The holidays may be over, but Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park at Disneyland Resort have festive celebrations planned well into 2018. With new food and drink offerings, new parade floats and even a brand-new fireworks show, guests will have no shortage of exciting things to see, do and taste.
Lunar New Year
Disneyland Resort guests won’t have time to get the post-holidays blues, because the Lunar New Year celebration is coming to Disney California Adventure from Jan. 26 to Feb. 18.
Traditionally celebrated in Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese cultures, Lunar New Year commemorates the moment when both the sun and moon begin their journeys for another year. This year’s celebration — extended to 24 days at the park — will feature multicultural performances and three Asian marketplaces.
In addition, guests can add their wishes for a wonderful future to the Lucky Wishing Wall and can purchase special items that came all the way from Shanghai Disney Resort, including a limited-edition pin and traditional red envelopes for gift giving. Plus, to commemorate 2018 as the Year of the Dog, Disney’s most famous canines — Goofy and Pluto — will greet guests in festive Lunar New Year attire.
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During the event, Mulan and Mushu will lead dancers and musicians dressed in colorful costumes for Mulan’s Lunar New Year Procession. Additionally, “Hurry Home — Lunar New Year Celebration,” a special nighttime water show with music originally created by Academy Award-winning composer Tan Dun for the opening ceremony of Shanghai Disney Resort, will be shown prior to “World of Color” each evening.
“‘Hurry Home’ follows the journey of Little Lantern as the character returns home for the annual celebration of good luck and fortune,” said Shawn Slater, senior communications manager for Walt Disney Imagineering.
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2018 Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival
Soon after the Lunar New Year celebration, the always-delicious Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival will be returning to the park from March 2 to April 12.
The six-week event will offer new culinary experiences each day, so park guests will always find something new to do — and eat.
“More than a dozen Festival Marketplaces will feature California-inspired tastes and sips,” said Erin Glover, editorial content director for Disneyland Resort. “Guests will also experience live music, entertainment and special activities throughout the festival.”
Celebrity chef Robert Irvine and Iron Chef Alex Guarnaschelli will also be on hand for presentations and cooking demonstrations. And for kids ages 3 to 11, the biggest celebrity of all — Chef Goofy — will lead a fun-filled complimentary Junior Chef experience.
The festival’s signature events will include new experiences such as the Disney Family of Wines Dinner, as well as bring back favorites like Sweet Sundays and Winemaker or Brewmaster Dinners. Most events are included with Disney California Adventure admission, but signature events and seminars require a separate fee.
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Pixar Fest
Beginning April 13, Disneyland will celebrate the reimagination of California Adventure’s Paradise Pier into Pixar Pier. Stories and characters from Pixar Animation Studios will come to life at both parks during the resortwide Pixar Fest.
“The whole new rethinking of this area is going to be the greatest shift that we’ve seen in the pier that you know,” said Jeff Shaver-Moskowitz, producer of Pixar Pier and a producer for Walt Disney Imagineering.
Pixar Fest also marks the return of two favorite parades, both with new Pixar surprises. For the first time, the fan-favorite Pixar Play Parade will make its way through Disneyland, and Paint the Night returns — this time at Disney California Adventure — with a new Pixar story. The limited-time event will also celebrate popular Pixar films through themed decor, special food and beverage offerings and exclusive event merchandise.
“Guests can get into character and celebrate friendship with a host of new merchandise, including an exclusive Pixar Fest charm bracelet,” Glover said. “With a variety of charms with fun friendship messages and favorite Pixar characters, guests can mix and match.”
Park guests will also be treated to Together Forever — A Pixar Nighttime Spectacular. This new nightly fireworks show celebrates Pixar stories in the skies over Disneyland with pyrotechnics and projections at Sleeping Beauty Castle, as well as projections on the water screens of the Rivers of America, the facade of It’s a Small World and the buildings of Main Street, U.S.A. And in a wink to the Disneyland tradition of Tinker Bell flying over Sleeping Beauty Castle, the event will also feature a Buzz Lightyear flyover.
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