The Year of the Mouse: Celebrating the Chinese New Year

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When it comes to a cultural celebration, nobody does it quite like Disney, and the celebration of the Lunar New Year is no exception. With the commemoration now in the rearview (January the 25th) Disney World and Disneyland  will continue their festivities and limited time offerings well into February. If you are celebrating, let us here at Celebrations wish you and yours the happiest and most joyous Lunar New Year! This year of 2020 happens to be an extra special one for us Disney fanatics as it is the year of the rat, or as Disney has so fittingly deemed it, the year of the mouse! From merchandise, to fare, to the China Pavilion in Epcot completely in her element,  Disney is ringing in the Lunar New Year with style and excitement. Be sure to check out these exciting events while the celebration lasts!

The China Pavilion – Epcot

We’d be remiss not to mention the China Pavilion in Epcot first as a number one spot to score all of your Lunar New Year goodies! Mickey and Minnie plush dolls, spirit jerseys and T-shirts and most importantly, those adorable  Minnie headband ears are some of the items you can pick up in the shops. In way of festivity only experiences, the amazing candy artist, Wenbo Zhang, creates Chinese candy art to create complex portraits of animals using sugar syrup. You can enjoy this unique feast for the eyes now through the 24th of February! 

Uniqlo in Disney Springs

It might be surprising that a retail shop in Disney Springs has a celebration for the Lunar New Year, but with enough mouse merchandise to go around (including some adorable ‘fortune’ T-shirts featuring not only Mickey and MInnie but the loveable mice from Cinderella) this unique shop has certainly come alive with Lunar New Year spirit! Spin the Gara Gara lucky wheel, get a free gift with purchase, and be sure to check out the traditional Taiko drumming performance that takes place every hour from 2pm-7pm now until the second of February. 

Mulan’s Lunar New Year Procession

This beloved tradition in California Adventure in Disneyland is the perfect blend of the celebration of Vietnamese, Korean and Chinese culture as well as some of your favorite Disney characters.  You’ll find year of the mouse specialty merchandise and delicious authentic cuisine whilst enjoying this adventurous and stunning performance hosted by the delightful Mulan and her fun loving sidekick dragon, Mushu! Come and enjoy this event now through the ninth of February!

Hurry Home- a night show for the Lunar New Year in Disneyland

LUNAR NEW YEAR CELEBRATION – Guests will celebrate Lunar New Year with the new, six-minute feature called “Hurry Home – Lunar New Year Celebration” presented before “World of Color” at Disney California Adventure Park. The heartwarming nighttime water show follows the journey of a Little Lantern returning home for the annual celebration, and features appearances by Mulan and Mushu. This year’s Lunar New Year festivities are expanded for 17 days from Friday, Jan. 20 through Sunday Feb. 5, 2017, and pays tribute to the Year of the Rooster. (Richard Harbaugh/Disneyland)

This breathtaking and adorable night water show that takes place in Disneyland,  has the heart of a Pixar short and the beauty of River of Lights in our very own Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World. Hurry home tells the story of a sweet lanterns journey to be reunited with his family in time for the Lunar New Year celebration of prosperity and good luck!

I absolutely love a good celebration at Walt Disney World, especially one so rich in culture and history. The Lunar New Year is about good fortune and prosperity but most of all, it’s about celebrating the exciting new year to come surrounded by those you love. Given that Disney as a whole is all about bringing families together, it only seems appropriate that they would give this new year, the year of the mouse, such a jovial and beautiful honouring. While the festivities have already begun, you still have a few more weeks to see a stunning water show and  Mulan in her Lunar New Years best in Disneyland, as well as enjoy some Lunar New Year festivities right here at home, in Walt Disney World at Epcot and Disney Springs!