The Disney EGGstravaganza is a great thing to do with your kids to celebrate Easter/spring. This year the scavenger hunt takes place from March 16 through April 1. There are three options for egg hunting at the Disneyland Resort: Disneyland, California Adventure, and Downtown Disney. My kids and I did the egg hunt through Downtown Disney because we have the Southern California annual pass, and we were there during the blackout period. Doing the hunt through either park would require paying for admission. Downtown Disney was just as fun and saved me a ton of money! In fact, you acquire the SAME eggs no matter which venue you choose, so it really doesn’t matter! ...more about that later.
All four EGGstravaganza maps
Although there are several stores where you can buy maps, we bought ours from World of Disney. This was a good place to start, as it’s located at the far end of the district. Maps cost $5.99 each. I bought three. So here’s the deal when you go with teenagers - my kids really enjoyed it...but they turned it into a race! If you have younger kids, I’m sure it’ll be a more relaxing experience!
EGGstavaganza map for Downtown Disney
So, the eggs you’re looking for aren’t your typical Easter eggs. They are GIANT eggs located throughout the district. Your map will direct you as to which stores to go to. They can be in stores or outside. Here’s a hint when trying to find Jessie at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique - the store is currently closed so the egg is somewhere outside.
Jessie from Toy Story - Guess where she is?!
After you find all the eggs on the map, you return to World of Disney to redeem your map for a prize. What’s the prize? An actual character Easter egg! Currently there are five to choose from: Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Cinderella, Mike & Sully. (Unfortunately, when we were there the Belle egg was “sold out” throughout the Disney Resort.) You only get to pick ONE egg. So in our instance, there were three of us. We decided to get different eggs. I picked Cinderella, my daughter picked Minnie Mouse and my son picked Mickey Mouse. We wanted the full available collection, so we went back and bought two additional maps so we could acquire Mike & Sully. Each egg also has a corresponding sticker inside. Whether you choose to do the EGGstravaganza at Downtown Disney, Disneyland or California Adventure the choice of eggs is the SAME.
Our egg collection!
Other cool things to do while your in the Downtown Disney District:
Splitsville - Splitzville is a luxury bowling alley that replaced the House of Blues. It's super fun and the food is great! You must make reservations in advance to book a lane. I literally had to sign an event contract to reserve a lane for three people. Lane reservations are about 1 hour and 15 minutes in duration. Our weekday reservation before 4:00 p.m. was $29.00 per person including shoe rental. Maximum 8 bowlers per lane. We were able to bowl about two games while we were there. Yes, you can just make reservations to just dine-in and not bowl. But, what fun is there in that?! Check out the Disney website for more info on reservations.
VOID: Star Wars Secrets of the Empire - This is a virtual reality experience. My son and I LOVED it! Your gear includes a players vest, helmet and virtual reality goggles. So be prepared to be weighed down a bit by all the equipment. You are given a Star Wars mission to accomplish. I don't want to spoil it for you by giving you too much detail. But, the one-of-a-kind experience will cost you $30 for about 30 minutes. You have to sign up for an available time in advance. We signed up around 3:45 p.m. and our game time was 4:30 p.m. You don't have to be a Star Wars fan to LOVE this!
Love going to Disney, really the happiest place on earth.