Lunar New Year at Disney California Adventure is a celebration of Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese traditions that runs January 20 by way of February 15, 2023. It’s the primary huge occasion of the yr at Disneyland Resort, and on this submit, we’ll share ideas & information for visiting, plus pictures from the annual occasion. (Updated November 22, 2022.)
Disney is ringing within the Year of the Rabbit in the course of the Lunar New Year celebration at DCA! The Chinese zodiac calendar performs a big function in shaping the traditions, holidays, and meals loved in Asian communities everywhere in the globe. In Chinese tradition, the rabbit has the distinctive attribute of ready for an opportune second after which leaping into motion. More than some other zodiac animal, the rabbit symbolizes luck.
Disneyland may even be recognizing the Vietnamese zodiac calendar in the course of the Lunar New Year celebration, which marks 2023 because the Year of the Cat. During this restricted time occasion, you’ll be capable to partake in a joyous cultural celebration with a contact of Disney magic, that includes Asian-inspired meals and drinks, vibrant décor, memento merchandise, uncommon characters, and thrilling leisure.
Lunar New Year celebrates the celestial journey of the solar and the moon on their voyage towards one other yr. Disneyland Resort’s particular competition invitations you to make recollections with your loved ones and pals whereas sharing needs for good well being, luck and prosperity all year long to return.
Culturally, Lunar New Year is a multi-day annual custom that’s the customary time to mirror on the previous and step into a brand new lifetime of hope, prosperity, and happiness. Much like ¡Viva Navidad!, which is like an occasion straight out of circa-1982 EPCOT Center, Happy Lunar New Year additionally combines genuine tradition with Disney enjoyable.
It’s an excellent little celebration, and actually makes me want that Disney went by way of with its plan for a collection of “Small World Celebrations” that started a number of years in the past with Opa! A Greek Celebration. Perhaps now that Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is open, DCA will begin providing some counter-programming to attract locals away from Disneyland.
The Lunar New Year leisure is nice. There’s an academic part that feels impressed by precise Lunar New Year celebrations. This supplies visitors an genuine slice of tradition alongside the enjoyable of the Mulan processional and particular character meet and greets.
Thankfully, it’s not merely characters from Mulan and Mickey Mouse in conventional Lunar New Year garb–there’s precise substance to this.
For Lunar New Year 2023, there are a number of huge adjustments. First, Mulan’s Lunar New Year Procession is a cavalcade moderately than a small processional with a present cease in entrance of Paradise Garden. In 2023, the procession might be prolonged all through all of Disney California Adventure alongside the parade route from Paradise Gardens by way of Hollywood Land.
Second, the culinary panorama will develop for 2023, with the addition of two new Lunar New Year marketplaces: Bamboo Blessings and Wrapped with Love. They will be a part of the returning marketplaces, together with Lucky 8 Lantern, Prosperity Bao & Buns, Red Spice Traders, and Longevity Noodle Co.
“Hurry Home – Lunar New Year Celebration” additionally returns, introduced previous to “World of Color.”
This heartwarming nighttime water present tells the story of a little bit lantern’s quest to reunite with household for the annual celebration of excellent luck and fortune. During the celebration, you may examine the Disneyland app for showtimes.
Last yr, Mulan’s Lunar New Year Procession debuted a beautiful new float with Mulan, Mushu, Goofy, and conventional Chinese drummers. Decorated in crimson and gold to represent luck and happiness, the float options vivid bunches of crimson firecrackers with golden tassels, and delicate crimson and gold lanterns that come aglow for after-sunset performances.
My favourite viewing spot–and the place I shot these pictures–is close to Prosperity Bao & Buns, with Mickey’s Fun Wheel (or no matter they’re calling it now) within the background.
The costumes are beautiful within the processions. If you may go to a late afternoon present, do this, as the sunshine hitting the performers makes for some very nice pictures.
There are a ton of performers within the Mulan procession–most likely about 20-30.
We’d additionally suggest catching the final procession of the day, because it happens after darkish and the lanterns on the floats are illuminated.
Given this and the prime quality of the performances, I’m shocked Disney doesn’t attempt to prolong the Lunar New Year celebration a bit longer. It’s a very nice draw, most likely not that costly to placed on, and is basically standard with visitors.
Additionally, the Paradise Garden Bandstand presents each day stay performances that includes enchanting conventional musical devices, together with Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese folks dancers.
The San Francisco-based musical group Melody of China performs a fusion of Chinese folks, classical and up to date instrumentals.
Of course, character meet & greets are a part of the occasion, which is a pleasant contact for households. Enjoy particular appearances by Disney characters on the Paradise Gardens Gazebo, the place you might spot Tigger, Mulan and Mushu, Mickey and Minnie, and the Three Little Pigs–all dressed of their festive finery.
On high of that, the titular character from Walt Disney Animation Studios’ movie Raya and the Last Dragon, makes her official debut on the Disneyland Resort in the course of the Lunar New Year celebration. Under a forest cover deep within the coronary heart of Redwood Creek Challenge Trail, you might encounter the heroic Raya.
While in Paradise Gardens, head over to the Lucky Wishes Wall to share your personal particular needs of hope, well being and happiness that roar with confidence for the Year of the Tiger.
There’s additionally complimentary arts and crafts, together with dragon’s pearl coloring craft and Chinese calligraphy with native artisans. Plus, new face portray alternatives have been added to the celebration, obtainable for buy.
The better part about Lunar New Year at DCA is that it doesn’t really feel prefer it’s merely a ruse to promote some costly occasion merchandise and overpriced menu gadgets to locals (though that’s a part of the equation). There’s a real effort to make this an enriching and entertaining expertise for visitors, and that is precisely the form of factor that belongs in EPCOT.
There are numerous cool decorations up round Paradise Garden.
It could not seem to be it from the pictures right here, however there’s loads to see exterior of the procession.
In addition to this, there’s different stay leisure on the band stand stage you could take pleasure in whereas consuming, plus stations the place visitors can get their faces painted, artwork stations for youths, and several other spots arrange with academic information about Lunar New Year within the varied cultures that remember it.
Even although it’s the winter “off-season” at Disneyland Resort, Lunar New Year will nonetheless draw crowds. Expect that to carry true throughout the occasion. The meals cubicles are particularly busy, as are the meet & greets, which routinely have hour-plus traces.
On the plus facet, you may seize a final minute spot for the cavalcade and have an excellent view. Same goes for the leisure in Paradise Garden, which is a comparatively uncrowded space of Disney California Adventure.
Now, let’s take a better have a look at the meals being served up at DCA’s Lunar New Year festivities…
Lunar New Year Food Menus
One of the highlights of Lunar New Year at Disney California Adventure is the marketplaces, serving quite a lot of Asian-inspired dishes ready with a Disney twist. These embrace Longevity Noodle Co., Lucky 8 Lantern, Prosperity Bao & Buns, and Red Dragon Spice Traders.
These meals cubicles are the identical stands used for DCA’s Food & Wine Festival and its Festival of Holidays. While Lunar New Year’s culinary part isn’t as fleshed out as these occasions, it’s beginning to develop and are available into its personal. We’ve already tried a number of dishes from the final two incarnations of the occasion, and have typically preferred what we’ve tried.
Note that because of there being so few meals cubicles, the traces can get lengthy. We suggest rope dropping the marketplaces, ordering as near 10:30 am as attainable. From what we’ve seen, Longevity Noodle Co. has the longest traces, with visitors stretching again by way of the World of Color seating space all through the day for this market. Prioritize this one.
Alternatively, you may place orders at a single market, after which go to the pickup traces at different cubicles from there. Those return traces can nonetheless be prolonged, however you’ll save a superb period of time this fashion (assuming Disney doesn’t “disable” the multi-booth ordering, which does occur infrequently).
For one of the best worth in your epicurean journey, we suggest shopping for the Sip & Savor Pass. This supplies six vouchers, redeemable for meals and nonalcoholic drinks at Lunar New Year Marketplace kiosks and different choose eating areas.
We normally make a move of the marketplaces earlier than redeeming any vouchers, making be aware of the gadgets which are costliest out of pocket, and thus provide one of the best bang for buck with the Sip & Savor Pass. A great rule of thumb is paying for the desserts out of pocket and utilizing the Sip & Savor Pass on the extra bold savory snacks.
Longevity Noodle Co. Food Menu:
- Garlic Noodles: Long noodles tossed in a zesty garlic butter with Parmesan cheese
- Spicy Pork Dandan Noodles: Pan-fried noodles with floor pork and a spicy tri-chile mix sauce
Longevity Noodle Co. Beverage Menu:
- Salted Pistachio Cold Brew that includes Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea Co. French Bistro Blend Coffee
- Pale Ale with mandarin and bergamot zest
- Novelty: Lotus Flower Glow Cube (Sip and Savor Pass not accepted)
Lucky 8 Lantern Food Menu:
- Shrimp Fried Rice with garlic bacon edamame
- Beef Bulgogi Short Rib on rice with inexperienced onion salad
Lucky 8 Lantern Beverage Menu:
- Peach Yuja-Ade: Peach syrup, yuja, dragonfruit, lemon, and butterfly pea flower tea
- Soju Peach Yuja-Ade: Soju, peach syrup, yuja, dragonfruit, lemon, and butterfly pea flower tea
- Lager
- Novelty: Lotus Flower Glow Cube (Sip and Savor Pass not accepted)
Prosperity Bao & Buns Food Menu:
- Char Siu BBQ Pork Bao: Pickled crimson onions and jalapeño
- Mickey Chinese Hot Dog Bun: Brioche-style Mickey-shaped buns full of scorching canine and completed with sesame seeds and scallions
Prosperity Bao & Buns Beverage Menu:
- Prosperous Tiger: Vodka, cream of coconut, bitters, triple sec, mandarin purée, and vanilla bean paste
- Lychee Celebration: Gin, prosecco, lychee purée, lychee syrup, grapefruit juice, and yuja
- Bamboo Lager
- Novelty: Lotus Flower Glow Cube
Red Dragon Spice Traders Food Menu:
- Spicy Three-Cup Chicken served on a mattress of jasmine rice
- Impossible Lion’s Head Meatballs: Mini plant-based pork meatballs served with cabbage and Shaoxing wine discount
- Mickey Purple Sweet Potato Macaron: Red macaron full of purple candy potato buttercream and crème fraîche middle
Red Dragon Spice Traders Beverage Menu:
- Dancing Firecracker: Pineapple juice, guava purée, spicy honey syrup, hibiscus syrup, and lime juice
- Jasmine Tea Lager
- Novelty: Lotus Flower Glow Cube (Sip and Savor Pass not accepted)
Lucky Fortune Cookery Beverages:
- Hong Kong-style Milk Tea: Black tea sweetened with condensed milk served over ice (non-alcoholic) (New)
- Mulan Sipper with alternative of: Fountain beverage at time of buy, Hong Kong-style milk tea, or Vietnamese iced espresso (non-alcoholic)
- Novelty: Lotus Flower Glow Cube (Sip and Savor Pass not accepted)
Paradise Garden Grill Food Menu:
- Korean-style BBQ Chicken: Half hen with steamed white rice, kimchi, pickled cucumbers, and sesame seeds (Sip and Savor portion obtainable)
- Pork Banh Mi: Grilled pork stomach with pickled daikon, carrots, cucumber, jalapeño, cilantro, and seasoned mayonnaise on a crispy baguette (Sip and savor portion obtainable)
- Spicy Kung Pao Tofu: Deep fried tofu with zucchini, yellow squash, broccoli, crimson peppers, peanuts, and fried rice garnished with garlic deep-fried chips (Sip and Savor portion obtainable) (New)
- Whole Fried Fish: Crispy complete fish, candy and bitter sauce, steamed rice, stir-fried greens and hen soup — served family-style for 2
- Green Tea Raspberry Parfait: Green tea mousse, raspberry jelly, white sponge cake, white chocolate mousse, and sweet pearls
- Sides of steamed or fried rice
Paradise Garden Grill Beverage Menu:
- Tiger Milk Tea with brown sugar boba (non-alcoholic) (New)
- Soju Cocktail: Soju, ginger beer, lemon, basil, Fresno chile, lychee flavor-filled boba (non-alcoholic) (New)
- Mulan Sipper with alternative of fountain beverage at time of buy (non-alcoholic)
- Novelty: Lotus Flower Glow Cube (Sip and Savor Pass not accepted)
Lamplight Lounge Food Menu:
- Korean-style BBQ Nachos: Bulgogi pork stomach, tacky corn sauce, gochujang crema, recent radish, and spicy cucumbers on house-made chips (New)
- Kung Pao Bao: Kung Pao-glazed crispy pork stomach, chili peanuts, steamed bao bun, crimson pepper, and inexperienced onion slaw
- Oolong Donut: Oolong-dusted beignet donut served with oolong crème anglaise, and orange soy pudding dipping sauces
Lamplight Lounge Beverage Menu:
- Lunar Cocktail: Baiju Chinese liquor, smoked orange syrup, orange bitters and lemon juice garnished with orange peel (New)
Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa Holiday Cart Menu:
- Lantern Whoopie Pie: Whoopie pie full of vanilla buttercream and dipped in pearl sprinkles
- Assorted Pretzel Sticks: Tiger-striped chocolate pretzel sticks
- Mickey-shaped Tiger Sugar Cookie: Sugar cookie dipped in crimson chocolate with gold Mickey-shaped tiger
- Mickey-shaped Tiger-striped Sugar Cookie: Sugar cookie dipped in crimson chocolate with gold tiger stripes
As proven above, Paradise Garden Grill has a particular menu for Lunar New Year, and some different choices may be discovered on the Festival Food and Beverage Cart.
Our favourite tends to be Paradise Garden Grill, because it serves full meals which are bold and pleasant. One of our favourite “traditions” in the course of the occasion is becoming a member of Guy Selga of TouringPlans.com to devour the Whole Fried Fish, which tastes so significantly better than it appears. I’m additionally an enormous fan of the Bánh Mì, if you need one thing a bit extra…standard.
Overall, Happy Lunar New Year is an occasion that’s nicely price experiencing in the event you’re a Disneyland native, actually into cultural experiences, or are considering of an early-year Disneyland Resort trip. We have been actually impressed by the general high quality of Happy Lunar New Year, and ended up spending about half the day over in Paradise Garden having fun with it. It appeared very standard with different visitors, and we’ve by no means seen Paradise Garden this busy–it’s even busier throughout this than throughout Viva Navidad.
As an added bonus, January and February are typically nice months to go to (in the event you don’t thoughts some refurbishments) because the crowds are at their lowest factors of the yr, and “winter” in Southern California has air quotes round it for a purpose. The occasion itself is a really prime quality little providing you can spend a few hours experiencing, and is a pleasant gesture for locals and people who need one thing new or distinctive. For most individuals, it isn’t going to be one thing round which a visit ought to be deliberate, however contemplating that it’s solely operating for 4 days, it’s wonderful.
Planning a Southern California trip? For park admission offers, learn Tips for Saving Money on Disneyland Tickets. Learn about on-site and off-site inns in our Anaheim Hotel Reviews & Rankings. For the place to eat, try our Disneyland Restaurant Reviews. For distinctive concepts of issues that’ll enhance your journey, try What to Pack for Disney. For complete recommendation, seek the advice of our Disneyland Vacation Planning Guide. Finally, for guides past Disney, try our Southern California Itineraries for day journeys to Los Angeles, Laguna Beach, and tons of different locations!
Your Thoughts
Does Lunar New Year Celebration appear to be a traditional “edutainment” expertise, or does it look uninteresting to you? If you’ve got been, what do you consider Happy Lunar New Year? Any ideas so as to add? Hearing from you is half the enjoyable, so when you’ve got extra ideas or questions, please share them within the feedback!