Disney Parks & Resorts has officially unveiled their plans to transform Disney California Adventure’s Paradise Pier into Pixar Pier. The Walt Disney Company’s theme park division has been busy figuring out additional ways to capitalize on their Lucasfilm and Marvel Entertainment acquisitions. Their first project was retooling Twilight Zone’s Tower of Terror into Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT!, which opened this past summer, while also constructing Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge – Disneyland Resort’s Star Wars-themed land – but that neither project has distracted them from their other properties.


The Mouse House initially announced plans to turn California Adventure’s current Paradise Pier (the section in which the famous Ferris wheel and roller coaster are located) into Pixar Pier – a themed area centered around Pixar Animation’s films – at D23 Expo 2017. Paradise Pier already has Toy Story Mania – one of the park’s biggest attractions – so it made sense to just build around that. Although plans were being kept under wraps, Disney Parks & Resorts have now provided concrete details on their plans to thrust park-goers into the world of Pixar come next summer.


Disney Parks & Resorts has officially unveiled their plans to transform Disney California Adventure’s Paradise Pier into Pixar Pier. The Walt Disney Company’s theme park division has been busy figuring out additional ways to capitalize on their Lucasfilm and Marvel Entertainment acquisitions. Their first project was retooling Twilight Zone’s Tower of Terror into Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT!, which opened this past summer, while also constructing Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge – Disneyland Resort’s Star Wars-themed land – but that neither project has distracted them from their other properties.


The Mouse House initially announced plans to turn California Adventure’s current Paradise Pier (the section in which the famous Ferris wheel and roller coaster are located) into Pixar Pier – a themed area centered around Pixar Animation’s films – at D23 Expo 2017. Paradise Pier already has Toy Story Mania – one of the park’s biggest attractions – so it made sense to just build around that. Although plans were being kept under wraps, Disney Parks & Resorts have now provided concrete details on their plans to thrust park-goers into the world of Pixar come next summer.


Disney Parks announced during their panel today at D23 Expo 2017 that Disney Hollywood Studios’ upcoming Toy Story Land will open next summer. Disney Parks initially announced plans to develop an entire Toy Story Land at Walt Disney World, thereby expanding Pixar’s presence at the theme park, during their D23 Expo panel two years ago. In addition to bringing new Pixar-themed attractions to the land, they also revealed that the current Toy Story Midway Mania! ride would be relocated from Pixar Place to the new land.


The 11-acre Pixar-themed land aims to drop park guests into Andy’s backyard, by shrinking them down to the size of Andy’s toys. Along with Toy Story Midway Mania! being relocated, Disney Parks plans on bringing two major attractions to Toy Story Land: Slinky Dog Dash, a family roller coaster that makes “Slinky and his coils stretch to his limits,” and Alien Swirling Saucers, an attraction designed as a toy play set in which the aliens fly around in their saucers while trying to capture the rocket operated by the guests by using the Claw.


Along with the new attractions, Toy Story Land will also feature several Toy Story characters spanning from all three movies, namely Woody and Buzz Lightyear – though it’s unclear if the new land will have anything from Josh Cooley’s upcoming movie, Toy Story 4. During the Disney Parks & Resorts panel at D23 Expo 2017 this afternoon, chairman Bob Chapek announced that Toy Story Land will officially open at Disney Hollywood Studios in summer of 2018, though he didn’t provide a specific date.


This news comes off the heels of Disney Parks’ plans to redesign Paradise Pier at Disney California Adventure into Pixar Pier, which also opens next year and will feature the inclusion of characters and stories from Inside Out and The Incredibles, in addition to expanding upon Toy Story‘s current presence. Both expansions are just the latest in Disney Parks’ ongoing plans to include more Pixar-themed attractions in their parks around the world. Disney World’s upcoming Toy Story Land marks the third Toy Story-themed expansion that Disney Parks has undergone, with the first two being Toy Story Playland at Walt Disney Studios Park in 2010 and Toy Story Land at Hong Kong Disneyland.


Interestingly, it’s only taking Disney Parks three years to construct Toy Story Land (since its announcement), whereas past themed lands have taken an average of four to five years. The upcoming Star Wars-themed land, Galaxy’s Edge, is taking Imagineers four years to develop, though it’s understandable for that land to take longer since it’s supposed to be Disney’s biggest land expansion ever, adding an additional 14 acres of attractions. No matter what park guests are looking forward to, it’s obvious that they will have many new attractions to visit over the next few years.