PDA

View Full Version : No Candlelight Dining Package for 2009



Pages : [1] 2

AVP
10-09-2009, 11:17 AM
A spokesperson for the Disneyland Resort has confirmed for MousePlanet that there will be no Candlelight Dining Packages offered for 2009. D23 members will be able to purchase tickets to the Candlelight Spectacular event we wrote about yesterday (link (http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showthread.php?t=133501)), but there will be no other seating opportunities available to the general public. It looks like anyone who wants to see the show this year will do so from somewhere on Main Street.

AVP

Drince88
10-09-2009, 11:20 AM
So aside from the show that D23 is at, there will be NO chairs and the whole thing is 'line up as early as you can' or will there be no opportunity to 'line up as early as you can' and everything is JUST VIPs?

K & S
10-09-2009, 11:55 AM
And once again Disney gives their core fan base the one-finger salute!

:eyeroll:

currence
10-09-2009, 12:18 PM
I'm very conflicted about this news. On the one hand, if they can't do it right, then part of me is happy that they're not even trying. I had already decided that I wasn't going to go through the emotional roller coaster of trying to get tickets this year, although I did enjoy going last year and had amazing seats. Part of me thinks it would have been better to leave the packages they way they were last year, but only allow D23 members to buy them. Since anyone can join D23 it would simply be an economic decision how much they wanted to spend. If enough people decided that it wasn't worth joining D23 to try to get tickets, then hopefully the supply/demand issues would equalize and fewer people would be upset that they couldn't get past the ever-crashing servers long enough to buy tickets (more people would be upset over being "nickeled and dimed and forced to buy D23 memberships" but I see that as a lesser complaint).

On the other hand, there has been speculation in years past that if it wasn't for the dining program that the processional itself will be targeted for elimination. I suppose since they are charging so much more, they won't need to sell as many tickets to be profitable. But I do hope that this is not the beginning of the end of the processional itself. I just have visions of Pleasure Island and being told next year that because (if) the D23 event didn't sell out, obviously people are no longer interested in going to the Candlelight processional on main street and they are going to stop doing it.

Does anyone know if Club 33 members will still have a dinner package?

Also, if there are fewer VIP seats (at least for some shows) does this mean that there may be more general seating/standing for the other shows? If the masses could be closer to the stage that would be a benefit.

DisneylandDad
10-09-2009, 12:21 PM
Wow. I am wondering who the narrator is going to be this year, I'm guessing Ebenezer Scrooge might be appropriate.

Drince88
10-09-2009, 12:26 PM
Wow. I am wondering who the narrator is going to be this year, I'm guessing Ebenezer Scrooge might be appropriate.

That's a good one. If it's Jim Carrey, it would be like it was Scrooge because isn't he playing that role in the movie?

MammaSilva
10-09-2009, 12:28 PM
Well considering the D23 event is ONLY on Sunday that leaves the Saturday shows wide open for camping out....the hub should be a total zoo ...I'm glad we avoid that weekend like a plague.

houseofmouse
10-09-2009, 12:33 PM
Get less, pay more so the trend continues. Just in general it seems now you pay more and get less and now only D23 members who have deep pockets get the privileges.
Sad. But maybe it will only be this year so they can gauge how successful this D23 package is.

DisneylandDad
10-09-2009, 12:33 PM
That's a good one. If it's Jim Carrey, it would be like it was Scrooge because isn't he playing that role in the movie?

That is what I was thinking. Good catch!
It does not affect us either way, but I know lots of people really view the CP packages like a family tradition sort of thing. This is a sad move by Disney. IMO at least.

K & S
10-09-2009, 12:33 PM
Wow. I am wondering who the narrator is going to be this year, I'm guessing Ebenezer Scrooge might be appropriate.

Brian Wilson has been rumored.

cstephens
10-09-2009, 12:36 PM
I know some people will be disappointed to hear this, but on the other hand, it doesn't prevent anyone from seeing the show, and now, it's completely free. I know people in the past have expressed disappointment that they have to pay outrageous prices for a rushed meal just to get a seat at the show.

I guess I don't really see it as being that different than saving a spot for Fantasmic.

adriennek
10-09-2009, 12:44 PM
There are a lot of recent cost increases that Disney has pulled that haven't bothered me. I'm not upset that they changed the 2010 WDW Dining Plan pricing structure. I'm not bothered by rising parking or stroller fees.

But this one... this one stinks like bad, greedy fish.

Disneyland is not Walt Disney World. Disneyland's guest population is far more locally rooted than WDW. Disneyland is a passholder park. Wasn't there a time when Candelight packages were "only" marketed to Club 33 members? That's a prime example of Disneyland promoting their event to a more local market.

So first they make the Disneyland D23 package more expensive than WDW's with fewer benefits, on top of sucking needless park admission fees out of Annual Passholders - and now this.

I'm sure Disney's nicer restaurants will still do a decent business the weekend of Candlelight. But they're dumping a customer service opportunity here and the offer left in it's place is absurd.

They really messed up this one.

Adrienne

ETA: I have never paid to see Candlelight. I'm not a person who 'needs' to see Candlelight. I don't like camping out for seats for it. I don't like having to compete for dinner packages to go. I would have gone, and paid, under the old system, if someone had invited me. That said, I still don't think it stinks.

adriennek
10-09-2009, 01:20 PM
ETA: I have never paid to see Candlelight. I'm not a person who 'needs' to see Candlelight. I don't like camping out for seats for it. I don't like having to compete for dinner packages to go. I would have gone, and paid, under the old system, if someone had invited me. That said, I still don't think it stinks.

DO think it stinks. Not don't.

Adrienne

AVP
10-09-2009, 01:25 PM
So aside from the show that D23 is at, there will be NO chairs and the whole thing is 'line up as early as you can' or will there be no opportunity to 'line up as early as you can' and everything is JUST VIPs?My guess - the set up will be identical or similar to past years, but what seating there is will be reserved for Club 33 members, invited community guests, VIPs, whatever. I don't know if there will be additional seating behind that (as in past years, where there were rows of chairs and benches, and Disney formed a line for those), or if they'll increase the size of the standing area.

It's pretty much going to be a return to the way they handled Candlelight when it was on Main Street, and before they started this whole dining package mess. I think I'm going to skip Disneyland this year, and go see Eden Espinosa perform at the City of Orange Candlelight ceremony instead.

AVP

olegc
10-09-2009, 02:01 PM
I know some people will be disappointed to hear this, but on the other hand, it doesn't prevent anyone from seeing the show, and now, it's completely free. I know people in the past have expressed disappointment that they have to pay outrageous prices for a rushed meal just to get a seat at the show.

I guess I don't really see it as being that different than saving a spot for Fantasmic.

well, two things on those points
1) yes free - BUT - if they don't sell many seats then will someone examining the spreadsheet simply say that candlelight is not worth the expense and discontinue it? it's not a decision to be made this year - but next or year after?

2) well, it's a little different - fantsasmic is offered every weekend in the off season (unless the river is in refurb) and every night during busy times. Candlelight is only offered one weekend.. so, really, you will have more people trying to attend fewer shows..

olegc
10-09-2009, 02:08 PM
i wonder if some bean counter somewhere, or a manager or director who does not "get" the Disney way, decided that to alleviate the Dining package mess - why not totally change it to a D23 event and not offer dining packages.

That, along with what definitely now appears as a huge push by Disney to make D23 the preemanent fan group (dumping APs), makes me think there is an attempt to leverage the local market here in Anaheim to see what works for them - and how much is the local clientele willing to spend. If this One Parks idea is still brewing in someone's mind, and they feel that WDW is where to provide value and Disneyland is where the wallets are, we're in for a tough 2010. When I worked at Rockwell in the 80s in Downey - we could not spend any money because we were the cash cow for the company from NASA due to shuttle construction. I wonder if that same mentality is coming to Anaheim. Way too early to tell - but why not keep the price point going up here until folks stop. It's a risk I bet the company is now willing to take since it IS a locals market. No need to get the rooms filled as long as the gates are busy.

The Red Head
10-09-2009, 02:17 PM
Wasn't there a time when Candelight packages were "only" marketed to Club 33 members? That's a prime example of Disneyland promoting their event to a more local market.

Maybe AVP can help jog my memory on how they used to distribute tickets years ago before the dining packages and before the internet when no one really knew about Candlelight. They gave out tickets for free and you had to line up to get them they day of the show. But not so many people knew about it back then. It would be a mad house to try to line people up before the park opened to give away tickets now.

cstephens
10-09-2009, 02:32 PM
They gave out tickets for free and you had to line up to get them they day of the show. But not so many people knew about it back then. It would be a mad house to try to line people up before the park opened to give away tickets now.

I've never done it, but I know people who did, and having heard their stories, it seemed like it was pretty much a madhouse back then too, especially for the time that they moved Candlelight to the Fantasyland Theatre.

I guess I remember when the tickets were free, and then they started selling dining packages, and there was A LOT of complaining about how Disney was now making you pay for something that used to be free. So now, it's going back to being free after all these years, but there are complaints as well.

I think there will be complaints either way, so I'm not sure what the "correct" answer is.

DizneyMommy
10-09-2009, 02:38 PM
Maybe AVP can help jog my memory on how they used to distribute tickets years ago before the dining packages and before the internet when no one really knew about Candlelight. They gave out tickets for free and you had to line up to get them they day of the show. But not so many people knew about it back then. It would be a mad house to try to line people up before the park opened to give away tickets now.

I remember it being that way years ago as well. Once upon a time it was info you knew if you knew someone in the know and not just something that was publicized online. Now with the whole recent Dining Package thing and it being much more widely publicized, the whole hand out wristbands in the morning thing would be a nightmare. I see tents involved!

AVP
10-09-2009, 02:44 PM
This is what I wrote in 2003 (link to article (http://www.mouseplanet.com/7190/Music_by_Candlelight)):


Disneyland's Candlelight Procession and Ceremony event has become a holiday tradition for Southern California families, including my husband and myself. We would join our friends at Disneyland early in the day to claim spaces along Main Street, U.S.A., where we could watch the processional and hear the ceremony presented from Town Square.

The conditions were not ideal and the sight lines poor for most of the audience, but the regulars knew what to expect from the event that had been delighting park guests since 1958.

When the event moved to the Fantasyland Theater in 1998, fans had to learn new strategies for getting a spot to see the show. We were there before park opening that first year, waiting in the early morning cold for tickets to the show. The next year, we found that it was possible to simply walk into the Sunday night shows with no tickets and no waits.
I remember that we usually grabbed the curb outside the Main Street Opera House and waited most of the day with friends, taking turns to go to the bathroom or get food. The seats that were there were usually reserved for Club 33 members, invited community leaders and the families of the Cast Member Choir. I remember one year Tony and I were invited to sit in the VIP area at the last minute, just as the show was starting, and it was a huge treat, because that just wasn't available to the general public. I seem to remember that the friends we'd been waiting with weren't terribly happy with us.

adriennek
10-09-2009, 03:23 PM
I remember one year Tony and I were invited to sit in the VIP area at the last minute, just as the show was starting, and it was a huge treat, because that just wasn't available to the general public. I seem to remember that the friends we'd been waiting with weren't terribly happy with us.

I got to sit with you so I was absolutely fine with it. ;)

Adrienne

mkraemer
10-09-2009, 08:18 PM
ETA: I have never paid to see Candlelight. I'm not a person who 'needs' to see Candlelight. I don't like camping out for seats for it. I don't like having to compete for dinner packages to go.

Unlike the esteemed AdK, I have paid to see Candlelight. I have gotten dinner packages--for 6-8 people in my family/group. We've met friends there who've also gotten dinner packages. We've had small children with us and we felt that seats were essential. (Like AdK, I do not like camping out for seats.)

We had lovely seats both times we went to Candlelight. The first time, Marie Osmond was the narrator (she was releasing a new doll at the Disneyana shop that weekend), and the next time, we saw Dick Van Dyke as narrator. We had a splendid time, particularly being able to see Dick Van Dyke.

But. (you knew there'd have to be a 'but' didn't you?)

Dinner packages weren't inexpensive; it's not something I want to pay extra to do, year after year.

Trying to go into Disneyland when the second Candlelight was being performed was almost the worst crowd situation I've ever experienced at the park. If someone didn't have a dining package and seats, I can't fathom how they'd be able to see the show decently. To remove that package and still keep a seating section reserved for VIPs, seems a recipe for a hideously crowded situation on Main Street.

We decided we didn't need to come back to Candlelight after a couple of visits there, due to the dining package expense and crowds. I never recommend that weekend to anyone going to the park just to see the holiday decorations, simply because of the crowds.

I feel extra comfortable with that decision, given this news.

Z3ro to H3ro
10-09-2009, 08:21 PM
Hopefully not too off topic with this... but if anyone would like to attend I have a membership and they are welcome to use it for tickets.

MammaSilva
10-09-2009, 08:35 PM
Hopefully not too off topic with this... but if anyone would like to attend I have a membership and they are welcome to use it for tickets.

That is really a generous offer but the biggest thing most of us have issue with is the price point of the D23 event combined with the fact that they've cancelled the 'common folk' option ...at $275 with no discount for AP holders it would cost me 825 for the 3 of us to attend...I took 5 people to Club 33 we ate had drinks and spent a LOT on souvenirs and I didn't spend 825 bucks for one evening.

Z3ro to H3ro
10-09-2009, 08:47 PM
I understand Mammasilva. I have the same issue... I posted it in another thread.

I just thought that if there is someone out that that really really doesn't want to miss it, yet doesn't want or have a membership, I'd help out.

Believe me... I have already written my letter to Disney about it... and the reply was "Thanks for the feedback. We usually poll our guests on topics such as this so we will be happy to use your feedback."