Disneyland This Week – Early Park Closures, New “Parade” Begins, Haunted Mansion Opens with CHANGED Scene

Welcome back to Mickey Visit Disneyland This Week! This is our third edition of this update with  all the essential information for your visit. Each week we'll unearth offerings and tips you could easily miss completely.

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 second 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 and Emily Midgley 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 January 20, 2025.

One Big Thing – New Disneyland Character Cavalcade

A new “Mickey and Friends Cavalcade” is now taking place at Disneyland! We're hearing that this will take place daily until the Disneyland 70th Celebration kicks off on May 16, 2025. It's good to know we're getting some type of parade before the 70th Celebration begins! You can see the schedule below from the Disneyland app. Times may vary moving forward.

The cavalcade consists of different characters walking and riding down the parade route in the Main Street vehicles. There should also be a big Mickey Mouse flot with a drum leading the way though that wasn't part of the performance on the first day due to high winds.

No formal parade has been announced to be running until that celebration begins. Click on the link to that guide above for all the details on the popular entertainment slated for that anniversary celebration.

Lunar New Year Celebration Begins

The Lunar New Year celebration started on Friday, January 17, 2025, in Disney California Adventure. The Disneyland Lunar New Year celebration this year rings in the Year of the Snake with special marketplaces celebrating Asian cuisine, entertainment like Mulan's Lunar New Year Procession on select days, crafts and activities, special merchandise, and more. Click that link to get our FREE printable of all the foods! We were at the parks on this first day of the celebration.

The celebration features special character meet-and-greets you can enjoy, including Mickey and Minnie in new outfits with representations of traditional Korean attire. Mulan and Mushu also make appearances! Mushu is such a fun meet-and-greet opportunity, and when we saw him, he was really making a point to spend quality time with every person he saw, which is quite special.

We saw an evening performance of Mulan's Lunar New Year Procession. The evening procession features special lighting for some of the costumes and other parade elements like the head of the Chinese dragon puppet. The procession is quite beautiful, but I always wish it was longer.

The Sip and Savor Passes (pictured above) for the event this year feature three designs that pay homage to either Chinese, Vietnamese, or Korean cultures featuring Disney characters in culturally inspired outfits designed by artist Ann Shen. I loved this element of the celebration and couldn't stop looking at the amazing design of the passes! These really turned out beautifully.

We also tried a variety of the new Disneyland Lunar New Year marketplace foods, which you can read all about in our Disneyland Lunar New Year foods review. In our “Other Disney Content We're Watching” section below, we share a reel from @magicalfoodies on Instagram, who expresses a critique of the celebration and how it could be much stronger if it emphasizes authenticity above fusions. This is especially the case as it pertains to the food. There were some standout items, but it feels like it would benefit from a different approach for the marketplace offerings as some of them are not quite working right now.

Given that the offerings of this celebration are more limited than some of the other festivals throughout the year, we would love to see more attention paid to the specific details of the festival. Specifically, we could see more authentic representation of Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean cultures.

This special event takes place during one of the best times of the year to visit Disneyland with many days of lower crowd levels throughout January and February.

Important Disneyland Dates This Week

• Magic Key Annual Passes go on sale January 22, 2025 at 9 am PT. All four pass types will be available while supplies last. Read our article on our best tips on purchasing a Disneyland Magic Key pass along with benefits and cost breakdown.
• Anaheim Duck Days will return to Disney California Adventure on January 24, 2025 with a cavalcade featuring appearances by Anaheim Ducks players and themed games. Downtown Disney will also offer an Anaheim Ducks Day Overtime fan zone with entertainment, fun activities and photo opportunities.
• The unofficial celebration called Villains Day takes place on January 26, 2025. Guests show up Disneybounding as their favorite Disney villains in honor of this day. See details on their Instagram.
• The popular Disneyland After Dark Event Sweethearts Nite takes place January 21 and 23 this week. Disneyland will close at 8PM these nights with the event starting at 9PM. As expected, we got the first look at the Sweethearts' Nite food coming to the parks for the popular Disneyland After Dark event. See all early park closures currently scheduled.
• “it's a small world” Holiday closes on January 21, 2025 to remove the holiday overlay. It is expected to reopen in Spring 2025.

Key Disneyland News You Missed

• A new shop in Downtown Disney called Disney Storyland Boutique has officially replaced the old Disney Dress Shop. The shop will have a similar vibe to the dress shop but will expand offerings beyond the bright-colored dresses previously offered here. This space was previously also the Wonderground Gallery.
• Haunted Mansion reopened with a brand new bride scene on January 18, 2025. This new scene features an updated bride in the attic with new technology enhanced by Pepper's Ghost projection and animation effects. This reveal confirms the rumors of this we reported on in our last week's update. This particular bride is a bit less vicious as the “black widow bride” and instead tells a more somber story of a bride mourning the loss of her husbands and she holds a candelabra instead of an axe. Read more about these changes in our article covering the new bride scene in the Haunted Mansion.

• Coordinating with her new look, a new Haunted Mansion bride sipper is now available at Disneyland Park. You can see our guide to Disneyland popcorn buckets and other novelties for more details.
• We saw large crowds during the holiday weekend for Martin Luther King Jr. Day this weekend since many schools are closed on Friday and Monday. On our crowd calendar below you can see that we have categorized these days as “Massive Crowds.” In general, holiday weekends will always be some of the busiest times to avoid if you hate crowds at Disneyland.
• Details on the 2025 Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival bookable experiences have been released and these are available to book. See details about the 2025 Carthay Circle Receptions, Trader Sam's Mixology Class, and wine and beer seminars.

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Magic Key Benefits Continue in January

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.

• Magic Key Holders can enjoy a free Lunar New Year specialty keepsake button honoring the Year of the Snake, designed by the talented Disney artist Ann Shen from January 17-20, 2025. Ends today.
• Magic Key Annual Passholders get 50% off the purchase of Lightning Lane Multi Pass from January 6, 2025 – January 31, 2025. Typically pass holders get 25% off the purchase of the add-on.
• Magic Key Annual Passholders get $2 popcorn refills January 8, 2025 – February 19, 2025 when they purchase a special stitch popcorn bucket.
• Magic Key Annual Passholders can take a special Disney PhotoPass Magic Shot with a complimentary digital download from January 8, 2025 – January 31, 2025. Shot is available at the walkway from Tomorrowland to Matterhorn Way from 5 pm-10 pm Monday-Thursday and 5-8 pm and then 10 pm to park close Friday-Sunday.
• Magic Key Annual Passholders can pick up a special pin-trading set featuring Disney characters and also take photos with Disney characters at a limited-time PhotoPass location in the Starcade near the Star Trader in Tomorrowland. This will be popular on the first days that it is offered and they may run out of the pin sets.

Disneyland Operational Updates

• Disneyland will close early at 8PM on January 21 and January 23 due to Sweethearts Nite taking place at 9PM.
• This was the first busy weekend since Disneyland and Disney California Adventure recently shifted to reduced hours following the holidays. Disneyland Park now closes at 10 pm during the week and the Disney California Adventure closes at 9 pm most nights. However, the weekends maintain the longer park hours with Disneyland being open until midnight which was helpful for guests navigating the parks this weekend.
• Disneyland has not yet announced the parade that will be offered in the time between now and the 70th anniversary celebration (click here for details), Disneyland will be bringing back Paint the Night and Better Together: A Pixar Pals Celebration starting in May 2025. We really hope that we at least get a cavalcade before the debut of the new shows.
• The World of Color – One show runs each night along with the Mickey's Mix Magic projection show. Fireworks will be shown along with the projection show Friday-Sunday. Fantasmic! will also play on the weekends.

What We're Thinking About This Week

• Lindsay is excited to see the new bride scene in the Haunted Mansion. As a long time Haunted Mansion fan and collector, this is big news! She is curious to see the impact on Haunted Mansion merchandise especially now that the bride will likely no longer be casually referred to as fans as “Constance Hatchaway” and if the merchandise featuring the “black widow” bride with an axe will become slightly more coveted.
• Gavin is hoping that the air quality impacts are limited as the fires are contained in Los Angeles. Yesterday we saw some small air quality impacts in Orange County for really the first time since the fires happened. We'll continue to monitor and provide a bigger update if it hits any dangerous levels. You can read our considerations on cancelling a trip due to fires here.
• Emily is still dreaming about the Lunar New Year Strawberry Milk Tea macaron and wishing that Disney California Adventure had more macarons like this offered year-round. She also recently tried Sip & Sonder at the new Parkside Market at Downtown Disney and was very impressed/excited to come back and try more!

We're also all still thinking about those who have lost their homes and communities to the Los Angeles fires and the firefighters who have been fighting tirelessly against these fires. We cannot imagine the anguish of those affected who are having to rebuild their lives in the wake of this devastation. You can see last week's Disneyland This Week update for a full list of resources and charities to support.

Where In Disneyland Is This?

Can you tell where this is from at the Disneyland Resort? Hint: you might hear the sound of yodeling as you draw near. Comment your answer below and we'll reveal the spot next week.

Answer to last week's “Where In Disneyland Is This?”: Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough! Fun fact: this scene uses the same Pepper's Ghost technology that is used in the Haunted Mansion.

Disneyland Crowd Calendar This Week

In our Disneyland crowd calendar this week, we anticipate massive crowds to finish out Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday weekend with crowds returning to normal on the weekdays and picking up again slightly on the weekends as locals turn out to experience Lunar New Year at Disney California Adventure. 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 Disneyland Monorail is closed for refurbishment
• The Disneyland Railroad is closed for refurbishment
• Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe is closed for refurbishment
• Grizzly River Run is closed for refurbishment
• Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind is closed for refurbishment

With so many classic transportation options closed, now would be a good time to go on the Mark Twain, enjoy the Main Street transportation, or get a last ride in on the Red Car Trolley before it closes early next month.

You can see the other Disneyland closures on the calendar and reopening dates listed in our list of scheduled Disneyland ride refurbishments.

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.

On TikTok, we're watching FoodAtDisneyland cover some of the new menu items introduced to Disneyland over the past week! I personally can't wait to try the Chocolate Hazelnut Beignets!

@foodatdisneyland New eats to try at the Disneyland Resort! #disneyland #dca #disneylandfood #foodatdisneyland #fyp ♬ Old Disney Swing Jazz – Nico

On Instagram, I enjoyed watching this Reel of the changes to Haunted Mansion bride scene and close up of the new Bride by the Los Angeles Times. 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by L.A. Times Entertainment (@latimes_entertainment)

Also on Instagram, this Reel from MagicalFoodies offers a valid critique on the Lunar New Year offerings this year and the lack of representation for the Year of the Snake. I also wanted to share this with all of you as we continue to encourage Disneyland to evolve the highlights of their offerings for each holiday.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Chris | 𝒮𝓂𝒾𝓁𝑒 𝒞𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓉𝑜𝓇 (@magicalfoodies)

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 March 21, 2025.
• Today is the 180-day window for making Disneyland theme park reservations for July 19, 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 April 20, 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 $20 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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