Ember and Wade from Elemental have never met guests in a Disney park previously! You can find them at Pixar Pals Playtime Party in the Fantasyland Theatre. There are many Pixar meet and greet opportunities throughout both parks.

3 – Meet Talking Dug – While Dug is not a rare character, he is talking for the first time ever. You may hear some of his famous catchphrases, including “I have just met you and I love you” and “Squirrel!”. He meets not far from Redwood Creek Challenge Trail at Disney California Adventure, but did not have an exact location specified when we were there.

4 – Visit the Pixar Pals Playtime Party – Located at Fantasyland Theatre in Disneyland, it is more than just an area to meet the characters I mentioned previously (and there are other characters there, including Ian and Barley from Onward with their van).

There is a show of sorts on stage (like what we’ve seen at the Tomorrowland stage), and guests can dance along with music, enjoy photo ops, activities and more.

5 – Head to Club Pixar at night – There is music and dancing on stage, but also games and more. Pixar shorts are shown in what feels like a drive-in theater all day – and that may be my favorite part of Club Pixar at Disney California Adventure.

6 – Stay for “Together Forever – A Pixar Nighttime Spectacular” – This nighttime show features projections, lasers and music, encompassing all the stories of Pixar. It has been updated since 2018. And on select nights, there are fireworks!

7 – Enjoy special Pixar Fest food and drink – Some items are returning, like the Pixar Fest Cake at Plaza Inn. There is quite a lot to try if you want to dine your way through Pixar Fest! One favorite of mine is the Sea Monster Friends Parfait inspired by “Luca” at Jolly Holiday. There will also be 6 new Pixar Fest Marketplaces added to Disney California Adventure on May 10th.

8 – Purchase a Pixar Popcorn Bucket and/or Sipper – Commemorate your Pixar Fest visit with one of many novelty items! The Alien Pizza Planet Truck Bucket is especially popular, but we saw many Coco guitars, Slinky Dog sippers and Magic Key Dug buckets around guest necks (and sometimes all at the same time).

9 – Find 50 hidden Pixar Pizza Planet trucks – This isn’t an easy scavenger hunt, but it is fun! There are 50 Pixar Pizza Planet trucks hidden in the parks. Many of them are indoors, including on rides (we found one in it’s a small world) and we found one in “Better Together: A Pixar Pals Celebration”. The Pizza Planet trucks can look as they usually do, or they can be modified.

10 – Purchase Pixar Fest merchandise – Discover a fun Pixar Fest Spirit Jersey, bucket hat, mug and more to remember your Pixar Fest visit.

There is much more Pixar around the Disneyland Resort – including visiting Pixar Pier (I am a huge fan of Lamplight Lounge); hearing the Disneyland Band play Pixar songs; and meeting Bing Bong at the Pixar Place Hotel.

We do recommend our travel partner Mouse Fan Travel to book your trip to the Disneyland Resort.

 

We were invited for one night by Disneyland to experience Pixar Fest, but covered our own expenses the remainder of our trip (including airfare). All views are ours.