What’s Coming to Disneyland Resort This Summer

Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California has launched its Kids Rule Summer lineup for this upcoming summer, aiming to engage guests with a new series of attractions, events, and promotions at the resort.

The lineup includes a new mission in Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run featuring the Mandalorian and Grogu, the interactive games and live music show of Bluey’s Best Day Ever, and the Paint the Night Parade featuring over one million LED lights.

At a Disneyland Resort event to launch Kids Rule Summer, Travel Market Report spoke with Asa Kalama, Vice President and Executive Creative Director at Walt Disney Imagineering, about the origins of the new mission for Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run.

“About eighteen months ago, we started having conversations with [President of Lucasfilm] Dave Filoni and [Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu director] Jon Favreau,” Kalama said. “We knew they were working on an incredible new film and we thought it would be an amazing opportunity for us, really for one of the first times, to launch an attraction day and date with a new film.”

The attraction features space travel and a number of different objectives on board the Millennium Falcon, including roles as the pilot, gunner, and engineer. Riders work together as a team to complete the mission, which features The Mandalorian and Grogu providing instructions across the galaxy.

“[We had] lots of great story conversations about how we could, as guests, go on an adventure with Mando and Grogu. We arrived at this really cool bounty hunting adventure that’s about tracking down some ex-Imperial officers,” Kalama told Travel Market Report.

“Part of what’s so unique and exciting about this new version,” Kalama said, “is that rather than just going to one planet, like we do in the first mission, here we have the opportunity to go to one of three different destinations: Bespin, Coruscant, or Endor. Every time you ride the attraction, you’re going to get a slightly different experience.”

Other active attractions inside Disneyland include Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, a journey through winding waterways featuring musical sequences and a 50-foot drop, that debuted at Orlando’s Walt Disney World in 2024.

Bluey’s Best Day Ever at Fantasyland Theatre features a set and a live band with a drummer, horns section, and guitar. Bluey and Bingo appear on stage alongside a number of guests, including Unicorse.

Travel Market Report spoke with Michelle Mary, Disneyland Ambassador, about the show. “It is such a fun experience for kids and kids of all ages,” Mary said, explaining that in addition to the live show on stage, there are opportunities at Bluey’s Best Day Ever where “kids can play and have fun and use their imagination, as well.”

Another water attraction at Disneyland is Grizzly River Run, a whitewater raft ride navigating under waterfalls and waves along the route.

The Disney Friends Dance Party features an onstage host welcoming characters such as Chip, Dale, and Clarice to dance with attending children.

Travel Market Report also spoke with Tom Fitzgerald, an Imagineer who has worked at Disney for 47 years and participated in the creation of 400 films. His latest project, Soarin’ Across America, opens at Disneyland on July 2. Work on Soarin’ Across America started ten years ago, following the completion of Soarin’ Around the World.

“We were waiting for that opportune moment,” Fitzgerald told Travel Market Report. “About a year ago, we started talking about ‘How will Disney celebrate America’s 250th?’ And we said, ‘We have an idea.’ We got the greenlight, and in twelve months, our team had to shoot and edit and finish a film, which is the fastest we’ve ever done.”

In addition to Kids Rule Summer, the Disneyland 70th Anniversary Celebration concludes in August. Kory Alvarado of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts spoke to Travel Market Report about how “the fireworks show is up,” and as Alvarado put it, “we want to evoke happiness. We don’t want you to be sad that it’s ending.”

To complement the anniversary, Alvarado showed a special merchandise collection of purses, t-shirts, Mickey and Minnie Mouse ears, and pins in shades of purple and violet, designed to mirror the twilight sky during the Nighttime Spectacular fireworks show.

To find out more about the strategy behind Kids Rule Summer, Travel Market Report spoke to Allie Kawamoto Choy, Experience Integration Manager with Disneyland Resort.

“We are always looking for ways that we can celebrate families and kids. That’s something that goes back to Walt Disney. How do adults and kids have fun together?” Kawamoto Choy said. “Why not have a great celebration for Kids Rule Summer?”

Promotions related to the summer program include a $50 Kids Summer Park Hopper ticket, a $5.99 Kids Summer meal ticket, and 15% off stays at any of Disneyland’s three hotels for Sunday through Thursday bookings.

Referring to the hotel promotion, Kawamoto Choy said, “That just makes it very convenient for families. They can just walk back to the hotel in the evening. I have two little ones, so it’s great. Instead of having to drive home, in the afternoon we were able to walk back and take a nap, which allowed us to stay later in the theme park and enjoy Paint the Night, enjoy the fireworks.”

The Paint the Night Parade features Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and other Disney characters on illuminated floats with corresponding light arrangements.

Additional offerings include a complimentary Mickey’s Park Ranger activity book that invites children to complete a scavenger hunt throughout the park.