Celebrate the Year of the Snake with Mulan’s Lunar New Year Procession Parade at Disney California Adventure.
Mulan’s Lunar New Year Procession
The procession is narrated as it goes by, explaining each group of performers and the connections to Lunar New Year. It kicks off with a banner, followed by moonflower dancers. In previous years, a group of three moonflower dancers would start and end the parade. Now, this group has been cut down to only two dancers.
A staple of the parade every year is the large dragon puppet carried by a group of performers.
Following the dragon, the next group consists of ribbon dancers with long multicolored sleeves. This group is also smaller than in previous years, moving from six dancers to only four.
The next group performs martial arts. The costumes for the martial artists are new this year. The costumes resemble armor and helmets, but entirely in white. The costumes for the Cast Members wielding swords have red trim. More moonflower dancers usually follow this section, but they have been cut entirely.
The largest float in the processional carries Mulan and Mushu. Last year, Mushu was standing on the large central platform under the lanterns. Now, Mushu and his gong have been moved down to the second pedestal. The small figure of Cri-Kee has been moved below Mulan to give Mushu more space.
It is also worth noting that Mulan and Mushu are the same characters from last year’s processional. Mushu was featured in 2024 for the Year of the Dragon, as the character usually changes to match the correct animal. It appears no new character has been added to represent the Year of the Snake.
After being cut entirely last year, two drummers have now returned to the Mulan float’s central section. Their number is still down from the three drummers in previous years to only two. Still, we were glad to see the drummers added back after they went missing in 2024. The drummers also debuted new costumes, matching the style of the white armor worn by the martial artists.
Chip and Dale follow behind the Mulan float. Chip stands on the stairs behind the drummers, while Dale walks behind the float holding a lantern. Chip and Dale swap positions after every performance of the processional, so Dale will have his time on the float too.
Following Dale are performers carrying tall flags. Like the martial artists and the drummers, the flag carriers also have new white armor outfits.
Behind the flag carriers, multiple dancers carry large yellow and orange fans. As with several other dance groups in the parade, their number has been decreased from six to four.
One more reduced group of moonflower dancers are placed near the end of the processional.
Finally, dancers with multicolored parasols bring up the end of the parade. The group carrying parasols remains unchanged from previous years.
Watch our video of the 2025 Mulan’s Lunar New Year Procession below.
Lunar New Year runs at Disney California Adventure from January 17 – February 16.
For more Disneyland Resort news and info, follow Disneyland News Today on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. For Disney Parks news worldwide, visit WDWNT.