A recent survey commissioned by Disney Tourist Blog of a random but representative selection of DTB authors revealed that the #1 most huggable Disney character and #1 most-perplexing ‘missing’ meet & greet from Walt Disney World or Disneyland is Red Panda Mei. Good news for everyone surveyed: the iconic Turning Red star is coming to the 2026 Lunar New Year at Disney California Adventure!
The fan-favorite Lunar New Year celebration returns to Disney California Adventure from January 23rd through February 22, 2026. To ring in the Year of the Horse, Horace Horsecollar will make appearances during this joyous festival that honors Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean traditions.
Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse return to greet guests in their Korean-inspired outfits, and new this year, several Disney characters will debut all-new outfits with representations of Vietnamese and Chinese attire. And as mentioned above, the most iconic character from Turning Red is finally making her domestic parks debut as a character meet & greet.
There is one rather large exception to that–the panda in the room, if you will. While I appreciate the added characters and all of the love Turning Red has been getting at Disneyland Resort (starting with Lunar New Year and continuing with a big presence in Pixar Fest), it still boggles the mind that Red Panda Mei isn’t a meet & greet character!
In case you haven’t seen Turning Red (not that anyone cares, but it’s my favorite Disney or Pixar movie since Coco–I like it even more than Encanto and everything else since, of what I’ve seen), there is literally a meet and greet with Red Panda Mei in the movie itself.
We first covered the Red Panda Mei back in early 2023, when Disney originally announced that the character would debut as a meet & greet at Shanghai Disneyland. Red Panda Mei has been meeting there for 3 years now, which we presume is what explains the park’s continued prosperity.
In subsequent character announcements for the domestic parks that year, we wrote that it was “such an obvious idea that it’s embarrassing it has taken Disney so long to roll out the character. A Red Panda Mei meet & greet would pay for itself in the merchandise and plush sales it would help push. I’m not even kidding.”
I wasn’t kidding. But I also wasn’t holding my breath. The above quote was written in a post about how long it was taking to bring Encanto characters to Walt Disney World, something that was done at a truly glacial pace.
In the years since, Pixar Fest has come and gone at Disneyland, and I’ve echoed the same sentiment about Red Panda Mei. While she did join the parade, that’s not a meet & greet.
Then there’s Lunar New Year, which has–even more perplexingly–added face characters from Turning Red in the last couple of years. Those actors were fantastic, but those meets were not even close to the same wish fulfillment scenario as hugging Red Panda Mei.
During the 2026 Lunar New Year festivities, Red Panda Mei will meet in the Pixar Pier Band Shell (between Toy Story Mania and Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind). No word yet on hours or whether the meet & greet will continue beyond February 22, 2026. Our hope is that it’s extended by popular demand.
Suffice to say, I am very happy about this announcement. After three years of waiting, my dream is finally going to come true. And by my dream, of course I mean my dream of our daughter meeting Red Panda Mei. As a fan of hugging, bears, raccoons, and raccoon dogs (tanuki), I’m already confident this meet & greet is going to be a huge hit with her.
(Okay okay, I’ll admit that I’m also excited for me. Red Panda Mei is just a great character and very underutilized in the parks. And Turning Red is one of several very good to great movies dumped onto Disney+ that deserved more. )
In addition to the big news of Red Panda Mei’s meet & greet debuting at DCA, Disneyland Resort also just released the Disney Eats Foodie Guide to Lunar New Year, highlighting limited-time menu items and novelties guests can enjoy across Disney California Adventure, Downtown Disney, and the Hotels of the Disneyland Resort during this special event.
This year’s festival boasts 35 brand new food & beverage items, and two new novelties. Lunar New Year menu highlights include:
NEW Japchae Noodles with grilled short rib from Longevity Noodle Co.
NEW Guava dragon fruit cocktail from Bamboo Blessings
NEW Spicy pork belly grilled cheese from Pym Test Kitchen
Mandarin orange cream puff from Red Dragon Spice Traders
Disneyland also confirmed that the Sip & Savor Pass will once again return, giving guests the ability to sample multiple menu items. Available in three different designs, the scannable pass includes six coupons that can be redeemed for select food and nonalcoholic beverages from participating marketplaces and locations in DCA.
Obviously, the jury is still out on the food at the 2026 Lunar New Year, but it looks like mostly more of the same. As discussed in the latest update to our list of the 26 Best Restaurants at Disneyland in 2026, we’ve been really underwhelmed by the food scene at Disneyland Resort lately.
Festival food is one of the biggest offenders. The last several events have been totally phoned-in, with a bunch of boring and basic comfort foods priced at $9 and up for small sample-sized portions. The menus have largely stagnated, and the popularity of these booths seems to decrease with each event–so I’m not even sure how Disneyland justifies maintaining the status quo with festival food.
The silver lining is that Lunar New Year has had the best festival food in the last few years. Maybe even enough to justify purchase of the Sip & Savor Pass. We still recommend just paying as you go, which also opens the door to try more ambitious menus at the counter service restaurants, which usually also offer better bang for buck than the ~$9 snack-sized portions.
Finally, Disneyland Resort has confirmed that live entertainment, including the aforementioned appearances by Disney friends dressed in Lunar New Year attire, as well as “Mulan’s Lunar New Year Procession” and the “Hurry Home – A Lunar New Year Celebration” pre-show before “World of Color Happiness!” will all return for the 2026 Lunar New Year.
Honestly, it’s all of this stuff–and everything else over in Paradise Gardens Park–that’s the highlight of the festival, and what makes it special. The food can be fun, but the cultural and character components are the heart of the event, and what makes Lunar New Year one of the highlights of the year at DCA. Of course, we can’t wait to meet Red Panda Mei this year, but that’s just icing on the cake!
Planning a Southern California vacation? For park admission deals, read Tips for Saving Money on Disneyland Tickets. Learn about on-site and off-site hotels in our Anaheim Hotel Reviews & Rankings. For where to eat, check out our Disneyland Restaurant Reviews. For unique ideas of things that’ll improve your trip, check out What to Pack for Disney. For comprehensive advice, consult our Disneyland Vacation Planning Guide. Finally, for guides beyond Disney, check out our Southern California Itineraries for day trips to Los Angeles, Laguna Beach, and tons of other places!
Your Thoughts
Excited to meet and hug Red Panda Mei during the 2026 Lunar New Year festivities at DCA? Anything on the food booths look good to you? Does Lunar New Year Celebration look like a classic “edutainment” experience, or does it look uninteresting to you? If you have been, what do you think of Happy Lunar New Year? Any tips to add? Hearing from you is half the fun, so if you have additional thoughts or questions, please share them in the comments!
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