The Candlelight Processional is an annual Christmas event that happens live at Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California and at Epcot in Bay Lake, Florida. During the show, a live orchestra, choir, and narrator tell the story of Jesus' birth and the events of "the first Christmas."
Walt Disney created the event in 1958, and it has become a yearly holiday tradition for both parks. Today, the processional is performed on only two nights in December at Disneyland, and it takes place every night throughout the entire month of December at Epcot.
Event history
In 1955, Walt Disney and Disneyland’s entertainment director, Tommy Walker, asked Dr. Charles C. Hirt, who led the choral music program at USC Thornton School of Music, to help hire and train traditional Christmas carolers to create a festive atmosphere. Guest choirs and performing groups also performed at a small bandstand near Sleeping Beauty Castle, which was renamed the Christmas Bowl.
On the first day of Disneyland’s Christmas festivities in 1955, the carolers, guest choirs, and school bands formed a 300-person mass choir on the steps of the Main Street Station. The mass choir returned in 1956, this time with the Disneyland Band. In 1957, guest choirs created a procession for the first time, walking behind the Christmas Around the World Parade from the castle to the Central Plaza.
The carolers and choirs were very popular with guests. Hirt suggested to Disney that a candlelight procession and ceremony would be a good idea. Disney agreed, and the first Candlelight Procession took place in 1958. The choirs performed near the center of the massed choir, with Hirt conducting from the middle. However, the ceremony was hard for the audience to see from outside the circle.
In 1960, the ceremony was moved to Town Square, and bleachers were built on Main Street Station to create a temporary stage for the choirs. A "living Christmas tree" was created by Alexander Encheff, a choral director at Western High School, whose a cappella choir students filled the tree risers. Encheff and the living Christmas tree had been part of the previous two Candlelight performances near Sleeping Beauty Castle.
In 1960, a celebrity narrator was added to the ceremony, who would read the Nativity story from the Bible. Actor Dennis Morgan was the first narrator, starting a long tradition of people from stage, screen, and sports participating.
Walt Disney supported the event until his death in 1966, and he last attended the procession in December 1965 with Dick Van Dyke as narrator. Disney viewed the event as a "thank you" to local leaders and government officials for helping operate the park. Invitations were given to attend the event.
Hirt conducted the Candlelight ceremony (whose music evolved from the 16-piece Disneyland Band to a full orchestra) until his retirement in 1981, sharing duties with other music directors, including James Christensen. Sheldon Disrud, a choral director at Fullerton College, conducted and wrote music for the Candlelight Procession during the 1980s. Nancy Sulahian, currently a choral director at Caltech, most recently conducted the Disneyland version.
In 1981, Alexander Encheff retired, and the living Christmas tree was taken over by the newly-formed Disney Employee Choir the following year. This group, made up of volunteer employees from The Walt Disney Company, still performs as the living Christmas tree today.
In 1998, the Candlelight Procession moved to the Fantasyland Theatre at the northern edge of the park. It stayed there for four seasons before returning to Main Street Station in 2003.
Since its start, the Candlelight Procession was held over a weekend during the holiday season with no more than two shows each night. In 2012, the park tried a multi-day format, similar to Walt Disney World, with dining packages. Twenty nights of two showings each were planned, but many were canceled due to bad weather. Tickets were given for free through a lottery to Annual Passholders. The show returned to its traditional two-night schedule the following year.
In 2015, the Disney Employee Choir recorded new music to accompany the procession down Main Street.
Walt Disney World opened in October 1971, and the Candlelight Procession was moved to the new Magic Kingdom theme park. Actor Rock Hudson was the first narrator, and Frederick Fennell conducted the Candlelight Orchestra. At first, the event was held in front of Cinderella Castle, then alternated with Main Street Station, similar to the Disneyland version.
By the 1990s, the event at Walt Disney World was held over two days each holiday season, like Disneyland. In 1994, the event moved to Epcot’s America Gardens Theatre in The American Adventure pavilion to accommodate more people. James Earl Jones was the last narrator at Magic Kingdom, and Phylicia Rashad became the first narrator for the Epcot version.
The show has been held on both coasts each year, except in 2020 when it was canceled on both coasts due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Derric Johnson joined the Candlelight Processional in the 1980s. He had previously started a
Event format
Each performance is introduced by a guest narrator, usually a well-known person who has worked with The Walt Disney Company before. At Disneyland, the narrator’s identity is not revealed until the first performance day, with two shows each evening for two nights. Walt Disney World shares the list of narrators in advance so guests can plan their visits. Special dining packages are available to ensure seating in the America Gardens Theatre at the American pavilion at EPCOT.
The term "processional" describes choir members entering one at a time, often wearing traditional choir robes and holding candles. "Processing" means walking onto the stage, and "recessing" refers to leaving the stage. Performers are arranged by height and voice type (Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass).
This event is part of the seasonal entertainment at EPCOT during the EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays. At Disneyland, the event takes place on Main Street, U.S.A., with a stage set around the train station in Town Square. At EPCOT, the Voices of Liberty are featured singers and soloists in the show.
The EPCOT version’s main song is "Rejoice with Exceeding Great Joy," written by Lanny Wolfe. The program includes songs in different languages, such as "Gesù bambino" (Italian), "Stille Nacht" (German and Spanish), "What Child Is This?" (Spanish), and "Il est né, le divin Enfant" (French).
The songs are specially created and arranged for Disney to tell the story of the Nativity. A large orchestra performs the music. For many years, the poem "One Solitary Life" by James Allan Francis was read by the narrator, but this was removed starting in the 2013 season.
Disneyland musicians are employed through contracts with the Orange County Musicians Union, Local 7. Musicians in Florida are contracted through the Central Florida Local 389 chapter of the American Federation of Musicians. The Disneyland version includes a handbell choir and trumpet fanfares. The narrator tells the story in short parts, mixed with songs. The show has remained mostly the same each year but is updated over time. It uses guest choirs, mostly youth choirs called a mass choir. At EPCOT, the show is performed three times each night, with youth choirs in the first show and Disney Cast Members in the following shows.
Disney Cast Members (employees) are chosen after auditions held earlier in the year. Rehearsals are held weekly before the performances, and participation is voluntary. Guest choirs also audition and are selected to perform, often traveling from across the country, though many are local school choirs near the parks.
The event provides young performers with the chance to take part in a large-scale professional performance, supported by Disney Imagination Campus. One of the longest-running choirs at Disney World since the 1970s was Seminole High School from Sanford, Florida, directed by Bob Maguire.
EPCOT Candlelight Processional narrators (1994–present)
1994: Robert Guillaume, Robert Urich, Phylicia Rashad
1995: Peter Graves, Phylicia Rashad, Louis Gossett Jr., Billy Dee Williams, Erik Estrada, E.G. Marshall
1996: Louis Gossett Jr., Buzz Aldrin, Barbara Eden, Sandi Patty, Ed Asner, Tara Holland, David Ogden Stiers, Joseph Marcell
1997: Paula Zahn, George Kennedy, Mary Hart, Angie Dickinson, Louis Gossett Jr., Pat Morita, Robert Urich, Sandi Patty, Dr. Bobby Jones
1998: Phylicia Rashad, Charles Kimbrough, Brian Dennehy, George Hamilton, Bruce Davison, James McDaniel, Joseph Marcell, Louis Gossett Jr., Deidre Hall, George Kennedy, Nicole Johnson, Art Garfunkel
1999: Alfre Woodard, Charles Kimbrough, Angela Bassett, Brian Dennehy, Robby Benson, James Avery, Edward James Olmos, James McDaniel, Andy Garcia, Sandi Patty, David Ogden Stiers
2000: Jodi Benson, Angela Bassett, Jon Secada, James Avery, Joe Mantegna, Ben Vereen, Ed Begley Jr., Phylicia Rashad, Robby Benson, Leeza Gibbons, Gary Sinise, LeVar Burton
2001: James Avery, Marlee Matlin, Robby Benson, Wayne Brady, Phylicia Rashad, Story Musgrave, Alfre Woodard, Blair Underwood, Gary Sinise, LeVar Burton
2002: John Tesh, Marlee Matlin, James Avery, Yolanda Adams, David Hartman, Collin Raye, Blair Underwood, Gary Sinise, Jodi Benson
2003: Andy Garcia, Ben Vereen, Rita Moreno, Ericka Dunlap, David Ogden Stiers, Steven Curtis Chapman, Edward James Olmos, Sandi Patty, Robby Benson, Gary Sinise
2004: Rita Moreno, Heather Headley, Kirk Franklin, Jim Caviezel, Marlee Matlin, Joshua Morrow, Eartha Kitt, Steven Curtis Chapman, Edward James Olmos, Gary Sinise, LeVar Burton
2005: Rita Moreno, Phil Donahue, Haley Joel Osment, Cicely Tyson, Jaci Velasquez, Eartha Kitt, Lou Diamond Phillips, Harry Hamlin, Marlee Matlin, Gary Sinise, Steven Curtis Chapman, John Stamos
2006: Rita Moreno, Marie Osmond, Steven Curtis Chapman, Kirk Cameron, Gary Sinise, Marlee Matlin, Brian Dennehy, Maureen McGovern, Mario Lopez, Cuba Gooding Jr.
2007: Andie MacDowell, Kirk Cameron, Monique Coleman, Marlee Matlin, Rita Moreno, Chita Rivera, Neil Patrick Harris, Steven Curtis Chapman, Gary Sinise, John O'Hurley, Edward James Olmos, David Robinson, Dennis Franz
2008: John O'Hurley, Neil Patrick Harris, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Virginia Madsen, Marlee Matlin, Monique Coleman, Abigail Breslin, Chita Rivera, Angela Bassett, Courtney B. Vance, Steven Curtis Chapman, Edward James Olmos
2009: Isabella Rossellini, John O’Hurley, Steven Curtis Chapman, Anika Noni Rose, Andy Garcia, Abigail Breslin, Brian Dennehy, Edward James Olmos, Angela Bassett, Courtney B. Vance, Whoopi Goldberg, Chita Rivera
2010: Isabella Rossellini, John O'Hurley, Corbin Bernsen, Susan Lucci, Jodi Benson, Whoopi Goldberg, Steven Curtis Chapman, Thomas Gibson, Trace Adkins, Brad Garrett, Marlee Matlin, Edward James Olmos
2011: Mira Sorvino, Geena Davis, Isabella Rossellini, Neil Patrick Harris, Chita Rivera, Marlee Matlin, Blair Underwood, Trace Adkins, Edward James Olmos, Susan Lucci, Michael W. Smith
2012: Geena Davis, Lea Salonga, Jodi Benson, Neil Patrick Harris, Whoopi Goldberg, Blair Underwood, James Denton, Alfre Woodard, Amy Grant, Gary Sinise, Trace Adkins, Andy Garcia, Marlee Matlin
2013: Gary Sinise, Neil Patrick Harris, Ashley Judd, Whoopi Goldberg, Sigourney Weaver, Dennis Haysbert, James Denton, Edward James Olmos, Trace Adkins, Steven Curtis Chapman, Blair Underwood, Amy Grant
2014: Jodi Benson, Neil Patrick Harris, Jonathan Groff, Whoopi Goldberg, LeVar Burton, Edward James Olmos, Joe Morton, Chita Rivera, Ana Gasteyer, Marlee Matlin, Isabella Rossellini, Blair Underwood, Steven Curtis Chapman
2015: Gary Sinise, Neil Patrick Harris, Whoopi Goldberg, Joe Morton, Ana Gasteyer, Meredith Viera, America Ferrera, Chandra Wilson, Daniel Dae Kim, Edward James Olmos, Blair Underwood, Amy Grant
2016: Steven Curtis Chapman, Neil Patrick Harris, Whoopi Goldberg, Edward James Olmos, Anthony Mackie, Robby Benson, Meredith Viera, Jim Caviezel, Joe Morton, Ming-Na Wen, Cal Ripken Jr., Jodi Benson
2017: Laurie Hernandez, Matt Bomer, Ana Gasteyer, Whoopi Goldberg, Pat Sajak, Jodi Benson, Jaci Velasquez, Warwick Davis, Chandra Wilson, Kurt Russell, CCH Pounder, Trace Adkins, Neil Patrick Harris
2018: Chita Rivera, Helen Hunt, Alfonso Ribeiro, Robby Benson, John Stamos, Neil Patrick Harris, Whoopi Goldberg, Bart Millard, Blair Underwood, Gary Sinise, Pat Sajak, Auli’i Cravalho, Joey Fatone, Cal Ripken Jr., Jodi Benson
2019: Ming-Na Wen, Neil Patrick Harris, Whoopi Goldberg, Isabella Rossellini, Alton Fitzgerald White, Gary Sinise, Pat Sajak, Geena Davis, Steven Curtis Chapman, Edward James Olmos, Marlee Matlin, Lisa Ling
2021: Auli’i Cravalho, Chita Rivera, Jodi Benson, Alton Fitzgerald White, Bart Millard, Lisa Ling, Andy Garcia, Ana Gasteyer, Blair Underwood, Pat Sajak, Courtney B. Vance, Steven Curtis Chapman
2022: Simu Liu, Chita Rivera, Raul Esparza, Daymond John, Josh Gad, Mariska Hargitay, Angela Bassett, Courtney B. Vance, Neil Patrick Harris, Whoopi Goldberg, Isabella Rossellini, Gloria Estefan, Marie Osmond
Audio recordings
The EPCOT Candlelight Processional was first recorded and made available in 1997, with Louis Gossett Jr. as the narrator. In 1999, the EPCOT Candlelight Processional was recorded again and made available on cassette tapes and CDs, with Phylicia Rashad as the narrator.
Filmed performances
In 1987, the Disneyland Candlelight Processional was recorded on a VHS tape and released. Howard Keel narrated the performance, and it was broadcast on The Disney Channel. Sheldon Disrud conducted the event. In 2018, the EPCOT Candlelight Processional was live-streamed on YouTube through the official Disney Parks channel. Neil Patrick Harris narrated this performance.