Welcome to planDisney, Heather! I'm so glad to be able to answer your question today. Choosing a
Candlelight Processional Dining Package is a great way to enhance your vacation with the magic of the Christmas story, and I'm happy to walk you through how to double-check your reservation to make sure that you've booked a package for your preferred night.
From what you've described, it sounds like you may have booked a regular dining reservation, not a Candlelight Processional Dining Package. When you book a dining package, you choose your show time as the first step of booking, and that show time appears in your confirmation e-mail as well as in
My Disney Experience. The reservation title should read something like "[Restaurant Name] Candlelight (Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner)" followed by the show time. So, for example, if you booked
Garden Grill for a 1:00 PM lunch and a 5:00 PM show time, it would read as "The Garden Grill Candlelight Lunch (5:00 PM Show).
Take a second look at My Disney Experience and your confirmation email. Open "My Plans," tap the reservation, and check the wording. If it doesn't explicitly say "Candlelight" with a show time listed, it's almost certainly a standard dining reservation without Candlelight Processional seating included. The dining package is what includes your guaranteed seating voucher for the performance; a regular dining reservation doesn't come with that.
If you discover it's not a package, you've got options! The best move is to modify or re-book into a true Candlelight Processional Dining Package for your preferred restaurant and mealtime. When you're on the dining reservation page, make sure that you are selecting "
EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays presented by AdventHealth - Candlelight Processional Dining Package" and not just selecting the restaurant you want to dine at. You must book the dining package specifically through that listing. If you're unable to find your first choice, don't fret! People change their plans all the time, so keep checking. You can also try another participating restaurant or a different time of day. Once you're seated for your package meal, your server will give you the Candlelight Processional seating voucher with your assigned show time, and you'll head to the America Gardens Theatre a bit early to line up in the dining package entrance.
If it does turn out to be a bona fide package (and the title and confirmation says "Candlelight"), then you're all set and your show time should already be on the reservation details and will be printed on the voucher at the restaurant. Either way, a quick double-check in the app right now will tell you which one you've got. Fingers crossed you snagged the package you want!
Have a magical day, Heather!
Jessica