I recently had the amazing privilege to go to Disneyland. Just do happen to be during the Lunar New Year Festival. It was definitely an experience, especially for someone going to Disney California adventure for the first time. But is this a specific time of year that you should definitely go or is it okay to miss?
Aside from the usual fun rides, food, drinks, and character experiences, there are cool Asian elements spread throughout the park and your day itinerary. The event takes place January 16- February 17th. So there’s still time to attend if you are inclined or already have a trip scheduled.
Mulan New Year Procession
This probably takes place of the daily parade. The website says it’s 20 minutes but it’s very short; only about 4 minutes from first sight until the very end with Chip and Dale. This procession is very beautiful to watch and you learn about the Chinese traditions that shaped Mulan’s life through dance and movement. Recommend timing the shows right and watch from the beginning of the parade in Hollywood Land. There’s less of a crowd and you’re not waiting a long time for the procession to reach you. Watch then move on to the next activity.
Free Celebration Activities
I saw 3 free activities throughout the park.
- Lunar New Year Wishing Wall: write your wish and add to the wall for the upcoming year.
- Asian Calligraphy: a professional artist will write an Asian character of your choice like prosperity, love, courage, fortune, or happiness. Great free keepsake.
- Kid craft area near Avengers Campus where they can color a Mickey snake shaped fan from 10am-630pm.
Festival Food
Throughout the festival in marketplaces in the center or as seasonal items in the restaurants, you will find Asian cuisine from Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese cultures. You can try them all or purchase a Sip and Savor Pass for $48 ($45 for Magic Key holders). These passes come in the form of a collectible card with a unique barcode. You can get 6 items from the Lunar New Year Marketplaces at a snack portion size.
The options are various from wings, dumplings, noodles, rice, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Look through the menu and place your orders for the marketplaces at one shot so you just have to go to the window to pick up and to avoid those potential long lines to place an order.
I got my Sip and Savor pass as soon as I entered the park at Elias & Co. Then hit the first the festival food line at 1030am when they opened. Ordered all of my meals at once and saved my receipt to show at each pickup window for them to verify my purchase. It got beat up throughout the day but its important that you don’t lose it! They literally cross off your selection.
Here’s what I tried and my thoughts.
From Wrapped in Love:
Fried Lemongrass Chicken Dumpling with plum sauce.
5/10 — I was so excited for the dumplings but they just didn’t hit the mark. Don’t know if this was just sitting out for a while but it was cold and really hard to bite into.
From Prosperity Bao & Buns:
Red Panda Bao – Jumbo pork and vegetable bao with chile-garlic sauce
7/10 — Not bad, but I’ve had better. Wish the bao had more flavor since the ratio between meat and bao wasn’t equal.
From Longevity Noodle Co.:
Shrimp Lo Mein Noodles with stir-fried vegetables
9/10 — Very good flavor and quite filling for such a small portion. Not giving it a 10 because 1 of the 3 shrimps wasn’t cleaned. Still had the black line of poop. Check your shrimp ladies and gents!
Tropical Coconut Cooler
7/10 — Saw a few rave reviews of this on Youtube and thought I’d give it a shot. It was just okay but probably not worth a Sip and Savor Pass. I didn’t finish the whole thing because it was really sweet.
From Bamboo Blessings:
Mini Char Siu Pork Shanks with rice and pineapple chutney
7/10 — This was really good but spicy and I don’t recall seeing any sign that this dish was spicy. I didn’t finish it, but the pineapple pieces were a nice touch!
From Lucky 8 Lantern:
Quesabirria Roll with guajillo pepper consomé
10/10 — this was amazing! All I have to say.
Lunar New Year Celebration Pre-Show
World of Color – ONE is the nightly show at Disney’s California Adventure. Before the show, there’s a Lunar New Year Celebration Pre-Show for about 5 minutes. Making your nightly show a whopping 27 minutes long! So if you get the dessert party like I did, you get something a little extra there.
The pre-show itself was very sweet; about lantern trying to find it’s way home.
Character Experiences
There are A LOT of festival character experiences throughout the park at different times of the day. There’s a meet and greet area in between Paradise Garden Grill and Goofy’s Sky School where you can meet Mickey and Minnie in their Korean outfits, Goofy in his Vietnamese clothing, and Mulan and Mushu. Keep in mind that these are not Photo Pass areas, you need to use your own phone.
You can also meet Meilin and her mom from Turning Red near the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail entrance, right after The Little Mermaid.
NOW… it is worth going just for the Lunar New Year Festival? I’m going to say no. Unless you live in the area or a huge fan of Asian culture, the experience wasn’t out of this world. The food didn’t really live up to the hype. Feel like these Youtubers weren’t exactly honest on the food quality. It wasn’t bad just not what I was expecting based on reviews and the pictures to be honest.
There are much better festivals like the Food and Wine Festival. Never been to the California Adventure version, but the Epcot festival has never disappointed regardless which country you’re in.
I don’t regret going during this time. All of the extra add-ons were great and seeing out favorite characters in a unique outfit was fun and essential for my photo collection! But I wouldn’t wait specifically for this time of year to attend DCA.
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