Kicking Off And Planning Styles

Nathan 0:03

Please stand clear of the doors. For favor, mantenganse a left with the doors.

Alicea 0:23

Hello everyone, I'm Alicia.

Nathan 0:25

And I'm Nathan.

Alicea 0:27

Welcome to episode 213 of Adventures and Mouse Capades.

Nathan 0:31

I say it the same way every time. I just wanted to change it up, I thought, two seconds before my mouth opened.

Alicea 0:38

Okay. Well, in case y'all didn't know, I'm Alicia. That's Nathan. Here we go. Yep, something like that. Uh-huh.

Nathan 0:48

Well, with that intro, the year is young, and many folks are just starting to figure out what vacations they may want to take. Okay, just as a side tangent, that's insane. We plan like years in advance. Yeah. Are we the problem?

Alicea 1:03

No. Everybody's different in how they decide to plan.

Nathan 1:07

That's fair.

Alicea 1:07

That's this is just how we do it.

What We Cover And What We Don’t

Nathan 1:09

Indeed. Anyhow, let's talk about what's going on at Disneyland in 2026 because I think that can help some folks. If you are planning to take a trip to Anaheim this year, we're going to help you figure out what's happening at the resort that you'll want to check out, or maybe avoid if you want to steer clear of the crowds. We're going to cover all the festivals and special events happening at the happiest place on earth this year.

Alicea 1:36

And as a disclaimer, we're going to be sharing everything that is available to regular park guests, the stuff that your day ticket or your annual pass can get you in with no extra stuffs needed. We are not going to be covering the after hours events. Those are extra cost. We'll be doing those in a different one.

Nathan 1:55

I think so, indeed. Yeah. So Disney has this helpfully broken down on the Disneyland website. And um yeah, I'm going to just shamelessly say I ripped a lot of this right from Disney. So this is straight from the source. That said, Disney changes their mind all over the place. So all the time. Please keep in mind that this is what is accurate as of right now in uh uh January 23rd of the year of our Lord 2026. Things may change. Nay, things will change.

Alicea 2:29

Why do you keep pointing at me?

Nathan 2:31

I'm pointing at I don't I'm talking with you're talking with your ads a lot.

Alicea 2:36

Yes, and I'm pointing it out because I can.

Nathan 2:39

Ha ha ha.

Alicea 2:41

Just not used to that. Yeah.

Nathan 2:43

Well, the care we're I'm still recording in the living room because I can't sit at a desk comfortably for a long time right now. Still. Thanks. Someday.

Lunar New Year Highlights

Alicea 2:56

Let's do this, shall we? Let's do this. Early in the year starts off with Lunar New Year at Disney's California Adventure. It is January 23rd to February 22nd.

Nathan 3:08

Hey, that started today.

Alicea 3:09

It did. As we are recording, yes.

Nathan 3:12

Three days ago, two days, three math. Three days ago, if you're listening to this on the day the episode drops.

Alicea 3:19

Otherwise, it's January 23rd to February 22nd if you're not listening right when it drops.

Nathan 3:25

Well, I should hope they're listening at some point. Otherwise, are we just talking to ourselves on these?

Alicea 3:31

Yeah. Okay. Sweet. The Lunar New Year celebration celebrates Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese cultures, and this year is the year of the horse. Nay. Yeah. No, it's true, I promise. Okay. There are special food booths and decor for the celebration and special character appearances in traditional attire.

Nathan 3:56

There's Mulan's Lunar New Year procession. This is a parade that includes Mulan and Mushu, as well as, you know, Chip and Dale, because why not? Why not? And Horace Horse Collar because duh, you're of the horse. This runs kind of between the Pixar Pierry area and all the way across the park over to Hollywoodland. So I it said something on the website about it happens multiple times a day. I'm guessing it starts on one side and goes to the other and then reverses course. Yeah. It'll happen. Look in the app if you're there.

Alicea 4:29

Exactly.

Nathan 4:31

Also going on during the Lunar New Year festival is the Hurry Home pre-show that happens before World of Color Happiness. This is a Lunar New Year themed. Or something.

Alicea 4:52

Okay. It's a pre-show.

Nathan 4:54

It's a pre-show, kind of as written. Anyhow, it happens every night before World of Color Happiness. And of course, merch.

Alicea 5:04

Yes. Yes. Probably gonna be a recurring theme here.

Races And Downtown Disney Performances

Nathan 5:09

Maybe. You never know. I mean, it is Yeah, it is Disney. That'll be a recurring theme. All right, moving on, our next event on the calendar is the Disneyland Half Marathon. That is this coming weekend, the 29th of January through February 1st. If you're listening to this and thinking, hey, I would really love to go do that this year, I'm sorry. Uh those races sold out a long time ago. But just know it'll come around for next year. There is a 5k, a 10K, and a half marathon that happens on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. And then you could do the Dumbo Doubledare. That is the 10K and the half marathon. You have to do both. No thank you.

Alicea 5:58

This is not a non-paid event. This is the this definitely costs. And this is to warn you if you didn't know it was coming. That's fair. So you are aware of timing stuff's going on.

Nathan 6:11

I broke my rule. You can't run these races unless you do a specially paid event. But it is good to know when this marathon uh is happening in in both of the resorts, uh, whether it's in Florida or here in California, because uh the parks be busy. And of course, merch.

Alicea 6:31

Merch, yes.

Nathan 6:32

Yes.

Alicea 6:33

Someday maybe we'll get Run Disney merch. I don't know.

Nathan 6:36

I have the shoes.

Alicea 6:39

You do. I've tried to get them, but they sell out within minutes. I'm sorry. The ones that I like anyway. At Downtown Disney, February 20th and 21st, and 27th and 28th is the Celebrate Gospel Performances. These are performances on the Downtown Disney live stage uh on the Friday and Saturday for those two weekends, and it is part of the Celebrate Soulfully for Black History Month. This also includes a new heritage trail of displays across both parks and downtown Disney, celebrating notable individuals from African American culture.

Ducks Day And Spring Shift

Nathan 7:16

Yeah. It's really interesting. The celebrate soulfully thing, they say goes like throughout the whole year. There's celebrating African American history and culture and stuff like that. It's largely just a handful of things here during the uh the month of February. And then there's a couple other things that we'll get to later on. It it's uh I wish Disney would actually lean into this more, but I will leave that where it is. And then the thing that everybody has been waiting for, Anaheim Ducks Day. This is February 22nd over at Disney's California Adventure. There's a fan rally. There's a special photo experience that is free, but you do need to get a wristband to get in to do the experience, and there's limited quantities to pick up those wristbands. So if that is something you want to do, make sure you get there. And of course, merch.

Alicea 8:25

Now Sterling and I happened to be in Anaheim for one of these. I don't remember what it was why we were down there. Um I don't think it was I don't think it was a part of the um the competition. Yeah, I don't think it was a part of the competition.

Nathan 8:45

Yeah, I don't maybe it was. I don't know. I don't remember.

Alicea 8:48

We were just walking around and saw that it was Anaheim Ducks Day, and I had a magic key at that point for some reason. And uh we were able to get in the special line and get a towel. Yeah, yeah.

Nathan 9:02

Fancies.

Alicea 9:03

And the DJ liked Sterling's dancing, so they gave him a hat.

Nathan 9:07

I remember that. Yeah. I wasn't there. I remember hearing about it. We talked about that on on the uh on the podcast. All right, everybody, I want you to go back and listen into like another 200 episodes and tell us when exactly we should be about this.

Alicea 9:20

Yeah, we were probably down there for a competition.

Nathan 9:22

No, we could look in our photo library history.

Alicea 9:24

Yes, we could.

Nathan 9:25

And we're not gonna do that though. Make too sense, too much sense. Moving on to spring, shall we?

Alicea 9:33

Let's.

Food & Wine Festival Deep Dive

Nathan 9:34

All right. We have what I kind of think is one of the coup de gras of all of this is the California Adventure Food and Wine Festival. This runs March 6th through April 27th and is kind of the West Coast equivalent to the Epcot Food and Wine Festival in Florida. And it is absolutely fantastic. And I appreciate that they do this during our spring break when we're already going to be down there.

Alicea 10:01

Yes. And not during, well, it doesn't really get super humid. Not it's not during the really hot time of year like it is in Epcot.

Nathan 10:11

Right. Uh the Food in California adventure, the food at all these booths is absolutely incredible. And it celebrates the this event celebrates California's incredible bounty through food, entertainment, and more. So says their website. It is known for its food booths. There's a sip and saver pass, which is kind of like the standard, you know, load up a gift card and you can go around to the booze and and buy things with that.

Alicea 10:40

It's a small savings getting a sip and saver pass.

Nathan 10:44

Yeah.

Alicea 10:44

Over just buying individually. It's group and save.

Nathan 10:48

Yeah. Uh there are cooking demonstrations, there are beverage seminars. This is actually where we got plugged into Skywalker Vineyards, uh, which is George Lucas's uh vineyard that he has up on Skywalker Ranch where he has his studio and Lucasfilm and all the rest of that stuff. And um yeah, so we we are in the wine club there. We actually did a tasting uh that we just stumbled across and was absolutely fantastic. And uh yeah, now we get uh a uh box of wine from them every month. Or I wish. No, every quarter.

Alicea 11:22

Every quarter. No, we don't do that'd be too much wine.

Nathan 11:26

Yeah, we don't drink that much wine. No. I don't drink any wine. You drink some occasionally. You drink champagne. That's sparkling wine. Sparkling, yeah. Okay, fine. There's also a ton of live music with the California Adventure Food and Wine Festival and music, I guess we'll say. Uh there are stage areas near kind of that world of color uh kind of main area where everybody watches. Uh, and then there's also a stage over in Paradise Gardens, so lots of incredible music. Uh, I do remember we've talked about this uh probably from last year when we were there. You know, there's a ton of studio musicians in the LA area, and they just get together and create these little supergroups and go play random fun gigs at Disney, and it's incredible.

Alicea 12:16

And of course, merch. What? It happens. Yes. On select days in March and April, it is the extravaganza. You can egg hunt through the resort. There are maps and stickers, and then you get a keepsake wooden egg to paint. Now, do they have to purchase the maps?

Nathan 12:37

Yes, which means you're actually purchasing the gift at the end.

Alicea 12:40

Well, yeah. And oh, point of note for this, just get your keepsake when you pick up the map.

Nathan 12:47

Yes.

Alicea 12:47

Yeah.

Nathan 12:48

Just get it then, and then you don't have to worry about circling back to some place.

Alicea 12:51

Yeah, you don't have to fill everything out and then go back and get it. It's just get the keepsake right away. But still fill out the map because it's fun.

Nathan 12:58

Right. But that means that this extravaganza is merch. Yeah, it is the merch.

Alicea 13:06

I'm sure there's pins too.

Nathan 13:10

Yeah, probably. I bet you there's Easter holiday pins.

Alicea 13:13

Yeah, probably. On to other stuff.

Nathan 13:16

On to other stuff. What you got?

Alicea 13:18

Bluey and Bingo take over the Fantasyland Theater starting on March 22nd. This is like a fun fair with activities, songs, and games. I believe I saw that. This is something totally different. Kind of Bluey and Bingo actually appeared on the Disney Dream today.

Nathan 13:36

Oh. I had not seen that. That's very cool. Earth Day is April 20th. There was no details on Disneyland's website, but they did list that as another thing that's happening in the parks.

Alicea 13:50

So I'm sure there'll be an Earth Day pin and or a t-shirt or something. Merch. Merch. Hyperspace Mountain returns April 28th.

Nathan 14:01

Very cool. This is a Star Wars overlay for Space Mountain.

Alicea 14:05

I said it like that because that is after we are there.

unknown 14:09

Yeah.

Egg Hunt Extravaganza Tips

Nathan 14:10

I see we're getting back to that whole thing where Disney does something right after we're there. Mm-hmm. Great. And then speaking of things that are happening after we're there, the Mandalorian and Grogu are coming to the Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run Ride, and that starts on May 22nd. So yay.

Alicea 14:33

Oh, something not mentioned in here. I don't know if they've given a specific date or not, but they are changing the timeline of Galaxy's Edge in Disneyland.

Nathan 14:44

Yes. Only Disneyland. Only Disney. Well, so far that they've got to be able to do that. For now. Yeah. But you're probably right. Nothing uh nothing good ever goes to Florida. So actually, it's also interesting that they're not doing the Smuggler's Run update until May 22nd when you have Star Wars, you know, May the 4th.

Alicea 15:05

It's it's based on when the movie comes out.

Nathan 15:09

Uh yes. That third week of May is typically when the big uh Star Wars movies come out. So okay, that makes sense. That makes sense.

Alicea 15:19

Based on the movie. On to summer.

Nathan 15:22

On to summer. Disneyland Resort's 70th celebration continues through August 9th. Because who doesn't celebrate their birthday for 15 months?

Alicea 15:34

They're waiting so we can get there.

Nathan 15:36

True. We haven't had a chance because they started it right after we were there last year. Yes. There's lots of decor, there's new shows, there's all sorts of food, there's uh new attractions, like they have the Walt Disney and Magical Life there at the theater on Main Street that includes the new Walt Disney animatronic. I'm actually excited to see that. Yes. And there's all sorts of new character costumes, and of course, merch.

Alicea 16:05

Yeah, that's what happens.

Nathan 16:06

That's what happens. It's Disney.

Alicea 16:08

Disney on the yard is June 19th. This is historically black colleges and universities HBCU drumlines at downtown Disney. This would be really cool to see. And there's drum major Mickey.

Nathan 16:23

Yes. I am a drummer. I have I have taught drumline. Yeah. I I know this would be difficult for you. I do not like that movie. And everyone's like, oh, you must love the movie Drumline. I'm like, no, actually, I don't. But anyway.

Bluey, Earth Day, And Hyperspace Mountain

Alicea 16:36

No, but you are you are a very traditional and drum core type drummer.

Nathan 16:42

Correct. I'm it's it's this is the difference between like jazz and classical music. I'm all about jazz, actually like classical music too. But I I the I'm yeah, I'm just a more DCI kind of drummer. Just more formal, I guess.

Alicea 16:59

Yep, yep, yeah. That's okay.

Nathan 17:01

That is okay. It's okay. I'm okay. I'd still like to see it. It'd be okay.

Alicea 17:04

Yeah. You can fume the old man. Get off my log. Yes. On July 2nd, Soarin Across America debuts. It'd be pretty cool. Part of America's 250th celebration. Um semiquincentennial? Is that an did I say that right?

Nathan 17:26

Semi-quincentennial. Semi-quincentennial, yes.

Alicea 17:29

You're missing an eye then.

Nathan 17:30

I am missing an eye when I type that out. Yes. Semi-quincentennial. Okay. You know, it's which means 250th birthday.

Alicea 17:37

Yeah.

Nathan 17:38

Or anniversary. Yeah. It's interesting backstory. Uh, the town I was growing up in in Connecticut celebrated its 350th birthday while I was there. And there was no official word uh uh for 350th anniversary for something, like it just had never been officially coined. And so my seventh grade history teacher was also kind of like the town historian and had done a whole bunch of work leading up to uh that 350th birthday. It's called it was called celebration and three three celebration three and a half? Yeah, I think that was it. Anyhow, and he coined the term like officially with the dictionary or something like that. It was uh a tri-susquicentennial. No, tri Oh no, I forgot it now. It's I forgot it.

Alicea 18:28

There's a word for it, and your history teacher made it.

Nathan 18:31

That's cool. Tri-susquicentennial. That's it.

Alicea 18:35

Okay.

Nathan 18:35

Mm-hmm. He was very proud that he made an official word. That is pretty cool. Yeah. Anyhow, 350 years. That's not what this is. This is America's 250th birthday. Yeah. Now, Disneyland has not said they're doing anything special for the fourth at this time. We have a really hard time believing there won't be like a special fireworks show. Uh, I fully believe they're going to do the same thing in Disney World. Uh, we will actually be in Disney World for the 4th of July. Very excited to see that. Yes. Yes.

Alicea 19:08

On to fall. Indeed. Halloween time at the Disneyland Resort. My favorite time of the year. It be spooky season. It be spooky season and I love it. On August 21st to October 31st, you have decor. Character costumes, they are dressed for the howl a day.

Nathan 19:31

Ugh. Howl a day. Yes.

Galaxy’s Edge Timeline And Smugglers Run Update

Alicea 19:35

Special food and snacks. The Haunted Mansion holiday shows up, which is where they take the Haunted Mansion ride and they put a nightmare before Christmas overlay on it on both the outside and the inside of the ride. You have Jack Skellington showing you around as you were, I guess. Um, and all the different characters from the movie are in there and it's It is a lot of fun.

Nathan 20:01

It was very fun, yes. Then you have Maider's uh graveyard jamboo rim is another overlay. There's a few overlays that happen on some of these smaller rides. Yeah. Very, very fun.

Alicea 20:15

There's evening fireworks and a projection show that is geared towards the season and lots more stuff. Uh there's also a specially ticketed Halloween event called Oogie Boogie Bash, and we will cover that a little bit later in a different show.

Nathan 20:31

Later this year, probably.

Alicea 20:32

Yeah.

Nathan 20:33

Well, we've actually talked about it in a previous show because you've done it. Yes. I wonder if that's when Anaheim uh Ducks Days was before, if they did it in a fall that year when you guys were down there and I was. Mystery solved. There we go. Uh also for spooky season, merch. Merch. Merch. Mm-hmm. Uh, and then obviously they will always do holidays in uh the you know December, November uh season. They have announced that the holidays will hit the Disneyland resort starting November 18th. Of course, there is the standard decor and costumes and parades and fireworks. Oh my! And of course, merch. Merch. Mm-hmm.

Summer: 70th Celebration And Drumlines

Alicea 21:26

I thought there was a holiday thing at DCA, kind of like Epcot does their festival the holidays.

Nathan 21:34

It's not listed on the website yet. So they haven't done any details online about like announcing what they're doing for Halloween or announcing what they're doing for you know the Christmas and Hanukkah and New Year's kind of season, only just to say like Halloween time will be between August 21st and October 31st. And then, you know, the end of year holidays will start up on November 18th. I think it's just kind of like placeholders for like the big things will happen starting those dates or between those dates, but they haven't released specifics. Like they don't have the food guides and all the snacks and all the rest of that stuff. That's not out yet.

Alicea 22:19

There is there is something though.

Nathan 22:21

Oh, absolutely. There's yes, there's a bunch of stuff. It's just none of those details are out at this time.

Alicea 22:27

Okay.

Nathan 22:29

Yeah, Disneyland runs on a very different cadence than Disney World. And I think it's because it's much more of a local spark where they're catering to people who will just go on a whim, not for people who are planning 15 months out in the into the future on when they're gonna go and all the rest of that stuff. So it's just a it's a different thing. Yeah, it's a different thing.

Alicea 22:53

Well, that's that's the 2026 Disney lineup that they have shared so far. Festivals and celebrations, overlays, and of course, merch.

Nathan 23:03

So much merch.

Alicea 23:04

So much merch. So whether you are coming for the food, the fireworks, or the thrill of hunting for parking, Anaheim has got something special just for you. If any of you are planning on going during one of these celebrations, let us know. Um, we'd love to hear from you and maybe plan something we can talk with you when you are back.

Nathan 23:28

Absolutely. We would love to hear all about it. And with that, please remember we are not affiliated with Disney or their subsidiaries. These are personal opinions and suggestions based on our own experiences and you know, Disney's website. But we are affiliated with fun snacks and questionable decisions and merch. And and merch. We are not affiliated. We consume merch. No, we acquire merch.

Alicea 23:54

We acquire merch, yes.

Nathan 23:56

I try not to consume the merch.

Alicea 23:58

Unless it's a tasty snack.

Nathan 24:00

Okay, but that's not merch. That's a food or snack.

Alicea 24:04

Okay.

Nathan 24:06

Anyway.

Alicea 24:07

Anyway, we recommend working with a travel agent or contacting Disney directly to plan your own perfect vacation.

Nathan 24:14

If you have questions or suggestions or would like to be interviewed on our show to share your Disney experiences, please do send an email to podcast at our mousecapades.com.

Alicea 24:24

If you love this episode, please give us a rating and a review. It helps other Disney fans find us.

Nathan 24:30

You can follow us on socials at our mouse capades on Instagram, Facebook threads, and YouTube. Please share us with your friends, your family, and that one coworker who still thinks FastPass is a thing.

Alicea 24:45

Thanks for listening. We'll be in your ears next week.

Nathan 24:49

Thank you for flying Star Tours. Bye-bye. Also going on during the Lunar New Year, you've also going on during the Noonarlo Year.

Alicea 25:06

Nope.