Disneyland Candlelight Processional 2023 Dates & Times, Celebrity Narrator Info & Tips

Disneyland’s Candlelight Processional occurs twice nightly in early December. This post offers 2023 dates & times for the show, viewing tips, celebrity narrator info, our review and history of the event, which is held at the Main Street USA Train Station during Christmas. (Updated October 4, 2023.)

In contrast to Epcot’s Candlelight Processional performances that are held dozens of times over the course of the Christmas season in an outdoor theater, Disneyland’s Candlelight Processional is held 4 times, total, and is an intimate affair. Also unlike Epcot’s version, Disneyland’s Candlelight Processional is a mostly-private (we’ll get to what that means below) event.

The 45-minute show is a musical retelling of “The First Christmas” story through song and scripture, featuring a mass choir as the centerpiece of the show. The Disneyland Symphony Orchestra, fanfare trumpets, hand bell ringers, and a celebrity narrator join the choir in this joyous holiday tradition.

Disneyland’s Candlelight Processional will be held on December 2 and 3, 2023 for invited guests, Club 33 members, and other VIP guests with shows each night at 5:30 pm and 7:45 p.m. Regular park guests are also able to see the show from Main Street, which we cover in with viewing recommendations below.

The narrator of the 2023 Candlelight Processional at Disneyland has not yet been announced, despite the first performances being today. Usually, the narrator is unknown until right before sound check on night of the first performance, with fans speculating about who it’ll be and rumors–usually wrong–circling prior to that.

Currently, there are no credible rumors about the 2023 Candlelight Processional narrator at Disneyland. We’ll update this section later today once rehearsals start and it becomes obvious who is narrating. (Unless Disney manages to conduct rehearsals out of guest view, in which case we’ll update when the first Candlelight performance starts!)

With that said, it’s always fun to guess, so my shot-in-the-dark prediction is Angela Bassett. She’s done a lot with Disney in the last few years and is in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. I can’t think of anyone else who checks all of the same boxes, save for one of the Guardians of the Galaxy stars. (So perhaps Chris Pratt again?)

Often, the narrator of Candlelight Processional at Disneyland is a celebrity appearing in a Christmas season Disney, Marvel, Pixar, or Star Wars movie. Or someone who recently appeared in such a film. These are the “contract obligation” narrators. The last few years have several examples of this, including Lin-Manuel Miranda, Chris Hemsworth, and Chris Pratt.

Last year, the Disneyland Cast Member choir was informed that Sterling K. Brown will be the Candlelight Processional narrator. Sterling K. Brown is best known for his role in the NBC television series, “This Is Us.” For Disney, Brown played N’Jobu in Marvel’s Black Panther and voiced Lieutenant Mattias in Frozen II.

Other times, the Candlelight Processional narrator is simply a famous or well-respected Disney Legend who has nothing to promote and is in no way a synergistic pick. There are lots of examples of both throughout the history of Candlelight Processional (more on this below).

Now, let’s move on and cover what occurs during Candlelight Processional at Disneyland…

These celebrities narrate the Christmas story at the Main Street Train Station while the Candlelight mass choir is sings beautiful holiday songs. Disneyland’s Candlelight Processional has been a tradition since 1958. Celebrities like Cary Grant, John Wayne, Dick Van Dyke, Gary Sinise, Kurt Russell, Jon Voight, Geena Davis, Chris Hemsworth, and James Earl Jones being past narrators.

Disneyland sets up seats for Candlelight Processional, which are reserved for invited guests. These “invited guests” are typically Disneyland VIPs, such as Club 33 members, media, and high-profile Disneyland guests. We have gotten a lot of questions about how to get seats for Candlelight Processional at Disneyland (that’s actually our reason for posting this), but the unfortunate reality is that if you don’t already know how to get seats…you can’t get seats.

There are no dinner packages, no standby line for regular guests, no ticket lottery, nor any means of becoming an invited guest. Because of this, Disneyland does not publicize the event. There are typically not posts on the Parks Blog, social media, or elsewhere until after the event. That’s why info on Disneyland’s Candlelight Processional is so scarce.

Despite this, Candlelight Processional at Disneyland is held during park hours, and at the very front of Disneyland, where it is plainly visible to guests entering the park. This, coupled with the small size of the reserved seating area, means that guests who camp out in Town Square can get a good view of the show. (Additionally, if there are empty seats, Disneyland sometimes allows regular park guests to fill them–but no promises there.)

However–and this is a huge however–it’s not simply a free for all up front. Because Disneyland is so busy these nights and seating/standing areas are in high demand, there are strictly-enforced limitations on where you cannot stand or sit to watch Candlelight Processional. If you’re attempting to wait and watch in a thoroughfare, you will be told to move in short order by crowd control Cast Members.

Some guests camp at the perimeter of the reserved seating area for the entire day on Candlelight Processional days. We’ve rope-dropped Disneyland on these days, and instead of racing to Peter Pan’s Flight and Space Mountain, we’ve seen guests racing to areas at the edge of the reserved seating area.

This is excessive, even by crazed-Disneyland fan standards. We are sharing this info so you know what you’re potentially getting yourself into should you decide to camp out for Candlelight Processional. In fairness, you can typically show up “only” a couple of hours in advance and still get a decent view of the stage, but it’s not going to be ideal.

However, don’t expect to be walking through Main Street 10 minutes before Candlelight Processional starts and simply stop to watch. It doesn’t work like that. There’s a good chance you won’t be allowed to stop in Town Square even an hour before Candlelight Processional begins.

Additionally, some of those individuals who camp out early in the day will leave following the first performance of Candlelight Processional, so if you show up towards the end of this, you might be able to wiggle your way into a better position. Again, no guarantees, as most guests who camp out all day will stay for both shows.

One word of warning: Candlelight Processional is held on two busy weekend nights during the Christmas season, which is already a busy time of year at Disneyland. At the front of the park. This means that the crowd in Town Square is basically a restless mob by the time Candlelight Processional rolls around, packed into the public areas like sardines. We would only recommend this to locals with a surplus of time.

If you’re vacationing at Disneyland, this is not a good use of your time. Moreover, if you’re vacationing at Disneyland during the Christmas season and will be visiting the park during either of these days but are not interested in Candlelight Processional, stay away from the front of the park before, during, and shortly after the showtimes. Getting people into and out of Town Square (and even the Hub) is an operational nightmare, and it will take a long time to navigate to/from Main Street.

If you are interested in Candlelight Processional at Disneyland, but not camping out for a spot to view it, the processional does come down the parade route. Guests who line the curb on Main Street shortly before the processional starts will be treated to something beautiful and uniquely “Disneyland.” While we don’t recommend camping out for the show, we do recommend this. It’s a special little moment that you can enjoy without nearly the time commitment.

We did Candlelight Processional a couple of years ago at Disneyland with Kurt Russell as the narrator, and we were blown away. It’s a lavish production that is wonderfully presented, and it felt like an intimate experience that probably still bears a lot in common with the 1958 edition.

We far prefer the Disneyland version to the way it’s performed at Epcot, but the difference is that one has stayed true to its roots while the other has opted for a more guest-friendly offering that tries to accommodate the high level of demand for the show. It’s hard to fault either version for their approach, but it is too bad that there is not a feasible way of having the best of both worlds.

If you are lucky enough to be invited to attend Candlelight Processional at Disneyland, do not pass up the opportunity. It is an incredibly memorable experience. Our only recommendation would be to treat it like the lavish event that it is: get dressed up, have a nice meal at Napa Rose or Carthay Circle Restaurant, and then enjoy Candlelight Processional at Disneyland. It’s perfect for a Date Nite at Disneyland!

Planning a Southern California vacation? For park admission deals, read Tips for Saving Money on Disneyland Tickets. Learn about on-site and off-site hotels in our Anaheim Hotel Reviews & Rankings. For where to eat, check out our Disneyland Restaurant Reviews. For unique ideas of things that’ll improve your trip, check out What to Pack for Disney. For comprehensive advice, consult our Disneyland Vacation Planning Guide. Finally, for guides beyond Disney, check out our Southern California Itineraries for day trips to Los Angeles, Laguna Beach, and many other SoCal cities!

Your Thoughts

Have you ever done Candlelight Processional at Disneyland? Did you have reserved seats or did you camp out? What did you think of the experience? Was it worth it? Any tips to add? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment of Candlelight Processional at Disneyland? Any questions? Hearing your feedback—even when you disagree with us—is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!