The Lunar New Year Celebration at Disney California Adventure kicked off this weekend and lasts now through Sunday, Febuary 5, 2017. The event this year is bigger than ever before and boasts an impressive assortment of festivities.
Lunar New Year Dining Menus
Paradise Garden Grill
The menu has been taken over with some tasty bites in celebration of the Lunar New Year. We tried the Kalbi Shortribs and were NOT disappointing. The seasoning was great and the meat was delicious. The kimchi was ok but the steamed rice was also fantastic.
- Japchae – Stir-fried vegetables and noodles with tofu
- Galbi – Grilled beef short rib with steamed rice and kimchi
- Cach Chien Ca Gion Ngon – Whole crispy tilapia with chili-lime vinaigrette and steamed rice
- Pho – Beef Noodle Soup
- Mango Pudding
- Banh Khoai Mi Nuong – Cassava-coconut cake
- Almond Milk Tea with Fruit Jellies (non-alcoholic)
- Max Beer Lager
Light-up Lotus Flowers are available for purchase.
Festival Marketplaces
Three new Asian marketplaces have taken over booths from the previous Festival of Holidays to offer foods inspired by Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese cultures.
Unfortunately, the prices for this festival still seem a tiny bit higher than they should be. After being impressed with the offerings at the inaugural return of the Food and Wine Festival at DCA last year, we’ve been disappointed with the portion sizing and pricing for these types of festivals since. We shared the same disappointment with the impressive but also over-priced Festival of Holidays. Hopefully Disney can get on-board and find a better balance by the time the Food and Wine Festival returns to DCA once again this year.
China
- Xiao Long Bao – Pork soup dumplings with black vinegar and ginger
- Luo Bo Gao – Turnip cake with sausage and oyster sauce
- Egg Tart
- Passion Fruit Green Iced Tea with Lychee Popping Pearls (non-alcoholic)
- Tsingtao Lager
Vietnam
- Bang Chung – Sticky rice cake with pork
- Chao Tom Voi Nuoc Cham Chua Ngot – Sugar cane shrimp skewer with sweet and sour sauce
- Purple Sweet Potato Macaron
- Ca Phe Da – Vietnamese iced coffee
Korea
- Kimchi Bokkeumbap – Kimchi-vegetable fried rice
- Yachae Mandu – Steamed vegetable dumplings with sesame-garlic soy sauce
- Yasik – Sweet rice and dried fruit cake
- Banana Milk (non-alcoholic)
- Black Beer Stout
- Hite Pale Lager
More Dining
There’s also special eats for the Lunar New Year celebration available at a cart in Paradise Gardens and also at the Lucky Fortune Cookery in the Pacific Wharf.
Characters
A trio of character duos can be found at the Paradise Gardens gazebo area. Rotating in shifts you can find Mulan and Mushu, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, or Chip and Dale, all dressed in their best to celebrate the Lunar New Year.
Entertainment
Mulan’s Lunar New Year Processional
Takes place near Paradise Gardens entrance.
Dat Nguyen – Jie Ma
More entertainment at the Paradise Garden Bandstand.
Acrobats of China
At Paradise Park, unfortunately without a stage, the entertainment here is VERY difficult to view unless you arrive early.
Hurry Home Pre-Show for World of Color
Each night, before “WORLD OF COLOR,” the Lunar New Year Celebration culminates in a new six-minute pre-show called “Hurry Home.”
This story of this new intro follows of a Little Lantern on its journey home to join its Lantern family in celebrating Lunar New Year features animated appearances by Mulan and Mushu in “dream sequences” inspired by traditional Chinese paper cut-out style animation and a score highlighted by an original arrangement of the music created for the Grand Opening of Shanghai Disney Resort by Academy Award-winning composer Tan Dun (“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”). There’s even a tiny bit of pyro!
Lunar New Year Festivities
Paper crafts like lantern making are available here in addition to a Wish Wall, face painting, custom calligraphy art and more!
AP-Only Area
A small area in-between Paradise Garden Grill and Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta, a small setup for Annual Passholders is available offering another Wish Wall, a Photo-Backdrop, Stickers, and info for traveling to Asian countries with Adventures by Disney.
Decor and More
See it for yourself!
Lunar New Year Celebration at Disney California Adventure park lasts from Friday, January 20, through Sunday, Febuary 5, 2017.
THE END!
