Last month I was fairly excited to hear that Disney was bringing back the Three Kings celebration this year. I had never seen it before, and I wanted to check it out. I was also really amped up for the Limited Time Magic series, expecting Disneyland to really make it awesome for us. They didn’t. So it was to my great surprise that I enjoyed 2o13 version of the Disney Lunar New Year. And I didn’t even get to see it all.
One of the things that the Three Kings celebration had going for it was the Jamboree setting. It was a very large, rounded location that appears very well suited to this purpose. The problem with the Jamboree though is its location. Setting, A+! Where is it? I have no idea!? Conversely, the setting for the Disney Lunar New Year event was in the Pacific Wharf area, right behind Ariels Undersea Adventure. Setting, C-! Where is it?! Everyone knows, and boy did they show up. And I think the crowds helped create even more buzz as people’s curiousity grew.
And fortunately for everyone, the offerings were quite a bit better this go around. There wasn’t much in the way of food. At least not in the immediate area around the festival. They were serving only Pork Bao from a cart. But there were of course additional offerings in the customary dining area at the Wharf. But the crafts and shows were quite nice! There was:
Mickey and Minnie Meet
Mushu and Mulan
Face Painting
Paper Lanterns
Paper Dragons
Chinese Calligraphy
The tables with the crafts were very popular. One could barely maneuver around them. Which brings to mind another great improvement over Three Kings. At Three Kings, there were only CM’s hosting the craft table. But at the Disney Lunar New Year, they brought in outside…well I don’t what to call them, but I’m fairly certain they weren’t Disney. This, to me, made the event much more sincere. The highlight though was the traditional dance number they did with the dragons. The music was interesting, while the dance felt very authentic. Here’s a video we took of the event. The dragon dance is near the end.
Disney Lunar New Year
So what do you think? So far I’m liking most of the Limited Time Magic stuff. The Disney Lunar New Year was definitely an enjoyable event.
