Is the Candlelight Processional worth going to and how early should we get in line?

[ssidiouss@mac.c]

I was thinking of seeing the Candlelight Processional in Epcot during the first week of December. For the 815'ish show.. how early should we get there to wait in line? We are'nt doing the dinner package because we are eating in MGM that night.

Also, is there any video on the web of it? Maybe someone can explain it to me.. what are your opinions/impressions of it?

 

[Lionking]

I went last year and we did the dinner package and you don't really have to worry cause you will have a seat. I think we got there about an hour early and that was plenty of I time. I don't know what to tell you if you don't do the dinner package cause it was really full and the line for people without the package was very long. If you like the christain story of christmas you will love candlelight the music was wonderful. I liked it so much I bought the CD. I don't know of any videos. I am planning on going again this fall. I can't wait. I hope this helps a little. If you need more info I can try and help.

 

[abel rego]

My wife and I went last year and there were a ton of people waiting in line, half didn't get in. We just walked to the American Heritage Building and sat on the wall of the big Christmas tree in front of it, which happens to be a center view of the show. Stand up while you're on the wall and enjoy the show.

 

[surfsupdon]

The show is a Must Do. It is beautiful and really screams "Christmas" and gets you in the Christmas mood. It is great to see a secular vacation destination put on such a religious, beautiful, wonderful show. It is very well done and very classy.

We have seen in the past 3 years. We arrive about 90 minutes beforehand but get counter service food and eat it as we wait in line. The CMs allow Guests to leave and re-enter the line as many times as possible. So it's a way to eat dinner and wait in line for a great show.

The dinner package is another option, but we have never done it. We eat in World Showcase on our own time and don't want to ahve to feel rushed to make the show.

I'd reccomend any showing besides the first one, only b/c it isn't fully dark yet and some of the lighting effects are not as drastic.

Either way, have a great time on your impending Christmastime vacation.

 

[Sapphire]

YES YES YES, it's worth it! It's part of my christmas tradition every year. It's incredibly popular, even if the park doesnt seem busy, Candlelight will be packed. 8:15 is generally quite busy, because if anyone missed the other showings, or if one was cancelled prior, that's their last chance to catch it. So, I'd say, keep an eye out in the area at least an hour and a half to two hours before your showtime, to see how the que is looking. I was in line around where the American Pavilion meets Japan and we got in, no problem, and actually had decent seats.

 

[Gepettotrevor]

I was thinking of seeing the Candlelight Processional in Epcot during the first week of December. For the 815'ish show.. how early should we get there to wait in line? We are'nt doing the dinner package because we are eating in MGM that night.

Also, is there any video on the web of it? Maybe someone can explain it to me.. what are your opinions/impressions of it?

I did the dinner package for it. The show was awesome, totaly worth the money! You get a good seat no matter what!


You deffinately need to do the package. If not, get there around an hour early!

 

[imagineersrock]

(Coming from someone who is not "religious" at all,)

The show was beautiful, the music amazing, and as someone stated earlier- it really gets you in the x-mas mood.

After experiencing it for the first time last year, it has become a new disney tradition of mine and i will not miss it this year!

If you have the $, go for the dinner package... if not, expect a long, long wait with no guarantee of getting in. (we did the package one night, and lucked out being one of the last 5 "stand-by" people allowed into the theater on another night!)

 

[fillerup]

As already stated - this is an absolutely must do event! It's a must do for the people that haunt these boards especially since this is a tradition that was started in Disneyland by Walt himself.

You don't have to necessarily be religious to enjoy this, but you have to enjoy Christmas. You won't hear Frosty the Snowman or Jingle Bells. It's the slow reading of the Christmas story by a celeb, interspersed with the magnificent singing of beautiful carols.

I have a little different take on dinner packages. We go every year, usually twice. We've never had the package, never been turned away, and usually wait in queue 30 minutes or less.

A comment on this past year. One of the narrators was Jim Caviezel who played Jesus in "Passion of the Christ". The dinner packages sold out for him in October. That was 900 packages per show for 3 nights!

We queued about an hour beforehand, once for the middle show, then for the early show. No problem getting in and we were seated dead center, one row behind the dinner package seating.

I'd also mention that when we left the park after the early show, the dinner package queue stretched from the theater well into France. Given the logistics,you can be sure a good many of those folks had much worse seats than we did - On the far right or left sides.

You won't forget the haunting beauty of Silent Night sung in German or the goosebump raising experience of the audience standing to join in the singing of the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah.

 

[maconMouse]

As Steven Curtis Chapman put it, "If this doesn't light your fire during Christmas, then your wood is wet!" It is an unforgettable experience that moved me to tears the first time I witnessed it. I have the CD for it narrated by Phylicia Rashad, and can listen to "Rejoice with Exceeding Great Joy" and "Do You Hear What I Hear?" over and over again during the holidays.

As others have said, I strongly recommend the dinner package if you have the $$. Not only does it help get you a seat in the theatre, but it gives you a dinner priority seating, which can be very hard to come by this time of year in some of the best Epcot restaurants.

Be wary of some of the Tier 2 dining options if you're picky about your food choices. Those often limit you to a "special Candlelight menu" without many options, and are also in the not as popular restaurants. I've had excellent experiences at Le Cellier, Chefs de France, and L'Originale Alfredo de Roma. At the San Angel Inn, our choices were very limited and we were treated like second class citizens and not given the same service as others dining from the menu.

Tier 1 dining is buffet style (Biergarten, Akershus, and Garden Grill) and least expensive, whereas Tier 3 is fine dining from the menu in the most popular restaurants (Coral Reef, Mitsukoshi, Le Cellier, Chefs de France, and L'Originale Alfredo de Roma).

 

[speck76]

I you do not do the package, do not plan on sitting any closer than the last few rows of the theater.......depending on if you go on a weekend or weekday

 

[MommytoMJM]

Anyone know how Wheelchair seating for this works? My young daughter and I are both in wheelchairs and have only my husband sitting with us.

 

[shoppingnut]

The theatre is set up to accommodate wheelchairs throughout the theatre. There are spots where there is a small bench with empty space next to the bench for the wheelchairs.

I love this show, I go every year and I'm not overly religious in any way, but this is something you will not see anywhere else. The choir is made up high school students from all different schools.

Last year was the first time that we didn't do the dinner package and that was a big mistake, we went on one of the nights that Jim Cavesil was narrating and we were on the huge stand-by line and were one of the last people to get into the threatre and had to sit on the cement wall. I can recall when this show wasn't as popular, where you could walk into the show 15 mins prior, not any more. During the week it is usually less crowded, but that depends on the narrator, the year before James Avery was packed and it was during the week too, just like Cavesil. If you don't want to do the dinner package I would definitely plan on being there at least 1 - 1 1/2 hrs. ahead of time. This show is becoming more and more popular.

Incidentally, in doing the dinner package you are in no way rushed through your meal to get to the show, they have it figured out what time the show and when you should eat. If you do go to the earlier shows, you have a choice of eating either before or after the show. One year we ate at the Coral Reef and was disappointed in the menu being limited and considering this is a top tier restaurant I wouldn't have expected that since we have been to Chef de France, Le Cellier and the Italy one with no limitations.

 

[surfsupdon]

Anyone know how Wheelchair seating for this works? My young daughter and I are both in wheelchairs and have only my husband sitting with us.

I was with two wheel-chaired grandmothers this past Christmas vacation. They brought the wheelchairs to the front of the theatre. You are only supposed to ahve one guest per wheelchair, but they allowed our entire party--4 guests--sit with the 2 grandmothers in the chairs. They sat in their chair next to a shortened bench where we sat.

Very convenient, very helpful. And the show, I cannot stress enough how wonderful it is.