Reviews of Candlelight Processional (Epcot)
Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 12/15/2019
Rating: (10) Recommended
We are 16 year veterans of the candlelight processional and it is an amazing experience with one exception noted below.
Pros:
Performance and narrators are amazing!Cons:
Year after year we are seeing a significant increase in attendees using their cellphones, iPads, etc to either video or take pictures during the performance. It is extremely distracting to the audience. Disney should absolutely prohibit the use of any electronics during the performances.Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 12/06/2019
Rating: (10) Recommended
JUST saw Neil Patrick Harris who was excellent but the entire production is extremely professional from orchestra to the choru...AMAZING. We did the Candlelight Dinner (but lunch) and got in line 2 hours prior to show with great seats if you want to sit in the first few rows. Bucket List event for sure!
Pros:
Ambiance is awesome for this show. A must to see!Cons:
Wish did not have to wait so long to get in but worth itReviewed by Dee519 Review Date: 06/17/2019
Rating: (10) Recommended
This is the most amazing production on property. It is so beautiful and moving. What you see and/or hear is so amazing. The orchestra, the conductor, the trumpets, the Voices of Liberty, the choirs with kids from all over and the narrator are ALWAYS FABULOUS. I love this show!!!!!
Pros:
Everything about itCons:
can't always get in to sit and be surrounded by the showReviewed by Tink1027 Review Date: 04/17/2019
Rating: (10) Recommended
Everyone's favorite, the telling of the Christmas story. There is nothing to dislike about this show. The music, castmemebers, narrators are all wonderful. It is such an incredible preformance, it give me chills. I would suggest the dining package so you can get seats early and in the reserved area. A have to a Christmas time. LOVE IT
Pros:
EverythingCons:
NothingReviewed by kj831 Review Date: 12/12/2018
Rating: (10) Recommended
My review is honestly (to quote Buzz Lightyear) to infinity and beyond! Saw Bart Millard from Mercy Me, do his 2nd show (first being the 5:00 show) at 6:45 last night. It was as always AMAZING! Bart was wonderful, and you could see on his face just how much fun he was having, and how in awe he was. The singers and orchestra were perfect. Right before the show ended , Bart said his daughter told him \"You know Dad, there are a lot of famous people who get to narrate that show. Like John Stamos, Uncle Jesse from Full House. So who's narrating while we are there?\" Everyone erupted in laughter. This is simply the best thing Disney does.
Pros:
EVERYTHINGCons:
nothingReviewed by survivoramy Review Date: 09/30/2018
Rating: (9) Recommended
Show is a MUST do for the holidays! Try to book for a time when the celebrity narrator is someone you are interested in. My oldest has performed 4 years and the show is so amazing. Neil Patrick Harris, woman that voices Ariel, and Whoopi have been her favorite narrators. NPH is her number one, for sure. I liked Trace Adkins though she found him too monotone. But the deep traditional southern voices just fit for me. It is the traditional religious Christmas story with orchestra and chorus. The center chorus are employed by Disney and sides are church/community/school choral groups that advanced through the audition process to qualify so everyone is AMAZING! That said, they have totally changed how they seat the venue so the stand by line is not a good plan unless you want to wait hours and don't care which show you see for the day. We have parents that don't get in to the show their child is performing in (the 5:00 performers are often different than the 6:30 performers etc so let as many school groups have a shot to get in.) Now you more of less must do the Dining Package to get a guaranteed seat at the show of your choice. Those people are all loaded into the venue first and IF there are open seats, then they move to stand by line. One show probably only 100 got in from stand by and there were hundreds of hopefuls. The dining isn't like just a few reserved rows - they will sell out the theater to dining if enough people book. But if in EPCOT, why not dinner and a show? Eating there is part of the charm. And the show has a celebrity narrator, fabulous orchestra, and amazing singers. Definitely puts you in a holiday mood if you connect to the Christian Christmas celebration.
Pros:
Amazingly done! Celerity narrator!Cons:
Don't count on standby line - book a Dining Package to be sure to get in.Reviewed by BareNecessities Review Date: 09/27/2018
Rating: (10) Recommended
This is one of the ONLY reasons I'm willing to brave iffy weather with my vacation dollar (the other is the Christmas Illuminations show)! This presentation is for any and all music lovers. Well over 100 voices plus an orchestra! The vibrations from that much live music produces goose-bumps every.single.time! I've heard some incredible narrators, and some that were less-than-adequate public speakers. If you can, try for the show that starts once it's dark - the choir members processing into the venue with their candles - very very moving! We've attended with and without the dinner package seating. Always worth it, no matter what - with the closer seating from a dining package, it's even better! I especially appreciate the breakfast addition to dining package offerings from Epcot resorts. That works best for us, and really frees up the day until showtime!
Pros:
The best narrators.Cons:
The worst narrators. Choose carefully.Reviewed by emjohnson03 Review Date: 12/20/2015
Rating: (0) Recommended
This was great! We were lucky because we didn't get in till right before show time! Everyone says to do a dining plan but we went on a Friday night and the first show. It may have been because the actress wasn't too popular but we got seats and enjoyed every second.
Highly recommend for the Christmas feel and the music was great.
Pros:
music, atmosphereCons:
noneReviewed by kchappy84 Review Date: 12/10/2015
Rating: (10) Recommended
We attended the 5:00 show on December 2. Neil Patrick Harris was the moderator, and he was wonderful. I've read a lot of comments about the lines. We had a 2:30 reservation at Biergarten with the dinner package. After we ate, we walked down to the USA pavilion. People were already lined up - including people with the dinner package. The standby line is on one side of the theater, and people with the dinner package are on the other. We got in line at about 3:30. They let us into the theater at about 4, so it was a fairly short wait. The front rows are covered. It started pouring before the show started, so we were glad to stay dry. I don't believe they let the standby people into the theater until much closer to 5:00.
The show itself was fantastic. NPH was great, as were the singers and the choirs. It really got our group into the Christmas spirit. I highly recommend this event, but I would only ever do it with the Dinner Package. There was a horrible standby line.
Pros:
a wonderful experienceCons:
noneReviewed by ajrob Review Date: 12/30/2014
Rating: (7) Recommended
First and foremost the Processional itself is a 10!
The way Disney seats you is the only downfall.
I participated in the diner package for reserved seats. Party of 3 dined in Itlay and paid top-dollar for lunch to avoid waiting in the "stand-by" line. Which by 11:15am was a long line already(World Showcase opens at 11am). So, ADR at 2pm for 5pm show..... come out of luch by 3:15 to see the "reserved seating" line is about a mile long. Ridiculous! I mean the line was past Morroco. Why do you think people get on the reserved line so early?? I found out firsthand that Disney allows the "stand-by" line to go into the theather at the same time as "reserved seating". Stupid! By the time the Processional started, ushers were still trying to find seats for "reserved seating" people. Families were broken up into different seating areas. That should not go on if you take the time to make ADR and pay the restaurant for your meal. On the dining plan it counts as 2 meals per person.
I'm glad I decided to get on that line early, I'm glad I had a nice seat for the show, but don't think I would go through the trouble again. Going to lunch(had to wait a bit for our ADR) then standing in that line for almost 2 hours took alot of time out of our day.
Again, the show is beautiful, the music, singing and Neil Patrick Harris as our host was wonderful.
