The holidays have officially taken over the parks, which means it’s once again time for one of Disney’s most tradition-steeped events: the Candlelight Processional. For 2025, Disneyland’s Candlelight performances will take place December 6th and 7th, with shows at 5:30 p.m. and 7:45 p.m. each night.
But what everyone wants to know is, who will be the candlelight narrator for 2025 at Disneyland?! Well, our MiceChat spies just happened to be sitting next to him at lunch today and can confirm that it’s Benjamin Bratt (of Coco, Andor, and Doctor Strange fame)!
Meanwhile, over at Walt Disney World, the Candlelight Processional returns to the Epcot International Festival of the Holidays with a full lineup of celebrity narrators for the season.
Here’s everything you need to know about both coasts as this year’s Candlelight celebrations take shape.
Candlelight Processional at Walt Disney World
The Candlelight Processional at Walt Disney World takes place throughout the holiday season with daily shows in Epcot’s America Gardens Theatre at 5:15 p.m., 7:00 p.m., and 8:30 p.m. Seating is available for anyone who makes a reservation (dining packages are also available).
This year, eight new narrators join the lineup: Constance Wu, Jennifer Garner, Leslie Uggams, Henry Winkler, Lauren Daigle, Joel Smallbone, Brie Larson, and Sheryl Lee Ralph (though Brie Larson did the honors at Disneyland in 2023).
The dates for 2025 Candlelight Processional at Walt Disney World are Nov. 28 through Dec. 30, with the celebrity narrators as follows:
- November 28-29 – Constance Wu (NEW)
- November 30-December 2 – Jordan Fisher
- December 3-4 – Jennifer Garner (NEW)
- December 5-6 – Ashley Eckstein
- December 7-8 – Ralph Macchio
- December 9-10 – Leslie Uggams (NEW)
- December 11-13 – Marlee Matlin
- December 14-15 – Henry Winkler (NEW)
- December 16-17 – Lauren Daigle (NEW)
- December 18-19 – Gary Sinise
- December 20-22 – Brendan Fraser
- December 23-24 – Luis Fonsi
- December 25-26 – Joel Smallbone (NEW)
- December 27-28 – Brie Larson (NEW)
- December 29-30 – Sheryl Lee Ralph (NEW)
Candlelight Processional Dining Packages
The best way to guarantee a seat for the performances at Epcot (especially if you have your heart set on seeing a certain narrator) is to book a Candlelight Processional Dining Package, which includes a meal at any of fifteen restaurants (with breakfast, lunch, and dinner options) and guaranteed seating the Candlelight Processional.
Here’s what’s included with your meal:
- At Spice Road Table: 2 small plates, a shared tagine, a shared dessert platter, and a nonalcoholic beverage (or alcoholic beverage for guests 21+)
- At All Other Restaurants: An entrée and dessert, or a full buffet (where applicable), and a nonalcoholic beverage (or alcoholic beverage for guests 21+)
Plus, you’ll get one seat per person to one Candlelight Processional performance on the same day.
Participating Restaurants:
- Biergarten
- Chefs de France
- Coral Reef Restaurant
- Garden Grill Restaurant
- La Creperie de Paris
- La Hacienda de San Angel
- Le Cellier Steakhouse
- Nine Dragons Restaurant
- Rose & Crown Dining Room
- Shiki-Sai: Sushi Izakaya
- Spice Road Table
- Teppan Edo
- Tutto Italia Ristorante
- Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria
Candlelight Processional Dining Packages are available only during Epcot International Festival of the Holidays—Nov. 28 to Dec. 30, 2025. Advance reservations are highly recommended.
A Same-Day Dining Package allows you to dine without reservations at Regal Eagle Smokehouse: Craft Drafts & Barbecue and enjoy guaranteed seats to a Candlelight Processional performance later that day (subject to availability).
You can read about all the holiday happenings at Walt Disney World Resort here:
Candlelight Processional at Disneyland
Unlike at Walt Disney World, Candlelight Processional takes place on only two nights each year and it’s always one of the hottest events of the winter season at the Happiest Place on Earth. The 2025 holiday season will be celebrated at Disneyland from Nov. 14, 2025, through Jan. 7, 2026, and the Candlelight Processional will take place on December 6 and 7, 2025. Performances will be at 5:30 p.m. and 7:45 p.m. on both dates.
The Disneyland narrator is rarely officially announced in advance – though it’s often leaked via social media once the celebrity is spotted in the park (and definitely once they’re seen at rehearsal), which is how we found out that the 2024 Disneyland narrator was Kathryn Hahn.
Past narrators have included Chris Hemsworth in 2017, Chris Pratt in 2018, Lin Manuel Miranda in 2019, Sterling K. Brown in 2021, Oscar winner Viola Davis in 2022, and Brie Larson in 2023.
Narrators generally have a Disney tie, but as the Disney portfolio expands, so do the possibilities, so while you never know who will step up to the podium, it’s always fun to guess.
Seating in front of the Main Street train station for Disneyland’s event is reserved for invited guests, but standing room is available all around Town Square, and parks guests stake out spots in Town Square for several hours before the event starts (some waiting all day for a prime spot). If you plan on doing this, be sure to dress warmly and wear comfortable shoes for standing.
Check our guide for all the details about Disneyland’s holiday celebration:
What is the Candlelight Processional?
The Candlelight Processional is one of Disneyland’s oldest traditions, and according to Walt Disney Archives Director Becky Cline, it dates all the way back to 1955, when the brand new theme park celebrated its very first holiday season.
That Christmas, visiting choirs were invited to perform in the Main Street, U.S.A. bandstand (dubbed the “Christmas Bowl” for the occasion). And the tradition evolved from there.
The next year, visiting choirs performed Christmas carols on the steps of the Main Street train station accompanied by the Disneyland Band; in 1957 the choirs followed the “Christmas Around the World Parade” from Sleeping Beauty Castle into the Plaza to perform; and in 1958, the first evening Candlelight Processional was held with singers from 16 choirs performing an entire concert.
Beginning in 1960 with actor Dennis Morgan, portions of the biblical Christmas story were read between classic hymns, a tradition that has continued with celebrity narrators like Cary Grant, John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Jimmy Stewart, Gregory Peck, Charlton Heston, James Earl Jones, Olympia Dukakis, Dick Van Dyke, and many others. Last year, EGOT winner Viola Davis joined the ranks of distinguished performers who have had the honor of reading the story of Christmas in Disneyland’s Town Square.
The now famous “Living Christmas Tree” formation was also introduced in 1960 – an honor held since 1982 by the Disney Employee Choir made up of talented cast members from the Park, Studio, and Walt Disney Imagineering.
The event was introduced at Walt Disney World during its inaugural holiday season in 1971 (originally at Magic Kingdom but moving to Epcot in 1994).
Today’s version has grown considerably from a simple procession of candle-lit carolers into a grand classical concert featuring a thousand-voice choir, “The Living Christmas Tree,” a full orchestra, the Disney fanfare trumpets, a bell choir, soloists, sign-language interpreters, a guest conductor, and, of course, the celebrity narrator who tells the story of Christmas between seasonal songs performed by the orchestra and choir.
Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, the performance is guaranteed to be uplifting and heartwarming.
Actor and singer Howard Keel, who narrated the ceremony at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World in the 1980s, was once quoted as saying, “I’ve never been a very religious person, but when you stand up there for all of those people with that incredible chorus and orchestra beside you, it’s a wonderfully moving experience; in fact, I was so moved I could hardly speak.”
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Let’s Start Guessing!
It’s never too early to speculate on who Disneyland’s Candlelight narrator will be, and there are always plenty of contenders, so let the 2025 guessing game begin!
Could this year’s narrator be someone from the cast of Zootopia 2? Or maybe it’s time for Harrison Ford who’s always at the top of many fans’ narrator wish lists (and now a full-fledged Disney Legend).
Who would you like to see at Disneyland’s podium this Christmas? Let us know in the comments below.
