Hi Sheila,
Welcome to the Disney Parks Moms Panel! How exciting to plan a trip to the Walt Disney World Resort during the holiday season!
The
Candlelight Processional is absolutely beautiful. The music and storytelling capture the joy of the season. Be sure you have checked to see who the celebrity narrator is for the date of your visit. Whether or not you will have time to head back to the room prior to your dinner at California Grill depends on where your resort hotel is, the crowds and your transportation options.
Since typically fly, we have to depend on
Resort Transportation. While convenient, it is not necessarily speedy. I suggest you download the
My Disney Experience Mobile App. With the app, you can "Get Directions" and see estimated transit times between locations. The app estimates transit time between Epcot and California Grill at 46 minutes if you were going directly from the park and to dinner.
Since we normally stay at a resort hotel with access to the Resort Monorail, we would be able to watch the Candlelight Processional, go back to the resort hotel, then hop on the monorail to get to dinner at California Grill. On my last visit, I stayed at Disney's Art of Animation Resort and Disney's All-Star Sports Resort. I do not think you would be able to head back to either of these resort hotels and get to dinner at California Grill on time. If you did, you would only have a few minutes in the resort room.
Sheila, we adore watching the Happily Ever After show from California Grill. The window tables provide spectacular views!
Magic, memories and Minnie Mouse hugs,
Donyell