What better spot to mark the Lunar New Year than “the happiest place on earth”? Disney California Adventure commemorates the Year of the Dragon with a month of multicultural celebrations. Kids can look forward to photo ops and parade processions with Mulan, Mushu, and Mickey and Minnie Mouse, while adults will find a tasty reprieve with treats from China, Korea and Vietnam.
You’ll find festive lanterns and the bulk of the activity around Paradise Gardens Park, the Bay Area-esque boardwalk that runs past the Little Mermaid ride. It’s there that you’ll find a half-dozen food carts set up just for the occasion, with special menu items offered at even more preexisting restaurants.
If you opt for the Sip and Savor pass ($46), you’ll have six vouchers that are valid for a selection of options at all of the spots (though sometimes at a slightly smaller tasting size). It’s a fun option, but you won’t necessarily save money this way; the tasty BBQ pork bun with kimchi mayo and garlic chile crunch ($9) at Prosperity Bao & Buns just barely beats the $8 average to maximize the value of your selections, though the mandarin orange mousse cake ($6.75) at Lucky 8 Lantern falls under that. Regardless, when it comes to the festival carts, find the one with the shortest line and order all of your picks from there: You can pick among the entire menu of festival offerings at any marketplace stall and then just present your receipt to get your food at its respective location.
As for entertainment, look out for a handful of craft vendors along the way (and plenty of seasonal merch in the gift shop), as well as a wishing wall next to Goofy’s Sky School. If you’re sticking around into the evening, “Hurry Home – A Lunar New Year Celebration” precedes each World of Color show, while during the day Mulan’s Lunar New Year Procession brings dancers, a colorful dragon puppet and a couple of costumed characters across the park. As the name implies, it’s a brief procession and not a full-blown parade—it runs four times daily and takes no more than five minutes to see, so maybe plan to see it in passing rather than staking out a spot on the sidewalk.