Candlelight processional with four year old

[Crl1817]

Would you do the candlelight processional with a four year old? Dd will be 4 years, eight months old. She's pretty good at sitting still for a four year old, but I'm not sure how she will be at the end of a long day at Epcot, especially if the show is long or boring to her.

Thanks for any thoughts!

 

[lizzygreen]

If she's pretty good at sitting still, she might be okay. Bring something quiet to distract her- maybe a coloring book? I had a seven and eight year old the first time I went and based on their personalities, I knew I wouldn't have a problem. I did come armed with Disney stickers, so when the two year old next to us started fussing, I whipped them out and gave them to my daughter, and with a nod from the other mom, had her entertain the child with them so I could enjoy the show. You know your child best, but my guess would be armed with something quiet to do, a well behaved 4 year old would do fine - especially if you did the earliest show, or took a break before the later shows.

 

[Lincolnshire]

It's loads of singing, right? We are going to attempt the early show (immediately after a long afternoon break) with a 2 yr old and 4 month old. It didn't even occur to me they would be too young. Our son will sit thru about an hour of a musical with no break so hopefully he will enjoy it!

 

[Crl1817]

Thanks! I would never have tried with my older kid at that age; he couldn't sit still for anything. Dd is pretty good though, she's sat through movies and baseball games and so on. This does seem like it might be more boring for her though as I understand there's no action at all, just talking and singing. And I'm seeing different things online about kids. Something quiet to do is a good idea!

 

[MandiC]

Oh I sure hope so! The Candlelight processional is one of the things I want to do most if we decide to do December next year and our youngest will be 4 at the time

 

[maxiesmom]

I would keep in mind that even if you have reserved seating, depending on who is hosting, the line can be long to even get into the theater. So unless you don't care at all where you sit, then might want to factor that into the time your kids can patiently wait.

 

[staceyrhood]

We have taken our son who is now 7 every year since he was born. He sings along, it is mostly singing. We also grab some hot chocolate and popcorn for him right before the show starts to snack on during the show as a special treat. Once we have been seated my husband goes to the outside snack shack right behind the theater. It is my very favorite thing to see at Disney, you will love it.

 

[Crl1817]

Wait time is a good point. Forgive my ignorance, can one or two of us wait in the reserved seating line while the rest, including the four year old, walk around a little?

Did not know snacks were an option. That would definitely help!

 

[brittsmum1998]

We brought my dd8 at the time, we let her play with her DS volume down of course. We are going again this December and she says the only way she will go is if she can bring her DS and she doesn't use it anymore so needless to say we will be doing the dinner package WITHOUT her.

 

[tourguide81]

Our 3 year old went and was fine. She is used to going to church, though. I think it's ridiculous to let a child, regardless of age, use an electronic device during a performance, but I know that's probably an unpopular opinion.

 

[brittsmum1998]

Our 3 year old went and was fine. She is used to going to church, though. I think it's ridiculous to let a child, regardless of age, use an electronic device during a performance, but I know that's probably an unpopular opinion.

Lucky! My daughter was bored after 15 minutes. She was happy, her parents were happy and the people sitting around us were happy because she wasn't wiggling or complaining about being bored.

 

[MSSANDRA]

The CP is my favorite Christmas activity at WDW. It is much like a special Christmas Eve Church service. We only did one Christmas trip when DS was a preschooler but not taking him to CP was never even considered. For one thing, WDW is for our whole family and every one gets to choose a few special things and we are all respectful of that. that trip I rode Buzz at least a dozen times for him!! Will it be a favorite of most preschoolers, maybe not , but most preschoolers can be expected to remain reasonably quite and still during the show. By all means, bring a special toy or snack, maybe something new from one of the nearby shops. While I would never allow an electronic device in church, I would have no problem handing DS my phone, with the volume off, during the show.
The biggest issue is the wait in line. We have never done the show without the package and even then the line gets long fast. We really do not care to be near the front so we are good to wait to the line starts moving and get into the line then. That is the only way I would do it with a child. If you attempt it without a package, you may not have much trouble joining the line with your child to join the rest of the family but I would check with a CM first, people can be very touchy when it comes to lines

 

[Crl1817]

I am pretty sure we would only do it if we can get a package. Minimizing line time is a big goal for us. So joining the line as it starts moving sounds like a solid plan, especially since this is mostly a listening experience. I'm not sure if it is possible to ask a cast member if we can sit on an aisle? Then we could take her in and escape quickly if she becomes disruptive. I definitely don't want to ruin anyone else's experience.

I appreciate all the thoughts and tips! I'm going to talk it over with dh and see what he thinks. Maybe we will book it, if we can, and if it becomes obvious dd isn't in the mood to deal, one of us will take her back to the resort and miss it while the other stays with older ds (he will be eleven and I have no doubt that he will behave for it).

 

[maxiesmom]

The seats are not specifically reserved. You pick your seats from whatever is available. If there are aisle seats, then you can take them.

I hope you understand that who is narrating makes a huge difference in when you can join the line. Even with the package, if it is a hugely popular person, people will line up over an hour ahead of time.

Also, there will be a time where it is next to impossible to leave. Performers will be filing into the theater at a certain point.

 

[Crl1817]

So the cast members don't generally have people fill in from the middle out?

I know the narrator makes a difference in popularity. We are looking at days very close to Christmas so I'm assuming that regardless of the narrator, the lines will be long and and the event will be filled to capacity.

Are you saying that there will be a time interval during which leaving would be difficult or are you saying that once we get to a certain point, it would be difficult to leave thereafter?

 

[maxiesmom]

So the cast members don't generally have people fill in from the middle out?

I know the narrator makes a difference in popularity. We are looking at days very close to Christmas so I'm assuming that regardless of the narrator, the lines will be long and and the event will be filled to capacity.

Are you saying that there will be a time interval during which leaving would be difficult or are you saying that once we get to a certain point, it would be difficult to leave thereafter?

No, the CMs don't seat people. You pick whatever seats you want.

There is a point, I think it is near the end, where more performers enter into the theater. They will line up and down the aisles, so then it will be hard to leave.

Some narrators are so popular that hardly any of the stand by line gets in (NPH, I'm looking at you!). The reserved line itself will be very long. And if you try to cut in towards the front of it, you may get a bit of grumbling.

I'm not trying to tell you to don't do it. Just be aware that there may be quite a bit of waiting, and it isn't always easy to leave when you want.

 

[livndisney]

Our 3 year old went and was fine. She is used to going to church, though. I think it's ridiculous to let a child, regardless of age, use an electronic device during a performance, but I know that's probably an unpopular opinion.

I agree! Candlelight Processional is not enjoyable with a flashing gadget in front of you.

Several of the shows are after dark, so the light from a gadget is distracting to others around you.

 

[Crl1817]

If there are multiple times when we can't get out, I think we had best skip it. Even though dd is generally well behaved, there just are no guarantees and I would be very stressed out if we were disruptive and unable to exit. Plus, even if she is being very good, there's always the possibility she will need to go to the bathroom--sometimes preschoolers don't give a lot of warning.

I think we had better find things that are more flexible.

Thank you.

 

[MSSANDRA]

Remember to not over think it. While it is one of the more serene of Disney shows, it open to everyone and inside in a theme park. You do want to be respectful, but there will be tons of kids there, and even adults that do not always have the same level of the respect you would see at an indoor or church service.
Getting an isle or back seat should not be a huge issue. You may have to " abandon cattle heard" and go back a bit, but certainly doable.
It sounds like you are very respectful and you will be sure you little one is too.