|
|||
Photo by Werner Weiss, 2013 Vanilla sign on a vanilla building |
|||
|
Get in line next to the Coca-Cola billboard. Although the billboard promises a “delicious and refreshing” beverage, the shop just beyond the billboard serves something even more delicious and refreshing—vanilla, chocolate, or swirled soft serve ice cream. |
|||
Photo by Allen Huffman, 2017 Coca-Cola billboard |
|||
Photo by Werner Weiss, 2013 At the left end of billboard row |
|||
Photo by Allen Huffman, 2017 Next to Treasures in Paradise |
|||
Photo by Werner Weiss, 2013
|
|||
Photo by Werner Weiss, 2013
|
|||
Photo by Werner Weiss, 2013 Fancy neon |
|||
Photo by Werner Weiss, 2013 Cups, cones, floats, and beverages |
|||
|
Enjoy two traditional soft serve flavors—vanilla and chocolate (and the ever-popular twist of both). |
|||
Photo by Werner Weiss, 2013 Place your order |
|||
Photo by Werner Weiss, 2013 Tall swirl cones |
|||
Photo by Werner Weiss, 2013 Does everyone order the swirl? |
|||
|
Paradise Pier Ice Cream Co. is an unexciting, “vanilla” name. But the name of the land will probably always be Paradise Pier. So it’s the perfect name for the ice cream shop, right? |
|||
|
|
|||
|
Paradise Pier Ice Cream Co. first appeared at Disney California Adventure in September 2010—but its story is as old as the park. |
|||
Photo by Allen Huffman, 2003 Before transformation |
|||
Photo by Werner Weiss, 2013 After transformation |
|||
|
Catch a Flave—serving vanilla soft serve with colorful flavor gels swirled along the edge (including cotton candy flavor and bubblegum flavor)—had been a Paradise Pier favorite since Disney’s California Adventure opened in February 2001. In April 2010, Catch a Flave switched to a menu of vanilla and chocolate. The shop’s neon sign, with color-edged ice cream, no longer matched the product. Also, the building’s paint and graphics suggested the 1970s, not the heyday of California amusement piers a half century earlier. A short closure in September 2010 fixed all that. Paradise Pier Ice Cream Co. was born. Along with a new name, the shop was given a more appropriate look for the era that Paradise Pier was supposed to represent. It became a vanilla building with painted chocolate lettering and strawberry accents. (Strawberry was not on the menu, but it’s a good color for an ice cream shop.) Paradise Pier Ice Cream Co. lasted just over seven years. In November 2017, Disney announced that southern shore of Paradise Bay would become Pixar Pier and the rest of Paradise Pier would become Paradise Park. Disney ditched its slow, ongoing effort to move Paradise Pier toward an authentic early-20th-century California amusement pier theme. The new plan was to represent Pixar movies—and not a particular place or time. The ice cream shop would need a Pixar theme. Disney picked a minor character from a major film. |
|||
Artist Concept Only © Disney•Pixar ADORABLE SNOWMAN FROSTED TREATS AT PIXAR PIER (ANAHEIM, Calif.) — Pixar Pier, a newly reimagined land opening at Disney California Adventure Park on June 23, 2018, introduces four new neighborhoods representing beloved Pixar stories. This artist concept illustrates the Adorable Snowman Frosted Treats near the entrance of Pixar Pier. (Disney•Pixar) [image and caption from Disney] |
|||
Photo by Allen Huffman, 2018 Adorable Snowman Frosted Treats |
|||
|
The Pixar character here is the Abominable Snowman—who would rather be known as the Adorable Snowman or the Agreeable Snowman—from Monsters, Inc. (2001) and Monsters University (2013). There’s now decorative trim on the corners of the building. The front façade is much more memorable than Catch a Flave or Paradise Pier Ice Cream Co. The whole thing comes across as more fun than its predecessors. |
|||
Photo by Chris Bales, 2018 Yellow snow? |
|||
|
The Snowman, voiced by John Ratzenberger in the English language version, greets Mike and Sulley in Monsters, Inc. with the memorable line, “Welcome to the Himalayas!” When the Snowman offers yellow snow cones to Mike and Sulley in that movie, Mike reacts, “Yech!” “Nuh, nuh, no,” the Snowman reassures. “Don’t worry. It’s lemon!” |
|||
Photo by Chris Bales, 2018 Adorable menu in 2018 |
|||
|
It’s also lemon at Disney California Adventure. Not only is it part of the sign, the three flavors in 2018 were “It’s Lemon!”, “It’s Chocolate!”, and “It’s Vanilla!” There were also a few specialties and beverages. In 2023, the two flavors are “It’s Lemon!” and “It’s Mango!” Both are nondairy, so they’re billed as plant-based. The menu no longer includes Coca Cola products, except for Dasani bottled water, but the Adorable Snowman now offers two frosted treats only for adults: “It’s Chile-Lime Mango Margarita!” (nondairy mango soft-serve with tequila, chamoy, chile-lime seasoning, and diced mango) and “Pixar Pier Frosty Parfait with Blue Curaçao” (nondairy lemon soft-serve with blue raspberry swirl and a splash of blue curaçao). |
|||
Photo by Chris Bales, 2023 Frosted treats for warm nights |
|||
|
One ice cream shop—three names—three looks. Well, technically it’s no longer an ice cream shop; it’s a nondairy dessert shop. The 10 percent-butterfat ice cream of 2001 is just a memory. Which shop was (or is) best?
|
|||
|
Click here to post comments at MiceChat about this article.
© 2023 Werner Weiss — Disclaimers, Copyright, and Trademarks Updated July 21, 2023 |
||
