What an exciting week for the Disneyland Resort! Not only did the epic new Rise of the Resistance attraction open at Disneyland, but the delightful Lunar New Year Festival returned to Disney California Adventure as well. Because we had so much information to share with you, we’ve split our normal Disneyland Update in two! We’ve got all the info about Lunar New Year here, plus construction updates on Avengers Campus and the rest of what’s going on at DCA recently. And to read more about what’s going on over at Disneyland, including the opening of Rise of the Resistance, click the link at the bottom of today’s update or visit: Disneyland News & Photo Update Rise and Resistance
Lunar New Year Celebration
The first major festival of 2020 at Disney California Adventure is Lunar New Year, which kicked off on January 17th in the Paradise Park area of the park. This is the Year of the Mouse (technically it’s the Rat, but do we really want to stir that pot right now?) and has a mix of our favorite festival offerings, as well as some notable new things we hope are here to stay. Let’s take a look at what the Year of the Mouse brings . . .
Festival Food
Can you imagine a festival without food? I certainly can’t! This year, there are 4 food booths along the parade route that have an array of Asian-inspired eats, and they’re trying something new with the ordering system.
Sip & Savor Cards and How to Order
You can purchase a Sip & Savor tasting card (with 6 tabs) at any of the food booths, as well as the dedicated booth and brick and mortar stores in the park (Seaside Souvenirs, Kingswell, Elias & Co.) like any of the previous festivals. The Sip & Savor card costs $42, $39 with an AP discount (which is a $3 increase from last year).
Similar to Festival of the Holidays and Food & Wine last year, you can order any food item from any booth (as long as you know where it’s from) and bring your receipt to pick up your food. If you take advantage of this, you can effectively avoid waiting in excessively long lines and get everything all at once (granted you know what you want!).
The new thing for this festival is the introduction of Mobile Ordering for the food booths. Now you can enjoy the convenience of ordering from your phone while you’re on the go. The caveat is you can’t use a Sip & Savor tab using this method. So, this way is best if you’re only interested in a couple of items from Lunar New Year.
We really appreciate the detail added to the booths for this festival. The signs are ornate, and they’ve even added terracotta dragons to the roofs.
Now onto the good stuff: the food . . .
Top 5 Lunar New Year Foods
We’ll start off with some of our top picks from the festival. There are 4 food booths, Prosperity Bao & Buns, Lucky 8 Lantern, Longevity Noodle Co., and Red Dragon Spice Traders. Additionally, there are a few selections from participating eateries around the park: Lucky Fortune Cookery, Paradise Garden Grill, and Lamplight Lounge. We picked our top 5 from this year in the slideshow below.
- Mickey Hot Dog Bun – Prosperity Bao & Buns
- Smoked Beef Bulgogi Shortrib – Lucky 8 Lantern
- Purple Yam Macaron – Red Dragon Spice Traders
- Chicken Meatballs and Lo Mein Noodles – Longevity Noodle Co.
- Korean Grilled Chicken – Paradise Garden Grill
There’s a surprising amount of options at the festival, so don’t be afraid to try other things too! We enjoyed just about everything except for the horrible Black Sesame Mochi Donut . . . oh, and there’s a whole fried fish (can’t even think about that one). Here are a few of the other foods you can find during the festival and at the participating eateries. Scroll through the food in the slider below:
Pick up a festival guide for a little help with food locations:
Lunar New Year Entertainment
The Lunar New Year Celebration is one of my favorite DCA festivals because of all the spectacular entertainment they have. It’s a vivacious multicultural approach towards celebrating the Lunar New Year, with plenty of bright colors and a plethora of live entertainment.
Mulan’s Lunar New Year Processional
Of all the festival parades and cavalcades, Mulan’s Lunar New Year Processional is one of the most memorable. Maybe I’m a bit biased since Mulan is the only Asian Disney princess and is rarely represented in other entertainment offerings, but this processional is so vibrant and full of spectacular choreography and costumes that it’s hard not to love.
Character Meet & Greets
After watching Mulan’s Processional, you’ll want to get a close up picture with her and many other characters at Paradise Gardens. You can meet Mulan and Mushu, as well as Mickey and Minnie, Pluto, Goofy and the Three Little Pigs too!
This year, since it is the Year of the Mouse, Disney pulled out the stops for Disney’s power couple and got Mickey and Minnie a brand new set of outfits by award-winning Chinese couture fashion designer Guo Pei. They’re different than the outfits used during the Processional, and they’re filled with detail.
Paradise Gardens: Lucky Wishing Wall and Melody of China
Paradise Gardens happens to host several Lunar New Year activities, not just a photo op. You can write a wish to hang on the Lucky Wishing Wall. I’m not usually a sappy person, but I love catching glimpses of what other people wished for. There are notes written in many different languages, and they’re all a wish for good luck in the coming year.
The other special offering at Paradise Gardens is the authentic Chinese musical group Melody of China. It’s a three-piece ensemble that plays traditional Chinese instruments and a range of songs. You may even hear their take on a couple of Disney songs!
They play beautifully and are masters of their work. It gives Paradise Gardens a totally different feel compared to the other pop-heavy music groups DCA usually has for their festivals.
Hurry Home – World of Color
Returning this year is the World of Color pre-show, “Hurry Home.” It’s a charming 6-minute short about a Little Lantern who is returning home to celebrate the Lunar New Year with its family.
Lunar New Year Merchandise
Finally, there’s a bit of merchandise and apparel to take home from Lunar New Year as well . . .
The two standout selections of apparel this year were the spirit jersey and Minnie ear headband. On opening day, everywhere I looked, there were people wearing one or the other.
There’s also an AP exclusive shirt and pin for Lunar New Year.
You can also find other festival merch like mugs, lanterns, and red envelopes for traditional Chinese New Year gifts.
Many of the items this year are from Shanghai Disneyland.
Speaking of Shanghai, they’ve really got a great lineup of items. See anything you wish we had here in the States?
Lunar New Year Video
Our video guru, Trevor, takes us on a quick tour of Disneyland’s Lunar New Year Festival, including some beautiful video of World of Color’s “Hurry Home” preshow and fireworks!
The Lunar New Year Celebration lasts through February 9, 2020. Is this festival on your To-Do List? See any food you have to try?
Avengers Campus Construction Update
Now that we’ve covered all-things Lunar New Year, let’s look at what else has been happening at DCA. Construction continues on the next major expansion at the Disneyland Resort, Avengers Campus. Now that we’re nearly done with January, the upcoming Marvel land is really shaping up quickly. While we expect the land to open for summer, no official date has been released yet.
Viewing the Marvel construction from the Guardians of the Galaxy:
And viewing from the parade route:
Behind Luigi’s Flying Tires, some new construction is going up. This will be a backstage support building.
MiceChat Anniversary & Gumball Rally
MiceChat/MiceAge is turning 17 years young and we will be celebrating with a weekend of celebrities and events at the Disneyland Resort February 7th through 9th, 2020. The main event is the Gumball Rally, which is a race through Disneyland to see who can ride the most attractions in a single day. It’s absolutely the most fun you’ll ever have in the parks.
Gumball Rally Tickets and Information HERE
Join over 500 of your fellow Disney fans to see who’s got the best strategy for riding the attractions. Compete in teams of 2 to 4 individuals and have the time of your lives.
Disneyland’s Southern California Resident Ticket Deal is Back!
3-Day Disneyland Resort tickets for travel now through May 21, 2020 are available at a $106 savings on each adult ticket and $86 savings on any child (ages 3-9) ticket! It is only valid for residents who live in ZIP codes 90000-93599. Residency will be verified at time of booking and government photo ID is required to use the tickets at the parks.
Here’s the best part . . . we have them cheaper and can be combined with hotel discounts and an additional $10 off using the “micechat” discount code (on 3 night stays) – Shop the SoCal Resident Special HERE
Not a SoCal resident? Our partners at Get Away Today help you save money on Disney theme park tickets and travel packages. For Discounted theme park tickets and travel packages to Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Universal, Knott’s Berry Farm and other family vacation destinations, always start HERE: Get Away Today (When calling, mention MiceChat so you get your special rates and deals!).
Let’s Hear From You
Well, that does it for our visit to DCA this week. Have you visited the Lunar New Year Celebration yet? What’s been your favorite food so far? Are you surprised with how quickly Marvel land is turning out? Let us know in the comments.
Because this week had so much info to cover, we had to split our normal Disneyland Update in two! For info on the opening of Rise of the Resistance and what’s been happening at Disneyland Park, read HERE.