Day 5, Part 2: Candlelight Processional & Dinner on the Set of Lights, Motors, Action!
OK, so Candlelight Processional…. I knew that this was supposed to be a big deal—for many people, it’s their absolute favorite part of Christmas at Disney. And I was ready to like it—I like Christmas! I like singing! And don’t get me started on candles and processing! But after it was over, I still wasn’t sure whether I liked it. Maybe it’s been overhyped. Maybe (as I just read somewhere on the Internets) it’s a shadow of its former self. Maybe it was the fact that we had to see it in broad daylight and D23′s seats were at the very back of the theater…
Uh-oh—looks like Patrick was bored!
The narrator that night was Chita Rivera. She was good, but I didn’t realize just HOW good until I saw Abigail Breslin narrate a few days later. She made Rivera sound like Dame Judy Dench!
Sign-language Interpreter
I'll bet this guy is just itchin' to bust out a crazy drum solo!
Chita Rivera: "Wha—WHOA, where did YOU guys come from?!"
Patrick must've been REALLY bored!
If this was his view of the show, I don't blame him…
Pretty!
…So I dunno about Candlelight Processional. I love Christmas music—it’s the one thing that instantly gets me in the Christmas spirit. But I think I was expecting something a little more pro… It felt very unpolished, and not in a charming way—certainly not in a way I would expect from Disney. I would say it felt like a high school production, but I hear those are almost as slick as Broadway these days, so… I did enjoy getting to sing along to the Hallelujah Chorus, but it made me realize I’d rather be singing, not watching others sing. I’ll bet it is amazing to be *in* the Candlelight Processional!
About two-thirds of the way through the show, I realized we had left our Magic & Merriment ID badges back in the room, and Patrick—either from sheer devotion to his wife or sheer boredom from the show—volunteered to sprint back to the room and get them. He may have clocked a new record for travel between Beach Club Villas and American Gardens Theater, because he made it back with time to spare before they loaded us on a bus to Hollywood Studios!
Waitin' for the bus…
Ooooh! Backstage…ish!
It's like you're THERE!
How we felt after all of Patrick's running
The bus took us into DHS and dropped us behind the Lights, Motors, Action area, on the studio tour tram route. Patrick accidentally took this picture of Walt’s plane.
It’s going to be hard to show you what it looked like cuz it was so dark, but the setup was pretty dang cool – the entire back of the stunt show set, in front of the buildings, was lined with buffet tables.
I dunno if I can match the names up with each picture, but here’s a list of the placards Patrick photographed:
- Yukon Gold Potato-Crusted Lobster-and-Crab Pie topped with Aged Cheddar (favorite!)
- Sweet Potato Mash with Toasted Marshmallows
- Thyme-Roasted Pork Loin with Apple Dressing and Cranberry Jus
- Sage-Roasted Turkey Breast with Gravy
- Crushed Peppercorn Strip Loin o Beef with Sun-dried Tomato-Tarragon Sauce
- European Greens with Heirloom Tomatoes, Euro Cucumbers, Carrots and Olives
- Hot Grilled Seasonal Vegetables with Acorn Squash
- Carrots with Dill
It was quite tasty!
Here's what the table settings looked like, if you care…
They had a free Mickey there, so we figured we’d prolly better get a picture with him.
Where the stunt cars sleep
I love stuff like this—99% of the guests will never see this poster, but here it is!
Patrick getting a call, prolly about the Pee-wee Herman build
Dueling badges!
Never thought I'd get to walk the pavement they burn up daily at Lights, Motors, Action!
One of the fun parts of this D23 event was getting to meet up with DISer MyMuse (Michelle) who was flying solo and having a grand old time. It was nice to already know someone there, plus, she offered to take a picture of us on the set.
After about an hour and a half, they rounded us all up and walked us over to Toy Story Mania for one private spin. It was funny to know that just a little while later we’d be back here taking dozens of private spins at DISapalooza.
Toy Story Mania as you've never seen it… empty!
I s’pose I should go easy with these pictures, cuz in a few more posts I’ll have bonafide Root photos of this ride!
As they ushered us out of Pixar…land to our dessert party, we saw them setting up for DISapalooza.
The dessert party was… interesting. Maybe I’ve been spoiled to only associate dessert parties with fireworks shows, but… it was just a bunch of desserts set up at the counter-service seating area for Studio Catering Co. Maybe if they’d been serving actual, identifiable desserts, I would have been more interested. Instead we got a ton of high-falutin’, unappealin’ fruity nonsense drenched in liqueur and a ton of gas-inducin’ cheese. Who were they trying to impress? Seriously, every dessert had some kind of alcohol in it. Um, what about, like, chocolate chip cookies?
We grabbed Michelle and chose a spot as close to Osbourne Lights as possible.
Pwetty!
"I can haz a cookie?"
Me and Michelle retaining our girlish figures by not eating any of the desserts
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
where is the hidden mickey? I’ve not spotted him before.
It’s SO hard to see – it’s in the chicken’s EYE! The closer shot kinda shows it, but we’re going to have to go back and use a macro lens next time!
Not that one sorry should have been specific, the big one in the photo next to the photo of a snowman above!
Hmmm… I’ll have to ask Patrick if he remembers where he shot that one… there’s no context, is there?
where ever it is I like it
The dinner party they set up for you, is this how they would set it up for a wedding? Is the Lights, Motors, Action! show area even a useable wedding venue?
Yes, this is how they would set up a wedding reception (although probably on just one side or the other, since they’re usually smaller events than these big convention get-togethers). I think they would encourage you to have the wedding ceremony elsewhere, though.