My husband and I are planning to spend next Sunday 12/14 at Epcot. We want to see the Candlelight Processional but do not want to pay the $$$ for the dinner package. We are doing this trip on the cheap and honestly, I don’t feel like it’s a good value.
My Epcot touring plan recommends getting in line at 4pm for a 5pm Candlelight Processional. The narrator is Chita Rivera (I don’t know how much that affects the crowds).
Is getting in line an hour early enough? If not, when do people get in line? If we don’t get in line, is it possible to stand in the area behind the theater and watch/listen?
Are they still giving out bands? There were reports on chat that if you got into the stand by line at 1:30 they passed out 100 bands. I do not know if they still are, you may want to ask over there.
If you have the package, think an hour is recommended. Not sure how early you’d have to arrive without one but guess it’s several hours depending on the day, show, etc. We thought the Biergarten was a decent value and remember that time in the parks is money (best to minimize waits as that’s not exactly where I want my money to go) and- anyway- a guy has to eat. If you want to save time and money, you can always watch it from outside the theater. Bring your binoculars. Although the package plus arriving an hour early got us our pick of seats: right next to Bob Iger actually.
An hour is absolutely for the package – if you are doing standby, you will have to line up a LOT sooner. We did the package about a week ago, and people were lining up for standby around noon for the 5 PM show. (They brought chairs and umbrellas with them.) By 4 PM, the line for standby went from the American Gardens theater past Germany. Needless to say, most people waiting in line at 4 PM didn’t even get in for the last show. If you want to be guaranteed to see the show from standby, I’d suggest checking line by 2 PM. If the line has gone past the snaking queue area in America, get in line at that point. (Granted, the nights that we’ve seen people lining up, the narrators were NPH and Whoopi, so they may be more popular than Chita Rivera.)
If you don’t get in, you can sort-of hear it standing near the fountain in front of America. You won’t really be able to see much of anything, though. And because of the large crowds in the area, they don’t let large amounts of people congregate at the back side of the theater, so you may be asked to move back to behind the fountain, which really impacts being able to hear anything.
In the end, before you totally nix the idea of doing a package, keep in mind that you’re paying a lot of money to spend a day in Epcot. Is it worth your time to spend 6 hours in line for a chance to get in instead of 1 hour in line with guaranteed admission? It really is a personal decision…looking at the size of the lines, lots of people do think that the 6 hour lines are acceptable prices to pay.
Although the package plus arriving an hour early got us our pick of seats: right next to Bob Iger actually.