Disneyland This Week—Food Festival Starts, Railroad Tour Returns, Recently Closed Attraction is Back (Sort Of), New Popcorn Bucket

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

These updates are written for the frequent Disneyland visitor but also written in a way that you can share them with friends who call on you as their Disneyland expert. Each week we cut through the noise to bring you the essential info. 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. Please COMMENT below if you like these updates and share anything that makes them more useful.

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 February 24, 2025.

One Big Thing – Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival Begins

The Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival kicks off this Friday on February 28, 2025! The festival brings marketplaces with limited-time foods and beverages, special entertainment, bookable experiences, and the return of Soarin' Over California. This event is a highlight of a spring visit to Disneyland!

Disney recently released all of the Disney California Adventure Food and Wine Festival foods! You can see all of the foods that were announced for this year's festival and access a FREE 2025 printable of the foods in our Disney California Adventure Food and Wine Festival guide.

You can also see all of the foods that we're most excited to try at the festival! There are many interesting options this year including some spins on favorites from years past, like the new Sirloin Gruyére Mac & Cheese and Western BBQ Burger Bao.

Of course, one of the highlights of the festival is the return of Soarin' Over California. This fan-favorite original version of the attraction takes guests on a journey to iconic locations across California. This version of the attraction will run from February 28 through April 21 for the duration of the festival.

If you're planning on attending the festival this year, make sure to check out our top tip to save time when ordering from the marketplaces and our guide to the Sip and Savor Pass for details on the pass and how to make the most of the purchase to save money. For the Sip and Savor Pass, there will be an 8-coupon and 4-coupon option.

Important Disneyland Dates This Week

• Disneyland is extending the purchase window of the recently launched premium service Lightning Lane Premier Pass. Starting tomorrow on February 25, 2025, visitors can purchase the service up to 7 days in advance of their park visit. Previously guests could purchase 2 days in advance. This is aligned with the purchase window for Disney World. Guests who have purchased a Walt Disney Travel Company package will be able to buy Lightning Lane Premier Pass when they receive their tickets 3 days before their arrival.
• The Disneyland Railroad Guided Tour is back, and the booking window opens this Thursday on February 27. As part of this special Disneyland tour, you'll be able to enjoy a ride in the Presidental Car of the Disneyland Railroad, the Lilly Belle.
• While the Red Car Trolley attraction itself recently permanently closed, the Red Car Trolley is back for photos at Buena Vista Street in Disney California Adventure!
• The Happy Ice truck is back in Downtown Disney until March 2, 2025. It is open daily from 12 pm – 11 pm. You can find it across from Din Tai Fung.

• Starting February 27, Easter brunch and dinner reservations open at Storytellers Cafe. You can read more about this special Easter dining experience for details on the pricing, menu, and more.
• The reservation window is open for park reservations/tickets for upcoming special events including Mother’s Day, Disneyland’s 70th Birthday Celebration, and Season of the Force. You can read our guides to Mother's Day at Disneyland, the Disneyland 70th Anniversary celebration, and Star Wars Season of the Force for more details on what to expect during each of these celebrations.
• NEW special food offerings are now available at locations across Avengers Campus to celebrate the release of Captain America: Brave New World, including the Red Gamma Gulp, Captain America Shield Sipper, Liberty Punch, Pepperoni Pizza Pocket, Red Rage Wings, and Cheese Pizza pocket. You can see our update from last week for the locations of these items.
• Disneyland celebrates Black History Month with Celebrate Soulfully, which brings a variety of offerings to the resort celebrating Black heritage and culture. You can enjoy special food offerings in Downtown Disney and the Disneyland Resort hotels during this month, and there are also special musical performances at Broken Spell Lounge and the lobby at the Disneyland Hotel as well as the lobby at Pixar Place Hotel.
  • Disneyland has added a window display on Main Street U.S.A. honoring Disney Legend Martha Blanding for Black History Month and Women's History Month. There is also a window display honoring Disney Legend Floyd Norman, Walt Disney Animation Studios’ first Black animator, in Hollywood Land.
• Reservations are now open for the Goofy’s Kitchen Celebrates Springtime! buffet which starts April 3, 2025. This themed character dining experience features floral decor, music, and Goofy and friends in “garden-inspired garb.”
• There will be some construction happening in New Orleans Square this month. Disneyland is working to replace concrete on the east side of the new Haunted Mansion shop Madame Leota's Somewhere Beyond to improve drainage in the area, and this construction will last for about a month. The shop is expected to stay open during the construction, but some props and theming from the exterior will be removed while the construction is taking place and then reinstalled. You can enter through the doors on the side closest to the Haunted Mansion exit.
• Disneyland After Dark: Star Wars Nite tickets are still on sale to the general public. The event takes place on select dates from April 8 to May 6, 2025 at Disneyland Park. At the time of writing, there are still tickets on sale for all party nights of the event except for May 4, 2025, which is sold out. We're surprised that the party is selling a little bit more slowly this year.

Key Disneyland News You Missed

• Disneyland revealed the special foods that will be available at next week's Disneyland After Dark: 90s Nite parties. You can see our Disneyland 90s Nite guide for photos and descriptions! There will also be a special Powerline Max popcorn bucket offered at the event that will be coming to the Disneyland Resort later this spring. See details on all of the current Disney popcorn buckets.
• The Easter celebration is coming up at Disneyland, and the dates for this year's Easter Eggstravaganza egg search have been announced! See more details on the Easter celebration at Disneyland.
• The end date for the closure of Indiana Jones Adventure has been announced. This refurbishment takes place during one of the busiest times of the year at Disneyland during the Spring Break season. You can read about the ride closure and its reopening date here.
• Big news for Universal Studios Hollywood! The closure date was just announced for a segment of the Studio Tour. You can read about the closure of this part of the Studio Tour and a new look that Universal Studios Hollywood shared of construction for a highly-anticipated upcoming ride.
• See our thoughts on what Disneyland's next major construction project will likely be. In light of the recent changes to Haunted Mansion, we're expecting some more changes coming to this area of the park you can read about here.
• We now have the reopening date for Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe! This popular restaurant is undergoing an extended refurbishment and now we finally have the reopening date and confirmation from Disney. You can check out reopening details in our original announcement of the restaurant's closure here.
• A class action lawsuit has been filed against Disney due to the impact of the changes that were made to the Disability Access Service (DAS). Ever since Disney implemented stricter guidelines for who qualifies for the pass, there has been backlash from visitors. You can read what we know about the Disney DAS class action suit and its implications here.
• Napa Rose will remain operational during its multi-month closure in a temporary location, including for the Disney Princess character dining breakfast. You can read what we know so far about the temporary location for Napa Rose here.
• Storytellers Cafe is also closing for refurbishment for a few weeks in March, and we are in that dining reservation window now. Disney shared that Hearthstone Lounge will be open in its place with expanded hours and offerings. During this refurbishment, you can still book the other Disneyland Character Dining experiences offered at the resort like Minnie & Friends – Breakfast in the Park at Plaza Inn and Goofy's Kitchen.

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Magic Key Benefits Continue in February

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

• 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.
• Looking ahead to the upcoming Disneyland After Dark parties next week, Disneyland shared that Magic Key holders attending the upcoming 90s Nite can pick up a special 3-button set at the Magic Key destination near the walkway to Galaxy’s Edge just past Hungry Bear Barbecue Jamboree. This button set is available while supplies last from 9:00 PM to 1:00 AM on event nights.
• Magic Key holders can enjoy special food offerings including the Box O' Sliders at Galactic Grill, and Ice Cream Floats from Golden Horseshoe (pictured below).
• 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 shifts back to shorter hours of operation this week with Disneyland Park open until 10pm and Disney California Adventure open until 9 pm each day this week. The parks will have longer hours on the weekend Friday-Sunday.
• 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 weekends.
• 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 thinking about the Monte Cristo Pizza that was announced as part of the Disneyland After Dark 90s Nite foods. It looks interesting for sure! She is interested in hearing what people think of it when they try it.
• Gavin is thinking about how you used to be able to request a tender ride to sit right behind the engineers in one of the Disneyland locomotives. That's a special offering that likely can't be offered today in the age of social media. The demand would be crazy.
• Lindsay is excited to see the Disneyland Railroad Guided Tour to return! The Disneyland tours are such a fun experience to add to your trip especially for repeat visitors.

Where In Disneyland Is This?

Hint: You'll want to grab a fun drink while you're here!

Answer to last week's “Where In Disneyland Is This?”: Tropical Hideaway in Adventureland. Click here to see that image.

Disneyland Crowd Calendar This Week

This week, you can expect mostly normal crowd levels at both parks. We anticipate there will be higher than normal crowds at Disney California Adventure on February 28 for the first day of the Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival.

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

New Disneyland Ride Closures This Week

During this slower time of year after the holiday celebration, we will often see more rides down for standard refurbishments or closures to remove holiday overlays.

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

• The Disney Gallery is closed for refurbishment
• The Disneyland Monorail is closed for refurbishment
• The Disneyland Railroad is closed for refurbishment
• “it's a small world” is closed for refurbishment.
• Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe is closed for refurbishment – see our closures guide below for the reopening date of this popular location!
• Grizzly River Run 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, we have a video from Bridget (@californiadisneybliss on Instagram) detailing the interesting history of this special horse on King Arthur's Carrousel. This is one of our favorite hidden Disneyland details at the park!

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Bridget – Disneyland Guru, Disney Family, Disney Creator (@californiadisneybliss)

Next, we have this review from Kellie Krueger (@we_dont_wear_ears on Instagram) reviewing the Birria Potato from Refreshment Corner. And now we're hungry from watching this!

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Kellie Krueger (@we_dont_wear_ears)

We also wanted to share this cute video by Liz (@chim.chim.churro on Instagram) cleaning a commemorative brick in the Esplanade between Disneyland and Disney California Adventure. This was such a cool opportunity to be able to buy a Disneyland brick and become a part of the resort's history, and we regret not getting one at the time!

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Liz | 𝔻𝕚𝕤𝕟𝕖𝕪𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕 🤍 (@chim.chim.churro)

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.

• Today is the 60-day window for Disneyland dining reservations for April 25, 2025.
• Today is the 180-day window for making Disneyland theme park reservations for August 23, 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 May 25, 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 $22 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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