***Official Candlelight Processional Dining Package Watch - 2018***

[caribbeandream]

I also wish I knew the narrators but since they are usually not finalized when I book my ADR I have learned to just try to guess based on the previous year and enjoy whoever I see.

My EPCOT day set in stone but last year's narrator around that time was Kurt Russell. I can handle that!

 

[dkrauss]

I'm confused by all the angst about resi's for CP. I too am waiting but all I did was make a reservation at our pick (Via Napoli) for the time we're looking for. So the plan is set......….just incomplete in one portion (albeit an important portion.......). When the CP reservations become available I'll just make that reservation (hopefully ) for CP and the regular one will get cancelled. we have one day so the narrator is who the narrator will be . When it goes up is not important...….at least to me, That's why I'm a part of this thread!

Doug

 

[gypsy_at_heart]

I'm confused by all the angst about resi's for CP. I too am waiting but all I did was make a reservation at our pick (Via Napoli) for the time we're looking for. So the plan is set......….just incomplete in one portion (albeit an important portion.......). When the CP reservations become available I'll just make that reservation (hopefully ) for CP and the regular one will get cancelled. we have one day so the narrator is who the narrator will be . When it goes up is not important...….at least to me, That's why I'm a part of this thread!

Doug

I’ve never been able to change out a reservation for a dining package - it’s a whole separate thing. Sure, you can cancel your current reservation and book a CP dining package one, IF it’s available. But there are a limited amount of dining packages for CP each night, and people want to make sure they get both the restaurant and the night that they need and I think people are getting tired of checking lol I think that’s why all the ‘angst’. I know I just want it done and booked already so I can just have decide what days for what parks and narrow down my fastpass picks

For me I haven’t narrowed CP down to one specific night, I have a few that would work. I know which restaurant I want and the approximate time I want, so I’ll go with whatever date works with those

 

[Lesley Wake]

For me I haven’t narrowed CP down to one specific night, I have a few that would work. I know which restaurant I want and the approximate time I want, so I’ll go with whatever date works with those

Yeah this is me too! It will also depend on the narrators. Once that is announced I will be able to finalize all my plans and ADRs. Thankfully I don’t think I have anything which can’t be switched around without too much hassle.

I am doing a 3-way split stay: 2 nights at AKV with a focus on AK. 4 nights at BWV with a focus on Epcot and DHS. 4 nights at CCV, focus on MK but also another visit to AK. So hopefully I will like the narrators for the BWV stay, but if there’s someone I absolutely love during the CCV stay I can try to work it in!

 

[evlaina]

I'm confused by all the angst about resi's for CP. I too am waiting but all I did was make a reservation at our pick (Via Napoli) for the time we're looking for. So the plan is set......….just incomplete in one portion (albeit an important portion.......). When the CP reservations become available I'll just make that reservation (hopefully ) for CP and the regular one will get cancelled. we have one day so the narrator is who the narrator will be . When it goes up is not important...….at least to me, That's why I'm a part of this thread!

Doug

The angst for me is that we want a PPO at Garden Grill and need this package to get it. And I only have 1 day set for Epcot so I need to do the res as soon as it’s released.

 

[Disneyonmymind]

I am struggling with what would be the best times to eat and see the show. It seems like any restaurant dinner times would necessarily come with the last show time. For the 1st or 2nd showing, it would seem like we’d have to book breakfast or lunch, just to leave enough time. For those who have gone before, any advice?

 

[Friendlyadvice2]

I am struggling with what would be the best times to eat and see the show. It seems like any restaurant dinner times would necessarily come with the last show time. For the 1st or 2nd showing, it would seem like we’d have to book breakfast or lunch, just to leave enough time. For those who have gone before, any advice?

Our preference is the 6:45 show. For the past several years, we get the CP dining package for dinner at Chefs for 4:00 PM. This leaves plenty of time to eat and once we're done, we walk over with plenty of time to spare and get in line for the show.

 

[Friendlyadvice2]

As usual, I see that a lot of people are checking daily for the CP packages to open up. I just wanted to add some insight in case it helps anyone. I know that history is not necessarily a guarantee of the future, but having booked this and other ADRs like it for many years now, I can tell you that in years past, it was standard for there to be a dead link that would pop up and be inactive for several days. That link is not there yet and I'm actually surprised we have not seen it, as it was always there by now in years past. Seems to indicate we may be waiting a awhile longer, but who knows? Typically what happens is that the link will become active for a very short period of time during which one of us will have just happened to check during the short window and actually book something. Who ever that person happens to be will obviously post here that the link is active, however once we all go and try to book, we'll find that the temporary window has now shut. The usual posts will follow that the lucky person needs to call Disney and ask about their reservation since it will be undoubtedly be cancelled and must have been a mistake, none of which are true; the person's reservation will be just fine. A short time after that, the online link will officially go live and we'll all be able to book with most people finding that they are able to book exactly what they were looking for!!

Maybe things will be different this year and we'll simply wake up to a live link one morning, but that isn't how it's happened in the past and I'd be very surprised. Good luck to all!!

 

[Boardwalk Tigger]

As usual, I see that a lot of people are checking daily for the CP packages to open up. I just wanted to add some insight in case it helps anyone. I know that history is not necessarily a guarantee of the future, but having booked this and other ADRs like it for many years now, I can tell you that in years past, it was standard for there to be a dead link that would pop up and be inactive for several days. That link is not there yet and I'm actually surprised we have not seen it, as it was always there by now in years past. Seems to indicate we may be waiting a awhile longer, but who knows? Typically what happens is that the link will become active for a very short period of time during which one of us will have just happened to check during the short window and actually book something. Who ever that person happens to be will obviously post here that the link is active, however once we all go and try to book, we'll find that the temporary window has now shut. The usual posts will follow that the lucky person needs to call Disney and ask about their reservation since it will be undoubtedly be cancelled and must have been a mistake, none of which are true; the person's reservation will be just fine. A short time after that, the online link will officially go live and we'll all be able to book with most people finding that they are able to book exactly what they were looking for!!

Maybe things will be different this year and we'll simply wake up to a live link one morning, but that isn't how it's happened in the past and I'd be very surprised. Good luck to all!!

 

[Boardwalk Tigger]

So true and we have been going to this show for sooooo many years . I also wanted to note that we have had no problem getting the reservation we wanted so no worries here if you do this within a few days after announcement.

 

[dkrauss]

The angst for me is that we want a PPO at Garden Grill and need this package to get it. And I only have 1 day set for Epcot so I need to do the res as soon as it’s released.

I too have only 1 Epcot day for this...….while we'd like Via Napoli we can doing other locations so not as much worry here. Maybe I'm being to cavalier about it...….. I guess we'll see

Doug

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

I'm confused by all the angst about resi's for CP. Doug

For me I haven’t narrowed CP down to one specific night, I have a few that would work. I know which restaurant I want and the approximate time I want, so I’ll go with whatever date works with those

Yeah this is me too! It will also depend on the narrators. Once that is announced I will be able to finalize all my plans and ADRs. Thankfully I don’t think I have anything which can’t be switched around without too much hassle.

The last two quoted posts express my frustration. We are doing only one Epcot day, and I have three days to choose from. For me, it all depends on the narrator. And this choice will determine the other two days. I am also planning on doing the Christmas party, and because I'm waiting on this, I don't know which night to choose, which means I can't buy my tickets. I also can't make ADRs for the other nights. I just don't like being in limbo. I know it may be awhile before I find out the narrators for my dates, and I realize I may end up having to make some decisions without that information. But I'm hoping that this partial list that may be out any day will include the three dates I need.

 

[Sandy Mouse]

We've never gone after Thanksgiving and never done CP - I don't think we will do it without the dining/CP package. I'm ready to get this set so I can plan around it.

 

[Boardwalk Tigger]

You will get the CL package you want. I’ve never been shut out of what I wanted as long as you make your reservations in the first couple of days. Even after that there will be openings for Candlelight dinner.

 

[Friendlyadvice2]

I just don't like being in limbo. I know it may be awhile before I find out the narrators for my dates, and I realize I may end up having to make some decisions without that information. But I'm hoping that this partial list that may be out any day will include the three dates I need.

Being the primary planner myself, I completely see your frustration......you've already put in a lot of effort and you'd simply like to have your plans solidified. You essentially have two concerns; getting the restaurant/time you'd prefer and the narrator that you'd prefer. I guess one of the "benefits" for me of going Thanksgiving week when CP officially begins is that we only one choice of narrator for the first few nights, so we just pick a night that works and make the CP ADR. So if we find out the Grinch is going to be the narrator, then by golly we're going to listen to the Grinch and love it. Seriously though, I hope everyone gets some info soon and hopefully the initial list isn't so full of holes like last year's list that it still leaves uncertainty.

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

Being the primary planner myself, I completely see your frustration......you've already put in a lot of effort and you'd simply like to have your plans solidified. You essentially have two concerns; getting the restaurant/time you'd prefer and the narrator that you'd prefer. I guess one of the "benefits" for me of going Thanksgiving week when CP officially begins is that we only one choice of narrator for the first few nights, so we just pick a night that works and make the CP ADR. So if we find out the Grinch is going to be the narrator, then by golly we're going to listen to the Grinch and love it. Seriously though, I hope everyone gets some info soon and hopefully the initial list isn't so full of holes like last year's list that it still leaves uncertainty.

But the thing about it is what I have bolded may not be true. There may be one narrator for Thanksgiving night and then a new person the next night. I don't think that has ever happened, but you never know. The range of dates for previous years aren't guaranteed to be the range of dates this year. That's also what makes it so hard.

 

[WDW_Diane]

Following

 

[Friendlyadvice2]

But the thing about it is what I have bolded may not be true. There may be one narrator for Thanksgiving night and then a new person the next night. I don't think that has ever happened, but you never know. The range of dates for previous years aren't guaranteed to be the range of dates this year. That's also what makes it so hard.

I was relaying my specific trip experiences and in actuality, it's always been true for us. The CP had not been starting until the day after Thanksgiving for some time. For our specific Thanksgiving week trip (same dates every year), it has always been the same narrator. A narrator typically does 2-3 nights. This year obviously it starts one day earlier on Thanksgiving, but I find it highly unlikely that with as difficult as it is to get some of these celebrities to commit to doing the CP anyway (this is why the list is so full of holes for so long) that they would get a celebrity to commit to doing Thanksgiving day only, which is why I suspect the same narrator will do Thursday thru Saturday, although certainly nothing is guaranteed. In fact last year, the Thanksgiving week dates were some of the "To Be Determined" holes on the initial list. Regardless, we'll be there the day after Thanksgiving no matter who the narrator is.

I can certainly see how those that place a high importance on the narrator could be frustrated if their dates happen to bridge multiple narrators or one that they really want to see.

 

[Friendlyadvice2]

This is not the 2018 list some people have been waiting for, it's just for informational purposes for those that are waiting on the initial release of narrators so they can book CP ADRs as soon as they are released and are concerned about a specific narrator. Below is the initial list from 2017 that was released around June 29/30 when the packages first opened for booking. You'll notice there were quite a few "TBD" dates on the initial list. I recall a lot of disappointed folks concerned about narrators who still had no clarity who was speaking for their dates..........

• TBD – November 24 to 26, 2017

• TBD – November 27 to 28, 2017

• TBD – November 29 to 30, 2017

• TBD – December 1 to 3, 2017

• Pat Sajak – December 4 to 5, 2017

• TBD – December 6 to 8, 2017

• TBD – December 9 to 11, 2017

• TBD – December 12 to 14, 2017

• Trace Adkins – December 15 to 17, 2017

• Neil Patrick Harris – December 18 to 21, 2017

• CCH Pounder – December 22 to 24, 2017

• Jaci Velasquez – December 25 to 27, 2017

• TBD – December 28 to 30, 2017

 

[disneyfantotheend]

I am not too concerned about who my narrator will be, being we have never been before. Has any one had a truly bad narrator or is it just because some are so good that you worry about it?