2024 Candlelight Processional Dining Experiences

[Debbie Jean]

$66/$37 -Candlelight processional price.
We did Chefs de France lunch for the first (very first!) Josh Gad Show. Booking issues aside - it took over an hour for our date to be loaded - it was a great deal and a terrific meal. We had only visited CdF during the pandemic (2021) and this was SO much better. Our server said "Now we have French people in ze kitchen... " And he was right. My 9yo said it was the best bread she's ever had.

We had full choice of all of the entrees (main courses) + desserts and the house wine by the glass

"Adults" got:

Pork ($40) + Profiteroles ($14) + wine ($8) = $62 (plus onion soup, $14)
Steak ($50) + Chocolate Mousse cake ($15) + wine ($8) = $73
Ratatouille ($29) + sorbets ($14) + milk (4.29) = $47 (the teen. D'oh!)

Kid:
Salmon ($14) + strawberry tart ($6.75) + shirley temple ($5?) = $26

We paid an extra $20 (sort of) for the guaranteed seats. Although if the teen had picked any other entree, the deficit would have been all from the kid's meal. Still - the food was terrific, the strawberry tart was full of strawberries, and overall we had a terrific experience. I was expecting we'd be limited to something like their prix fixe ($67) but we could choose any main and any dessert, plus wine.

Huh, well Chefs must have changed their policy. When I did the CP for Whoopi they would only include non alcoholic beverages. I paid extra for a glass of wine. I didn’t complain, but it wouldn’t surprise me if others did since some kind of alcohol is included everywhere else.

The meal was delicious and I loved the performance so I guess my experience… which BTW they were telling everyone at that point… was just unfortunate.

 

[BK2014]

Side note- if dining in Italy, the storyteller there "La Befana" is really cute and worth a watch if the timing works out.

I didn't even think to mention that part. We were seated outside at Tutto Italia. They had pulled down the shades on the patio at first because we asked for a table in the shade. Later in the meal, when La Befana came out to perform, they came around and opened the shades so we could watch. So we kind of had a dining package for La Befana too!

 

[mlayman7]

Thats

I didn't even think to mention that part. We were seated outside at Tutto Italia. They had pulled down the shades on the patio at first because we asked for a table in the shade. Later in the meal, when La Befana came out to perform, they came around and opened the shades so we could watch. So we kind of had a dining package for La Befana too!

That's awesome about eating outside and listening to La Befana. We have a CP package at tutto on the 24th. Does it include a choice or beer/wine from the menu? Or just specific cocktails?

 

[kboo]

Huh, well Chefs must have changed their policy. When I did the CP for Whoopi they would only include non alcoholic beverages. I paid extra for a glass of wine. I didn’t complain, but it wouldn’t surprise me if others did since some kind of alcohol is included everywhere else.

The meal was delicious and I loved the performance so I guess my experience… which BTW they were telling everyone at that point… was just unfortunate.

That's really strange! we were there for lunch on the very first day, and were told that a "house" glass of wine (Georges DuBoeuf) was included. I'm not a huge drinker so I don't think I would have ordered the wine unless it was part of it. Maybe we just got lucky and had a server who didn't get the memo (or didn't care, lol)

 

[Disneyhanna]

Huh, well Chefs must have changed their policy. When I did the CP for Whoopi they would only include non alcoholic beverages. I paid extra for a glass of wine. I didn’t complain, but it wouldn’t surprise me if others did since some kind of alcohol is included everywhere else.

The meal was delicious and I loved the performance so I guess my experience… which BTW they were telling everyone at that point… was just unfortunate.

Wow, that really is unfortunate. It's too late but the candlelight dinner package website clearly lists an alcoholic beverage is included. Perhaps someone pointed it out after your date and they revised their messaging.


Choose from a variety of EPCOT eateries that offer Candlelight Processional Dining Packages. Here’s what’s included with your meal:

• At Spice Road Table: 2 small plates, a shared tagine, a shared dessert platter and a nonalcoholic beverage (or alcoholic beverage for Guests 21 and older)
• At Other Participating Restaurants: An entrée and dessert, or a full buffet (where applicable)—as well as a nonalcoholic beverage (or alcoholic beverage for Guests 21 and older)

Plus, you’ll get one (1) guaranteed seat per person to one Candlelight Processional performance on the same day.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Thats

That's awesome about eating outside and listening to La Befana. We have a CP package at tutto on the 24th. Does it include a choice or beer/wine from the menu? Or just specific cocktails?

It included beer or wine in addition to cocktails ... up to $18

 

[mathmagic]

I was looking at our upcoming reservations for Chefs, and though I know I selected the CP package I don't see anything anywhere showing that we have it. Am I missing something, or will they just know I chose it when we get there?

 

[Debbie Jean]

I was looking at our upcoming reservations for Chefs, and though I know I selected the CP package I don't see anything anywhere showing that we have it. Am I missing something, or will they just know I chose it when we get there?

Your reservation should have the designation Candlelight processional and the time of the show your tickets are assigned. See below

Unfortunately, it sounds like yours is only a regular reservation, not CP

 

[Debbie Jean]

I would definitely call Disney Dining to verify what the reservation actually is.

 

[Tatebeck]

Ours in the end went okay, but it was a VERY confusing experience, in my opinion due to our waiter/server. We went to Chefs de France, and when checking in we told the host it was a Candlelight reservation for the late (I think 8:15) show, he flipped to the 8:15 list and confirmed, we waited a bit and were sat at a table.

But when the waiter came in, he had no idea we were a candlelight reservation. He first thought we were asking to upgrade to a candlelight reservation and then was going to check if they had any more available. Then I had to tell him that we already booked this as a candlelight reservation. I showed him on my phone and then he went to check something up front.

When he came back, confirmed that we would get our passes, and we got to ordering, I was going by the posted information stating you get the following for a fixed price:

An entrée and dessert, or a full buffet (where applicable)—as well as a nonalcoholic beverage (or alcoholic beverage for Guests 21 and older)

When I asked the waiter he said that you can choose whatever you want but pricing was a la carte and didn't understand when we were asking if the candlelight choices could be made from the entire menu or the same limited choices as their prix fixe menu. Finally he said that we could choose any entrée, a dessert, but only a soda or other nonalcoholic drink even though we were both over 21. And he still wasn't sure if it would all be the same price or not.

We ended up just ordering what we wanted off the entrée and dessert menus, with just sodas, and it did end up being the flat price, so I think we could have had alcoholic drinks as stated and the waiter was just (you guessed it) confused. We aren't huge drinkers so that part is not a huge deal to us, though other diners may have been upset as it does hurt the value of the dinner quite a bit.

The food was good, and everything else went fine. The whole thing was just rough, and I feel bad for the guy because he was very nice, but maybe just brand new. It was our first candlelight processional as well after all

 

[Debbie Jean]

Ours in the end went okay, but it was a VERY confusing experience, in my opinion due to our waiter/server. We went to Chefs de France, and when checking in we told the host it was a Candlelight reservation for the late (I think 8:15) show, he flipped to the 8:15 list and confirmed, we waited a bit and were sat at a table.

But when the waiter came in, he had no idea we were a candlelight reservation. He first thought we were asking to upgrade to a candlelight reservation and then was going to check if they had any more available. Then I had to tell him that we already booked this as a candlelight reservation. I showed him on my phone and then he went to check something up front.

When he came back, confirmed that we would get our passes, and we got to ordering, I was going by the posted information stating you get the following for a fixed price:

An entrée and dessert, or a full buffet (where applicable)—as well as a nonalcoholic beverage (or alcoholic beverage for Guests 21 and older)

When I asked the waiter he said that you can choose whatever you want but pricing was a la carte and didn't understand when we were asking if the candlelight choices could be made from the entire menu or the same limited choices as their prix fixe menu. Finally he said that we could choose any entrée, a dessert, but only a soda or other nonalcoholic drink even though we were both over 21. And he still wasn't sure if it would all be the same price or not.

We ended up just ordering what we wanted off the entrée and dessert menus, with just sodas, and it did end up being the flat price, so I think we could have had alcoholic drinks as stated and the waiter was just (you guessed it) confused. We aren't huge drinkers so that part is not a huge deal to us, though other diners may have been upset as it does hurt the value of the dinner quite a bit.

The food was good, and everything else went fine. The whole thing was just rough, and I feel bad for the guy because he was very nice, but maybe just brand new. It was our first candlelight processional as well after all

They also told me only nonalcoholic drink with CP dining package, so I paid extra for a glass of wine. Clearly they were confused since others eating at Chefs said they had a glass of house wine included. Oh well, the meal was tasty!

 

[AussieFan8]

This was our first time doing Candlelight Processional, and everything about it was our favorite part of our trip. We chose Spice Road Table because I've always wanted to try it, and it will be a must do for us every trip from here on out. The food and the view were outstanding and the service was wonderful. CP with NPH was a great experience, and we got to meet Paging Mr. Morrow, who was there and was as kind as he appears in his videos. We felt like the entire experience was well worth the money.

The standby line for NPH was incredibly long when we went to get in the dining package line, and I felt really bad for a guy we overheard telling a CM how long he had been waiting and how badly he wanted to see NPH. He was far enough back in the line that I doubt he made it in, but I hope he did!

 

[nekonekoneko]

We did Shiki Sai, and it was absolutely terrible. It's $105 per adult, and what they do is they send you to the omakase menu on the back, which is their prix fixe menu, and it's the same menu for guests on the dining plan. That menu is normally $65. So the extra $40 is up to one alcoholic drink and the show ticket.

DFB has a picture of the omakase menu on their review of this restaurant

https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/shiki-sai-sushi-izakaya-epcots-japan-pavilion/

I got the miso soup, beef yaki udon and the mango cheesecake. My DW got the Japanese potato salad, spicy tuna don, and some ice cream. I also ordered some akami sushi and some vegetable tempura a la carte. We also got some drinks, I think a Mt Fuji and a violet sake.

The drinks come out first, and they're good. A little sweet, and maybe a bit frou frou, but they're fine.

Then comes the mess. Everything came out not by course progression, but by how long it took for the kitchen to finish. So the akami sushi, her potato salad, and her tuna don all came out at the same time! Then comes out my soup. While I'm sipping on that, the tempura and yaki udon come out together. So instead of a starter-app-entree order, we just get a mess of food coming out way too fast, and in a very odd order.

The nigiri was fine, so was the tempura. Nothing special, the same at almost every Japanese restaurant. Her potato salad was definitely different, it's not the same thing you'll find at a summer picnic, that's for sure.

Her spicy tuna don was very one note from the beginning to end. It was just tuna and rice. My yaki udon had way too much ginger and soy sauce in it. That's all I tasted.

Maybe some of the items away from their omakase are better? I don't know. The selection was rather limited, and we did not like how it was served at all.

I mean, my username is some silly Japanese nonsense, so you'd think I would dig this stuff.

 

[elaine amj]

The $40 extra sounds about right for a drink ($20) and the CP ticket ($20ish). I am NOT happy about paying $71 per adult for Biergarten. And DD23 doesn’t even like alcohol and I don’t drink much at all. But u better believe I will have that mug of beer

Still, we know we will enjoy the food and the little show at Biergarten. It will be wildly overpriced but oh well. I really do love the CP and I suppose $20ish is an ok price to pay to get good seats for it.

I am not even saving time or avoiding waiting in line since I plan to show up 1.5hrs early for Jodi Benson.

I even snagged a reservation for the Creperie but canceled because DD did not like the look of the crepes even though I would have loved to save the $18x2.

 

[BK2014]

I think the issue is that some of the restaurants seem to have marked up their prices for the CP dining packages, where others allow you to get the complete value paid in food at the the restaurant so there is no inherent markup for the reserved seat to the show.

 

[elaine amj]

Did the dining package at Biergarten yesterday. Server said we can get 2 drinks. The usual non-alcoholic drink included in the buffet and a second drink (beer/wine) included in the dining package. I had a Perrier and a grapefruit beer. DD chose a chocolate milk and a Shirley Temple. (She doesn’t like alcohol).



We timed our reservation perfectly at 2:50pm. We got seated about 3pm and were able to get our food, our seconds (before finishing our first round) and our plates of desserts before the 3:30pm show started. Good thing our party of 2 was sat at a 4-top! Note that they no longer seat parties together and we got our own table.

We enjoyed our meal, particularly the pork roast. I miss the old black forest cake - the black forest trifle is not as good and the apple strudel was just ok.

After we paid, our server gave us our CP tickets for the 6:45pm show.

We made our way to the line at 4:45 and were second in line. It was raining so only 5-6 other groups joined the line until closer to the show. The 5pm show had been cancelled due to lightning so we had no idea if we were even going to get to see the show (spoiler: we did!)




Well worth dining package and waiting 2 hours in line for crazy fangirls like us. We scored 2nd row center AND had a great time chatting with the folks around us.



And Jodi Benson!!


She was all we hoped for - excited, engaged, and fully animated.

The Candlelight Processional itself was sublime as always. Just loved the giant choir combined with the full orchestra.

After the show, we got straight back in the standby line, which was surprisingly short. I have seen longer lines for a Festival of the Arts show. Waited 30 mins and when we filed in, we were restricted to the last 3 rows. There was still lots of seats in the back of theatre but filled up when the show started. We got last row centre and felt that was basically as good as it got for standby.



It was interesting to compare the two types of seats. With the DP, we were very immersed, getting to see faces clearly, which really does add to the experience.

In the standby seats at the back, we got a fuller experience of the music and it did sound more balanced, while being less immersed in the sound. In the front, we were overwhelmed by the instruments we were close to while in the back, all the instruments melded and harmonized better. But there was the distraction of the theme park guests in the walkway behind being rather noisy.

So pluses and minuses to the very expensive dining package.

Still worth it for us to be so close to Jodi Benson though. DD was so excited to score these pants from a thrift store a few days before our trip.




And for future CP shows, the Dining Package still has the advantage of better seats since standby was so restricted (just 3 rows).

 

[BK2014]

After the show, we got straight back in the standby line, which was surprisingly short. I have seen longer lines for a Festival of the Arts show. Waited 30 mins and when we filed in, we were restricted to the last 3 rows. There was still lots of seats in the back of theatre but filled up when the show started. We got last row centre and felt that was basically as good as it got for standby.

I thought I loved the CP, but I can't say I love it enough to do two shows back to back. Good for you all! What a great review.

 

[MinnieMSue]

Did the dining package at Biergarten yesterday. Server said we can get 2 drinks. The usual non-alcoholic drink included in the buffet and a second drink (beer/wine) included in the dining package. I had a Perrier and a grapefruit beer. DD chose a chocolate milk and a Shirley Temple. (She doesn’t like alcohol).

View attachment 925103

We timed our reservation perfectly at 2:50pm. We got seated about 3pm and were able to get our food, our seconds (before finishing our first round) and our plates of desserts before the 3:30pm show started. Good thing our party of 2 was sat at a 4-top! Note that they no longer seat parties together and we got our own table.

We enjoyed our meal, particularly the pork roast. I miss the old black forest cake - the black forest trifle is not as good and the apple strudel was just ok.

After we paid, our server gave us our CP tickets for the 6:45pm show.

We made our way to the line at 4:45 and were second in line. It was raining so only 5-6 other groups joined the line until closer to the show. The 5pm show had been cancelled due to lightning so we had no idea if we were even going to get to see the show (spoiler: we did!)


View attachment 925104

Well worth dining package and waiting 2 hours in line for crazy fangirls like us. We scored 2nd row center AND had a great time chatting with the folks around us.

View attachment 925107

And Jodi Benson!!
View attachment 925109

She was all we hoped for - excited, engaged, and fully animated.

The Candlelight Processional itself was sublime as always. Just loved the giant choir combined with the full orchestra.

After the show, we got straight back in the standby line, which was surprisingly short. I have seen longer lines for a Festival of the Arts show. Waited 30 mins and when we filed in, we were restricted to the last 3 rows. There was still lots of seats in the back of theatre but filled up when the show started. We got last row centre and felt that was basically as good as it got for standby.

View attachment 925113

It was interesting to compare the two types of seats. With the DP, we were very immersed, getting to see faces clearly, which really does add to the experience.

In the standby seats at the back, we got a fuller experience of the music and it did sound more balanced, while being less immersed in the sound. In the front, we were overwhelmed by the instruments we were close to while in the back, all the instruments melded and harmonized better. But there was the distraction of the theme park guests in the walkway behind being rather noisy.

So pluses and minuses to the very expensive dining package.

Still worth it for us to be so close to Jodi Benson though. DD was so excited to score these pants from a thrift store a few days before our trip.


View attachment 925123

And for future CP shows, the Dining Package still has the advantage of better seats since standby was so restricted (just 3 rows).

What a great review. I loved the two different perspectives. We saw NPH and walked in and sat in the middle of the row straight in where you enter the theater. Loved those seats. We did garden grill breakfast. Our waiter was amazing and we gave him a cast member compliment. He gave us suggestions on ways to take out food with us if we wanted such as the cinnamon bread. He said who am I to question if you need a large empty to go coffee cup and you order more bread? . We didn’t do that but we did take him up on the suggestion to order our alcoholic drinks to go. He suggested a couple of off menu drinks which we loved. I had forgotten about the alcoholic beverage completely and we already had juice and coffee. I practically rolled out of the Land after eating he also did a little magic trick to make the tickets appear in our payment folder. He entertained us the whole meal.

 

[elaine amj]

I thought I loved the CP, but I can't say I love it enough to do two shows back to back. Good for you all! What a great review.

We are rather crazy like that and happily do things we like multiple times. Plus we were so excited to see Jodi Benson. That said, we were so tired after devoting 4.5 hours to the CP between waiting and watching. We struggled to keep going the rest of the night - somehow way more tiring than running around from ride to ride.

What a great review. I loved the two different perspectives. We saw NPH and walked in and sat in the middle of the row straight in where you enter the theater. Loved those seats. We did garden grill breakfast. Our waiter was amazing and we gave him a cast member compliment. He gave us suggestions on ways to take out food with us if we wanted such as the cinnamon bread. He said who am I to question if you need a large empty to go coffee cup and you order more bread? . We didn’t do that but we did take him up on the suggestion to order our alcoholic drinks to go. He suggested a couple of off menu drinks which we loved. I had forgotten about the alcoholic beverage completely and we already had juice and coffee. I practically rolled out of the Land after eating he also did a little magic trick to make the tickets appear in our payment folder. He entertained us the whole meal.

Wow! Now that is awesome service. I love really good servers. They really can make a meal completely magical.

Our server at Biergarten also kept talking about taking a drink to go. But I wasn’t really understanding her strong hints. Especially since I had finished my beer and DD had mostly finished her chocolate milk (she has been in a choc milk mood all trip lol). She did have 3/4 of her Shirley Temple remaining but that would have been pretty flat so we didn’t bother.

 

[writersblock]

We did Le Cellier at 4.30pm for the later CP viewing. We were seated for dinner pretty quickly. We were not allowed to swap the dessert for an appetizer which was a bit rubbish but we were allowed to take one of the two desserts with us which we ate much later watching the fireworks so that worked out okay. We were about $18 away from what we paid vs food worth according to the menu so I don’t think that’s too bad. My food was great but my dining buddy didn’t like his steak as it was overcooked. I was annoyed he didn’t tell me at the time or say anything. I would have sent it back. Service was quite rushed and I enjoyed the restaurant more when we did usual dining the previous year.

We left the restaurant (not sure what time), and walked slowly around to the American Pavilion, stopping in some of the stores along the way. By the time we got around, we saw maybe half a dozen people already queuing who had the dining package so we joined them. We waited about 50 mins (and were increasingly getting annoyed at the very loud guest next to us who was lecturing his party about social issues the entire time) but got amazing seats. Our narrator was Titus Burgess, who I wasn’t familiar with but I thought he was exceptional. Very funny and in some parts very touching. I would absolutely do it again.