Disney California Adventure Park celebrates the Lunar New Year from January 17 to February 16. Guests can find fun activities and eat delicious foods that honor Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean cultures during the Year of the Snake at the park.

And with fan-favorite characters like Mulan and Mushu, as well as Turning Red‘s Mei-Mei and Ming Lee making appearances, Mickey and Minnie will be there to take photos in their new Hanbok outfits.

To celebrate the Lunar New Year at Disney’s California Adventure Park, guests must venture to Paradise Gardens. There, they will discover the entire area has been adorned with red and gold colors that symbolize luck and prosperity. Of course, guests will find culinary marketplaces and a few other kiosks along the way that are also getting into the festivities.

Celebrations like these exemplify the company’s efforts to be inclusive and respectful of cultural diversity. Additionally, Disney California Adventure Park has become more conscious that Asians aren’t monoliths and that different ethnicities celebrate the Lunar New Year. Such efforts are seen in things like the three new collectible Sip-and-Savor passes and the different live entertainment that brings song and dance from local Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese bands.

On the entertainment side, guests can experience an array of fun outside of the usual foods and attractions. There are the character meet and greets. While meeting Mulan and Mushu and Turning Red‘s Mei Mei and Ming Lee are a must, this year is a little different from its predecessors as costume designer Grace Kang designed the new outfits some characters will be wearing for the Lunar New Year celebrations.

Kang shared the inspiration behind the new outfits for Minnie and Mickey Mouse, drawing from character art by Anne Shen and floral patterns of motifs that are popular in Korean Culture. Kang, a Korean herself, spent a lot of time researching Hanbok shops in Los Angeles’ Koreatown and spoke to the designers who come from generations of making Hanboks. Being a part of the process allowed her to be come closer to her family and her culture. And that really shows in these photos.

Other entertainment offerings include Mulan’s Lunar New Year Procession, which makes its return for the Lunar New Year. The entire parade route goes from Hollywood Land to Paradise Gardens Park and takes place at 12:45 PM, 2:30 PM, 5:00 PM, and 6:45 PM. The procession has lotus and fan dancers, as well as a spirited group of entertainers that brings a dragon to life. Mulan and Mushu greet guests aboard a float adorned with red lanterns and golden tassels. Chip n’ Dale also makes an appearance.

At Paradise Garden Park, guests can take photos with Mickey and Minnie in their hanbok outfits and Mulan and Mushu. Additionally, the area hosts musical acts like The Fortunes – an all-Chinese band that blends traditional and contemporary styles of music to form a unique sound that resonates across all cultures. New Tradition is a progressive pop fusion band that infuses improvisation into timeless classics and contemporary hits. And the Korean acapella group Vocal Seoul makes their return. All groups perform on select days and times, so be sure to check the schedule to see who is performing and when.

Onward to the foods and drinks, guests will find a series of Lunar New Year marketplaces that will give them an array of Asian-inspired dishes and beverages to try. The three collectible sip-and-savor passes, priced at $45 for Magic Key holders and $48 for non-Magic Key holders, come in three different designs, with your favorite Disney characters in culturally inspired outfits designed by artist Ann Shen. Mickey and Minnie are in hanboks, Goofy and Clarabelle in ao dai, and Donald and Daisy are wearing qipao. And all three will say Happy New Year in their respective languages.

Guests looking to take a break from all the fun activities and rides may want to visit Paradise Gardens park to experience Chinese calligraphy or write down some of their wishes for the new year and then hang them on the wall.

Finally, “Hurry Home – Lunar New Year Celebration” returns in 2025 for the Lunar New Year. The six-minute nighttime spectacular pre-show serves as the opening act for World of Color-One. It tells the story of a Little Lantern who embarks on a journey to return home for the annual celebration of good luck and fortune. Guests may see some familiar characters projected on the water.

Chef Duke Brown, a Korean himself, is one of the culinarians and chefs of the park who had the pleasure of coming up with many of these offerings that guests will find. Every year, the chefs take feedback from guests to see what works and speak to their employee resource group to help them make sure they stick to authenticity and tradition. Their goal is to tell those stories through the food offerings. Since Southern California is a big multicultural group of people, it is important that food is a reflection of that. So guests will find some interesting dishes all around the park.

The six different marketplaces offer six different viewpoints, and the brick-and-mortar restaurants offer a few unique takes on some culinary classics. One of my favorites is the Banh Mi Hot Dog at Award Winners. The sandwich, because a hot dog is not a sandwich, uses banh mi ingredients like pickled cumbers, shredded daikons and carrots, sliced jalapenos, roasted pork belly, and a hot dog winner, which is sandwiched in between two slices of baguettes. It’s a filling dish on its own, but it also comes with fries.

Of course, the six marketplaces are the main culinary draws of events like Lunar New Year at Disney California Adventure Park. While items can be purchased individually, guests might consider getting the sip-and-savor pass. While some items like the Quesabirria Eggroll make their return, it wasn’t a favorite of mine. It may be too salty for my taste. Another one that didn’t meet my expectations was the Fire Chicken Wings with sesame-seaweed crunch. While I didn’t mind the messiness of the wings, the spices were too overpowering, and I didn’t taste the seaweed.

Fortunately, it got better from there. The Mini Char Siu Pork Shanks with rice and pineapple chutney reminded me of the simplicity of eating rice and char siu. The shanks came right off the bone and were very juicy, and the pineapple chutney provided a bit of sweetness with every bite.

Speaking of sweetness, Strawberry Milk Tea Macaron: Strawberry buttercream with a milk tea center returns, and I can see why. The macaron was light and airy, the buttercream had the right amount of strawberry flavor, and the milk tea center balanced it all. One of the newer marketplace offerings is the Chocolate Firecracker. This sweet treat is a firecracker-shaped dessert filled with light chocolate mousse, chocolate ganache filling, chocolate almond dacquoise, and popping candy featuring DOVE Dark Chocolate. I can’t say enough good things about it as the dessert was rich, decadent, and full of chocolate goodness, and the popping candies provided some flair to make it sound like its namesake.

Of course, one can’t discuss celebrating the Lunar New Year at Disneyland California Adventure Park without discussing the merchandise. Some new items include a Spirit jersey with a gold silhouette of Mickey Mouse and a snake and lanterns representing China, Korea, and Vietnam on various items.

There’s also the Lunar New Year tea cup with that gold silhouette of Mickey with a snake and three lanterns at the very bottom.

The Lunar New Year Mickey headband also returns. Like its predecessors, it’s adorned in red and gold, with lantern designs on both ears. In the middle of the red bow is the snake, making the gold silhouette of Mickey Mouse.

Another addition this year is the lug bag. Just like the Mickey Ears and the Tea Cups, the lug bag is adorned with a snake shaped like a Mickey silhouette.

Everywhere you turn, there’s entertainment, even for the kids. Also included is the fun Disney Grand California Hotel and Spa, which will mark the occasion of the absolutely gorgeous confectionery. You want to eat it, but don’t; it’s only for display purposes. Guests can also catch live performances on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Fridays or Story Time With Mulan on Mondays and Saturdays.

The Lunar New Year at Disney California Adventure Park runs until February 16, 2025.