Looking for an exciting way to celebrate the 2020 Lunar New Year? Universal Studios Hollywood is honoring the Chinese tradition with a special themed event with all of your favorite Universal characters. Kung Fu Panda, Transformers, Hello Kitty, and Minions are all there to help bring the celebration to life. Universal has a lot to offer for this year’s festival.
Kung Fu Panda Takes Center Stage
The stars from the “Kung Fu Panda” play the leading role in USH’s Lunar New Year Celebration. Surrounded by blooming plum trees and hanging red lanterns, guests can make their way around the Universal Plaza and meet with favorite “Kung Fu Panda” characters!
Po and Tigress both offer wonderful photo opportunities, and don’t forget to try Mr. Ping’s noodles!
Mr. Ping’s Noodles is open for business and offers a fantastic (and often hilarious) interactive experience that is a must-see! Mr. Ping will carry a full conversation with talkative guests and tell plenty of jokes as well. This light-hearted, yet impressively themed offering adds to the atmosphere of the celebration and is sure to attract viewers.
After visiting Mr. Ping, head over to the other side of the Plaza and learn to draw the kung fu master himself, Po! Under the guidance of an instructor, guests are able to follow along as they perfect the techniques needed to draw Po. This is an activity that guests of all ages can participate in, and it doubles as a great souvenir!
Characters from other popular franchises such as Transformers, Hello Kitty, and Minions can also be found celebrating the new year. Hello Kitty and Minions are both sporting new specially designed Lunar New Year outfits, while a Mandarin-speaking Megatron can be found outside of the Plaza.
There are plenty of fun photo opportunities throughout this event, so make sure your phone is charged and ready to snap away!
Food, Food, Food!
The main location to purchase limited-time food items for Lunar New Year is at Mr. Ping’s Noodles. The menu consists of vegetarian Noodle Soup, Beef Pho, Pork Ramen, Glass Noodle Salad, Dumplings, Egg Rolls, and the new Sausage-On-A-Stick. The Beef Pho and Dumplings were my personal favorite, but everything on the menu looks delicious!
Looking for dessert? You can try the Sesame Seed Balls, or indulge in a delicious piece of Cherry Cheesecake!
Missing Pieces
In an age where colored popcorn buckets and plastic collectible items have guests lining up for hours to purchase, we were unable to find any Lunar New Year-themed merchandise available for purchase at USH. People are always clamoring over limited-edition items from theme parks, and I would likely have bought a commemorative item this year if there was something to choose from.
Another change we noticed this year was that the stage that held last year’s “Kung Fu Academy” is no longer part of the celebration. It is a small change in the grand scheme of things, but it is a loss nonetheless.
Overall, Uni Hollywood Lunar New Year Delivers
This year’s Lunar New Year Celebration goes to show that small can still be powerful. This seasonal offering is packed with good food, funny characters and beautiful decorations. This celebration is sure to bring good luck to whoever attends! Lunar New Year at Universal Studios Hollywood runs now through February 9th.
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Let’s Hear From You
Will you be visiting the Lunar New Year Celebrations this year at one of the local theme parks? Is there any specific offering that you are looking forward to experiencing yourself? Let us know in the comments.