Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California is kicking off 2024 with one of the most amazing celebrations inside the parks! Lunar New Year, an ancient traditional festival of China, will begin January 23, 2024 inside Disney California Adventure Park. The festival will feature foods and traditions from the Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese cultures. The entire celebration includes music, entertainment, and even merchandise! 2024 is the Year of the Dragon.
One of the amazing things about festivals at Disneyland Resort is the Sip and Savor Pass. This great perk in the past has allowed you to purchase the Sip and Savor Pass, which includes six coupons attached to the pass, and you were able to exchange them for select food and beverage options throughout the park. This year the parks have rolled out a new way to use the Sip and Savor Pass. While guests will still receive a physical pass, they way guests will use their “coupons” will be moved to a scannable barcode on the pass and completed with the entry of a pin number.
There are six Lunar New Year Festival Marketplace booths this year, each with something different to offer guests, most of which are available January 23 through February 18, 2024. Bamboo Blessings has four new menu items that includes a Strawberry Milk Tea Macaron which is a Mickey Mouse shaped macaron with a Strawberry buttercream and milk tea filling. Also available for purchase is a Mickey Shaped Hot Dog Bun. The bun is crafted from a brioche bread, filled with pieces of hot dog, and finally sprinkled with sesame seeds. It is simply adorable! Bamboo Blessings is also offering a Lunar New Year Punch that is a blend of mango nectar, grapefruit juice, tangerine juice, and then swirled with syrups flavored of banana and coconut. Found on top will be jellied bits of mango. There is also a version for those guests 21 years of age and older that contains coconut rum.
The next Lunar New Year Festival Marketplace is Longevity Noodle Co. which is offering two noodle dishes and a cocktail. The first noodle dish is a Shrimp Lo Mein Noodles featuring sautéed shrimp. The second dish is Garlic Noodles that has a zesty garlic butter and parmesan sauce as described by Disney Destinations. The cocktail offering from this Marketplace is the Dragon Cocktail. A delicious mixture of Dragonberry rum, lychee nectar white rum, dragon fruit, lime juice, Chinese Five Spice syrups, and a house-made coriander tea as described by Disney.
Lucky 8 Lantern is the third Lunar New Year Festival Marketplace location that is serving up a fabulous Quesabirria Eggroll served with a side of guajillo pepper consume. The next menu item that is a must try dessert is the Mandarin Orange Mousse Cake. The cake is layers of vanilla cake, mandarin mousse, and a clementine compote, then covered with a tangerine glaze and decorated with a beautiful little stem and leaves and white chocolate covered round crispies. The two cocktails that are bright and colorful are the Hibiscus Apple Soju-rite which is a beautiful red color and the Mango Melon Cocktail is a bright natural orange/yellow.
Another fabulous Marketplace is the Prosperity Bao & Buns, which I can absolutely see being a super popular location. Here guests will find a Kung Pao Bao that is filled with chicken, toasted peanuts, and a sprinkle of scallions. The second option is BBQ Pork Bun served with a kimchi mayo drizzle and topped with garlic chiles. There will also be six different beverage options consisting of lagers, IPAs, and even a Dragon Beer Flight.
The final two locations are just as equally fabulous as the others. Red Dragon Spice Traders features two spicy menu items. Spicy Fried Rice features chickpeas and pieces of tofu. The next item is Red Spiced Fried Chicken Bites that feature a spicy red chili sauce. To pair with those items the beverage options include a Peach Basil Collins and a Guava Whiskey Cocktail.
Wrapped with Love, adorable name for this location, is serving two types of dumplings. Steamed Pork & Vegetable Dumplings will be served with a black garlic sauce and the Fried Lemongrass Chicken Dumplings will have a plum sauce. To keep the flavor train moving, the Yuja-Pineapple Cooler will be a must try. A combination of condensed milk, rice milk, pineapple juice, and yuja puree.
While there are so many things happening throughout the parks, the Lunar New Year Festival Marketplace booths are always a favorite of the visiting guests. If you’re ready to visit for Lunar New Year, reach out today there is still plenty of time to plan!
