Fitzboyzmom
Registered: November 2010
Posts: 94
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Review Date: Mon December 31, 2012
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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This is the second time attending. The first it was just my son and I. We loved it and wanted to take the whole family this year. It was freezing cold, but just a beautiful experience. It is a wonderful Christmas event to share with your family. The only drawback is doing the meal package...it is just so darned expensive. There were people being let in without the meal package, but just did not want to take the chance we could not get in or have to wait in line for hours. So, I would recommend it, but know that it is pricey with a big family.
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bellebookworm9
Registered: May 2009
Location: 1,194 Miles from Disney World
Posts: 131
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Review Date: Sat December 22, 2012
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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We purchased the dinner package for the 5pm show on 12/20. Well, we had a scooter and medical issue and didn't make it. Thankfully the cast members were extremely accommodating and allowed us to attend the 8:15pm show instead. We were seated in one of the wheelchair areas with a good view of the stage. The whole show was phenomenal: the conductor, the orchestra, the trumpeters, the choirs, the ASL translator, and Trace Adkins, our narrator for the evening. In our opinion, he had the perfect voice for it and did an excellent reading. We didn't join the masses in the reserved area for IllumiNations, watching from Germany instead.
The only complaint, through no fault of Disney, was the family sitting next to us. Their four year old daughter was cold, tired, hungry, and wanted to leave, whining loudly, kicking, etc., through at least 35 minutes of the show.
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the4Ds
Registered: December 2012
Location: Aurora, CO
Posts: 13
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Review Date: Thu December 20, 2012
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Everything
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Cons:
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Nothing
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This was our 3rd Candlelight Processional. We have done the dining package twice. This trip, we ate at Via Napoli at 12:45 for the 5:00 pm show on December 10th.
We enjoyed our lunch and then had another hour before we needed to get in line (we got in line at 4:20). After lunch, we got stickers to put on our shirts with "5:00 pm" on them and then stood in line. There were a lot of cast members monitoring the lines to make sure people were in the right one. When we got in line, we were all the way past the Japanese Pavilion, yet when we got into the theater, we were able to sit right in the center, in first row that is the walkway (plenty of leg room). Any closer would have been overwhelming to the kids in our party. After the show, we had 3 more hours to enjoy the World Showcase (though it started pouring down rain).
The show is always a treat. We had Jodi Benson (Ariel) as our narrator. She did a great job but the draw for our family has always been the music anyway and not the narrator. It was pretty hot and humid on the day we went and we noticed that during the show, there were about 10 people who had to come out, including one who fell face first off the choir stand. That was kind of distracting and my sister joked that it was good we saw the first show since there would only be a handful of choir members left by the last one! Having been in a few choirs ourselves, we can vouch for the heat that those polyester robes trap in.
If you have a chance to see the CP, you should do it. The dining package is a good option to cut your wait time. The standby line was forming at 2 pm for the 5 pm show and there are a lot of better ways to spend your time at EPCOT than standing in line for 3 hours.
It's also nice to see a Christmas show that focuses on the story of Jesus. We noticed there was a Muslim girl in the choir who was singing songs about Jesus' birth and it reaffirmed for me that America is a unique country that offers freedoms that are unimaginable in most parts of the world.
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mmc55
Registered: October 2008
Location: North Reston VA
Posts: 22
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Review Date: Tue December 18, 2012
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Music/Narration/Christmas Spirit
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Cons:
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Inconsistent Seating Availability
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Attended 12/3 8:15p show. Ate at the German Octoberfest restaurant - $50/buffett exc. drinks and tip. Received adhesive a patch to designate that we were Dinner/show attendees. Got to end of very long line at about 8:00 - this was the line for the dinner package (left side of stage area) - joked with CM, "Is this the line for tomorrows show?" - she said the American Stage seats 700 - people behind us complained they had done the Dinner package and could see no real benefit. We were seated several rows from the stage and although I did not make a full survey it looked like my $50 was not well spent. Andy garcia did a great job and the real star of the show was the translator for the deaf. Overall the show was spectacular (as with nearly all Disney productins and as with all Disney productions - the crowds can greatly impact your overall enjoyment. Generally, the crowds seemed heavy for December 3rd. Never heard any announcement about a designated area set aside for Dinner package people for Illuminations - guess I better pay more attention.
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thorntda
Registered: October 2012
Location: Brandon, FL
Posts: 9
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Review Date: Tue December 11, 2012
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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show, music, atmosphere,
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Cons:
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none
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Our family visited 12/8/12, we did the Candelight dinner package ate at the Rose and Crown 5:30 pm reservation, food was great. We picked the 8:15 pm Candelight show. After dinner we went on a new Test Track ride then made it over the show right at 8:15, the usher sat us about 4 rows back. The seats were awesome. The music was beautiful, the orchestra is awesome, Blair Underwood reading made much of the crowd emotional. After the show we headed over to the designated Fireworks area, showed up and had a perfect spot. We are going to make this a yearly tradition, totally worth the money!!!
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KarissaB1
Registered: December 2012
Location: United States
Posts: 7
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Review Date: Mon December 10, 2012
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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The show
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Cons:
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Waiting in line
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We attended the 11/30/12 show with Whoopi Goldberg as the celebrity narrator. She did a wonderful job. The show itself is very nice. It was nice to see, however, based on waiting in line for an hour, I cannot say I would want to do it each time unless someone I really wanted to see was narrator. The orchestra and choirs did a great job. It is worth seeing at least once. Just a long wait time.
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tiger_mom
Registered: October 2010
Location: South Carolina
Posts: 21
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Review Date: Tue January 3, 2012
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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everything
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Cons:
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nothing
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This was our first time at WDW at Christmas and this show was number one on my list after reading past reviews and it did not disappoint! Went to the 5 pm show on 12/28/11 after lunch at Le Cellier - people were already in line at 3:30. We got great seats in the middle and Marlee Matlin did a great job - she was very expressive. The choirs were great and the Voices of Liberty and orchestra were too. My advice is to make your reservations EARLY, get in line EARLY, and enjoy the show. The reserved area for Illuminations was a nice bonus although it was like being in a stampede trying to get out of the park afterwards.
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wdwamanda
Registered: August 2009
Location: MA
Posts: 65
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Review Date: Mon January 2, 2012
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Edward James Olmos, pretty much everything
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Cons:
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Dining package not necessary for our show
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Even though we have been to WDW many times over Christmas, for whatever reason we've never seen the Candlelight Processional. This year I decided to surprise my mom with the dining package, and while we both really enjoyed it, it's now one of her all-time favorite things she's done in Disney.
We had lunch reservations at Via Napoli. We decided to get in line for the Processional about 45 minutes before our reserved show time (5 PM show on December 5). I was surprised to see that they were already letting people into the theater, and about 2 minutes after we were seated, they let everyone in the standby line in. People with the dining package were coming in to find few seats available as everyone in the standby line had already been seated. Oh well. Luckily we got a pretty good seat in the center of the theater.
The show was fantastic. I'm sure it would be even more effective while watching the whole thing in the dark (it was sunny for the first half of ours), but I couldn't justify paying out of pocket for the more expensive dinner. Edward James Olmos was our narrator, and he was absolutely incredible. It was clear that he really believed what he was talking about, and he cried at one point. He's been doing the Candlelight Processional for years and you can tell he loves it. That made a huge difference for us!
Admittedly, I was a little nervous that we had spent so much money on the dining package and it hadn't been worth it (even though we loved the show, we could have easily walked in and gotten a decent seat from the standby line). I'm sure it would be worth every penny during a busier time of year. I was SO pleasantly surprised by the Illuminations section, though! We got there an hour early because I wanted to see if it would even be worth staying. I love Illuminations, and I have seen it many (many) times, but I've never seen it from this angle. We were front and center, directly in front of the globe, and my jaw was dropped through the whole thing. You can only get into this VIP area with the dining package, and it was easily worth the price tag. I would do it again in a heartbeat! Amazing.
I'd rate the Processional as a 9...definitely great. But the Illuminations VIP viewing area is a 10. One of my favorite things I've ever done in WDW.
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thingirl
Registered: December 2011
Posts: 2
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Review Date: Tue December 27, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Touching
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Cons:
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none
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This was wonderful. Went on Christmas Day after going to Germany for Dinner. Had the package and I was surprised they included special viewing of Illuminations at the showcase plaza. We have been to 3 shows and it gets better each time. Blair Underwood was the narrator and I enjoyed his reading of the birth of Jesus. This is a must-do at Christmastime.
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gadabout
Registered: December 2011
Location: Australia
Posts: 6
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Review Date: Tue December 27, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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A wonderful experience
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Cons:
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no under cover seating
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We had a Candlelight Processional Dinner Package on Sunday December 11. Our dinner reservation at Teppan Edo was for 5.30pm to be ready for the 8.15pm show.
As soon as we got out of the resturant at 7.00pm, we joined the line of ticket holders which stretched as far back as the Japan Pavillion.
We were informed almost immediately that there would be no undercover seating for any of us. It was a really wet night and continued to rain on and off through the performance.
Neil Patrick Harris, who was our fabulous narrator, quipped that it was like looking out on a slow line for the Kali River Rapids. The seats were wet and many people were drenched. Had we not paid for the dinner package I am not sure that we would have waited in line in the rain for an hour for reserved seating.
However, the show was wonderful and well worth the effort. The music was inspirational, the narration moving and the sign language interpreter a performing artist mesmerizing to watch.
More undercover seating would be appreciated, like the tent structure for the Beauty and Beast Show at DHS. The weather was the only negative of a really magical experience.
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juker88
Registered: June 2009
Location: arkansas
Posts: 24
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Review Date: Mon December 26, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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Went to the Dec. 19th 5:00 show to see Trace Adkins.(which this was the first show he performed) Walked by stand-by line at 3:30 and it was already packed so we went ahead and got in line. A castmember told us that we were borderline if we got in for the 5;00 show, but we made it barely!! We had to sit on benches at the very back. It was so inspiring listening to the choir/orchestra and esp hearing Trace Adkins with his voice is perfect for narration. Absolutely loved this..it's a must to do during the holidays!!
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killnme
Registered: March 2009
Location: FL
Posts: 33
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Review Date: Sun December 18, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Neil Patrick Harris
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Cons:
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Lunch Rev.
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My family (wife and 7yr daughter) and I went to the 5:00 show on Sat. Dec. 10th. The show was great even though it was a pain to get in with the reservations. The line stretched all the way back to France.
We ate in Mexico at 2 for the 5 o'clock show. I would have much rather have been able to eat after the show like you could in the past, but I understand this is how you get your passes, so oh well. The food was good but for Mexican food a little blend. We got to sit right by the water to see the boats so that was nice.
This was our first time hearing Neil Patrick Harris (we have seen in the past Thomas Gibson, Mary Hart, Blair Underwood and more) and he did an outstanding job. I would highly recommend him for anyone in the future.
This has become a yearly tradition for our family and I don't see that stopping anytime soon. I just really want to figure out how early I have to book to get into Canada.
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Fitzboyzmom
Registered: November 2010
Posts: 94
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Review Date: Wed December 14, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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We attended the week after Thanksgiving. We did the dining package and were shocked at the line when we showed up at 6:30 for the 6:45 show. Not to worry though, moved quickly and lots of seating even though we were towards the end of the line. The processional was beautiful. It was just my son and I this year. We agreed that we would be bringing the whole family next year.
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ellebright714
Registered: December 2011
Location: South Carolina
Posts: 13
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Review Date: Tue December 6, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Music, Message, Seating, View
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Cons:
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Attended the 6:45 show on 12/1 (dinner res @ 3:55pm) The line was LONG, but it didn't take too long to be seated. The show was wonderful and heartwarming. I'm thrilled that amid all of the Santa/Frosty/Shopping madness this event magnifies the true meaning of Christmas! The (almost) finale was the singing of the Hallelujah Chorus. It was a fun way to be able to participate! We had plenty of time after dinner and again before illuminations to roam around Epcot. You could definitely do this without the dinner package, but it's worth it for the ease of seating, etc.
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Sambooca
Registered: September 2006
Posts: 21
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Review Date: Sun December 4, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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The singers and processional!
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Cons:
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What a beautiful processional! My son made some of the singers giggle because at one point they stopped before heading down the rows to the stage, and he yelled out, "Why did you stop walking!" Ha ha. It was very touching and beautiful. Hope to see it again some day!
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