Today in Disney Parks and Resorts History - Candlelight at Disneyland

December 21, 1958 – Disneyland – Anaheim, CA

Disneyland presents the very first  Candlelight Processional Parade. Hosted by actor Dennis Morgan, it is performed on Main Street, U.S.A. and in Town Square. The event was conceived by Dr. Charles Hirt of the University of Southern California School of Music and features a large choir from schools invited from around Southern California to proceed down Main Street while singing Christmas carols prior to the re-telling of the birth of Jesus in front of the Train Station in Town Square.  (This event will become a Christmas-season tradition at the park, and later be copied at Walt Disney World in 1971, where it would also become a Christmas-season tradition).

Today in Disney Parks and Resorts History - Candlelight Processional

December 18, 1971 – Walt Disney World – Lake Buena Vista, FL

Walt Disney World's very first Candlelight Processional is held.  Modeled after the Candlelight Processional that has been a staple of Christmas season entertainment at Disneyland since 1958, the processional travels up Main Street, U.S.A. from Town Square to the forecourt of Cinderella Castle where a performance featuring a mass choir of 1,200 carolers from across Florida takes place, with movie star Rock Hudson narrating the Christmas story. 

Tuesday Trivia - Candlelight Processional

The Candlelight Processional first premiered at Disneyland in December 1958.  This parade of of carolers illuminates the Magic Kingdom with the glow of a thousand candles and the music of a thousand voices, as the performers process down Main Street, U.S.A. to then mass in front of the Train Station, with the "Living Chistmas Tree" at the center (made of participants from the Disneyland Employee Choir). 

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