'Bluey' experience opens at Disneyland. Here's what it's like

Animated Australian sensation “Bluey” has arrived successful Disneyland, and the titular anthropomorphic pastel-coated canine has travel acceptable to play. And dance. And to contention immoderate “barky boats.”

The Walt Disney Co. archetypal teased that the Blue Heeler puppy and her younger sister Bingo would beryllium coming to the Anaheim taxable parkland successful 2024. Bluey is present the prima of a performance-focused takeover of the park’s Fantasyland Theatre, which officially opened Sunday.

Two shows, games and spontaneous creation parties are hallmarks of the experience, arsenic Disneyland’s unrecorded amusement squad sought to construe the show’s peculiar broadcast-based entreaty to the existent world.

“Bluey” works due to the fact that it’s charmed children and grown-ups alike, emphasizing imaginative parenting skills arsenic overmuch arsenic it does Bluey’s playful spirit. Though lone astir 7 minutes, each halfway “Bluey” occurrence unfolds patiently, often centered connected make-believe, wonderment and childlike ingenuity. Subtle beingness lessons, specified arsenic cooperation, knowing one’s self-worth, overcoming a fearfulness of the chartless and overmuch more, dot seemingly elemental scenarios.

In galore episodes, Bluey’s ma (Chilli) and dada (Bandit) indulge successful their daughters’ penchant to play pretend, truthful overmuch truthful that a person of excavation with a young miss joked that she needed to ticker the amusement to larn however to beryllium a amended mom.

I arrived astatine “Bluey’s Best Day Ever!” arsenic a childless columnist, and yet I came distant enchanted by what Disneyland’s unrecorded amusement team, led by Susana Tubert, had concocted. It’s a small silly and corny, yes, but manages to alteration the tempo and tin adjacent tug astatine one’s heartstrings by showing the enslaved betwixt siblings.

Theme parkland fare, particularly erstwhile aimed astatine a preschool set, tends to autumn backmost connected high-energy, photo-op-based treatments, and portion there’s plentifulness of amped-up goofiness here, “Bluey’s Best Day Ever!” understands that’s not wherefore the bid was the most-streamed programme successful 2025, according to information from probe steadfast Nielsen.

Two halfway shows are featured successful the experience, and immoderate “Bluey” regulars marque an appearance. The overbearing, bratty hand-puppet Unicorse, for instance, plays cardinal roles successful launching each performance. Set to play continuously passim the day, with breaks for Bluey and Bingo to look connected signifier and creation oregon play with youngsters, each has a somewhat antithetic code and feel.

One emphasizes an escapade story, its themes encouraging Bluey to flash immoderate bravery and dispel stereotypes. The different takes a lighter touch, with immoderate of the softer, astir ballad-like songs from the show, specified arsenic “Rain (Boldly successful the Pretend),” highlighted, seeking to stress the enslaved betwixt Bluey and Bingo. Here, I thought of Bluey’s much tender moments — those, for instance, that stress becoming comfy with increasing older and letting go.

“Bluey’s Best Day Ever!” features unrecorded music, puppets and creation breakouts.

(Mark Potts / Los Angeles Times)

“We effort to deed the humor, the play — shared play — and immoderate of the much profound experiences that these characters spell through,” Tubert says. “At the extremity of the 2nd show, you’ll spot a infinitesimal that is truly rather beautiful. It’s a tribute to sisterhood, and however these 2 characters of Bluey and Bingo link with 1 another.”

While 1 tin surely beryllium successful the Fantasyland Theatre’s stands and simply instrumentality successful the 2 shows, determination are plentifulness of moments geared astatine getting audiences moving. Dances, for instance, whitethorn mimic carnal behaviors, oregon notation fashionable moments from the series, specified arsenic getting grannies to floss.

A motion to the attention-seeking fairies — here, little Tinker Bell and much a metaphor for being noticed — inspires a “Riverdance”-like breakout. The five-piece, brass-heavy set gets a workout erstwhile Bluey’s impossible-to-control artifact Chattermax has a cameo. The squawking plaything tin trial adjacent Bluey’s patience.

Throughout, performers locomotion a enactment betwixt teaching the maneuvers to the assemblage and getting mislaid successful the infinitesimal themselves. The situation for Disney choreographer Taylor Worden was to make creation moves that besides doubled arsenic assemblage encouragement.

Spin, for instance, similar a angiosperm successful the wind, oregon lightly drawback your fingers to callback the dependable of rain. Bounce with your hands successful beforehand of you arsenic if you’re driving a car down a rocky street, oregon enactment your manus supra your caput and effort for an elegant, ballerina-inspired twirl.

“It really was letting spell of each of those method things that I’ve learned and letting that interior kid travel out,” Worden says. “As imaginative arsenic Bluey and Bingo are, I wanted to hone successful connected that. I privation everybody to enjoy, person amusive and play. Play is astatine the forefront of everything. It’s truthful casual to get acceptable successful our ways, and adjacent arsenic an adult, it’s truthful hard to really play nowadays. This has been specified an acquisition to get to a childlike state.”

“Bluey’s Best Day Ever!” references galore amusement moments from the series, including 1 with nods to the fairies.

(Mark Potts / Los Angeles Times)

There’s more, however, to “Bluey’s Best Day Ever!” than the 2 performances. The Fantasyland Theatre has been outfitted with pop-up installations. Some are purely photograph ops, specified arsenic an accidental for small ones to instrumentality a people photograph with Bluey and her pals, portion others purpose to animate exploration, specified arsenic a mini gnome colony oregon fairy garden.

Taken arsenic a whole, the consciousness is thing of a fair, similar hanging retired with Bluey and Bingo astatine a backyard barbecue. The theater’s walk-up nutrient model is serving pizza-inspired baked potatoes, a colored cocoa pretzel meant to mimic an asparagus pretzel wand, and more.

There’s besides a spot to contention immoderate “barky boats.” In the show, barky boats is simply a crippled that takes spot connected a tiny watercourse with histrion bark, but there’s nary h2o here. Instead, look for a way successful a nook supra the seating area, wherever 1 tin contention woody blocks affixed with wheels — deliberation Pinewood Derby — down a way painted to mimic a waterway. Throughout the theater, the colors are springlike and muted, pastels that are lightly agleam and storybook-inspired. Even the creation costumes follow this soft, crayon-like colour palette.

“Bluey’s Best Day Ever!” astatine the Disneyland Resort invites assemblage participation.

(Mark Potts / Los Angeles Times)

“The colour palette works perfectly with the set,” says Trevor Rush, a manager with costume plan and development. “Lots of pastel colors. ‘Bluey,’ that world, focuses precise overmuch successful that superior world. You won’t spot a batch of achromatic represented.”

“Bluey’s Best Day Ever!” does not presently person an extremity date, but is expected to beryllium a Disneyland staple passim the outpouring and summertime seasons, with showtimes presently acceptable for the precocious greeting and aboriginal afternoons. For Tubert, who has an extended inheritance successful theater, “Bluey’s Best Day Ever!” is meant to item the taxable parkland arsenic a spot of play, wherever 1 tin beryllium a spot silly, and possibly adjacent a small vulnerable.

“There’s a nonjudgmental harmless abstraction that we’ve created successful ‘Bluey’s Best Day Ever!’ that invites everyone to consciousness uninhibited and the joyousness of playfulness,” Tubert says.