Holiday D-Lights Tour Review

Of all the tours currently offered at Walt Disney World, none seems to be of questionable value more so than the seasonal Holiday D-Lights.

The Holiday D-Lights tour allows guests age 16 and older the unique opportunity to see Walt Disney World’s three major holiday events across three parks in one night: Cinderella Castle Lighting at Magic Kingdom, Osborne Lights at Hollywood Studios, and the Candlelight Processional at Epcot. In addition, Disney adds in food and visit backstage to create a whirlwind night of holiday magic.

Holiday D-Lights is the most exclusive standard tour offered at Walt Disney World. Available only 9 nights in 2011, there were only 360 guest spaces available on this seasonal tour.

With this in mind, I made sure to book my space as soon as the Candlelight celebrity narrators were announced in June.  Since a Candlelight Processional viewing is part of the tour, I wanted to make sure I got my whole $199 worth. (Note: AAA Diamond Cardholders, Annual Passholders and DVC Members are eligible for a 15% discount. Disney VISA Cardholders receive 20% off when booking with their Disney VISA.)

Since Holiday D-Lights was only offered Monday-Wednesday for the three weeks after Thanksgiving, there weren’t many narrators to choose from. I ended up settling on a “Who’s That” as most of the big names are reserved for weekends.

Disney released an updated celebrity narrator schedule in November. As soon as I noticed my beloved Neil Patrick Harris was performing on a Monday, I called and rescheduled my tour date. (Most Disney tours can be canceled or rescheduled up to two days in advance.) Given the limited number of tour nights, I was surprised there was still availability.

Like all the Disney Institute-lead tours, Holiday D-Lights guests check in outside of Epcot in front of Guest Relations to the far right of the turnstiles. By the time I arrived at 3:45pm for the 4pm tour, the rest of the group had already shown their IDs and received their name tags and wristbands. It is important that everyone in your party brings a government-issued photo ID to check in for the tour.

After one last call for folks to use the restrooms, all 40 of us (a full tour) plus our two guides headed off to board a Disney Cruise Line bus that would serve as our chariot for the evening.

Wilderness Lodge – Whispering Canyon Café

Our first stop was the Wilderness Lodge. This was the first of several changes from previous seasons of Holiday D-Lights. 2011 was the tour’s third year of operation, and the food offering has changed each year. We started our tour off with a family-style all you care to eat meal at the Whispering Canyon.  Our meal included cornbread, coleslaw, baked beans, corn on the cob, fries, potato wedges, sausage, chicken, barbeque ribs and endless soda or tea. (Note: Guests with dietary concerns should alert the phone agent when booking the tour. Also be sure to remind the tour guides when checking in on the day of so they can make sure alternative food is available when you arrive.)

The food at Whispering Canyon was delicious as always, and I was very glad I was prepared to eat a full meal at 4:30pm that day. In previous years, Holiday D-Lights guests had a light buffet later in the tour. The guide said this year’s meal change was due to guest feedback saying that the buffet food wasn’t filling enough.

Event and Decorating Support

We headed backstage to the Event and Decorating Support warehouse straight after dinner (another schedule change from previous years). This was the first stop where we needed to use the audio headset provided to us earlier. These headsets allowed everyone to hear the guides no matter where we were standing.

Event and Decorating Support teams are responsible for the decorations for over 3,400 events a year. Not only do they handle events in Florida, but they are responsible for Disney events world-wide. They do work for corporations as well as individuals who contact Disney wanting to have Disney decorations for their events. Patrick, part of the Event and Decorating Support team, mentioned that their biggest private client is a grandfather who spends $3.5-4 million a year for his family’s Christmas celebration. That’s just for decorations!

We didn’t get to walk around very much in the warehouse, but they did have a small photo op set up exclusively for the Holiday D-Lights tour. This is noteworthy since photography backstage is an explicit no-no at Disney. On the way out, Patrick gave us all Disney Parks water bottles.

Magic Kingdom – Cinderella’s Holiday Wish Castle Lighting

Outside the Magic Kingdom, we had to stop at a security checkpoint where a guard boarded the bus and checked our bags just like they do when you enter through normal guest entrances. We did this before entering each park’s backstage area.

We entered the Magic Kingdom from a parking lot located to the right side of Main Street, U.S.A. We walked up and stopped at the entrance to the Hub just in time to see the Castle stage show lighting ceremony. (This was a major improvement from previous years, when tour guests viewed the Castle lighting from the Noodle Station near the smoking section.)

After the Castle lighting, we stopped below the 65 foot Town Square Christmas tree. Here the guide gave us a history on the tree as well as some trivia about what it takes to decorate the Magic Kingdom for the holidays. Magic Kingdom’s tree does not go up until after the taping of the Christmas Day parade. If you take Holiday D-Lights the first week it’s offered, the tree will not be in place yet.

As we boarded the bus, we each received a snowman-shaped crisped rice treat for dessert. On our drive over to the Studios, we watched a short video showing the castle lights at 4 of the 5 Disney castles across the globe. Disneyland Tokyo is the only park that does not have castle lights.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios – The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights

We headed over to Disney’s Hollywood Studios for The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights next. Each year, Disney swathes the Streets of America with millions of Christmas lights that “dance” in time with holiday music. The original lights belonged to Jennings Osborne of Little Rock, Arkansas. Once Jennings was court-ordered to take them down, they found their way to Disney.

Nowadays, the original lights have all been replaced with LEDs, but the sheer magnitude of the display remains. This was probably the most informative of the park stops, as the guide spent time explaining the history of the lights and pointing out little details and tributes throughout the display. We even found the famed purple Halloween cat that is hidden in a different place each year.

We stayed long enough to see two cycles of the lights dancing (which happens every 5-7 minutes), before we had to be off to make of final stop. While this tour needed to keep to a strict schedule to fit everything into one night, it never really felt that rushed.

Epcot – Candlelight Processional

Backstage at Epcot, we passed by the tent housing all the choir groups getting ready for Candlelight Processional. Each day, there are three shows generating over 800 choir robes that have to be washed and returned for the next night.

We entered the World Showcase from behind the American Adventure. This was our last stop, so everyone was instructed to take their bags with them. The guides did offer a ride to front of Epcot after Candlelight if anyone needed it, but everyone opted to stay in the park for Illuminations (an added bonus for the tour since we were not using park admission.)

As indicated in reviews from years past, our Holiday D-Lights Candlelight Processional seating left a lot to be desired. We sat to the far left of the stage pretty far back. Unfortunately, a pole blocked the celebrity narrator. I came to see Neil Patrick Harris, darnit!

I was able to scoot around some to take photos, but the pole was definitely a distraction. As far as tour content goes, our seating location is my only gripe about the tour. I see no reason why dining package and standby guests are receiving better seats than the Holiday D-Lights tour participants who paid $199.

After the performance, we all met up in the lobby of the American Adventure. Our guides bid us farewell and handed out commemorative tour pins. The pins for the holiday tours change every year, so the 2011 Holiday D-Lights tour pin was a limited edition run of 360. (At this point, the pin collectors in the group actually started hopping up in down in excitement.)

Our tour dispersed just in time to find a spot to view the 9:30pm Illuminations with the Holiday Tag. A perfect end to (mostly) lovely evening.

Overall, I really enjoyed the tour – but at $199 for 5 hours, I can’t help but question its value.  The only tour more expensive is Backstage Magic, which is $229 for 7.5 hours. Backstage Magic takes you to 5 backstage locations, and Holiday D-Lights only takes you to Event and Decorating Support. Both tours include a meal at Whispering Canyon and don’t require separate park admission.

Unless you’re in town for a short time and want to see all 3 holiday events in one night, you probably already have some form of admission. Even if you’re only in the parks for 2 days, you could feasibly see the Castle Lighting and Osborne Lights in one night and Candlelight Processional on the other. With the money saved skipping the tour, you could even book one of the Candlelight dining packages with reserved seating.

If money is not a concern, Holiday D-Lights is a good time. If you do decide to try out the tour in 2012, here are my top tips:

1. Book early and keep your eye on the Candlelight Processional celebrity narrator schedule for changes.
2. When choosing a date, keep in mind that the Magic Kingdom’s Christmas tree will not be installed until after the taping of the Christmas parade (usually around the first weekend in December).
3. If you have dietary concerns, alert the phone agent when booking.
4. Be prepared for an early dinner (but bring along a snack just in case the tour changes again for 2012).
5. Bring adequate clothing/rain gear depending on the weather. Disney won’t cancel the tour for rain or cold, so be prepared or be miserable. Bad weather can make Candlelight Processional the longest hour of your life.
6. If you’re into photography, bring a telephoto lens for the Candlelight Processional. You’ll need it to get any decent shots of the celebrity narrator from the tour’s seating area.

Have you tried the Holiday D-Lights tour?  Do you plan on trying it out in 2012? Let us know what you think!