Changes to 2026 Candlelight Processional Celebrity Narrator Lineup at Disney World

Walt Disney World has changed the narrator lineup for the 2026 Candlelight Processional, removing one celebrity and adding two newcomers to the schedule for the fan-favorite presentation. This post covers everything we know thus far about the Christmas-time special event, held during EPCOT’s Festival of the Holidays.

This year’s EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays will run from Friday, November 27 until December 30, 2026, making it one day longer than last year. Shortly before the 2026 EPCOT Festival of the Holidays starts, the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival ends on November 21, 2026.

This time-honored tradition of Candlelight Processional has been a part of the holiday season at Walt Disney World since its opening in 1971. Experience the celebrity narrators, the Voices of Liberty acapella ensemble, a 50-piece live orchestra and glorious massed choirs as they present a heartwarming retelling of the traditional Christmas story.

EPCOT will once again share this tradition with the community, inviting guest choirs from across Florida to take part in the show. Choirs comprised of Walt Disney World Cast Members will also return, bringing magic to their performances as they do in their roles every day.

Now in its 55th year at the Walt Disney World Resort, and 32nd year at EPCOT, showtimes for 2026 will be at 4:45 p.m., 6:30 p.m., and 8:00 p.m. at the America Gardens Theatre in World Showcase. Walt Disney World has also released the lineup of celebrity narrators for the 2026 Candlelight Processional at EPCOT.

The good news is that Walt Disney World has released info about the 2026 Candlelight Processional even earlier than last year, which came almost a full month before the previous two years when the lineup was released in October. This is still late by historical standards from ~2019, but the circumstances were different.

The bad news is that the earlier celebrity narrators are announced, the more likely it is for narrator cancellations. The benefit of doing announcements closer to Thanksgiving is that it reduces the likelihood of last minute cancellations by the narrator should a better offer or obligation come along. That’s exactly what we’re now seeing happen with the October 2026 schedule update.

The other bad news is that, even after two additions, there’s still one ‘to be announced’ gaps in this year’s schedule. Nevertheless, the approach for the 2026 Candlelight Processional strikes us as the happy medium. Only a one or two TBA spots out of 15 feels like a fairly reasonable tradeoff for getting the lineup over a month earlier than in 2023-2024. And the silver lining here is that at least this cancellation is occurring before the dining package reservation window opens, so fans can plan around it.

Not only that, but cancellations can occur whether the lineup is announced in early June or mid-October. Walt Disney World always has local celebrities on deck to pinch-hit should a problem arise or cancellation occur, and Ashley Eckstein got that call same-day at 2:15 pm back on November 29, 2023.

Eckstein found herself narrating when Ann-Margret was unexpectedly unavailable that night. Eckstein immediately said yes to fulfilling a childhood dream, raced to EPCOT, was in hair and makeup by 4:30 pm, and on-stage shortly thereafter. There were actually multiple last-minute cancellations that year, and that was despite the narrator lineup announced later-than-normal in 2023. So you never know!

Here’s a rundown of the revised roster of 2026 Candlelight Processional celebrity narrators, followed by dining package dates & details. Strikethroughs show what was originally announced, with the line below reflecting the current status of that date range as of October 6, 2026…

2026 Candlelight Processional Narrator Lineup (Revised)

This year, the following celebrity lineup will lend their talents to the performance:

• November 27 & 28, 2026 – Auli‘i Cravalho
• November 27 & 28, 2026 – To Be Announced
• Nov. 29 – Dec. 1, 2026 – Gary Sinise
• December 2 & 3, 2026 – To Be Announced
• December 2 & 3, 2026 – Benjamin Bratt (NEW)
• December 4 & 5, 2026 – Whoopi Goldberg
• December 6 & 7, 2026 – Robin Roberts (NEW)
• December 8 & 9, 2026 – Jason Kelce (NEW)
• December 10-12, 2026 – Neil Patrick Harris
• December 13 & 14, 2026 – To Be Announced
• December 13 & 14, 2026 – Josh Groban (NEW)
• December 15 & 16, 2026 – Lauren Daigle
• December 17-19, 2026 – Ralph Macchio
• December 20 & 21, 2026 – Henry Winkler
• December 22 & 23, 2026 – Lacey Chabert (NEW)
• December 24 & 25, 2026 – Jodi Benson
• December 26 & 27, 2026 – Simu Liu
• December 28-30, 2026 – Eva Longoria

As a reminder, celebrity narrators, dates and other entertainment are subject to change or cancellation without notice.

Our Take on New & Returning Candlelight Narrators

I really like the additions of both Josh Groban or Benjamin Bratt. The latter has a strong Disney connection given the importance of the Coco franchise; I found it interesting that he’ll be reprising his role in the sequel. I also just generally think Bratt seems like a cool dude. My family watched a lot of Law & Order growing up, and it seems like he’s aged minimally since I was a kid.

As for Josh Groban, his Christmas music is fantastic. I’m not familiar with whatever else he sings, but his album Noël is an all-timer. It gets a lot of airtime in our house during the months of November and December. And as a fun fact, Groban also has a Disney Parks connection! “Believe” from The Polar Express appeared in the defunct World of Color – Winter Dreams at Disney California Adventure. I didn’t particularly like Winter Dreams, but I actually enjoy listening to the soundtrack.

As for Auli‘i Cravalho exiting, it’s unfortunate. Walt Disney World hasn’t provided a reason for her cancellation, nor would we expect them to. In conducting a quick search, there’s no immediately obvious scheduling conflict; perhaps we’ll hear about an upcoming project of hers going into production soon.

With both Josh Groban and Benjamin Bratt being newcomers, that brings the total number of new celebrity narrators to 5, up from 3 before. That’s still a decrease from last year’s 8 newcomers, but it’s solid number. It’s also interesting is that only two of last year’s additions are returning to the rotation for sophomore seasons.

Honestly, this is fine with us. Last year, we lamented that there were maybe too many fresh faces, and they were joining the lineup at the expense of time-tested favorites. Most of those longtime favorites are back this year, with the exception of Josh Gad, Pat Sajak, Gloria Estefan, and Edward James Olmos, although I’m pretty sure Olmos and at least one other name on that list have “retired” from Candlelight.

Some of those celebrities have narrated Candlelight Processional every year (or almost every?) since we started attending in 2007. A couple of them are definitely not my personal favorites, but I know other fans love them. It’s nevertheless nice to see a well-rounded list of classics and new talent.

Out of the two returning newcomers from last year, I’m glad that Henry Winkler is returning for 2026. He was at the top of our must-see list for last year, but had dates too late in the season for us.

He’s back even later in December 2026, and although we’re not scheduled to be at Walt Disney World in mid-December, we might just have to change that in order to see Barry Zuckerkorn narrate. (That probably won’t happen, but Winkler’s return at least gives me hope that he’ll be back again in 2027, and maybe earlier in the season.)

Out of the other returning narrators, our favorites are Gary Sinise and Neil Patrick Harris, and we probably could make either of those work with our dates (Sinise is the more likely of the two). Both are fantastic, and highly recommended.

We enjoy NPH because he’s a diehard Disney fan who helped fight the good fight to bring back Dreamfinder and Figment. Meanwhile, Sinise does similarly–except in a more literal sense–with his Snowball Express retreat for families of fallen military heroes.

The other three newcomers are great additions. Robin Roberts has a great voice and story, and should be a fantastic addition to the lineup.

More controversial, albeit unnecessarily so, is Jason Kelce. I’m sure some fans are going to cry “overexposure” or whatever, but I love Jason Kelce. If you’re seeing too much of him, the great thing is that you can always watch something different. The technology exists! (Television remote control.)

A more serious critique exists aimed at whether Kelce has the voice and presence to command Candlelight Processional. But I also think the same could’ve been said for Neil Patrick Harris before he hosted for the first time, and he’s become one of the best narrators. Kelce can do solemn and serious, and I don’t think he would’ve taken this gig were his heart not in it. Not as if he needs the money or a VIP trip to Walt Disney World!

Meanwhile, Sarah is all-in on Lacey Chabert. She’s a notable addition as the star of Hallmark Channel’s new “Holiday Ever After: A Disney World Wish Come True,” the first-ever Christmas movie filmed at Walt Disney World.

Chabert has been in approximately 1,971 other Hallmark Channel Christmas movies, and I’m told she was in mainstream teen television and movies in the early aughts, making her a “huge deal” with women of Sarah’s generation.

From ABC to NPH to the NFL to Hallmark Channel, there’s something for everyone in the 2026 Candlelight Processional lineup. And honestly, I’m not too worked about anyone who is not returning this year (Susan Egan and Brendan Fraser are probably the biggest losses). It’ll be interesting to see who slots into that TBA opening weekend slot.

2026 Candlelight Processional Dining Package Dates & Details

Candlelight Processional Dining Packages are also returning, and can be booked online beginning October 14, 2026. Advance Dining Reservations are highly recommended and can be made up to 60 days prior to your visit. This means that on October 14, 2026, ADRs are available for Candlelight Processional up until December 13, 2026.

The remainder of the Candlelight Processional Dining Packages will be released on a rolling basis each day after October 14th. Keep in mind that this is still subject to the 60+10 rule for on-site guests, so if you’re staying off-site, you very well might get shut out even at the 60 day mark for those later dates during the peak weeks of Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

Note that booking Candlelight Processional Dining Packages has been challenging for the last few years. See Secret for Scoring “Sold Out” Candlelight Processional Dining Packages from last year for info on this, and workarounds (that’ll likely still be useful in 2026).

Here’s the list of participating restaurants for last year’s Candlelight Processional Dining Packages:

• Akershus Royal Banquet Hall – Norway Pavilion
• Biergarten Restaurant – Germany Pavilion
• Chefs de France – France Pavilion
• La Crêperie de Paris – France Pavilion
• Coral Reef Restaurant – The Living Seas
• Garden Grill Restaurant – The Land Pavilion
• La Hacienda de San Angel – Mexico Pavilion
• Le Cellier Steakhouse – Canada Pavilion
• Nine Dragons Restaurant – China Pavilion
• Regal Eagle Smokehouse (same-day only) – American Adventure
• Rose & Crown Dining Room – United Kingdom Pavilion
• Spice Road Table – Morocco Pavilion
• Shiki-Sai: Sushi Izakaya – Japan Pavilion
• Teppan Edo – Japan Pavilion
• Tutto Italia Ristorante – Italy Pavilion
• Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria – Italy Pavilion

We’re happy to see Biergarten Restaurant make the cut once again. This is always our top recommendation thanks to its jovial Christmas atmosphere, music, and value for money. Read Our Christmas Feast at Biergarten Restaurant for what the holiday time experience is like there.

We would strongly recommend those who want a 2026 Candlelight Processional Dining Package be online bright and early on October 14, 2026 or whenever their ADR window opens. These will sell out fast–probably far faster than normal.

Even as ADR demand has otherwise dropped off precipitously this year, we wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to see these sell out for all available dates right on the ADR drop day. This is going to be more like Beak & Barrel (hopefully minus the system outage) than it is a normal daily ADR drop.

Pack your patience if you’re planning on doing opening day ADRs for the 2026 Candlelight Processional Dining Packages. As with any ADR drop days, glitches and slow-to-load inventory are distinct possibilities. We’d recommend being up earlier than normal, being on multiple devices, and budgeting more time than you might expect. If it ends up being smoother sailing, consider it a small victory–but prepare for headaches.

If you have other questions, see our Guide to Candlelight Processional at EPCOT. While that hasn’t been updated with all of this new info, it should mostly be accurate. The basics of Candlelight Processional–showtimes, seatings, and more–should be more or less the same this year. We’ll keep you posted as we learn more about the Dining Packages and everything else coming to the 2026 EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays.

Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!

YOUR THOUGHTS

Thoughts on the additions of Josh Groban or Benjamin Bratt? What do you think of the celebrity narrator lineup for the 2026 Candlelight Processional? Looking forward to the food booths, live music, Holiday Storytellers or anything else during the 2026 EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays? Agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing feedback about your experiences is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!