Disneyland Celebrates Lunar New Year [2025]
The Disneyland Lunar New Year celebration will return in 2025. From January 17, 2025, to February 16, 2025, guests can ring in the Year of the Snake with various food and festivities.
A majority of the festivities take place at Disney’s California Adventure Park, however there will be some special food options available throughout the Disneyland Resort (including at the hotels).
Let’s take a look at what is going to be available during the Disneyland Lunar New Year.
Lunar New Year at Disneyland Festivities
During the Lunar New Year celebration, there are some special festivities that only take place for this celebration. Here are some of the things you can look forward to this year, when you celebrate at Disney’s California Adventure Park.
Mulan’s Lunar New Year Procession
No Disney celebration would be complete without it’s own processional. During Lunar New Year, you can join Mulan, Mushu, and other friends as they celebrate the new year and honor family and friendship.
This processional also features spirited groups of entertainers including Chinese dragon puppets, warriors, drummers, and dancers for guests to enjoy.
This Lunar New Year procession travels from Paradise Gardens to Hollywood Land. And takes place a few times throughout the day, typically around 12:45 pm, 2:30 pm, and 5:00 pm (be sure to check the Disneyland App for exact times during your visit).
Pro-Tip: Because the procession travels through a majority of DCA, you can find a good spot to view the parade throughout the park. And remember, the parade will go one way during the first viewing, and then will come back during the second viewing.
The parade typically lasts about 20 minutes. In other words, it takes about 20 minutes for the entertainers to go through the whole course of the parade. This means that if you’re towards the end of the parade route, it might take a few minutes for you to see them (just try to be patient).
Lunar New Year Live Entertainment
Lunar New Year celebrations wouldn’t be complete without live entertainment! To celebrate the Year of the Snake, there are live performances happening at two different locations. You can enjoy performances at Paradise Garden Bandstand, as well as at Sonoma Terrace.
Each location offers a unique set of live performers during select times.
At the Paradise Gardens Bandstand there is quite the line up to enjoy. Here you can see performances from Jie Ma, Fortunes, New Tradition, and Kim Eung Hwa.
On the weekends, at Sonoma Terrace, you can see Vocal Seoul perform throughout the afternoon.
Lunar New Year Disney Characters
Like most other special events that happen at the Disneyland Resort, there are special characters, and outfits that the characters wear.
During the Lunar New Year celebration, you can expect to see special characters from some of our favorite Disney movies. Some unique characters include Mulan & Mushu, Meilin & Ling Lee (from Turning Red).
Additionally, Mickey and Minnie will be wearing some traditional Korean inspired cultural attire.
In previous years, guests could also see Chip and Dale dressed in vibrant Lunar New Year attire, as well as meet Raya.
Lunar New Year: Wishing Wall
The Wishing Wall is located in Paradise Gardens. It is a beautiful area where you can add your own messages and wishes for a bountiful new year.
The Wishing Wall is available to everyone of all ages to enjoy.
Hurry Home – Lunar New Year Celebration
On select evenings, you can also enjoy a pre-show (before World of Color – ONE) that celebrates Lunar New Year.
This year, the pre-show tells the story of Little Lantern on a journey to get home before the celebrations of good luck and fortune take place.
The show will last about 6 minutes, and was created by Academy Award-winning composer Tan Dun.
Disneyland Lunar New Year: Marketplaces
Of course you cannot have a Lunar New Year celebration without some good food options. To help celebrate, there are six different marketplaces that will be offering Asian-inspried dishes for everyoen to enjoy.
These dishes take inspiration from Chinese Vietnamese, and Korean cuisine to bring tradition and modern twists to some of our favorite dishes.
You can find delicious eats at the following Lunar New Year Marketplaces:
Bamboo Blessings
Wrapped with Love
Lucky 8 Lantern
Prosperity Bao & Buns
Red Dragon Spice Traders
Longevity Noodle Co.
If you’re looking for a full foodie guide, and to see all of the delicious options available during Disneyland’s Lunar New Year celebration, then check out our Foodie Guide. In our Foodie Guide post, we list all of the food available, as well as list some options available at the Disneyland Resort Hotels, and the Sip & Savor Pass.
Lunar New Year Sip And Savor Pass
If you’re familiar with most Disneyland events, there typically is a Sip & Savor pass available. Lunar New Year is no different, and there will be Sip & Savor Passes available to guests who wish to use one.
If you are unfamiliar with what a Sip & Savor pass is, it essentially is a flat rate for a pass that gives you vouchers to use towards the different marketplaces to try sample sizes of the different food options. It can be a cost-saving method to try a lot of different food available during events.
Recently, Disney has changed the sip and savor pass from a physical voucher to a more digital method, making it easier to use.
Disneyland Lunar New Year: Merchandise
Every special event has limited merchandise available. There is always merchandise that can be purchased in parks, and some merchandise that is available on ShopDisney.
You can look forward to an exclusive Lunar New Year Spirit Jersey, Lunar New Year Ears, as well as other favorite merchandise.
Additionally, you can find a Lunar New Year Stainless Steel tumbler and a Lunar New Year straw clip (it even lights up!).
Disneyland Lunar New Year FAQ
Here are some common questions people ask about Disneyland’s Lunar New Year celebrations. If you have any further questions, feel free to email me.
Does Disney celebrate the Chinese new year?
Disney California Adventure Park holds a Lunar New Year celebration from mid-January until mid-February. The celebration doesn’t just highlight Chinese traditions with the new year; it celebrates parts of all the countries that celebrate Lunar New Year, including Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean traditions.
Is Disneyland busy on Lunar New Year?
Typically January and February are slower months to go to Disneyland. During the Lunar New Year, you can expect to see some crowds on the weekends, with usually lower numbers during the week.
However, the weekend crowds are going to be very minimal compared to the crowds that take place during Summer, Halloween, or Holiday time at the parks.
How long is Lunar New Year 2025 Disneyland?
This year, the Disneyland Lunar New Year occurs from January 17 until February 16. For a full 31 days, guests can enjoy the festivities of celebrating the Year of the Snake.
Disneyland Lunar New Year is (usually) an annual festival at Disney California Adventure, so if you miss the one for 2025, mark your calendar for 2026!
Closing The Gates On: Lunar New Year at Disneyland
The Disneyland Lunar New Year celebration is an excellent time to visit the Disneyland Resort. Usually it is a quieter time at the parks, and there is a lot of fun activities and celebrations that are going to be fun for the whole family.
To celebrate the Year of the Snake, Disney is bringing a wide variety of new food items to the marketplaces for you to enjoy! I highly recommend grabbing a Sip & Savor pass so you can try a little bit of everything on the food menus.
Additionally, you can look forward to seeing live performances of popular local Asian artists, a special Mulan Processional, and unique character meet and greets.
Visiting Disney during the Lunar New Year is definitely something you aren’t going to want to miss.
