We are heading to WDW for a 4 1/2 day trip between Christmas and NYE. Our main focus is to experience the holiday items at the parks, but I’m torn on the Candlelight Processional. Given that it isn’t a long trip, I’m not sure it would be the best use of our time with a 7 year old.
What is your experience doing this event with a younger child? There are plenty of other new holiday related experiences to make this trip special so I’m just not sure it would make sense to force this one too.
We did it last year and my 8 year old and 12 year old were bored. They kept asking it when it would be over. They wanted to ride the rides. They also mentioned we could do something similar at church.
I saw all the people enjoying it on the fence behind the seated area and they were able to come and go as they pleased and still see and hear the processional. When we went it wasn’t too crowded there and I wished that I would have done that instead. I thought it was beautiful but I wouldn’t pay for it again knowing what I know now. I honestly wouldn’t do the processional especially if short on time. Just my $.02- YMMV and you know what your kids will like and what they will be ok sitting through.
I agree completely. To long for kids.
I don’t have kids, and although now it’s on my Disney bucket list, I would have been bored with it at that age.
It’s readily available on YouTube; you could always watch the video and see what the reaction is.
Hi
we took our kids ages 7 and 9 and they really enjoyed it. it did not seem too long. There might have been moments that were slow to them but overall it was worth it. also you could sit on a side row and leave if you wanted to before it was over. I highly recommend it, it was one of our favorite experiences during our WDW holiday trip. It was nice to sit down after a day on our feet and take in a great show.
We watched some of the Candlelight Processional from the tree across the walkway. It wasn’t my 5 year old that was bored, it was DH! I wouldn’t spend $$ on this event, and the standby lines form very early and get very long, in my experience.
It really depends on the kids and what kinds of things they are used to. By the time we went the first time, my sister and I knew how to behave in that kind of setting thanks to church and a subscription to the Asheville Symphony Orchestra for a few years, so we enjoyed it a lot.
If all the kids have ever known is movies on DVD so they can stop it periodically and run around (or if they’re like the kids when I saw Incredibles 2 - run around in the movie theater regardless) and apps and video games, then yeah - they might be bored. They might not - sometimes kids who have never been exposed to live cultural things like CP actually enjoy it when given the chance to experience it.
Thanks for the help! Very good insight from both perspectives. While it will remain as a bucket list item for me, I think we will probably skip it this time around. She’s a pretty good kid and basically does what I tell her we are doing at Disney, but I don’t think this one will be the best use of time. Especially when she knows Elsa and Anna or Soarin’ are just around the bend!