When it comes to Disney Parks, the theme parks themselves are obviously where most people focus their energy, but with so many great resort hotels at the various parks around the world, there are some great experiences to be had there as well that are just as themed to your favorite Disney stories. Disneyland Paris has a brand new Marvel hotel and is also getting some new character themed elements at another hotel. Walt Disney World has rooms themed after your favorite Disney and Pixar movies. And now it looks like Disneyland Resort might be getting its own movie themed hotel as some leaked concept art is implying the Paradise Pier hotel could be in line for a re-skin into a Toy Story themed hotel.
The concept art has been published by DLNT and while it is certainly interesting, it should be taken with a grain of salt. First, it’s unclear where the concept art actually came from. Secondly, even if the concept art is legit, it doesn’t mean there are actually plans to redesign the hotel. We’ve seen situations in the past where concept art at the Disney Parks is really just that, a concept. The idea gets floated, but is shot down before really getting anywhere.
This may be an idea that is being actively worked on, but it may also be an idea that has been, or will be, tossed aside for something else. This art was apparently designed pre-pandemic, and so much has changed in the parks since then that even if there was every intention to make this redesign happen then, it's very likely the idea has been shelved, at least for now. By the time Disneyland is ready to update this hotel, a new idea may replace this one.
Having said that, it certainly would not be shocking at all to see Paradise Pier transformed into a Toy Story-themed hotel. The Paradise Pier hotel was originally built across from the Paradise Pier section of Disney California Adventure, but that theme park area has since been rebranded as Pixar Pier. As such, it makes a certain amount of sense for the hotel to get similar rebranding, so transforming it into a hotel themed to a Pixar movie is not the least bit surprising.
Beyond that, this isn’t even Disney’s first Toy Story hotel as the Shanghai Disney Resort already has one and the Tokyo Disney Resort also has one near completion. One assumes some amount of design work would transfer over quite seamlessly, and this would be far from the first time that something that was successful at one Disney Resort got moved over to another with as few changes as possible. It’s much cheaper to do that than to design something from scratch.
The Paradise Pier hotel is usually the least expensive of the three Disneyland Resort hotels, significantly less than the flagship Grand Californian, which is not to say that it is inexpensive. It’s also the one that is not connected directly to Downtown Disney. However, if Disney’s plans for the Disneyland Forward expansion happen as Disney has suggested, the expansion of the two parks will essentially put the hotel right in the middle of the action, likely increasing demand.
