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12/03/22 - Disneyland Resort - Candlelight Ceremony 2022
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12/03/22 - Disneyland Resort - Candlelight Ceremony 2022

Hello Everyone!

I had a pleasant day at the Disneyland Resort Saturday for my 30th visit of 2022. I was there with one objective to see the Candlelight Ceremony and managed to visit a number of attractions and enjoy some other holiday entertainment too. The weather was picture perfect topping out in low 70s and dropping into the 60s with no real breeze nor any clouds. Disneyland was great to walk around the first 90-120 minutes then filled up quickly as you would expect. DCA and Downtown Disney also felt busy to walk around.

Thoughts and Observations:

  • I arrived at the Mickey and Friends parking structure around 7:15am. It seemed to me they were opening it a tad later than usual. The Ball Road overpass was just being set up when I exited the freeway and traffic was stopped in all lanes and backed up 3/4th the way or so to the entrance. Once cars started flowing it moved quickly and if I would have been 5-10 minutes later
  • I was able to walk right up to the bag check and then onto a waiting tram. No wait at the park entrance either so it was a very smooth arrival after the initial traffic backup. I even drew a decent parking spot right at the front of a row and near a stair case.
  • I always find it interesting how long guests are willing to wait for the Candlelight Ceremony. The stand by and curb seating is taken by park opening. This year was no exception with guests settling in for the 9.5 hour wait from park opening until the 5:30pm show. They have a lot more patience than I do that's for sure.
  • My goal this morning was to visit the two holiday attractions and see how the time went. I ended up being able to roll through five attractions in the first 100 minutes or so the park was open which was great. The sequence I choose this morning was - Haunted Mansion Holiday, Snow White's Enchanted Wish, Alice in Wonderland, Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, and it's a small world. The only hiccup was waiting for Snow White, not sure why but they held the line for several minutes and send empty cars through.
  • Due to the Candlelight Ceremony the Disneyland Band was performing more sets in front of the Castle today. I took in a couple performances and was able to hear several of their Christmas songs which was great.
  • Unfortunately my timing has not been good and I have missed the Christmas Cavalcade so far this year. My first visit they ran a birthday cavalcade instead. Then I was trapped at DCA due to park hopping and then today they cancelled due to Candlelight and early Christmas Fantasy Parades.
  • Speaking of park hopping the 1:00pm rule really gets in the way with the various entertainment schedules and with lunch plans. I really would like to see them do away with the rule, it is more bothersome than the reservations for me.
  • I decided to grab a bite to eat at Flo's today. The time from when I said I was there until my food was ready was longer than usual. The orders seemed to be coming out slowly with people waiting around quite a while. The food was hot, fully cooked and correct so that was a plus.
  • Going into the day I thought I would invest about 2 hours waiting for the Candlelight Ceremony. I ended up spending about 2.5 hours and had a better view than I thought I would. As always the first Candlelight of the day is a marathon with a lot of standing in one place and waiting. There are small things to entertain you like watching them set up and re-arrange the chairs. Or other preparation work. You always meet a number of interesting people, many come back year and after year and then there is a mix of first timers. There were a good number of cast members from various teams at the resort around me this year. Also the annual guessing game and wait for the sound check to confirm who the guest narrator will be.
  • Speaking of cast members, while waiting Bob Iger and Josh D'Amaro passed through Town Square with their entourage. They were shaking hands and posing for pictures with fans and cast members. It was a different sight to see. The both seemed to be having a great time as were those they were interacting with. The rest of their group including the security team did not seem to be having nearly as good of a time.
  • The Candlelight itself was great as expected. The spectacle of the show in Anaheim really adds the ceremony compared to the EPCOT version. I know its not accessible to many and causes a lot of operational headaches for the park, but for those lucky enough to see the show it is well worth it. EPCOT is great show but the Disneyland version is another level.
  • Downtown Disney was busy as you would expect on a Saturday evening with mild weather. You had to work through some fairly busy walkways if you decided to visit. I trekked out to the west end stage to see the Holiday Harmony performance. Their set includes an entertaining mix of Holiday and Disney music. Jumping from Christmas carols to Phil Collins and back then Frozen and back makes for an interesting mix.
  • I did not spend a lot of time at Disney California Adventure. I ate and took in a trio of shows (Viva Navidad Street Party, Phat Cat Swinger Holiday Concert and World of Color Season of Light). I did walk the park a bit and noticed the plane is back with no walls in the Grizzly Peak Airfield.
  • I closed out my night with World of Color - Season of Light. I picked up a boarding group earlier in the day and the entry process was more or less the same as my previous visit. They called the groups more than an hour before show time. You queue up near the entrance where your pass is scanned. Then they control the flow of guests into Paradise Park. I was near the back of the queue and let in just over 10 minutes before show time. The process is slow and a bit confusing for people. They really could do a better job letting you know what the plan is by putting the information in the app. I ended up with a good view from the back of the blue section. I opted not to go into the main crowd and stick with the wide shot. Again no snow flakes/bubbles nor projections. I made a point to stick around for the post show which is one of my favorite parts of the show. It is a fun use of the fountains and lights.
  • There was an incident at the parking structure so the Mickey and Friends trams were not in operation when I arrived in the area. All guest were being directed to walk through Downtown Disney and to the structure. Once at the structure cast members were guiding you to the elevators and stairs to reach your floor and telling those in Mickey and Friends to walk through the structure. The main plaza, escalators and rest rooms were all unavailable. This made for a long trek through a crowded Downtown Disney, but it did space out the traffic so once I reached my car and left there were no delays.

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