Eggs-plaining the Egg-stravaganza -- The 2016 Hunt Is Over!!!

[Sherry E]

The popular Disney Egg-stravaganza egg hunt begins at Disneyland Resort and California Adventure on Wednesday, March 2, 2016, and it lasts through Sunday, March 27th. I did this event a couple of years back – in both parks – and I wanted to create a thread to explain how it generally works and show photos (all of which were taken by me) from the 2014 hunt, as the 2016 version will likely be very similarly handled.

Details of the 2016 event (including the addition of Downtown Disney to the hunting fun) can be found here - http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2016/02/the-egg-stravaganza-continues-in-2016-at-disney-parks/.

When the Disney Parks Blog did a blog about the Egg-stravaganza last year, I noticed that people seemed to be confused and didn’t understand how it worked. I stepped in to answer a lot of the questions (in the comments) before Michelle, the writer of the piece, had the chance to come back and tackle them - http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2015/02/disney-egg-stravaganza-returns-to-disney-parks/

**If you do not wish to see photos of or read details about the 2014 Egg-stravaganza’s eggs and where they were situated, stop here. Do not continue from this point forward. While we do not yet know where the eggs will be hidden this year, some of the locations are likely to be repeated each year and the photos may spoil the surprise.**​

Fellow DIS’er funatdisney and I decided to begin our 2014 egg-seeking journey in Disney California Adventure. As we passed through the turnstiles one particular egg was almost immediately visible to me, but I tried to pretend I hadn’t seen it so I could “discover” it in the proper way once I had obtained my map.

The Egg-stravaganza begins with a park map and a sheet of Disney character egg stickers. The maps will provide the clues as to where to find the eggs, and the accompanying character egg stickers will be applied to the map when the corresponding eggs are found. For example, if you are seeking a White Rabbit egg near It’s a Small World, once you find it you will apply the White Rabbit sticker to the It’s a Small World spot on the map.

The map and stickers are sold together for the reasonable price of $5.95 plus tax (up from $4.95 in 2014 and 2015), and no discounts will be applied. We purchased our maps at Elias & Co. on Buena Vista Street, but this year you can also find them at Humphrey’s Service & Supplies, Off the Page, Oswald’s, Sarge’s Surplus Hut and Treasures in Paradise in Disney California Adventure.

In Disneyland you will find the maps and stickers at Disneyana, Disney Showcase, “it’s a small world” Toy Shop, Little Green Men Store Command, Pieces of Eight, Pioneer Mercantile and Stromboli’s.

And, new in 2016, you can also purchase maps at Anna & Elsa’s Boutique, D Street, Disney Pin Traders, WonderGround Gallery and World of Disney Store for the Downtown Disney District hunt. DTD maps will also be available at Mickey in Paradise at the Paradise Pier Hotel, Acorns Gifts & Goods at the Grand Californian Hotel and the Fantasia Shop at the Disneyland Hotel.

The maps sold out in both parks several days before Easter 2014, just past the mid-way point of the hunt. I think that Disney underestimated how popular the event would be. I would suggest getting your maps as soon as they go on sale on March 2, 2016, or as soon as you arrive in the parks, even if you don’t start doing the hunt until later.

Maps in hand, we set out to locate the 12 character eggs that had been hidden around the park. We soon realized that this was going to be a fairly simple process, as the eggs were large and easy to find in most cases – as long as we remembered to look up (think balconies and trees) and look down (think flower beds). Sometimes the eggs were essentially hiding in plain sight, without much mystery.

In fact, even if you don’t buy a map, you will spot many of the eggs by simply strolling around from land to land. Some folks reported egg sightings without actually knowing there was an Egg-stravaganza taking place. They just assumed the character eggs were part of the parks’ Easter décor.

In some cases we had to look way, way, way up to find an egg…

The Egg-stravaganza has no time limit, so you do not have to rush wildly through the parks to find eggs. You really do not even need to complete the hunt(s) in one day. You can stop to eat, nap, shop, chat or go for that fifth ride on Radiator Springs Racers and the eggs will still be waiting for you when you’re done.

As this was a one-day excursion, we decided to attack the hunt somewhat systematically and with purpose, locating the eggs in each land and then moving on to the neighboring land until we had made our way around the parks. But you don’t have to do it that way. Do whatever works for you, even if it means slowly meandering or zig-zagging every which way but loose as you get caught up in the quiet frenzy of hunting eggs.

I will admit that, despite the general ease of this hunt, any time I spied one of my targets I triumphantly announced my discovery as though I had found a Starbucks on Mars.

There are 12 eggs per park, and in some cases there will be more than one egg per land or general area. This year, I'm not sure if there will also be 12 eggs hidden between Downtown Disney and the 3 DLR hotels, but I would have to assume so.

There were a few instances in which the eggs or their locations were not immediately obvious, or the descriptions of where they could be found were not clear…

…And other instances in which there could be no better hiding places for the eggs.

Once we had completed the Egg-stravaganza in Disney California Adventure, we returned to Elias & Co. to show our maps (with carefully applied character stickers) and claim our prizes.

The prizes were concealed by fluorescent half-egg domes, and we were instructed to choose which dome would be lifted to reveal our prize.

The prize was a small, plastic character egg – one per map – perfect for storing tiny, sweet treats in Easter baskets. The Cast Members allowed us to request a different egg if the one we chose was not the one we wanted. I can’t recall what I actually picked upon first try, but I ended up with a Daisy Duck egg. Apparently, the Cast Members were not as lenient in 2015 about letting people choose a different egg.

It is not necessary to take on the Egg-stravaganza to claim your prize, though you will be missing out on the fun if you don’t do it. As long as you purchased a map, all you have to do is show that map at a redemption location and claim your prize that way, and you are allowed to keep your map as a souvenir. Because many guests will most likely not be claiming their prizes on the same day that they purchase their maps, they will have until April 2nd to collect their prizes, even though the Egg-stravaganza will be ending after March 27th.



Coming up in next post – Hunting eggs in Disneyland!!!!!

 

 

[Sherry E]

Part 2 – Disneyland!!

Next, we moseyed across the Esplanade and into Disneyland park to begin the second and final Egg-stravaganza of the day. We purchased our Disneyland maps at the Disney Showcase store on Main Street and hit the ground running…or leisurely strolling, to be more precise.


Although the eggs were still remarkably easy to find and some of the hiding spots were similar to those in Disney California Adventure, I thought that the landscape of Disneyland provided a more interesting mix of cubby holes in which to obscure an egg.

It was evident that a few fellow hunters were in a sort of egg fever, frantic to get to their oval targets before other nefarious hunters spotted them. I zeroed in on this egg in a Main Street window display, and stopped to photograph it while funatdisney went into the Candy Palace to investigate chocolate Easter confections.

Before I had even snapped the picture a family of egg enthusiasts began closing in on me, inching into my personal space to climb around and in front of me to get to the egg…which was not moving and would not be moving in the short amount of time it would take to capture my shot. I realized that it was now an “every man for himself” situation, and that I might have to channel my inner egg warrior (who knew I had one?) and start getting a little more aggressive out on the battlefield.

I will take this moment to suggest a bit of etiquette when you are roaming around, looking for eggs in the parks. If you spy an egg that is, for example, part of a window display or in some sort of space that requires you to get up close to see it, and you notice that someone else has gotten to that spot first, wait your turn. Back away from the egg. The egg is not going anywhere, and you won’t miss your chance to inspect it. This is not The Amazing Race. There is no money at stake, and time is not really of the essence here, so you can stand to wait a couple of minutes while the other hunter in front of you takes photos.

I observed more than a few confused people, telltale maps in hand, stalking certain areas where they thought an egg might be, only to find that it was not there. On one occasion I noticed a smirking Cast Member silently giggling to herself as funatdisney and I looked in all the wrong places for a particular egg. More than likely she had watched a parade of befuddled hunters pass through that same general territory for days on end, but did not want to speak up and volunteer the egg’s whereabouts unless someone asked for help…which we did. (Yes, I felt like a failure for not seeing what was sure to be a blatantly obvious giant egg, but at the same time I rather appreciated that there were at least a couple of eggs that I could not spot right away.)

Our final egg find of the day was in a shop, on a shelf, and I giddily slapped its matching sticker on my map.

We returned to Disney Showcase to show our maps and claim our prizes.

Being a huge fan of any and all holiday-related festivities, the Disney Egg-stravaganza is right in my wheelhouse. I think it is a fun, inexpensive seasonal activity that is good for all ages, with a slant towards children -- but you do not need to be a kid nor do you need to have kids with you to enjoy it.

I did not anticipate that the 2015 version of the Disney Egg-stravaganza would be vastly different from the 2014 version, but I had always hoped that going forward it would be developed a bit more to include smaller, harder-to-find eggs, and eggs hidden at the Disneyland Resort Hotels or in Downtown Disney – as well as a larger variety of prizes.

Implementation of a time limit could also add an interesting dimension to the Egg-stravaganza. Currently, if a guest decides to attempt both hunts on a one-day trip, as funatdisney and I did, and does not stop for lengthy breaks, all tolled the mission should take no more than a few hours to accomplish. Some folks will spread out the egg-hunting over several days. Some folks will only do one hunt in one park, and not the other hunt in the other park. But if a time factor were suddenly added in, and a hunt needed to be completed in a designated park by a specific hour, perhaps the challenge would be greater.

Ideally, I would like to see a multi-level hunt of some sort. In other words, the current hunt could be kept as it is -- for the little ones to locate their eggs easily – and that could be Level 1 of the Egg-stravaganza. Level 2 could be added in as a separate hunt – with a more expensive map, smaller eggs in harder-to-find places and slightly better prizes – for those who want something a bit more difficult.

Also, the hiding spots should change every year. If the eggs remain in the same places year after year, some of the need to make the Egg-stravaganza an annual tradition for guests will diminish. If they already know where to find the eggs and what the prizes will be, why buy a map? I did not do the hunt in 2013, but I was told that some of the eggs’ locations from that year were repeated in 2014, and it appeared that one or two of the 2014 locations were repeated or at least very close to a couple of spots in 2015. We don't know what will be repeated again this year. I think that the entirety of Disneyland Resort offers so many creative nooks, crannies and out-of-the-way corners to conceal eggs (especially for a more challenging endeavor) that the options should be endless.

Whether or not any of my ideas ever take shape, the Disney Egg-stravaganza was an entertaining way to… wait for it… eggs-plore Disneyland park and Disney California Adventure park, with a twist. I would happily do it again as long as the hiding places are switched up a bit.

Happy Hunting!

 

[amyg1975]

Thank you so much for this great run-down! I am so excited to do this!

 

[donaldanddaisy]

Thank you so much! My daughter and I are very excited to do this next week!

 

[rwhistler92]

Can't wait.

 

[Gisele]

Sherry, I love the title. Fun play on words. Thank you for the very nice, picturesque, informative thread.
This event does seem like fun. And times like this I wish that I lived closer. Who can I find that has a private jet? Must come with pilot. Wifi optional.

 

[Kristina4109]

We're planning on doing this on April 1st! We'll be in California Adventure and I'm planning on buying the map as a surprise for my 9 year old from Elias & Co. while my husband takes her to California Adventure!

 

[Sherry E]

Thank you so much for this great run-down! I am so excited to do this!

You're very welcome! I had been wanting to post a detailed Egg-stravaganza thread for a while, but I wanted to be sure to post it before the hunt began again this year. By the time I did the hunt last year, there were only a few days left of it and it was really too late to do anything in depth at that point. Also, the maps sold out just a day or two after I was there, so a lot of the info would have been useless. This time around, I knew I could post this info (and the photos) shortly before Egg-stravaganza 2015 starts, so people know exactly what they're dealing with, how big the eggs are, the sorts of places they might find the eggs, what the prizes are and how the whole thing works in general.

Thank you so much! My daughter and I are very excited to do this next week!

You're so welcome! I was hoping this would be of some help to the egg hunters out there! Make sure to get your map(s) as soon as you arrive at the parks, even if you don't begin the hunt right away. I would assume that Disney ordered more maps this year (now that they know they have a success on their hands), but at the same time I think that more people will be doing the Egg-stravaganza this year as well. Those maps could run out sooner than expected.

Can't wait.

Have fun!

Sherry, I love the title. Fun play on words. Thank you for the very nice, picturesque, informative thread.
This event does seem like fun. And times like this I wish that I lived closer. Who can I find that has a private jet? Must come with pilot. Wifi optional.

Thank you, Gisele, and you're welcome! The "egg" references in any text involving the Egg-stravaganza are so hokey at this point, but I had to do it. How can I not work an egg reference into the sentences and titles about the Egg-stravaganza? It's what people eggs-pect....

Lol. If I find a pilot with a jet, or vice versa, I will let you know! I definitely think that between the Egg-stravaganza and the Springtime Roundup -- as well as any fun bunny-shaped goodies to be had -- there is enough Easter fun to make at least a day trip or two worthwhile. It's not as big of a 'season' as Halloween Time and the Holidays, of course, but at least DLR is trying to do more with Easter/Spring.

We're planning on doing this on April 1st! We'll be in California Adventure and I'm planning on buying the map as a surprise for my 9 year old from Elias & Co. while my husband takes her to California Adventure!

Kristina --

I think your daughter (and you) will have a lot of fun with the Egg-stravaganza! Are you going to do the hunt in both parks, or just in DCA?

 

[Mom2Joce]

Thanks so much for this! I wasn't sure I was going to do this but after your "presentation" I'm like, that looks like fun AND right time we are there!! Thanks!!

 

[ten6mom]

Great write up as always, Sherry. Thank you for taking the time to do that. Unfortunately we are going ON Easter and I feel quite certain that the maps will he sold out by then.

 

[rentayenta]

How fun Sherry! We'll be there next week.

 

[lorijohnhill]

I'm really hoping the maps are still available when we arrive on the third! That will be our first stop!

 

[Tiggerrn2]

We aren't there until Easter Sunday. Sure hope there is a map left to be had by then.

 

[Sherry E]

Thanks so much for this! I wasn't sure I was going to do this but after your "presentation" I'm like, that looks like fun AND right time we are there!! Thanks!!

No problem -- you're welcome! Let me know if you end up doing it. Of course, as I mentioned above, you don't need to get a map to spot a lot of the eggs in both parks (unless they are more cleverly hidden this year), but you need a map to get a prize (and the prizes are the same this year, from what it appears).

Great write up as always, Sherry. Thank you for taking the time to do that. Unfortunately we are going ON Easter and I feel quite certain that the maps will he sold out by then.

Thank you -- and you're very welcome! True, that day will be risky in terms of available maps -- but you never know what could happen. In any case, you will still see a lot of the eggs as you roam around DCA and DL (or whichever park you hit on Easter) -- just remember there are 12 eggs per park. Look up, look down, look on store shelves, in trees, etc.

How fun Sherry! We'll be there next week.

Jenny --

You know that I have to get involved in any of the fun DLR holiday activities. I've conquered Halloween Time and the Holidays, so Easter/Springtime was my next goal. If DLR would build up their Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day festivities a bit more, I'd be all over those holidays too!

Are you going to actually do the hunt in either park, or will you just do without a map and look for eggs as you wander around?

I'm really hoping the maps are still available when we arrive on the third! That will be our first stop!

I don't know if there will be maps that late in the hunt, but I am hoping so. I think that Disney really underestimated how popular the event would be in 2014 (because in 2013 it was shorter, as it was part of the Limited Time Magic deal, and the egg hunt was only in DCA), and I think they must not have realized that people would want to do the hunt in both parks. So they didn't get enough maps printed up and they ran out of both the DCA maps and the DL maps before Easter. Now, even though people without maps would have still seen lots of the eggs on or closer to Easter as they went through the parks, the little ones would not have been able to get a prize without a map.

We aren't there until Easter Sunday. Sure hope there is a map left to be had by then.

I hope so too! Of all days to not have a map for the Egg-stravaganza -- Easter Sunday! I really hope Disney realized that it's better to have too many maps than to not have enough maps, and hopefully this year they ordered many more of them. Let's hope they now see that people love any kind of fun holiday activity and are more than willing to cough up the five bucks per park for the maps!

By the way, I think it's great that we get an Egg-stravaganza in both parks at DLR, with two totally different maps, whereas WDW only has the hunt taking place in one park (Epcot)! Then again, WDW also has the awesome Easter eggs on display at the Grand Floridian, and they have other Easter-ish things happening that we don't have at DLR, so I guess it all works out one way or another.

 

[Mom2Joce]

Great write up as always, Sherry. Thank you for taking the time to do that. Unfortunately we are going ON Easter and I feel quite certain that the maps will he sold out by then.

Can I get your maps/stickers for you and mail them to you? I'll be there next week! I would love to help you out. One year I took pics of someone's son who was playing in the Main Street band and sent them to her bec she was too far away to go see him in the band! I LOVE help spreading/sharing the magic when I can.
Do they use our tickets in order to get the maps and there is only one per ticket? Or can we on a different day get you and your family maps and I would mail them to you so you could do the hunt and get the prize on Easter
Maybe someone can let us know!

 

[ten6mom]

Can I get your maps/stickers for you and mail them to you? I'll be there next week! I would love to help you out. One year I took pics of someone's son who was playing in the Main Street band and sent them to her bec she was too far away to go see him in the band! I LOVE help spreading/sharing the magic when I can.
Do they use our tickets in order to get the maps and there is only one per ticket? Or can we on a different day get you and your family maps and I would mail them to you so you could do the hunt and get the prize on Easter
Maybe someone can let us know!

Wow, would you? I will have 3 boys with me so we would want 3 maps. If it's possible we would sure appreciate it although you ask a good question about whether there is a limit. Perhaps Sherry can chime in?

 

[Mom2Joce]

Wow, would you? I will have 3 boys with me so we would want 3 maps. If it's possible we would sure appreciate it although you ask a good question about whether there is a limit. Perhaps Sherry can chime in?

I would be happy to, will check in and see if anyone helps us regarding the specifics of how to get these maps

 

[Sherry E]

You can go into any of the stores I mentioned in my first post above and get a map.

Unless something has changed this year, the tickets/Hoppers have nothing to do with the map-buying (I would have included that info in my first post if that were the case, because it would be important to know!).

Just remember that there is a different map for each park, so if you decide to do the Egg-stravaganza in both DL and DCA you will have to get both maps (IF you want to collect the prize at the end, that is), at $4.95 plus tax, each. If you want to get 3 maps (for 3 boys) in one park, then if you do the hunt in the other park you would need another 3 maps.

Michelle of the Parks Blog said in one of her replies (see the Parks Blog that I linked in post #1): "...I know that purchasing limits will apply for the maps, however I do not have the specified number at this time." So it sounds like there is a limit (because buying the map automatically means getting a prize), but no one knows what the limit is. There are families who will want to buy a map for each child, so I would have to imagine that is taken into consideration by Disney.

Mom2Joce -- That's so nice of you to offer to do that for ten6mom! What a thoughtful gesture!

 

[Mom2Joce]

You can go into any of the stores I mentioned in my first post above and get a map.

Unless something has changed this year, the tickets/Hoppers have nothing to do with the map-buying (I would have included that info in my first post if that were the case, because it would be important to know!).

Just remember that there is a different map for each park, so if you decide to do the Egg-stravaganza in both DL and DCA you will have to get both maps (IF you want to collect the prize at the end, that is), at $4.95 plus tax, each. If you want to get 3 maps (for 3 boys) in one park, then if you do the hunt in the other park you would need another 3 maps.

Michelle of the Parks Blog said in one of her replies (see the Parks Blog that I linked in post #1): "...I know that purchasing limits will apply for the maps, however I do not have the specified number at this time." So it sounds like there is a limit (because buying the map automatically means getting a prize), but no one knows what the limit is. There are families who will want to buy a map for each child, so I would have to imagine that is taken into consideration by Disney.

Mom2Joce -- That's so nice of you to offer to do that for ten6mom! What a thoughtful gesture!

My pleasure, really, I don't know why, maybe because I worked there "back in the day" and I love helping make peoples trips...if/when I can! Makes me smile!!! And be there on Easter and NOT get a map...aahhh!!! That can't happen!!!

Thanks again for the details, I didn't want to promise and then get there and be told it's one map per ticket or something like that

Will be there Monday and check in with you guys and let you know how I do!!

 

[Sherry E]

Something I forgot to mention yesterday -- though it is not really important to the Egg-stravaganza, but rather just a point of interest -- is that, much to my surprise, none of the eggs to be hunted were located at the Springtime Roundup last year! This year could be different, and perhaps there will be an egg or two at the Roundup this time around. I was 100% certain that there would be at least one egg at the Springtime Roundup in 2014 (because that is a hub of Easter/Spring activity), so imagine my amazement when I looked at the Disneyland map and saw that there were no eggs anywhere near there.

I am wondering if the team who planned out the Egg-stravaganza decided to not put any of the eggs at the Springtime Roundup because there are already character eggs ("egg art") of different sizes at the Roundup? The egg artists (including Ray Brown, who also carves some of the wonderful pumpkins during Halloween Time) decorate and create Disney character eggs all day -- some are small, some are medium-sized, but none are too large. Maybe Disney thought that it could be confusing for very small kids if they are supposed to be hunting for, let's say, a Mr. Toad egg somewhere at the Roundup, only to then see a Mr. Toad egg being created by one of the egg artists? I'm not sure, but I did think it was interesting that none of the eggs were at the Roundup.