Everything to See and Do at Disney California Adventure’s Lunar New Year Celebration

Disney California Adventure‘s annual Lunar New Year celebration is back. The event features Disney characters in Lunar New Year outfits, special food, exclusive merchandise, arts and crafts, and performances by local community groups, musicians, and other performers in several different shows. You can experience the Lunar Near Year at DCA until February 22, 2026. Now we will take a look at how Disney is celebrating the Year of the Horse.

A festive gate is just beyond Carthay Circle marking the area of the park where Lunar New Year is celebrated.

It’s the year of the horse, which means the star of the show this year is Horace Horsecollar.

Displays showing how Vietnamese, Chinese, and Korean families celebrate Lunar New Year.

Also in Paradise Gardens, a calligraphy artist is on hand to create handmade souvenirs.

 

Disney California Adventure Lunar New Year Characters

 

Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Mulan and Mushu are available for meet and greets in Paradise Gardens.

Horace Horsecollar, Donald Duck and Daisy Duck, or Goofy and Clarabelle Cow meet near Grizzly River Run. Red Panda Mei from Turning Red also meets at the bandstand in Pixar Pier.

Mulan’s Lunar New Year Procession is a mini parade celebrating the Lunar New Year, it features songs and characters from the movie Mulan, as well as acrobats, a Chinese Dragon Dance, drummers, and dancers. Chip & Dale join Mulan and Mushu are also a part of the parade. The procession is usually performed at 12:45 PM, 2:30 PM, 5:00 PM, and 6:45 PM.

Horace Horsecollar also makes an appearance in the parade.

Be sure to also catch the special pre-show called Hurry Home which plays before the World of Color Happiness nighttime spectacular.

Disney California Adventure Lunar New Year Entertainment

The Paradise Gardens Bandshell is home to various musical performances, including  Fortunes (Chinese culture), Jie Ma (Chinese culture), Loc Hong (Vietnamese culture), and Vocal Seoul (Korean culture).

Disney California Adventure Lunar New Year Food

There’s a ton of food and drink options spread over the parks various food booths and quick service dining locations featuring cuisine from China, Korea, and Vietnam. If you’re getting items from the food booths, consider the Sip and Savor pass, which 6 food and non-alcoholic beverage items of your choice for $49, or $46 with the Magic Key discount. Here’s some of our favorite items from the festival:

Our favorite item from the festival is the Hotteok-inspired Mickey-shaped Waffles ($11.29) from Schmoozies. They are red batter waffles with brown sugar and cinnamon custard along with a side of yellow whipped cream. They’re warm, delicious, and I want another one right now.

A returning favorite is Mickey-Shaped Hot Dog Bun ($8.00). It’s a fun a photogenic snack with a taste similar to an everything bagel with chives.

Aunt Cass Cafe has Year of the Horse Bread ($14.49). This may look like just a big loaf of horse shaped bread. We’ll I’m here to tell you…. that’s exactly what it is. But trust us, you can never go wrong with freshly baked sourdough bread.

The Kung Pao Bao ($9.00)from Prosperity Bao & Bun is a good option for people look for a plant based option. It contains plant-based chicken, toasted peanuts and scallions. This booth also has the Char Siu BBQ Pork Bro ($9.25) for all the carnivores out there.

A highlight from Bamboo Blessings is the Strawberry Milk Tea Macaron ($9.00). It’s filled with strawberry buttercream and a milk tea center which has great flavor and texture.

The Quesabirria Egg Roll ($9.50) from Food Wrapped with Love is served with guajillo pepper consome. It’s a greasy mess but we really enjoyed the rich and savory flavor.

Disney California Adventure Lunar New Year Merchandise

It wouldn’t be a Disney festival without a boat load of new merchandise. The Lunar New Year Spirit Jersey can be yours for $84.99.

Mickey Mouse Lunar New Year plush is $29.99.

The ever-popular mouse ear headband is available for $34.99.

The Loungefly crossbody bag and coin purse combo is $75.

Disney baseball jerseys have exploded in popularity over the last few years so it’s not a surprise one is available for the year of the horse as well. You can take this bad boy home for $74.99.

Commemorate the year of the horse with a shirt featuring Horace Horsecollar for $74.99.

What’s are you looking forward to most about Lunar New Year at Disney California Adventure? Let us know in the comments.