Disneyland has canceled this year’s Candlelight Processional and Ceremony. The annual tradition that dates back to Disneyland’s first Christmas when director Dr. Charles C. Hirt brought together a 12 Dickens carolers sang holiday music at Disneyland. The following year brought the first mass choir, also directed by Hirt. As the years went by, Candlelight got bigger and more grandiose. In recent years it has been performed in the Town Square of Main Street, USA at Disneyland with a 600-voice mass choir made up of dozens of Southern California choirs, the Disney Cast Choir, an orchestra, soloists, handbells, and fanfare trumpeters. It also included a celebrity narrator. In 2019 the narrator was Lin-Manuel Miranda.
According to Disneyland, the cancelation of this year’s Candlelight Ceremony happens as the Disneyland Resort continues to not know when it will be able to reopen its parks. The parks will not be able to be reopened until first there is clear guidance from the state of California and the Disneyland Resort also meets those guidelines. California Governor Gavin Newsom has said in recent days that California is getting closer to releasing guidelines for the reopening of theme parks, including Disneyland. Without the guidelines in place or a known opening date, Candlelight has to be canceled Disney officials confirmed to the OC Register.
Disney officials also shared that Disneyland is disappointed that the attendees, cast members, and choir members will be unable to experience the event this year in this way due to the unprecedented time currently.
Anyone who has attended this event (or seen it in videos) knows that it is a large undertaking. Each year Candlelight is presented for two nights in December (except one year when it was presented throughout the month of December). Thousands of guests descend on Town Square and wait during these two days to watch Candlelight. There are some reserved seats also in the front of the viewing area for VIPs and other select attendees.
The cancelation of this year’s Candlelight Processional and Ceremony comes after the Disneyland Resort has already canceled its Halloween festivities this year. It also comes just a week after Walt Disney World Resort announced that its Candlelight Processional would be canceled this year as well. DAPS MAGIC will continue to follow this story and provide updates as they become available, including about the reopening of the parks at the Disneyland Resort when that information becomes available.
What do you think of the cancelation of this year’s Candlelight Processional and Ceremony at the Disneyland Resort? Have you seen it in person before? If so, who was your favorite narrator? Who would be your dream narrator? Share your thoughts in the comments below or with DAPS MAGIC on Facebook or Twitter!
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