Candlelight Processional Dinner - Watching & Waiting

[selina4disney]

Here is some info from last year:
http://allears.net/tp/h_cpfaq.htm

If you book the CP dining pkg and pay cash, you get an appy entree and dessert.If you book and plan to use Dining plan credits, you only get entree and dessert and non alcoholic bev.Last year they changed the rules and it became 2 TS credits per person.Yes you still need to line up relatively early, not sure about an hour.They seat people with dining pkg tix first then take off the standby line.On nights with a popular narrator..example...like Stephen Curtis Chapman or Neil Patrick Harris.It is very very very busy and getting there early is a neccessity .

Deleted, should have read further!

 

[Dr Ellis]

Does anyone have a guess when dinner package tickets will go on sale?

Thanks,

Dr. E

 

[Ltl Mermaid]

Are they booking the CP dinner package yet? My ADR window opens on June 6th and I definitely want to book it! Thanks!

 

[indimom3]

We went to the CP with our kids (at the time they were 5,3, and just turned 2 that DAY, lol) this past December 17th. It cost us a bag of gummy bears as a bribe, but they sat through the show very well. It is Christmassy, after all, and the herald trumpets and orchestra are pretty cool for them to see.
We did not know to go and get in line early with the dinner package, and we were probably the LAST dinner package people let into the theater. We still got decent seats in the middle. There was not room for all the stand bys though - they turned away a lot of people.

If we are ever in the World again at Christmas time, the CP will be at the very top of our list to do again. It was so moving, our narrator was great (Little Miss Sunshine!), and it really puts you in the Christmas spirit. Loved it!

 

[JoeyAnyc]

You are not guaranteed a seat if you don't get in line, even with the dinner package, from what I understand. If you wait too long, they will start letting in the non-package people and there may be no seats left. You still will have to wait in line with the package. We weren't planning on getting in line so early, but when we got to the American pavilion (from Italy) the line was already long. We had to keep walking, walking, walking to find the end. When we saw where it was in Japan, we decided to get in it vs. waiting until it got even longer. If I recall correctly, they tell you at dinner what time to show up to get in line and I think our recommended time was later than the time we actually got in line, but as I said, the line was very long already.

Thank you SO much for sharing your experience. This really helped my planning. I won't give up 60 -90 minutes of standing in line. TOO much to do in Disney, LOL. I'm so glad I search for info on this. Thanks again.

 

[vicki_c]

Thank you SO much for sharing your experience. This really helped my planning. I won't give up 60 -90 minutes of standing in line. TOO much to do in Disney, LOL. I'm so glad I search for info on this. Thanks again.

You're welcome. And I thought I should add, we did this in 2008. In 2009 (and this year too I believe it will be), they upped the dining credits from 1 credit to 2 for the package. I don't know if that has impacted how many people attend with the package or not - it might not be as bad as what I experienced. And it was also December 22 when we attended, and of course that is a very crowded week. So I wouldn't want to totally discourage you with my report from a few years ago. It was a very nice Christmas-y thing to do, but my family would never ever wait in the standby line for a few hours. They would mutiny on me, so for us it was the package or nothing.

 

[Silver Queen]

We've done the CP both ways, both with and without a dinner package and we were able to sit down both times. I realize that getting a seat is dependent on the popularity of the narrator, but I'm not sure that we'd get a package again. We have TiW which is not accepted for the CP so we'd have to pay full price for the dinner. Also, as one poster mentioned there's too much to do in Epcot (especially if you're only there one day) to spend an hour or more in line. If worse came to worse we'd watch the processional from the sidewalk. It is a lovely show.

 

[goofy4tink]

I've done the CP at least once a year since 2003. I have done the CP pkg each year..once. Then, if there is a show going on, when I'm in that area, I will just stand on the sidewalk at the rear of the theater and listen and watch from there.

As far as whether or not the pkg is worth it...can't say. I have bought it in years past. But last year, when Disney made it 2 TS credits, it was way overpriced. It had always been 1 TS credit. Yeah, they gave us 'preferred' viewing for IlluminNations..but I have to tell you..if you were staying at an Epcot resort and needed to get to the Intl Gateway after the show, it was really awful!!!

And yes, you do have to stand in a long line even if you have the pkg. They open the theater to pkg holders about 10-15 mins before the show starts. Then, they open the theater to the standby line about 8 mins before the show starts. I usually get into the line when it's down by Japan..and I usually end up waiting about 40 mins.
The standby line??? It all depends on which show you want. I do know that when I was in WS once, I noticed a woman sitting on one of those collapsable stools, in the standby line. The first show is at 5-5:15....I saw here at 3!!! When I returned to that area, about an hour later, there had to be close to 100 people behind her. For the later shows, I have seen very long lines, with only about half those in line actually getting a seat. Other times they have all gotten in. A lot depends on the narrator.
For instance...2 years ago, my friend and I were taking a Disney cruise...departing on Sunday. Well, we were going to arrive in Florida on Sat just to be sure we had no issues getting to port. We had a room all booked over in Cocoa Beach for that night. BUT...when the narrators were announced for CP, we changed our plans!! We both wanted to see Brian Stokes Mitchell in the worst way. So, we cancelled Cocoa Beach, booked a studio (we both own DVC) at OKW and called a car service to get us to port.

 

[NancyIL]

While it's nice to have a seat and be close enough to see the narrator - the CP is all about the music and the narration. I can hear that just as well standing at the back of the theater as if I sat in the first row. I also have better things to do with my time than wait in line for a long time.

The dinner packages are overpriced, especially since you would have to order the most expensive food items in each category (appetizer, main course, dessert) to come close to breaking even at the higher-tiered restaurants. You never break even at the buffets.

 

[mickaholic4077]

G4T, every single time I have waited on line for the CP in the package line,they have opened the line at 45 to 30 minutes from the start of the show,not 10-15 minutes like you posted.

 

[JoeyAnyc]

So I wouldn't want to totally discourage you with my report from a few years ago.

Hey Vicki, you didn't discourage me. You just helped me make better use of my time. 1 1/2 hours in Disney is a lot of time to be wasted in line, IMO. I know the show is great, being that I've walked by and observed over the past few years. Thanks again. Appreciate it

 

[dj2]

what do they mean by tier 1, 2, or 3 seating? would someone please explain? do you get a different badge?

 

[ChildAtHeart82]

The Tiers refer to the restaurants that you'll eat at for the package. Some of the TS locations (like Le Cellier) cost more than others (Biergarten). Everyone who does the package gets in the same line for a given show, no matter what tier they ate at.

 

[dj2]

The Tiers refer to the restaurants that you'll eat at for the package. Some of the TS locations (like Le Cellier) cost more than others (Biergarten). Everyone who does the package gets in the same line for a given show, no matter what tier they ate at.

thanks. a couple more questions---

when you make CP reservations and are going to pay with dining plan credits, do they charge your credit card at all? are there cancelation penalties or different cancelation policies than regular TS reservations?

also, would it be possible for my DH and one DD to eat the TS meals and then have DH and me be the ones to use the preferred seating?

thx.

dj

 

[mickaholic4077]

Your name is NOT on the Candlelight Processional badge,so someone can eat and someone else use the badge. Also, your credit card isn't charged when you make the reservation; it is charged if you don't cancel within 48 hours of the reservation and you don't show up.

 

[dj2]

thanks!

 

[Nafinegar]

I get that it may be awhile because of getting the narrator list together. But, I don't care who is narrating as I have a set day that I am willing to commit to purchase the dinner package.

I just wish that Disney would tell me WHEN it will open up. That way I can mark my calendar and just relax until that date.

Come on Disney, give a girl with a touch of OCD, a break here! The anxiety of waiting is killing me

 

[seadd67]

sorry If I have not read up on this and or I have been on the moon. but whats the CP package?.

 

[Nafinegar]

Candlelight Processional dinner package. I may not be using the right abbreviation since I am relatively new to the board

 

[topmonkeygirl]

It's driving me nuts also, you're not alone.