BACKSTORY (1998 —Present): Originally The Emerald Hotel in 1984 and then The Pan Pacific Hotel. Disney purchased the hotel in December 1995 and changed its name to Disneyland Pacific Hotel. As part of the 1998-2001 Disneyland Resort expansion, the hotel changed names again to Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel (In December 2000), branding it to the Paradise Pier area of Disney’s California Adventure Park. Hotel guests at one time had an exclusive entrance to Disney's California Adventure Park, located between the Corn Dog Castle and Souvenir 66 in the Paradise Pier section of the park, but it was closed due to low use in 2004. The area is now the site of the expansion of Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa. Guests may still access the park through the turnstiles located in Disney's Grand Californian Hotel, which are officially exclusive to guests of all Disneyland Resort hotels. The hotel is one of the few tall buildings in the Western Hemisphere to have a 13th floor since the original owners were from Japan, where 13 is not considered bad luck.
Paradise Pier (1998 —June 23, 2018) was a themed area of Disney California Adventure. Inspired by real California boardwalks, Paradise Pier was not actually a pier, but merely a waterside area of the park. Attractions included the roller coaster California Screamin' (intro spiel by actor Neil Patrick Harris) and other various attractions and forms of entertainment scattered throughout. When the park first opened, Paradise Pier was criticized for lacking the themeing Disney was known for. A new attraction, Toy Story Midway Mania!, opened on June 17, 2008 as one of the first upgrades that were part of a billion dollar renovation of California Adventure. Avalon Cove by Wolfgang Puck was a fine dining restaurant; poor business resulted in the change to “Ariel’s Grotto” only eight months later (and no more Puck!). On June 23, 2018, Paradise Pier reopened as Pixar Pier (the Luxo Jr. animatronic was installed on the top of Pixar Pier's marquee four months later), inspired by the films from Pixar Animation. California Screamin' became the Incredicoaster, Mickey's Fun Wheel became the Pixar Pal-A-Round, with Pixar characters on its gondolas. Jessie's Critter Carousel opened in 2019 replacing King Triton's carousel. The Maliboomer closed in 2010 and was unused garden space until replaced by the Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind attraction in 2019.
