CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547 Posted January 11, 2013 Report Share Posted January 11, 2013 The CP is amazing. I agree, it is over too soon! Glad you got great seats. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
disney4dan 68 Posted January 11, 2013 Report Share Posted January 11, 2013 Great ! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted January 11, 2013 Report Share Posted January 11, 2013 You did a great job planning your visit to the Candlelight Processional, Dave. You had a great meal and got great seats during what probably was one of the busiest nights of the year.I'm not sure I like all the weird stuff they serve at Via Napoli. Sometimes I think they get too fancy for their own good.TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mouseketab.....Carol 1,261 Posted January 11, 2013 Report Share Posted January 11, 2013 Awesome update Dave!!! I'm glad there weren't too many pics of CP. That means you were in the moment and soaking it all in!!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DaveInTN 3,247 Posted January 11, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2013 I listened and watched the CP in 2006 from outside on the wall. It was beautiful and moving. I want to see it again. Great choice in Gary Sinese.He was great! So glad we got to see it with him. The CP is amazing. I agree, it is over too soon! Glad you got great seats.Thanks Gwen! It was a beautiful show.Great !Thanks for reading along, Dan!You did a great job planning your visit to the Candlelight Processional, Dave. You had a great meal and got great seats during what probably was one of the busiest nights of the year.I'm not sure I like all the weird stuff they serve at Via Napoli. Sometimes I think they get too fancy for their own good.TCDI agree on VN...and like I said before, if we go back I'll just do the pizza, which I really love there. The other stuff was fun to try, but some of it missed the mark. Awesome update Dave!!! I'm glad there weren't too many pics of CP. That means you were in the moment and soaking it all in!!!!That's the truth! I honestly forgot about the camera through the show. My Gwen did film some video of Anna dancing around...I'll have to see if I can get some of it to post. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
FtWildernessFamily...Holly 25 Posted January 11, 2013 Report Share Posted January 11, 2013 The Reason For The SeasonAbout the time the ladies finished up on Soarin', it was time to head back to WS for our dinner reservation at Via Napoli. The way the Candlelight Processional dinner packages work, is you book an ADR at the restaurant of your choice within a certain timeframe, predicated by the CP show time you choose. We wanted to do the 6:45 show, which meant a mid-afternoon dinner. Our reservation was at 3:30.When you think about it, the dinner packages are brilliant on Disney's part. Not only do they make good money as the meals are all inclusive, but they fill up the mid-afternoon dining slots that traditionally may go unfilled, in particular at some of the Epcot restaurants that are tougher to sell. Smart marketers, they are.We arrived at Via Napoli around 3:20 and there was a long line outside. I got in line, and almost immediately a CM approached asking if I had a reservation. I told her we had booked the dinner package, and I was directed inside to a separate check in counter for CP guests. After checking in, we were called to our table within 5 minutes.The inside of Via Napoli is very pretty. I really like these light fixtures.Those tables were all filled within 15 minutes.In the background of that last picture, you can see the 3 pizza ovens along the back wall. They are wood burning ovens named after the 3 active volcanoes in Italy: Mount Etna, Mount Vesuvius and Stromboli.On our only previous visit here we had the pizza. It is outstanding, I'll tell you! But with the dinner package, you pay one price and order an appetizer, entree, dessert and non-alcoholic beverage off the menu. So I wasn't inclined to get pizza...I was looking for maximum value and to try something new.This is the salad that came as an appetizer with one of the kids meals. Needless to say, it wasn't eaten by a kid...but the rest of us enjoyed nibbling at it.Stella got the fruit appetizer.INC and I shared the appetizer sampler for two....fried calamari, eggplant, mushrooms, zucchini, and arancini (rice balls).I have to say, this appetizer was pretty disappointing. Everything was quite greasy. I knew it would be a lot of fried food, but thought it would be just crisp fried. This was really heavy and oil laden, and we left a lot of it on the plate.Gwen's appetizer was the shrimp and bean salad. This was very tasty!Izzy got the melon and proscuito.Emma got the arrancini appetizer. These things are pretty tasty.Overall, we would rate our appetizers as "so so".Did the entrees hit the mark?Stella and Anna both got kids alfredo.This was my dish. I think it was called Candele, and those are veal meatballs. They were outstanding.That's all the entree pics I have. I remember a couple of the girls got personal pizzas, which rocked! And INC got the lasagna, which was white with spinach. That was also very good. Overall, the entrees were much better than the appetizers.Even though at this point you could have rolled us out of there, dessert was included so we tried some.Stella and Anna had the kids gelato.A couple of the girls had the soda...which was vanilla gelato with an Italian fizzy orange soda. This was ok, but they were expecting a sweeter soda and the Italian soda was a bit bitter and not at all sweet. But the gelato was good.Gwen and I ordered this....which was the dish of the night IMO.It was called Coppa di Brutti Ma Buoni, which means Ugly But Good. It was vanilla gelato with amarena cherries. I could have licked the dish. What struck me about my sundae was, if you were ordering it off the menu, you would pay $14. It was good, but ain't no sundae worth $14 in my mind unless it feeds several like the kitchen sink. But if you ever dine there on a package it's a must do. INC had the tiramisu, which was also outstanding.So that was our Via Napoli meal. Each successive course improved on the last. Which is a good thing, because I was not impressed with those appetizers. But I was overall quite happy with our meal. Will I eat there again? Probably not other than for the pizza. I will DEFINITELY dine there again for the pizza. At this point, we didn't have much time to kill before we needed to be in line for CP seating. Even with the dining package you need to get in line if you want decent seats. The benefit is that you are guaranteed a seat, and they are primarily in the center area. Most nights you can get a good seat in standby, and if I did this more than just rarely that's what I'd do. But as I said earlier, being 12/23 and Gary Sinese, I wanted a good seat. And good seats we got!Here was the scene outside the ampitheater before being seated.That's a lot of people!The tree across the lake. I call this shot "Tree Across The Lake".Turning Japanese, I think I'm turning Japanese, I really think so. (this is foreshadowing for later that evening...)We made our way into the theater and got great seats.Before too long, the orchestra came out and began playing, and the Candlelight Processionial began. The choir proceeds by candlelight into the theater while singing....just beautiful. The main reason I was excited about seeing this show again, in particular 2 days before Christmas, is to ensure that we stayed focused on the reason we were all celebrating. I was afraid that taking my kids to Disney World for Christmas would put the focus on rides, camping, food, and other silly things. Disney World can easily represent the worst attributes of rampant consumerism. But Disney also, I think, does a good job in this day and age maintaining a visible focus on real Christmas symbolism. They have not fallen on the secular bandwagon and rethemed the CP as the Disney Winter Festival. It is about Christ, His coming and what it represents for mankind. I loved it. The announcer introduced Gary Sinese, and it was exciting to see him walk out on stage. He appeared very humble in my opinion, as if he knew this wasn't about him. I don't imagine all celebrities would look at it that way. His reading of the Christmas story was incredibly moving. I can tell you that the readings, the music and the pageantry of the choir brought this dope to tears several times. And Anna LOVED it! Every time the horns played, she'd put her hand up to her mouth like a trumpet and play along. She danced back and forth. It was awesome. The show is about an hour long, but it feels like 20 minutes. It was over too soon. But it was great, and I recommend it to anyone that has never seen it. If you are traveling to WDW at Christmas time don't miss it. Coming up....we ride Test Track, and All Aboard the Damn Judi Dench History Extravaganza! Yay!! I was hoping you'd love it!!! :) It really is such a moving description and storytelling of Jesus' life and trials. Russell gets all seriously choked up and sobby both times we've seen it, as did I. We snuck down for a weekend in December so that we could see it again on Sunday, December 16th. Lea Solanga narrated, she's the singing voice for Jasmine in Aladdin and for Mulan. She did a fantastic job. Original Holly was there the same weekend and saw it the day before on Saturday, same narrator.I'll do that every single year if we can, that's how much we love it. The orchestra and choir are both so amazing and powerful.SOOO glad you loved it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nicki aka Rebelstand 272 Posted January 11, 2013 Report Share Posted January 11, 2013 Would love to hear Gary read the phone book so I can't even imagine how good the CP was Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DaveInTN 3,247 Posted January 11, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2013 Yay!! I was hoping you'd love it!!! :) It really is such a moving description and storytelling of Jesus' life and trials. Russell gets all seriously choked up and sobby both times we've seen it, as did I. We snuck down for a weekend in December so that we could see it again on Sunday, December 16th. Lea Solanga narrated, she's the singing voice for Jasmine in Aladdin and for Mulan. She did a fantastic job. Original Holly was there the same weekend and saw it the day before on Saturday, same narrator.I'll do that every single year if we can, that's how much we love it. The orchestra and choir are both so amazing and powerful.SOOO glad you loved it.I had only seen the CP one time before, narrated by Steven Curtis Chapman. It was very good then, but for a variety of reasons including bad seating and misbehaving kids, it didn't blow me away. This time I was awe struck. Would love to hear Gary read the phone book so I can't even imagine how good the CP wasGary Sinese reading the phone book....I can honestly say I've never considered that before. ____________________________________________As I have a cold and plan on staying in tonight...I am going to try to get another update posted this evening. So, for all you people home on Friday night with no lives like me, stay tuned.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Momof6....aka Marty 769 Posted January 11, 2013 Report Share Posted January 11, 2013 What do you mean you will try to post the videeo of Anna dancing? What makes you think this might be optional?? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
disney4dan 68 Posted January 11, 2013 Report Share Posted January 11, 2013 I am also at home, sick on the couch on a Friday night - looking forward to more of your TR! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nicki aka Rebelstand 272 Posted January 11, 2013 Report Share Posted January 11, 2013 Gary, Sir Patrick, Hugh Jackman, Ewan Mcgrwgor, and Alex skarsguard - any and all of them could I happily listen to them read a phone book. That's just the short list Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rdancemom... Pam 113 Posted January 11, 2013 Report Share Posted January 11, 2013 woohoo :jumpforjoy I'm in! I'm positive I have no life anymore but not at all certain where it went to. So nice to share in yours. Your family is truly Blessed. INC looks great and the girls are growing up so fast... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Family of Bears 98 Posted January 11, 2013 Report Share Posted January 11, 2013 Great food pics! We have had the margherita pizza as well as that shrimp and bean salad and loved them both. We also had the Sangria and it was really tasty. A pitcher was good for two and reasonably priced. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
disney4dan 68 Posted January 12, 2013 Report Share Posted January 12, 2013 Sangria sounds pretty good right now! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PureTcrazy...rita 380 Posted January 12, 2013 Report Share Posted January 12, 2013 I'm so glad you had such an awesome night at the CP. Our narrator was Kurt Franklin, he was awesome! I know I was moved! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DaveInTN 3,247 Posted January 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2013 All Aboard the Damn Judi Dench History Extravaganza!This will be a relatively short update, as we have almost reached the end of December 23rd. After the CP, we filed out of the theater and headed through the WS toward the Mexico end. We had Test Track fastpasses to use in a little while, so that was our ultimate destination. INC was staying back with Anna, and the rest of headed here.We were excited to ride the updated attraction, although I had read mixed reviews here from Fiends regarding the retheming. Pretty much everyone that has riden TT since the refurb has posted a pic of this concept car. Why should I be different?We didn't get the full car design experience...I assume because we were in the FP line. We pretty much just got to choose from a handful of predesigned cars based on our priorities; efficiency, capability, power, etc.. This is what we came up with. The process was very rushed, and honestly I think they could completely skip it. I got nothing from it. A prototype of the engine from my van.Oh, wait. That's a Chevy engine. I don't buy those anymore. All strapped in and ready to go!Our ride photo....me, my girls, and kd lang. My impressions on the new theming? Two thumbs down. I really liked the old car testing aspects...hokey as they may have become. Now it's just a bunch of Tron lights. But the car still goes really fast outside, and that's fun. But IMO they really botched this. The whole scene where you used to be driving through the forest and the truck is coming at you? Now it's a ridiculous mess. The trees are neon, as is the truck. Stupid. But that's just my opinion. And like I said, you still go fast at the end. So all is well at the end of the day. Afterward, we met up with INC and Anna, and decided to hit one more attraction before heading back to the Fort. Yep, as I'm sure you guessed by the title of this post...we rode the Golf Ball. Spaceship Earth. Or as we have come to calling it....the Damn Judi Dench History Extravaganza! I've made no secret in the past of my disdain for DJD's narration. Disney falls into the trap of many Americans...they hear a British accent and find it convincing. I find the accent distracting and a bit condescending. I have nothing against Damn Judi Dench personally. I'm sure she's a nice person, and a competent actress. But I don't like hearing the history of Western civilization from her. I think Gary Sinese would be a better choice. But from what I hear, he's booked solid performing the phonebook in some RV park in Texas. Ok, so in any case, we entered the golf ball to ride. INC and I took Anna with us, seated in the middle. One of the first things that comes up on the touchscreen is a language selection screen. You may remember on a previous trip report of mine that I failed to select English and somehow ended up stuck on German. That kinda sucked. I don't speak German. Well, I wasn't exactly paying attention, and when the screen came up, Anna immediately touched it. And what did she touch?Oy! Japanese. I don't speak Japanese. Any better than I speak German. I asked the CM whether it could be reset. She just laughed and said "no". Thanks. So we rode the Damn Judi Dench History Extravaganza, sans Damn Judi Dench. Which wasn't the worst thing in the world. For one night only, it was the Damn Suri Yamaguchi History Extravanza. And I actually liked it. Afterward, we headed to the buses and made our way home. It was a cold night, and we needed our heaters in the trailer. We snuggled in our beds, and eagerly awaited the next day...Christmas Eve! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lou... 3,118 Posted January 12, 2013 Report Share Posted January 12, 2013 The show is about an hour long, but it feels like 20 minutes. It was over too soon. But it was great, and I recommend it to anyone that has never seen it. If you are traveling to WDW at Christmas time don't miss it. Sadly, I guess that I've seen it too many times and it's become less than magical. It never changes. How about letting some of the singing celebs sing?We went one day before you and as I was watching those horn players I was thinking, it must be though to stand holding that horn for an hour. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DaveInTN 3,247 Posted January 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2013 Many of you have seen my Gwen's videos before. She has put one together of this trip and it's on YouTube. Because of editing issues from the number of files she was using, it is split into 7 pieces. If you are interested in watching, click the link below, and then click "Play All" at the top of the screen. It should play the 7 videos one after the other. WARNING: It is 10 min long....http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVC81FaotY_BMn9KFqGspd8Bhh5-tiK7w Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PureTcrazy...rita 380 Posted January 12, 2013 Report Share Posted January 12, 2013 Many of you have seen my Gwen's videos before. She has put one together of this trip and it's on YouTube. Because of editing issues from the number of files she was using, it is split into 7 pieces. If you are interested in watching, click the link below, and then click "Play All" at the top of the screen. It should play the 7 videos one after the other. WARNING: It is 10 min long....http://www.youtube.c...Gspd8Bhh5-tiK7wand worth every single minute! I adore Gwen and her videos! She is a talented young lady! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LONE-STAR 370 Posted January 12, 2013 Report Share Posted January 12, 2013 I agree with you Dave the new test track is just stupid now. Once a great ride, not now. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LONE-STAR 370 Posted January 12, 2013 Report Share Posted January 12, 2013 Great videos Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted January 12, 2013 Report Share Posted January 12, 2013 Better late to the party than never! :wave1:Love the photo captions and the pood forn!Gwen's video was terrific. I especially loved all the random dancing. :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mouseketab.....Carol 1,261 Posted January 12, 2013 Report Share Posted January 12, 2013 the videos are soooo cool!!!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
momof3kids-Yvonne 594 Posted January 12, 2013 Report Share Posted January 12, 2013 Love the videos!!!I don't about you all, but I swear Anna was giving me lots of kisses throughout the videos.Stella: "Yo brothaaa"Me: :rofl3: :rofl2:She is at my absolute favorite age :heartsmiley: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nicki aka Rebelstand 272 Posted January 12, 2013 Report Share Posted January 12, 2013 1. Gary will be unavailable for some time but I may need to start a fund to pay his bills. 2. Go Anna. Perhaps she was hoping for Russian and pick Japanese by accident. (Like father, like daughter)3. Will have to wait to watch the video when on the computer. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.