View source for Pixar Pal-A-Round

{{Infobox attraction
| name = Pixar Pal-A-Round
| park = [[Disney California Adventure]]
| land = [[Pixar Pier]]
| type = Eccentric wheel
| opened = June 23, 2018
| height = 150 ft (46 m)
| status = Operating
}}

'''Pixar Pal-A-Round''' is a 150-foot-tall (46 m) eccentric wheel on [[Pixar Pier]] at [[Disney California Adventure]] at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. Unlike a conventional Ferris wheel, most of its gondolas are mounted on interior rails and slide inward and outward as the wheel turns, so riders can choose between a gentle fixed ride and a swinging one. A large pie-eyed Mickey Mouse face sits at the centre of the wheel, and each gondola is decorated with a pair of Pixar characters. The attraction originally opened in 2001 as the Sun Wheel and was known from 2009 to 2018 as Mickey's Fun Wheel.<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixar_Pal-A-Round</ref>

== History ==

The wheel was an opening-day landmark of the park, opening on February 8, 2001, as the Sun Wheel in the original Paradise Pier. Its first identity matched that land's California boardwalk theme: the centre carried a golden sun face and the structure used a yellow colour scheme. From the start it was modelled on the Wonder Wheel at Coney Island in New York, the 1920 eccentric wheel that pioneered the combination of sliding and fixed gondolas.<ref>https://www.themouseforless.com/blog_world/pixar-pal-a-round/</ref>

In October 2008 the wheel closed for its first retheme, part of the park's wider redesign. The sun face was replaced by Mickey Mouse's face, the colour scheme changed, and the attraction reopened on May 4, 2009, as Mickey's Fun Wheel. The new look tied the wheel more closely to classic Disney imagery, and the face, lit at night, became the visual signature of Paradise Pier and a backdrop for the World of Color show on Paradise Bay.

The second retheme followed the decision to convert most of Paradise Pier into a land dedicated to Pixar films. The wheel closed in early 2018 and reopened on June 23, 2018, the opening day of [[Pixar Pier]], as Pixar Pal-A-Round. Mickey's face stayed in place, but the gondolas were repainted with Pixar character pairs, including characters from ''Toy Story'', ''Finding Nemo'', ''Inside Out'' and ''Cars''. The renaming completed the wheel's journey through all three identities of its home land, from California boardwalk to Disney showcase to Pixar setting, while the ride mechanism remained the one installed in 2001.

== Experience ==

The wheel carries 24 gondolas. Sixteen of them ride on interior rails and slide as the wheel rotates, swinging riders back and forth and producing the attraction's famously intense motion; motion-sickness bags are provided in these gondolas. The other eight gondolas are fixed to the rim and travel smoothly, in the manner of a traditional Ferris wheel. Guests choose which experience they want before boarding, and the two types have separate queues, officially listed as Pixar Pal-A-Round – Swinging and Pixar Pal-A-Round – Non-Swinging.<ref>https://saturdaymorningmedia.com/2021/10/ac-123/</ref>

Each gondola is enclosed and seats a party facing inward. One full circuit includes loading stops, and at the top of the 150-foot wheel riders get the widest available view in [[Disney California Adventure]]: across Paradise Bay to [[Paradise Gardens Park]], over [[Cars Land]] and the rest of the park, and on clear days well beyond the resort. At night the wheel's lighting programme makes it a moving centrepiece for [[Pixar Pier]], visible from much of the park.

== See also ==
* [[Pixar Pier]]
* [[Paradise Gardens Park]]
* [[Cars Land]]
* [[Disney California Adventure]]

== References ==
<references />

[[Category:Attractions]]
[[Category:Disney California Adventure]]
[[Category:Ferris wheels]]
[[Category:2018 establishments]]