After the quintessential
end-of-year
holidays are over, the calendar offers few causes for celebration amid the
bleak winter months approaching springtime—at least in the Western tradition. But,
in Far Eastern cultures, there’s at least one more major reason to pull out all
the festive stops: the Lunar New
Year, a spectacular celebration of family, good luck and prosperity.
This year’s Lunar
New Year revelries have just arrived at the Disneyland
Resort in Anaheim, California.
This limited-time event—transforming areas of Disney California Adventure Park,
as well as in the Downtown Disney District at the Disneyland Resort hotels—is
actually the shortest of the resort’s
yearly festivals, and runs this year from January 23 through February 18.
The Disneyland
Resort’s Lunar New Year festival is designed as a multicultural, multiethnic celebration
that pays tribute to Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean traditions, as the holiday
is observed widely throughout Asia, often for not one day, but more like two
weeks. This year’s vibrant jubilation ushers in the Year of the Dragon,
something for which Disney, of course, has a perfect mascot in Mushu from Walt
Disney Animation Studios’ feature film, Mulan.
A sampling of the special food-and-beverage and merchandise offerings at Disneyland Resort created exclusively for 2024's Lunar New Year celebration. (Photo Credit: Laurie Baratti)
Character
Encounters
In a nod to a more
recent Asian-inspired animated title, Meilin Lee and her mother Ming Lee from Disney
and Pixar’s “Turning Red” are making their Disneyland Resort debut this year,
appearing in a dedicated meet-and-greet location on on San Francisco Street (the
pathway that leads from Grizzly Peak to Paradise Gardens Park) as they
celebrate Chinese New Year traditions and Meilin’s newfound Red Panda form.
Meanwhile, the heroine
from another recent Walt Disney Animation Studios’ film, “Raya and the Last
Dragon”, is herself making special appearances at the Redwood Creek Challenge
Trail. Guests can also take full advantage of to meet-and-great opportunities
with other beloved characters, like Mulan and Mushu, as well as Mickey and Friends,
all festively outfitted in their most stunning Lunar New Year finery.
Mulan and Mushu are on hand to help celebrate Lunar New Year at Disney California Adventure Park in Disneyland Resort, Anaheim, California. (Photo Credit: Disneyland Resort)
The Scene is
Set
Paradise Gardens
Park is the land that’s undergone the most prominent transformation for the
Lunar New Year festivities, adorned with brilliant red and gold overlays, symbolizing
good luck, fortune and happiness. The pavilion has been bedecked in golden
flowers, peach blossoms, bamboo and banners that combine to create an excellent
scene for festive photo opportunities.
The Paradise
Garden Bandstand and Sonoma Terrace present an exciting rotation of live
entertainment, featuring multiple Korean and Vietnamese bands and musicians, and
other community performance artists. In Paradise Garden Park, local artisans
demonstrate traditional Chinese calligraphy, and guests can engage in complimentary arts
and crafts, or post their messages of hope, health and happiness beneath
strings of ornamental lanterns at the Lunar New Year Wishing Wall.
Entrancing
Asian-inspired melodies fill the air in this part of the park, as well as on
the walk park down the Performance Corridor heading toward Buena Vista Street.
Right across the water sits the newly reimagined San
Fransokyo Square, lively as can be and offering its own unique Asian fusion
food-and-beverage scene. Here, park-goers might also get lucky enough to catch
local heroes Hiro and Baymax at special character encounter locations.
Lunar New Year "Spirit Jersey" celebrating the Year of the Dragon, available at Disney California Adventure Park in Disneyland Resort, Anaheim, California. (Photo Credit: Disneyland Resort)
Asian-Inspired Eats
In Paradise
Gardens Park and along the Performance Corridor, you’ll find six Lunar New Year
Festival Marketplaces stocked with distinctive Asian-inspired dishes and drink being
served only during this event. But, the artfully exclusive food-and-beverage
offerings extend well beyond that. Yes, you’ll find dozens of new and unique, carefully
crafted fare items at these pop-up stalls, but scads of celebratory flavors can
also be found at participating dining locations throughout the park. And, many
of them are included in the limited-edition Sip and Savor Pass, available for purchase in the park.
This year’s Lunar
New Year menus include a host of delectable food and (non-alcoholic and
alcoholic) drink choices created especially for the event by Disney Parks’
incredible culinary teams. There are plenty of never-before-seen concoctions to
sample, as well as returning favorites, like the Pork Banh Mi Sandwich, Red Spice
Fried Chicken Bites,Kung Pao Boa, Quesabirria Eggrolls and Mandarin Orange
Mousse Cake. New additions this year include the Bulgogi Pizza, Spicy Dan Dan Noodles,
Shrimp Lo Mein, Gochugaru Shrimp Roll, Fried Lemongrass Chicken Dumplings, Yuja-Pineapple
Cooler and many, many more.
Guests can
purchase the Sip and Savor Pass—which provides six coupons, redeemable for
select food and non-alcoholic beverage items offered at Festival Marketplace
stalls or participating dining locations. This year, the park is testing out a
new, scannable way for guests to redeem the coupons attached to the Sip and Savor
Pass. Now, instead of physically tearing off coupon tabs, guests can scan their
pass at a food and beverage outlet, then enter a four-digit pin, to use their
coupons as payment. Note that some guests may still get passes with attached
coupons, which will need to be presented with the tabs still attached when
redeeming for dishes or drink items.
Spicy Dan Dan Noodles, Kung Pao Boa, Quesabirria Eggrolls and Mandarin Orange Mousse Cake Lunar New Year Dishes at Disneyland Resort, Anaheim, California. (Photo Credit: Laurie Baratti)
Exclusive Entertainment
Lunar New Year event
entertainment highlights include “Mulan’s Lunar New Year Procession”, which honors
family, friendship and the potential for year filled with good fortune, as it
travels along the parade route from Hollywood Land to Paradise Gardens Park
with Mulan and Mushu presiding over a cavalcade of talented performers in gorgeous
costumes.
The short nighttime
spectacular “Hurry Home – A Lunar New Year Celebration” is presented as
an intro to the astounding “World of Color – ONE”, a mesmerizing symphony of
lights, music, mist and water theatrics, which is takes place nightly on the waters
of Paradise Bay. Orchestrated to a captivating musical
composition by the Academy Award-winning composer Tan Dun (Crouching Tiger,
Hidden Dragon), the show’s narrative is that of a small lantern trying to
journey home to reunite with its family for the annual festival. Over six
captivating minutes, guests are fully immersed in the tale, which also features
music from the iconic film Mulan and stylized renditions of its beloved heroine
and her undersized dragon, Mushu.
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