JohnD
Well-Known Member
My pass is expired by then but good now. I intend to renew it but I'm not within the 60 day window. I wonder if I can do passholder reservations.
-
Welcome to the WDWMAGIC.COM Forums!
Please take a look around, and feel free to sign up and join the community.
News 2018 Epcot International Festival of the Holidays
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
My pass is expired by then but good now. I intend to renew it but I'm not within the 60 day window. I wonder if I can do passholder reservations.
ToTBellHop
Well-Known Member
You know, Candlelight was honestly the low point of the Christmas offerings for me. Downright boring. And NPH was our (great) host. Paying an arm and a leg for a dining package didn't help my opinion...
JohnD
Well-Known Member
I called yesterday and got a dinner reservation for San Angel Inn. They said $80+. I figured all were the same price. Not so. I just switched to Via Napoli. $57. Much better.
Last edited:
fluffy
Member
I hate hate hate "abbreviations!!! Who is TBD??? that's who's there the day we are doing the Candlelight Procession. BTW...how do they do "candlelight" in the daytime? I've never been to this before. Is it worth hanging around to see. I am not doing a dining package so we will just wing it to get a place to see it.
I grabbed my package at Marrakesh immediately, since NPH tends to sell out, he's very popular.
Although, I've said in the past: The narrator really doesn't matter. They may or may not say a few words at the beginning or the end about their connection to the show or Disney. And other than that, they all have the same script. Although, NPH made it a little extra fun with a few vampy moves during one of the songs, and James Olmos flubbed his lines (he seemed soused... so surprised he gets asked back).
Although, I've said in the past: The narrator really doesn't matter. They may or may not say a few words at the beginning or the end about their connection to the show or Disney. And other than that, they all have the same script. Although, NPH made it a little extra fun with a few vampy moves during one of the songs, and James Olmos flubbed his lines (he seemed soused... so surprised he gets asked back).
trainplane3
Well-Known Member
Honest, not trying to sound like a jerk, question: What were you expecting? Before the first time I saw it, I knew it was going to basically be a church service with some great singers and musicians. NPH sticking to the script is just the way it goes, except for the first 5 minutes at least. I know it isn't exciting to most (99.99%?) out there, but I enjoyed it for what it was.
JohnD
Well-Known Member
I enjoy it for precisely what it is: The Gospel re-telling of the birth of Jesus accompanied by Christmas hymns.
I almost rescheduled my 12/9-13 trip because of NPH a week earlier but decided to keep to my schedule.
JohnD
Well-Known Member
NPH’s shtick is hosting shows. That’s why he’s a popular draw. It doesn’t hurt he joins in on the Hallelujah Chorus at the end. It’s obvious he grew up singing in a choir somewhere. He’s that good.
DHS had Osborne lights. It now has: Jingle BAM; Echo decorations, and Sunset Greetings. I'm sure WDW is spending more on all that than they ever did for OL.
And remember, the religious celebration is the reason for the holiday. And aside from that one live show, everything else is secularized, because you know it's "that time of year"!
So, come this December, I wish you and yours a very merry "that time of year"!
JohnD
Well-Known Member
I’d rather see TBD than Whoopi Goldberg. Just saying.
JohnD
Well-Known Member
I’m glad they draw your attention to it. The storytellers around WS also, well, showcase other religions such as Hannukukah and Kwanza and variations of holiday stories. I’m glad that the most high profile and central is the Nativity Of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
ToTBellHop
Well-Known Member
Please. The most high profile and central is the extended Food & Wine Festival and the $80 dining packages.
ToTBellHop
Well-Known Member
I expected to be able to stay awake. Jingle Bell, Jingle Bam, MVMCP, and Peace on Earth were more my thing. And any moment walking around Wilderness Lodge. I would have rather been sitting in front of the WL tree than listening to obscure Christmas carols for nearly an hour (after paying a small fortune for mediocre hibachi for the right). Just wasn’t a positive experience. Loved NPH however.
JohnD
Well-Known Member
I’m referring to during the Festival of the Holidays.
ToTBellHop
Well-Known Member
So am I.
JohnD
Well-Known Member
Maybe that's you. I don't go to Festival of the Holidays for the food booths. I prefer Candlelight Processional, storytellers, Joyful, etc. The dining packages, of course, are an extension of the Candlelight Processional. No different than Fantasmic Dining Package.
geekza
Well-Known Member
I've never been there when the Candlelight Processional was going on. Do you have to make reservations to go see it? I mean, I'm all for seeing Chita Rivera as she's amazing and isn't getting any younger, but I'm not paying even more than Disney's already-inflated food prices just to get a seat. I got to see Chita on Broadway when she was still dancing up a storm, so I wouldn't exactly regret it for the rest of my life if I had to skip the Processional rather than take another hit to the rapidly-depleting wallet. I'm going to have a hard enough time convincing my wife to go, considering I had to explain to her who Chita Rivera is. (Such is the hard life of a straight man with a Theatre degree who loves Musicals and Disney. There are dozens of us... DOZENS!)
trainplane3
Well-Known Member
Ah, understood. It definitely isn't a lively performance until the very end and it does contrast a lot of the much more exciting things WDW does for Christmas. Personally, I still enjoy it for just the music but probably since I don't do it very often. If anything, I guess you should be happy that you didn't wait in the massive line that it gets. We chose Trattoria al Forno for our dinner and enjoyed it.
I did do it when I was half asleep last year and it for sure wasn't helping my situation.
And WL is my home, so I can agree with you there.
You can wait in line but be warned, the line is usually very long. Usually everyone does get in, but I wouldn't want to sit in a line hoping I make the next show instead of eating or attractions so I usually do a dining package.
And like I mentioned above, it's basically a church service so don't expect anything too exciting. The narrator will stick to their script aside from the very beginning and the very end, so don't expect any personal touches on it. It runs about an hour long and if you get the last showing, by the time you walk around WS, you'll catch RoE.
Last edited:
ToTBellHop
Well-Known Member
A) I'm a straight man who loves musicals and Disney. You're up to 2!
B) You can technically stand-by it, but depending on the popularity of the celebrity narrator, people line up hours in advance to sit at the back and may not get a seat anyway. Most get in and I think they cut the line off when capacity is getting close, but I'm not sure. The only way to actually guarantee a seat is to purchase an exorbitantly-priced dining package. The only reason they even run Candlelight anymore is because people will pay a fortune for packages. If not for that, they wouldn't pay for this anymore.