Candlelight procession?

[mself145]

Is this part of general admission to Epcot in December, or a hard ticket event? I just want to know how to plan.

and what is it exactly? newbie here when it comes to this.

 

[ottawamom]

It's included in your admission to Epcot. The show as I understand it is a telling of the Christmas story by a Special Guest speaker who is backed up by a huge choir. It's in an outdoor theater so you don't have to be sitting inside the theater to enjoy it. There's a good description of it on the Disney website.

 

[melana]

From what i understand you don't have to jave a special ticket. Admission to Epcot gets you in.

I have never been but from what I have read it looks really nice. I believe they tell the Christmas Story and there is a choir and orchestra (not sure on the orchestra part can't remember). And they have special guests as narrators.

There are also dining packages that get you preferred seating..or so i think.

I'm planning a trip in Dec. And this is something I want to do.

 

[piccolopat]

PPs both are correct. There is a guest celebrity that narrates the Christmas story backed up by a large choir and full orchestra. While standby seating is available, it can be very limited especially for very popular narrators. Dining packages, while are overpriced in my opinion, guarantee you a seat. You can listen from the plaza outside the American Adventure without entering the outside theater but you may not hear the narration clearly. It is a beautiful show and one that I recommend seeing.

 

[Dan Murphy]

This is from last year, though the concepts are valid every year.

http://allears.net/tp/candlelight-processional.htm

 

[Lothlórien]

Is this part of general admission to Epcot in December, or a hard ticket event? I just want to know how to plan.

and what is it exactly? newbie here when it comes to this.

General admission will allow you to see Candlelight Processional on standby or you can book a dinner package which guarantees you a seat. The standby line can get quite long and there is no guarantee those guest will be able to enter for a seat. To guarantee seating, you would need to book the Candlelight Processional Dinner package at a cost higher than booking dinner at the same restaurant. They have seating at the restaurants available for 3 different showtimes. The last showtime, when it is a dark, is the best time to see them in my opinion, but also has the longest standby line.

Candlelight Processional is the almost Biblical story of the birth of King Jesus. It is more like a traditional Sunday School version. It is offered nightly (3 performances) in EPCOT in the month of December. Each night it is narrated by a celebrity and several large choirs sing Christmas carols about the baby Jesus and others that speak to His glory as God. The celebrity narrator changes out every 3 - 4 nights.

If you are really unsure and do not mind a "spoiler", you could review it on YouTube.

 

[mself145]

Thanks guys! That's what I thought, but had to ask to be sure.

 

[AmberK24]

Saw it last year with Neil Patrick Harris... It was amazing, beautiful, touching, and a great reminder of the real reason for the season. Full orchestra and 100ish person choir plus Voices of Liberty, telling the Christmas story (as in the Bible version), with full traditional Carols. I recommend the dinner package to have guaranteed seating, but book well in advance to have a wide span of restaurants. We were there on a last minute trip and didn't book until the day before and only had the package available for Biergarten, and at a weird time...still great, just not ideal for my group.

Absolutely make a point to do this if you plan to be in the parks!

 

[siskaren]

We were there on a last minute trip and didn't book until the day before and only had the package available for Biergarten, and at a weird time...still great, just not ideal for my group.

I'm amazed that you were able to get a dinner package for any restaurant at any time the day before for NPH!

 

[AmberK24]

There was only 2 of us and I think the reservation was at like 3:15, but still a great option and highly recommended!

 

[disneydreamer781]

I was interested in until I saw the price's of last year's packages. I think I'll take a chance and find a place to listen for the last show.

 

[disnut8]

Just as a "warning" to all - the show itself is about 40 minutes long and so you will have to plan to be there earlier than the start time (even with a package) and then have to make your way out of the theater after so plan on a full hour just to enter, watch the show and then exit. And that's not including the time spent waiting for the show before you enter the theater. So make sure bathroom breaks for younger and older people are put into plans, that you have eaten and are content with that. Food and drinks can be taken in and there is a "ahem" beer stand close by so you can partake while waiting. Also, the huge bathrooms in America are there so easy access during the performance.

I just wanted to let people know that if they want the full experience, it will be a longer time than what is listed for the actual performance. It's more of an attraction than a performance.

 

[jaysmom4285]

We've been going to WDW the first or second week of December for many years and always take in the CP. I won't buy a dinner package because of the inflated prices of an already expensive meal. I can honestly say that we've never had a problem getting in standby. We avoid the wildly popular narrators, such as Neil Patrick Harris and Whoopi Goldberg, because those shows are always packed. If you go on a weeknight when there's a narrator you're barely ever heard of, you'll stand an excellent chance of getting in, and without waiting in the standby line. We wait at the back while the standby line is let in. After all those people are in, they'll open up the entrances at the back if there's room, and there almost always is . The America Gardens Theater holds more than you would think. I know others' mileage may vary, but that's been our experience for years.

 

[Iowamomof4]

We've been going to WDW the first or second week of December for many years and always take in the CP. I won't buy a dinner package because of the inflated prices of an already expensive meal. I can honestly say that we've never had a problem getting in standby. We avoid the wildly popular narrators, such as Neil Patrick Harris and Whoopi Goldberg, because those shows are always packed. If you go on a weeknight when there's a narrator you're barely ever heard of, you'll stand an excellent chance of getting in, and without waiting in the standby line. We wait at the back while the standby line is let in. After all those people are in, they'll open up the entrances at the back if there's room, and there almost always is . The America Gardens Theater holds more than you would think. I know others' mileage may vary, but that's been our experience for years.

I'll keep this in mind, thanks for sharing your experience! I'm not too interested in waiting hours to see it, nor do I want to spend 2 dining credits (or pay OOP) for a special seat since I'm not even 100% sure we want to see it. I'd rather take my chances on standby. Glad to know there's a chance we could get in, even without standing in line for hours!

 

[Bearland]

Just as a "warning" to all - the show itself is about 40 minutes long and so you will have to plan to be there earlier than the start time (even with a package) and then have to make your way out of the theater after so plan on a full hour just to enter, watch the show and then exit. And that's not including the time spent waiting for the show before you enter the theater. So make sure bathroom breaks for younger and older people are put into plans, that you have eaten and are content with that. Food and drinks can be taken in and there is a "ahem" beer stand close by so you can partake while waiting. Also, the huge bathrooms in America are there so easy access during the performance.

I just wanted to let people know that if they want the full experience, it will be a longer time than what is listed for the actual performance. It's more of an attraction than a performance.

Can you leave the waiting line to take kids to the bathroom and return to the rest of your group without a problem? About what time do the lines start being let into the theatre to sit?

You mention the bathrooms in America for "easy access during the performance." Once you take your seats in the theatre, is there anyway to take a kid to the bathroom and still return to your seats, if an emergency arises? Do you need to get any kind of pass from a CM to be allowed back into the theatre to your seat?

 

[ncdj2013]

Can you leave the waiting line to take kids to the bathroom and return to the rest of your group without a problem? About what time do the lines start being let into the theatre to sit?

You mention the bathrooms in America for "easy access during the performance." Once you take your seats in the theatre, is there anyway to take a kid to the bathroom and still return to your seats, if an emergency arises? Do you need to get any kind of pass from a CM to be allowed back into the theatre to your seat?

I was able to exit once seated and reenter without a problem...

 

[tinkerhon]

Can you leave the waiting line to take kids to the bathroom and return to the rest of your group without a problem? About what time do the lines start being let into the theatre to sit?

You mention the bathrooms in America for "easy access during the performance." Once you take your seats in the theatre, is there anyway to take a kid to the bathroom and still return to your seats, if an emergency arises? Do you need to get any kind of pass from a CM to be allowed back into the theatre to your seat?

The CMs will give you a password (spoken) that you have to repeat back to them to reenter the theatre --

 

[SunniKC]

We went on Christmas Eve back in '09 with Edward James Olmos and thankfully we did the package because standby was very, very limited that night.

 

[Satchmo128]

We have seen CP once a few years back and did the stand-by seating. Note - the seats for the reserved dining packages are under a covering, but the stand-by seating isn't. We sat down and then were rained on for the duration of the performance. We only had one poncho (which was our mistake for not packing two), so my husband was pretty drenched by the end of the show. Plus, it stopped raining right when the performance ended. YMMV!