John Stamos: Our All-Time Favorite Candlelight Processional Narrator
Who’s the best Candlelight Processional narrator? That’s obviously subjective, and Walt Disney World fans will have a range of opinions based upon their favorite celebrities, Disney Legends, and so on. The most popular narrator at Epcot for the past several years has been Neil Patrick Harris (one of his nights was even chosen as this year’s live stream of Candlelight Processional), with other favorites including Whoopi Goldberg, Jodi Benson, Cal Ripken Jr., and Pat Sajak.
We’ve seen over a dozen different narrators over the years, and until this year, my favorite would’ve been someone different entirely: John O’Hurley. If you responded “who?!” that’s a shame. Watch this in full before reading on. Now that you’re back, kudos on a job…done. Perhaps better known as J. Peterman on Seinfeld, we loved John O’Hurley because his powerful voice added punch to Candlelight Processional, while also reminding us of the bombast utilized when delivering one of J. Peterman’s rambling diatribes. O’Hurley’s narration was moving, yet also slightly humorous (to us) for its unintentional similarities to Seinfeld.
But this is not an article about Seinfeld (no matter how much it should be). This is about our new favorite Candlelight Processional narrator, John Stamos. From one 1990s sitcom, we jump to an even older one. Except here, what’s old is new again, as Full House has been revived by Netflix as Fuller House…and because John Stamos “ages” (air quotes) like a fine wine.
It probably doesn’t require a full blog post to say what could more succinctly be said in the title of one, but I took a ridiculous number of photos during our viewing of Candlelight Processional–not just of John Stamos, but also of the conductor Dr. Jeffrey Redding (who was exceptional), and also of other random things.
I thus figured I’d expand upon my thoughts about John Stamos as the celebrity narrator and share some other thoughts as an conduit for sharing these photos.
John Stamos scores major points as Candlelight Processional narrator for a few reasons. Most significantly, he’s actually a Disney fan. Celebrity aside, this is the big reason that Neil Patrick Harris is a perpetual favorite, and John Stamos is arguably a bigger Disney aficionado. Not that such a thing can be measured, but the size of the giant Disneyland ‘D’ owned by Stamos says quite a bit. And that’s just one Disney item he’s won at auction.
Stamos is also regularly-spotted as a guest at Disneyland (we’ve seen him both there and at Walt Disney World), he’s hosted an Imagineering panel at the D23 Expo, and even proposed to his now-wife at Disney California Adventure. By all accounts, he’s a huge Disney fan.
In fairness, being a Disney fan is not a prerequisite for being a good Candlelight Processional narrator. I’d hazard a guess that many narrators–even the good ones–view it as fulfilling a contractual obligation or a nice way to make their kids happy with a holiday trip to Walt Disney World. Passion isn’t necessary to do a competent job. (Just look Bill Paxton’s truly superlative work in the ‘Twister…Ride It Out’ pre-show…or maybe don’t.)
In the case of Stamos, though, passion enhanced the job he was doing. During songs, he looked like he was on cloud nine. He had an ear to ear grin, and clearly was enjoying himself. He was riffing between delivering his dialogue, and danced during a couple songs.
It certainly didn’t seem that he was just hamming it up for the audience (much of the time, his enthusiasm was out of the spotlight); this came across as genuine enthusiasm. He was very into the experience, and we attended his final show of the weekend, so it’s not as if it was new and exciting at that point.
Stamos was conversational and personable during Candlelight Processional, and his closing remarks were moving and sincere. There was nothing workmanlike or ordinary about his narration, and this ‘above and beyond’ approach really made a huge difference to us. I’d assume the same is true for other Disney fans who got the chance to see John Stamos as Candlelight Processional narrator.
If you didn’t have the opportunity to catch one of John Stamos’ appearances at Candlelight Processional, do not despair. I’d hazard a guess that he will be back. To be honest, I’m surprised that he isn’t in the regular rotation for Candlelight. He did such an exceptional job and it’s such a natural fit that he should be one of the marquee annual narrators.
Or, perhaps Walt Disney World has contacted him every year since he last hosted (which I believe was over a decade ago) and schedules have gotten in the way. Stamos had the same type of presence and relatability as Neil Patrick Harris, which has made the latter a fixture of this season at Walt Disney World. As with NPH, Stamos needs to be back in this role again.
Here are some additional Candlelight Processional photos:
Whether you want to see John Stamos, Neil Patrick Harris, or one of the other popular celebrity narrators, we’d suggest purchasing the Candlelight Processional dining package. You can read about the various options in our Candlelight Processional Info & Tips post. We also shared our favorite dining package choice in our “A Christmas Feast at Epcot’s Biergarten” post.
Failing that, we would not recommend lining up for hours in the standby line. The amount of seating set aside for the dining packages grows every year, meaning the time you need to line up for a standby spot gets earlier and earlier. Instead, consider just watching from outside the American Gardens Theatre. We’ve done this now for a couple of different narrators, showing up ~5 minutes before showtime in both cases.
That’s definitely not the best way of seeing Candlelight Processional, but it’s the least expensive option in terms of time and money. We’d further suggest doing this for the last show of the evening, going on a school night, and aiming for colder weather, if at all possible.
Finally, a few plugs. First, the 2018 edition of our free Vacation Kingdom at Christmas eBook is now available for download! This free eBook is 90 pages, with 100+ photos, and tons of great tips & info for the holiday season at Walt Disney World. For more details on how to get this totally-free ebook, click here. Did we mention that it’s free?! 😉
For comprehensive tips for planning your Christmas-time trip to Walt Disney World, check out our Ultimate Guide to Christmas at Walt Disney World. For Walt Disney World trip planning tips and comprehensive advice, make sure to read our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide and related articles.
YOUR THOUGHTS…
Who is your favorite Candlelight Processional narrator? Or, do you not care about the narrator at all, and focus solely on the beautiful music and story? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
I agree John Stamos was THE best narrator. I saw him Saturday and he was so personable, emotional, and totally overcome with the Spirit. I finally got to see NPH this year and he was a total disappointment after seeing John. A little too robotic for me. Whoopi was also great and I loved that she wore a choir robe as well.
I saw John Stamos narrate the Candlelight Processional at Disneyland years ago, and though I have seen other narrators throughout the years, John Stamos really stands out. I was struck by his humility and absolute delight at the opportunity to narrate. His joy and wonder were contagious, and really helped the audience focus on the message of the Christmas story.
Steven Curtis Chapman was amazing last year. Clearly because of his faith the joy and meaning truly radiated through his entire performance. He was clearly into it. Hopefully John Stamos and Gary Sinise are on my narrator wish list. Living on the west coast we don’t get to Florida very often.
I have seen Disneylands several times. Everyone from Michael Landon as a kid to Dick Van Dyke to Jane Seymour to Donnie OSmond and others in between. My all time favorite here in California has been Dick Van Dyke if for nothing more than the nostalgia piece.
Saw NPH in 2015 & Robby Benson 2018. Loved them both! I do think NPH seemed a little more at ease with the whole gig. My dream narrator would be Chris Pratt.
As I was reading this I thought, i wonder if they’ll have Chris Pratt soon?! Glad I’m not the only one!
We went two years ago and got Jodi Benson. I may get blasted for this but she wasn’t my favorite. She seemed really overly dramatic and her excess drama detracted from the show for me. My young daughter even commented on it. But I’m sure for some fans she’s their favorite so to each his own! LOVED the music and choir of course! This year I avoided the nights Jodi was narrating and we were supposed to get Edward James Olmos. Sadly his mom passed away so now we will have Joey Fatone. I’m sure it will be a fun show!
3 years ago we saw the Candlelight Processional for the first time. I booked my dining pkg when the narrator was TBD and got Daniel Dae Kim. I thought he was really good. This year we did the same thing and will be seeing Auli’i Cravalho. I’m not picky about the narrator. I enjoy the entire experience. Although I would have loved to have seen Trace Adkins when he was there…that voice…wow!
We’ve seen Gary Sinise, Whoopi Goldberg and, my favorite so far, John O’Hurley. I would LOVE to see NPH but when I saw the title of the article, my first thought was “JOHN STAMOS! Now THAT’S a truly inspired choice!” I really hope we get to see him narrate CP in the future.
Last year my wife and I saw Warwick Davis and this year we saw Neil Patrick Harris. The look of joy on Warwick Davis’s face was something we will never forget. Mark a vote for Warwick Davis.
Kirk Cameron, no question!
The processional is the story of Christ’s Birth. My number one criteria is to have a narrator who is a hard core Christian, and who let’s it show in his/her narration and comments.
First of all I am sad I did not see you and get a picture, Tom!! Second, we saw John Stamos several times in the parks over the course of our week at Disney and each time he was so friendly to everyone and seemed to be enjoying his family time just like the rest of us visiting. He is very relatable and you are correct, he ages VERY well!!
I really enjoyed Edward James Olmos. He has such a wonderful voice and really seemed to connect with the songs and music.
YES! I was at the same show. Absolutely loved it. I also thought the fact that he mentioned his young son – he not only had such a sincere appreciation of the music being performed but an optimism and joy for the young singers all around him. It was wonderful. Stood in standby for 45 minutes pre-show. First time in 3 years I’ve not taken the “first row standing” behind the theater (due to having multiple little children). Must admit sitting “in” the processional made a nice pleasant difference. The show brought tears to my eyes. And love your pics – they came out quite better than mine of course! 🙂
DId you get the “Your Thoughts” mixed up with another post? You all of a sudden ask about the Yacht Club
Loved, Loved, LOVED John Stamos! I agree, he did a fantastic job. But In all fairness, i grew up watching Uncle Jesse, so I was already a big fan. (I was so excited when he was announced at the last minute for the weekend that we were attending, I did a little happy dance around the kitchen, lol. )
We were also there for his last performance & I also thought he interjected a lot of enthusiasm & heart into the show. He struck me as a genuinely nice guy.
This was my first Candlelight Processtional ( thanks for the dining pkg tip, Tom!) and I was impressed all the way around, from the choir to the orchestra to the conductor. Everyone did a wonderful job. Seriously crossing my fingers that John Stamos comes back next year.
Oh, and thanks for the great pics Tom – much better than my cell phone pics
We were there to see John Stamos as well and thought the whole performance was perfection. We also thought the conductor was fantastic to watch and thought John was having as much fun as us. I thought his closing remarks Sunday night were heartfelt and the perfect end.
We attended this year and NPH was our narrator. We thoroughly enjoyed the show ( rain aside). I was told NPH announced this was his last year for CP. We go every year the same week and do the dinner package. I can’t imagine waiting in line for hours not being guaranteed a seat at all. Maybe next year we will luck out and have John Stamos as narrator. We have also seen Pat Sajak and Edward James Olmos and all were very good.
We just returned from WDW and enjoyed the Candlelight Processional again this year. However, after reading your review we will definitely try to book when John Stamos is the narrator (hopefully when we return next year). We also use the dining package as the seats are very good without a long wait time. The colder temperature was a real challenge last night for folks waiting in the Standby Line. Those using the dining package waited less time and were also able to sit under the covered area out of the colder air. That certainly was a plus.
We also saw John Stamos and it was by far the BEST performance we have ever seen and we have seen quite a few. The choir was perfect as usual! He was so sincere and moved to tears and we were too! Just can’t say enough about how wonderful it was!
Our all time favorite was James Avery, Uncle Phil from Fresh Prince. He died 5 yrs ago on New Years Eve and is really missed. He was so energetic and looked like he was really enjoying doing the narrating of the Christmas Story. He even sang along with the choir. His voice just boomed when he wanted to make a point.