Candlelight Processional/MVMCP

[soccermom22]

Planning for next year - can anyone tell me when they open the reservations for the Candlelight Processional dinner package? Do you pay for the package when you reserve? How about tickets for MVMCP - when do they go on sale?

Thanks,
Tammy

 

[goofy4tink]

I think it could be in April. Not sure though. We did ours very last minute, about 1 month before we went. Had no problem getting tickets for both events. I believe they charged our credit card right away. And I picked both up when I arrived at WDW. Have fun planning!!

 

[NavyDotz]

I booked mine Aug 26th this year & that was right when they started accepting them.

Speaker line-up came out way later though so you wont know who the celebrity is if you do book as soon as they come out.

 

[DebbieB]

I would not jump and buy MVMCP tickets in April. There were many posts on this board from people who did and then changed their plans and needed to sell or trade the tickets (they are non-refundable). It never sells out before November and usually then only Friday nights. I bought mine for Tuesday Dec 9 the day before with no problem.

With the Candlelight Processional, you can cancel up to 48 hours prior with a full refund, so there is no risk booking when it comes out.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I just returned from seeing the CP and it seemed to me that the specific narrator didn't make too big a difference-it was always enjoyable (I saw it with 2 different narrators, 3 nights). I also booked at the end of August and I did have my heart set on which resturaunt I wanted, the Rose and Crown. Even that early in the process, R&C had limited times available for dinner. Maybe it isn't always that way, but it was for me-and this was for early December, a slow time (or so they say)!

 

[SnowWitch]

The first year we wanted to do the CandleLight Proc. we could not get Le Cellier for any of the 7 nights durign our stay with the package so we went with Rose and Crown instead. This was at least 3-4 months before our trip. Since that trip we book as soon as they start accepting them only because we love Le Cellier for the CP>

 

[HolidayRose]

I agree that you should wait until the lineup for the Candlelight Processional is announced before you make reservations, or maybe you could make multiple reservations and cancel others later when you know who is narrating. When we visited EPCOT, we didn't have dinner reservations and still had no trouble attending the processional. The narrator was Ericka Dunlap who is Miss America from the state of Florida. Had we (meaning I) planned better, we would have waited until David Ogden Stiers was the narrator. No offense to Miss Dunlap, but Stiers' sonorous voice would have been more engaging, I think. Both Mr. Stiers, Miss Dunlap and Ms. Rita Moreno narrated different nights during the course of our visit.

 

[MaryKatesMom]

I had heard that the MVMCP sells out early so I bought them as soon as I made my reservations. However, if I had thought about it or more importantly, read more about it on the board I would have known it is usually just Fri's that sell out during my stay.

We went on a Fri and Mon and Mon was much more enjoyable. Next time I'd avoid Fri if possible.

 

[MaryKatesMom]

Maybe another poster can verify this but I had assumed with the CP package you had to eat first then see the show (like the Fantasmic Package) so we ate so early my DD's didn't eat.

I guess you can see the show then have a much more leisurely dinner.

Live, learn, listen to the board

 

[Magickndm]

You can eat before or after, doesn't matter. We usually eat after so we don't have to rush.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Just to verify, yes, that's what I did this past December-6:45 show, 8:00 Rose and Crown.

 

[DebbieB]

We also prefer to eat after. We did 6:45 CP and 8:00 LeCellier. That way you don't have to rush through dinner to get to the show. We stayed at BWV 1 bedroom with a full kitchen, so we had big steaks and took the leftovers with us. We had them for lunch the next afternoon, for some reason it tasted better microwaved the next day!

 

[flyinglizard]

Have to add this! We have attended the Candlelight for many years now, and always enjoyed it no matter who was the guest narrator.

However, this year our narrator for the 12/2 concert was Ben Vereen and he was not only terrible, he apparently was high. He lost his place several times, paraphrased the passages with contemporary slang, and added his own comments in an effort to be funny.

Dr. Sinclair was obviously angered by his performance. Strangers around us were expressing surprise. I have lost any respect I may have ever had for Mr. Vereen.

I would be surprised to see him invited back in 2004. and I would cancel any plans if he were the narrator.

Did anyone else witness this performance?

 

[mouseclick1]

Wow flyinglizard, that's terrible!

We just came back today, and saw Gary Sinise last night. It was our first time and it was great, except for the fact that we were sitting behind a tree. Didn't really matter, though, we just squished and leaned still enjoyed the show! I booked right after they announced the narrators, and took a 5:00 show with a 7:10 ps at Rose and Crown. I would also recommend seeing the show first and eating later. We were seated shortly after 7:10, and did not even get our food until about 8:15. Dessert also took a long time to get, as did our bill. We ended up leaving aound 9:15. I would hate to have felt rushed to make it to the show.

 

[Donna]

Not sure which Ben Vereen you had! we saw him 12/4 and he was AWESOME! it was like hearing the story for the first time. He was interrupted with applause many many times. He was really IN to telling the story and seemed genuinely happy to be there. he barely had to look down to read, you could tell he was well prepared. We've seen many different speakers (robby benson was awesome too) but my husband and i agreed Ben Vereen made it even more moving. We talked to others afterwards and they also were very impressed. I'm sorry you didn't enjoy his performance as much as we enjoyed ours.

 

[flyinglizard]

Hi Donna,

We saw Ben Vereen at the last show on 12/2. It is good to hear that he did not embarass himself further, but I am sure Dr. Sinclair had much to say about the performance we witnessed. I am very pleased his performance was memorable for you.

Mouseclick1-

The best narrator we've heard was James Earl Jones. Also very good were Robert Urich, Edward James Almos, Louis Gosset Jr. and David Ogden-Stiers. They stick out in my mind as exceptional.

Last year was John Tesh and he was pretty good.

We always like to eat early, and attend the last show. And after all is said and done, dinner at Canada has become part of our Holiday tradition just as much as the Candlelight!

 

[DebbieB]

We've seen it the last 6 years, our favorite was James Avery. We were lucky to see him two different years. We were sorry he didn't come this year. We saw Ericka Dunlap and David Ogden-Stiers last month, both were good. We usually do one package night early in our stay and then a standby night at the end of our stay so we get to see different narrators. We love this show! In fact on Christmas Eve after the family had all left, my Mom and I put the CD on and enjoyed listening to it.

We really enjoy Derric Johnson as the conductor, I found a website on him:

http://www.singers.com/gospel/derricjohnson.html

 

[joepoe]

When can we make reservations for 2004? We want to go the day after Thanksgiving and we know it will be very popular. Can we call at 120 days or is everything 90 days out now?

 

[SuBeat]

We made our Christmas Eve CP arrangements as soon as they were available. I believe it was the last week of August. HTH