Come celebrate the Year of the Snake when Happy Lunar New Year Celebration returns as part of “Limited Time Magic,” February 8-11 – this year at Disney California Adventure park! Lunar New Year is a time when Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese cultures celebrate the sun and moon beginning their journeys for another year.

From 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. each day in the Pacific Wharf area of the park, guests will enjoy unique cultural experiences, flavorful food offerings, unique merchandise, and colorful performances from dancers, musicians, and martial artists. Some of your favorite Disney characters will be there as well, such as Mulan, Mushu, Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse.

Stay tuned to the Disney Parks Blog for more information about Happy Lunar New Year Celebration and “Limited Time Magic.”

When I served as project manager for Disney Pin Trading, I was often asked by guests which pins they should collect or trade. My best advice for someone starting a Disney pin collection is to pick a certain theme and trade for what you like. For years, we have offered mini-collections that are an easy way to jump start a collection. I spoke with Jeanne Lewis, merchandiser for Disney pins, about some of these new collections arriving in 2013.

“We have new limited edition pin collections coming to Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts next year,” explained Jeanne. “Some pins will be released each month, while others may be released every other month or once each quarter. I like these mini-collections because they have one consistent story. I also like making these pins extra special by adding different elements like stained glass or sculpted metal.”

Fans at Disneyland will see the next chapter of the “Piece of Disneyland Resort History” collection. For this series, Jeanne acquired costume pieces from the Creative Costuming team from various Audio-Animatronics figures. I like the “it’s a small world” pin that features pieces of the Japanese girl’s obi sash from the attraction’s final scene. Each pin in the series will have an edition size of 1,000.

The “Window to the Magic” collection is also coming to Disneyland Resort. This pin series features scenes from classic Disney animated films where magical things took place by windows. The pins in this series will have edition sizes of 1,000.

For Walt Disney World Resort, there will be a pin-of-the-month collection called “Good Luck / Bad Luck.” This playful collection shows there are two sides to every story – lucky and unlucky. I thought the Flower pin was funny (poor Flower!). The edition size for these pins will be 1,000.

I convinced Jeanne to let me tease two new surprise pin collections for 2013. There will be six different pins in each collection, released at various dates throughout the year. The Walt Disney World Resort collection is called “Remember When” and gives a nod to classic Disney attractions and characters. The Disneyland Resort collection has images of vintage Disney characters in stylized crests. The surprise pins will each have an edition size of 750.

I invite you to keep watching Disney.com/Pins for the latest news about pin releases. Happy trading!

I generally believe I’m a lucky guy. I have two wonderful children, loving parents, an amazing girlfriend, and I work at the happiest place on Earth. While the New Year arrives with a number that some may consider unlucky, I believe that 2013 will be a lucky and magical year. Believing in magic is the theme that Disney Theme Park Merchandise selected for the 2013 dated art programs. The foundation for this new program is the style guide that Disney Design Group completed in November 2011. I recently took a closer look at the style guide to see what artwork is coming to merchandise in the New Year.

The 2013 style guide contains a variety of logos, graphics and patterns that give one consistent look for the merchandise. Artists and merchandisers can use elements from the style guide on all sorts of items fromdrinkware to plush to coffee mugs. Sorcerer Mickey and his hat are both prominently featured in the 2013 artwork. I particularly like how his silhouette was incorporated in the logos for Disneyland and Walt Disney WorldResorts (something I’ve not seen before). I also liked the creative use of “13” in the word “believe.”

At many merchandise locations in Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts, you will see visually impressive statements containing all kinds of 2013 merchandise. These statements make shopping easier for guests, as dated merchandise is some of the most popular souvenirs from Disney Parks.

Guests can also find an assortment of 2013 merchandise on the Disney Parks online store. One of the more unique items currently in the shop is a tie-dyed shirt for Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort that has Sorcerer Mickey and friends facing off against several Disney Villains.

Disney Design Group created alternate art program for 2013 that you may recall seeing in a recent Disney Parks Blog video. Stay tuned as I will be giving a closer look at the amazing oversized posters from the 2013 calendar that will also make their way to pins, Vinylmation, iPhone covers and apparel next year.

Some ears will be exclusive to respective parks.