Disneyland This Week – Crowds Ahead, Why Star Wars Event Isn’t Selling Out, NEW Popcorn Bucket & Dining Packages

Welcome back to Mickey Visit Disneyland This Week! Each week at Mickey Visit we unearth Disneyland news and tips you could easily miss completely. We have all of the essential dates for your visit.

These updates provide the most important information for your visit every single week whether you are a frequent visitor or visiting for the first time in years. We cut through the noise to hone in on what dates and news matter for this week. Click here to see our most recent Disneyland This Week update from last week for all the things you missed at Disneyland and our first Disneyland This Week update for all my thoughts on what we are hoping to achieve with these weekly updates.

My name is Gavin Doyle. Each week I and members of my team including Lindsay Brookshier, Emily Midgley, and Bridget Waldman from @CaliforniaDisneyBliss, will work together to bring you the most essential Disneyland information. This is your one-stop resource for everything happening at Disneyland the week of April 7, 2025.

One Big Thing – Star Wars Nite Kicks Off, Why It's Not Selling Out

The after-hours Star Wars Nite parties kick off this week, with event nights on Tuesday and Thursday. This year, tickets are selling more slowly, with availability every night except May the 4th (known as Star Wars Day). Last year, Disney added more party nights for Star Wars Nite than ever before and continued to offer 8 party nights for this year. This is the same number of nights that was offered for the extremely popular Sweethearts' Nite earlier this year, though that event sold out completely. So why hasn't Star Wars Nite sold out?

One big reason is likely the removal of the special Star Wars fireworks show that was a highlight of the event. Disneyland discontinued this the same year that the “Fire of the Rising Moons” experience was introduced as a regular offering to the park as part of the Season of the Force celebration. This year, the Shadows of Memory: A Skywalker Saga projection show will be offered during the event instead. While this show is super impressive, it is not event-exclusive and anyone can see it during regular park hours.

Another reason could be the return of the Season of the Force celebration itself, as there is plenty of value in this daytime celebration that is all included with the cost of regular admission. We found that there was plenty to see and do at this year's Season of the Force celebration.

While a big perk of Star Wars Nite is the ability to see rare characters, Disney has already made a major move by introducing Luke Skywalker as a recurring character in Galaxy's Edge during regular park hours. As far as we know, based on the characters Disney has confirmed for the event—see all details in our Disneyland Star Wars Nite guide here—there will be rare characters appearing, but none that we haven't seen before. As always, that is subject to change.

All of this being said, what made us absolutely love our experience at the non-sold-out Star Wars Nite party we attended last year is that the lower crowds made it easy to see and do everything. We are actually kind of anticipating, based on the fact that the event is not selling out, that Disney may add some surprise offerings during the first party night to incentivize more people to come to the remaining available nights. With all of the great Star Wars offerings now included with regular admission (we are thrilled that there is so much going on for all guests), Disney needs to step up the event-exclusive offerings to make this night worth it. We will keep our Star Wars Nite guide updated if there are any surprise offerings revealed tomorrow night.

Important Disneyland Dates This Week

• Disneyland After Dark Star Wars Nite kicks off this week with party nights on Tuesday, April 8th and Thursday, April 10th. Tickets are still available for this event. See our guide to Disneyland Star Wars Nite for more details.
• The Star Wars Nite foods have been revealed on the Disneyland restaurant menus, and we got a sneak peek at some of the foods and merch at the event. You can see our Disneyland Star Wars Nite food guide for a full list of all the galactic dishes you can enjoy with pictures and descriptions, as well as the sneak peek of foods and merch we got during Season of the Force.
• NEW Star Wars Tauntaun Bucket popcorn bucket releases this week on April 8, 2025! This is a highly anticipated bucket, and there has been a lot of excitement surrounding its release! You can see more details about the other Star Wars popcorn buckets coming soon.
• Disneyland 70th anniversary dining packages for the Pixar parade and new World of Color show Dessert Party bookings open on Thursday, April 10. You can see details about what is included in these two dining packages in our coverage here. 
• The Dapper Day Spring Expo at the Disneyland Hotel takes place this weekend from April 12-13, and the Dapper Day outing to Disneyland happens on Sunday, April 13. The Dapper Day events are a celebration of style, and you can expect to see several participants dressed in their finest clothing, from vintage to contemporary looks! This is actually likely the last Dapper Day Expo at the Disneyland Resort due to rising costs (but the park outings will continue—see details in Dapper Day's Facebook post here). Due to this fact, we expect even bigger crowds than usual at the resort this weekend.
•  The Disneyland Easter Eggstravaganza is currently taking place for a limited time! This is a fun search for character-themed eggs throughout the resort. Additionally, the Disneyland Easter treats are currently available! You can see more details in our Disneyland Easter guide.
• Spring Break Crowds! Spring Break is in full force at Disneyland with big crowds at the parks. The break for Capo Unified School District (the largest in Orange County) is from April 5th – April 13th. Crowds will be heavy during this time. All Magic Keys (for the most part) are interestingly not blocked for this period of time, so it will be busy.
• Storytellers Cafe is closed for refurbishment for a few weeks in March. The restaurant page says that during the closure, the Disneyland character dining experience Mickey’s Tales of Adventure Breakfast Buffet and Brunch is available in the Trillium Room. Storytellers Cafe also has a dinner buffet available in the Trillium Room. Hearthstone Lounge will be open in its place with expanded hours and offerings.

Key Disneyland News You Missed

• In an interesting move, Disney is now openly advertising membership for its exclusive Club 33. See our separate article for more details and our thoughts on why they're doing this.
• Disneyland quietly added a new plant-based item to the menu of one of our favorite restaurants! Check out our separate article on this new menu item and its description.
• Disneyland Magic Key annual pass holders were recently sent a survey that hinted at new benefits Disney could be considering for the program. These were very interesting and I am quite curious to see if any make it into the program. See details about what Disney may be considering for Magic Key holders in our separate article here.
• Disneyland announced a new Key to Disneyland interactive experience for the 70th anniversary celebration, as well as some new merchandise we expect will be popular. See details on this interesting new scavenger hunt activity and the merchandise revealed.
• Disney revealed that there will be a lululemon coming to Downtown Disney as well as more new shops and dining locations. See details here as well as a new look inside the steakhouse and barbecue eatery replacing Tortilla Jo's.
• The Star Wars Season of the Force celebration recently kicked off, and highlights include an impressive new projection show in Galaxy's Edge and Luke Skywalker meeting guests in the land. You can read our separate articles on why we disagree with guest criticism of this character encounter and why the new Star Wars projection show surprised us.
• We tried some of the new Star Wars foods at Disneyland's Season of the Force. See our Season of the Force foods review for our honest thoughts on which foods are worth it and the ones you may want to consider skipping.
• Disneyland announced the show that will be replacing the just-cancelled Disney Jr. show, along with a new character appearance and more returning entertainment. You can read about those offerings coming to Disneyland this spring here.
• Cute new popcorn bucket ornaments are available in World of Disney at Downtown Disney! Buckets include an R2-D2 Light-Up Popcorn Bucket Ornament, a Toy Story Alien Light-Up Popcorn Bucket Ornament, a Pumpkin Coach Light-Up Popcorn Bucket Ornament, and an Elliott Light-Up Popcorn Bucket Ornament. You can see more photos of these popcorn bucket ornaments in our separate article.
• The Powerline Max Bucket from 90s Nite is now available to all guests! You can see details on its release and where it will be offered in our separate article.
• The Avengers Campus show Avengers Assemble recently had its last show. Disney has recently been dramatically scaling down live entertainment at Disney California Adventure (potentially in part because lots of entertainment is starting for the 70th in May), and this show is the latest casualty. You can see our coverage of this closure news and our larger thoughts in our separate article. More below on more entertainment news about a new show.
• Downtown Disney Construction Updates! Construction on the two-story Earl of Sandwich in Downtown Disney is making progress, and the former Tortilla Jo's is also currently an active construction site with walls up around the building. This space will be transformed into a steakhouse and an ajdacenet barbecue eatery. See more photos in our Downtown Disney update.

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Magic Key Benefits Continue in April

Special perks for Magic Key Annual Passholders are available this month. These are a way for them to incentivize passholder visits during what is a slower time for vacation goers.

• Magic Key holders get a 25% discount on Lightning Lane Multi Pass, which is extra essential for getting on rides during these busy Spring Break months.
• During the Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival, Magic Key holders get a few different perks, including a discount on the 8-coupon Sip and Savor Pass with a special Magic Key lanyard (while supplies last), a special dining and photo-op area between Avengers Campus and Cars Land, and special Magic Key festival t-shirts and pins available (while supplies last) at Acorns Gifts & Goods, Elias & Co., Festival Gifts, and Studio Store.
• At Star Wars Nite parties, Magic Key holders can get a commemorative 3-button set on event nights. This will be available on event nights at the Magic Key destination near the walkway to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge just past Hungry Bear Barbecue Jamboree from 9:00 PM to 1:00 AM, while supplies last.
• Magic Key holders can enjoy special food offerings including the Box O' Sliders at Galactic Grill, and Ice Cream Floats from Golden Horseshoe.
• Magic Key holders can get select meal combos that include a special Magic Key tumbler at Alien Pizza Planet or Galactic Grill via mobile order, while supplies last.
• For the Pixar Putt mini golf course, Magic Key holders get a special discounted rate of $25 per Magic Key Holder.

Disneyland Operational Updates

• Disneyland has shorter hours of operation this week with Disneyland Park open until 10 pm and Disney California Adventure open until 9 pm. The parks will have longer hours on the weekend. Star Wars Nite will close Disneyland Park early at 8pm on April 8th and 10th. On these two nights, Disney California Adventure will be open until 10pm. Expect crowds to rise around 6 pm in Disney California Adventure due to Star Wars Nite and the mix-in for the event starting at that time. With the early park closures this week, arriving earlier in the day is best. Also, parking around 5-7 pm at the parking structures will be much busier, with guests coming in for the event.
• The World of Color – One show runs each night along with the Mickey's Mix Magic fireworks show. Fireworks will be shown along with the projection show Friday-Sunday. Fantasmic! will also play on the weekend.
• Disneyland has not announced a parade that will be offered in the time between now and the 70th anniversary celebration (click here for details). There is currently a Mickey and Friends Cavalcade along the parade route at Disneyland Park twice a day. Disneyland will be bringing back Paint the Night and Better Together: A Pixar Pals Celebration starting in May 2025.

What We're Thinking About This Week

• Emily is looking forward to attending Star Wars Nite this week. She's excited to see all of the rare characters, including Anakin and Queen Amidala, and is crossing her fingers that Hera and Chopper will make an appearance in Galaxy's Edge!
• Gavin is excited about the Disneyland news of the potential new Magic Key Annual Pass benefits that were teased in the new survey. See those at the news article link above.
• Lindsay is excited to see all the amazing outfits from Dapper Day! This is such a cool event and she loves seeing how it grows each year.

Where In Disneyland Is This?

Share your guess in the comments below!

Answer to last week's “Where In Disneyland Is This?” Click here to see that image so you can guess first.

The Disneyland Railroad Station on Main Street U.S.A.!

Disneyland Crowd Calendar This Week

This week, you can expect to see mostly above-normal crowds as we are into the busy Spring Break season at Disneyland, with potentially a brief reprieve from the crowds in the middle of the week. This is likely to affect Disneyland Park in particular on Star Wars Nite event days, as visitors may gravitate towards a 1 Park Per Day ticket at Disney California Adventure during these days due to the early closures. We also anticipate crowds to be higher than normal during this weekend's Dapper Day Expo at the resort.

You can see our rating of all upcoming dates in our Mickey Visit Disneyland Crowd Calendar.

New Disneyland Ride Closures This Week

Here are some of the other current ride closures that are continuing into this week:

• Redwood Creek Challenge Trail is closed for refurbishment (reopening this week!)
• Indiana Jones Adventure is closed for refurbishment
• The Disney Gallery is closed for refurbishment
• “it's a small world” is closed for refurbishment

You can see reopening dates for some of the above attractions and other upcoming closures in our Disneyland ride refurbishment guide.

Other Disney Content We're Watching

Each week we'll share some of our favorite information and fun content from across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube in an effort to spotlight some of the great creators who work so hard to share details from Disneyland.

First up, we have this video from Melanee Berman (@the_magical_rn on Instagram) sharing some helpful tips for making the most of Star Wars Nite if you're attending this year. See that video here.

Next up, we have this video from Ryan Sung (@ryanthesidekick on Instagram) showing this up close look at the Tauntaun Bucket releasing tomorrow!

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Ryan Sung (@ryanthesidekick)

We also wanted to include this fun post from Amy Robbins (@thepolkadotpirate on Instagram) with a step-by-step guide on how to unlock “Chewie Mode” on Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run. You can see that post here!

 

Heads up! Reservations Open for Disneyland Dining / Park Reservations

For any trips before the below dates, you should be considering booking park reservations and dining reservations.

A reminder that Rex will be appearing at Disney California Adventure starting June 1 for a limited time, so snag those reservations now!

• Today is the 60-day window for Disneyland dining reservations for June 6, 2025. 
• Today is the 180-day window for making Disneyland theme park reservations for October 4, 2025. This applies to most non-Annual Pass tickets.
• For Magic Key Annual Pass Holders, the 90-day window from today to make theme park reservations is July 6, 2025.

See our top tips for getting Disneyland dining reservations and the best Disneyland restaurants we would recommend.

Disneyland Lightning Lane Cost This Week

• Today, the Lightning Lane Multi Pass service costs $36 if you purchase it when you arrive.
• For the two Lightning Lane Single Pass rides, the cost is $28 for Rise of the Resistance and $17 for Radiator Springs Racers.

You can see our guide to Lightning Lane Multi Pass at Disneyland for our expert tips on making the most of the service.

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