This is my first time planning a trip for the holidays, so first time with Candlelight Processional. I had scheduled it for the last night of the trip, but I just saw that NPH is the narrator during the middle of our trip. I seem to recall there being a kind of cult following for his narration, but maybe I’m exaggerating. Is it worth redoing all my WDW/UOR plans to try and see him? It will also be a weekend evening in Epcot which I promised I would never do again with the kids…
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I haven’t even read your post but I am able to decode and I say without a second’s hesitation - yes. For NPH or Angela Bassett 100% I would rework my entire plan
And now that I read your concern about the weekend thing… any chance for hopping? To minimize exposure to the potential craziness?
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He is extremely popular so if you are trying to avoid a massive crowd I would choose someone else. I’ve personally seen him a couple of times and found him fairly robotic and was honestly a little let down.
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I’m a grinch when it comes to CP. Christmas is my favorite holiday season, BUT…I just am not a fan of the CP. I’ve seen a full video. I’ve seen parts of one while at EP, when a favorite narrator was doing it and we were walking by - and that’s as much as I was willing to do. When I’m at EP during the holidays, I find so many other things (storytellers, food booths, other entertainment) I like to do and struggle to fit them all in.
Things to ask yourself:
Have you ever seen a full video of CP? Is that type of entertainment what you want to spend your park time on? And with the kids? Do you want to do it so much that you want to spend money on a CP meal? If not a meal, do you want to wait a long time in line? Is that narrator worth it to you to do that particular date? Do you want to be at EP on a possible weekend? Are you willing to put up with bigger crowds because of a very popular narrator?
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seeing it live and feeling the music and the choir and everyone singing along to Silent Night. Cannot be replicated or appreciated by video. It makes me cry every time. It is crowded and a time suck, but it’s a special experience you can’t replicate elsewhere.
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Unfortunately for me, seeing it live (which I did) wasn’t something I enjoyed enough to spend all that time on. My time was not unlimited, and I had other things which were a higher priority.
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Thanks everyone for your input. I’m having a hard time with this one. I’ll report back.
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I can agree with this.
It sounds great and all…buuuut when you remember it’s up against park time (and also taking a LOT of people out of various lines)…it’s very hard for me to justify spending the time on it. At most, I’ll stop for a few minutes and then mosey on.
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Had to Google NPH. I’m a fan. I vote for listening to him. I hope you do report back when you’ve decided.
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I mean, I like him but I don’t care about the CP. I just don’t find it entertaining or moving so I would skip it. If you, on the other hand, would enjoy a 40 minute performance of the story of Christ’s birth with choral accompaniment than you would probably enjoy it.
Are you willing to pay for the dining package? If not then you may have to wait in a 2+ hour line, which will probably mean listening to the whole thing while you wait for the next show. NPH seems to be the “this is as bad as it gets” bar for lines, and many of the advice blogs mention him by name, A quote from one blog on lines… “When Neil Patrick Harris last presented, we saw people lining up for the 5 p.m. performance of Candlelight Processional around noon!” Now, that was pre-covid, pre-park reservations… it may not be that bad this year, but I definitely wouldn’t expect to just waltz into a seat at any of his shows.
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This is the sticking point for me…no matter how great NPH is. Epcot on the weekend evenings has become an absolutely insane place. I wouldn’t want to battle my way through it with kids in tow. I didn’t even want to do it by myself this past weekend. There were just large groups of extremely drunk people everywhere - with little regard for those around them. I found it exhausting and not at all a Disney feel.
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I am in this exact position.
I have seen the CP twice. I am notoriously not religious, but I love Christmas carols and I do like a good spectacle. Which it is. Huge orchestra, huge choir, guys with long trumpets … what’s not to like?
I’m a fan of NPH. Not a massive fan. But I like him more than some of the other names on the list. My first year the narrator was a famous Disney voice who meant nothing to me because I don’t watch Disney movies. My second year it was the guy from Apollo 13 who’s some kind of massive Catholic but apparently also good at doing charity things.
There’s no way I’m risking getting in the standby line and waiting for two or more hours for a chance of getting a seat.
The problem with the dining package is that the choices of restaurants is dire and the pricing is offensive.
But … CP only happens in December. I have plenty of other trips to ride rides.
But … this is a once-in-a-lifetime trip for my friends. I asked them and they were up for doing it.
So … I’m going to try to book a package.
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I mean, 
May you get what you desire.
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Gary Sinise.
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Will this be your first time. Booking a package I mean?
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I’m just going to assume it was Jodi Benson
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That was exactly my thought
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No. It was a woman whose name was solely comprised of vowels.
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Ah so Auli’i Cravalho
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Okay that makes sense. I was thinking one of the astronauts!
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