EPCOT Festival of the Holidays Guide

Epcot is home to two of the most famous international festivals in the world. During the spring, the park hosts the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival followed by the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival during the fall.
In recent years, park officials have doubled down on the concept. They’ve introduced two more events, one in January, the Epcot International Festival of the Arts, and the other during the end-of-year holiday season. Let’s take a look at the latter one today. Here’s everything you need to know about the Epcot International Festival of the Holidays.

What Is This Festival?
The four festivals currently presented at Epcot are largely similar in style. Disney based all of them off of the first one, the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival, which debuted in 1994. The following year, the park added the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival, their pride and joy.
The “problem” with these two events is that they’re short-term, running roughly 10 weeks each. With 52 weeks on the calendar, park officials wanted more opportunities to sell specialty merchandise and seasonal foods. Plus, the exhibitions pull traffic from Future World to the World Showcase.

To bridge the gap, Disney has added a seasonal event, which runs from November 1th8 through December 30th. The Epcot International Festival of the Holidays officially began in 2016. Epcot had previously toyed with a seasonal event called Holidays Around the World before settling on the current version, though.

The Festival of the Holidays shares similarities with the two best-known events at the park. Most importantly, the beloved food kiosks are available. During this event, they’re called Holiday Kitchens and yes, they do have a yuletide slant. Many of the dishes celebrate the season in some way. The Holiday Kitchens are also the main difference from the old version of the event. Disney has expanded the exhibition to 16 Holiday Kitchens. We’ll discuss them in detail in the next section.

This event is about more than just the food, though. Epcot provides something that the official Disney site describes as “An International Yuletide Extravaganza.” What it means is that guests wandering through the World Showcase learn about the holiday customs of 11 different nations. Every representation country at Epcot celebrates the season during the Festival of the Holidays. You’ll feel like you’re on a global tour of various yuletide traditions.

How Is the Food?
Come on, you know the answer to this one. Epcot is the de facto capital of delicious food at Walt Disney World. When you visit the Festival of the Holidays, you’re experiencing global cuisine on a grand scale. You already knew this, though.

The Epcot food team faced a difficult challenge due to your knowledge. They had to take an existing idea that is basically perfect and somehow make it better. What did they invent? COOKIE STROLL!!!
Yes, this year’s Festival Guide features a series of locations that sell special holiday cookies. When you purchase each one, you’ll get a stamp for your book. Once you’ve earned all five stamps, you’ll receive a special “completer cookie” that is apparently the best one of the bunch. Remember, friends. You’re not eating half a dozen cookies in a single visit. You’re being a completionist! Your mama didn’t raise a quitter, right?

The rest of the food here borders on unholy. You may not be able to look your gym trainer in the eye after you attend the Festival of Holidays. The menu offers you everything but a proven method for avoiding calories. With 16 Holiday Kitchens in place, you’re going to eat, probably to excess. That’s okay, though. You’re at Walt Disney World! You should have fun!
Plus, the World Showcase is 1.3 miles long. You’re burning calories almost as quickly as you can devour them. You’re welcome for this convenient excuse that you can pass along to your friends with my blessing.
Many of the dishes at the Holiday Kitchens reinforce the seasonal theme. You’ll find more turkey and ham than you would during the Food & Wine Festival, as an example. The cookie colors favor red and green, just like wrapping paper or the poster of every Hallmark Christmas movie ever made.

Disney’s even added meal themes for some of their offerings. You can devour the Feast of Three Kings (hold the myrrh), a beef dish that ends with a vegetarian sugar cookie. Prost! sells enough holiday beers to make your uncle’s rants seem (at least temporarily) bearable. And the Sapphire Holiday Kitchen will cause you to consider giving up your current life to move to Morocco.
Even by Epcot’s lofty festival standards, the food during Festival of the Holidays is OUTstanding. You don’t need to eat anywhere else at Walt Disney World during this event. There’s enough delicious food here to sustain you for six weeks. And the desserts are as good as it gets during the holiday season.
In fact, I want to highlight Taste Track for its glorious croissant doughnuts and its – I swear this is real – Pancake Milkshake. The doughnuts are works of art, while the Pancake Milkshake somehow counts as a snack credit on the Disney Dining Plan. You can do know better with a snack credit.
Look, folks, you’re visiting the Festival of the Holidays for the food. And it’s so good that I’m going to have to eat right now because I’ve made myself hungry just thinking about it. Alas, I won’t be getting a Pancake Milkshake because such magical creations exist only at Walt Disney World.

Candlelight Processional
Mentioning the Candlelight Processional is kind of a cheat. It would happen with or without the Festival of the Holidays, as this event is a staple of the holidays at Walt Disney World. Still, the dates coincide, and the location is the same. So, guests who visit the Festival of the Holidays during the evening will want to know about the Candlelight Processional as well.
For those of you who have never visited Orlando during the holidays, the Candlelight Processional is a seminal event. A 50-piece orchestra goes on stage and performs many holiday musical favorites during the re-telling of the nativity story. A celebrity narrator ties everything together.
Disney just hosted a livestream of the event the other day on the official Parks Blog. Disney favorite Neil Patrick Harris was the narrator of a wonderful performance. By watching the video, you’ll appreciate what’s so special about the event. For many Disney Vacation Club (DVC) members, it’s a family tradition during the holidays.
Here’s the list of the remaining narrators for 2018:
• December 7-9: Whoopi Goldberg
• December 10-12: Bart Millard
• December 13-14: Blair Underwood
• December 15-17: Gary Sinise
• December 18-20: Pat Sajak
• December 21-23: Auli’I Cravalho
• December 24-25: Edward James Olmos
• December 26-27: Jodi Benson
•December 28-30: Cal Ripken Jr.
Several of these celebrities have hosted the event previously. You may find video of their narration on YouTube if you’re interested.
Due to demand for the event, sellouts occur regularly. You can guarantee a seat at the Candlelight Processional by booking a dining package. Several Epcot restaurants have Candlelight Processional packages available, some of which are even breakfasts.
For example, you could combine the delightful character meal at Trattoria al Forno with seats to the processional. You can learn more on Disney’s official site. I highly recommend a package meal since Disney is so crowded during the holidays. Without guaranteed seats, you run the risk of getting shut out of the Candlelight Processional.

Holiday Storytellers and Traditions
My favorite part of this event takes place at the various pavilions. Cast members evolve into storytellers during the Festival of the Holidays. They relay the details of the various traditions of their people.
At the Norway Pavilion, a woman in a fabulous outfit will tell you about Julenissen, a mischievous gnome. When you’re visiting the France Pavilion, a thin Santa Claus type named Père Noël will explain the differences between Santa Claus and himself. Even The American Adventure tells new stories. You should attend the Kwanzaa celebration when you have a chance.
The storytellers keep to a schedule, which makes them easy to find. I’m not going to post exact times here since the list is prone to change without notice. Instead, I’ll list the various experiences available throughout the World Showcase.
The American Adventure:
• Hanukkah
• Kwanzaa
• Santa and Mrs. Claus
France Pavilion:
• Père Noël
Germany Pavilion:
• Helga and the First Christmas Tree
Between Morocco and France Pavilions:
• The Hanukkah Storyteller is positioned between these two pavilions
Italy Pavilion:
• La Befana, the Good Christmas Witch
Japan Pavilion:
• Daruma Doll and the Japanese New Year
Morocco Pavilion:
• Ramadan Traditions
Norway Pavilion:
• Julenissen the Christmas Gnome
United Kingdom Pavilion:
• Father Christmas
The World Showcase provides special musical performances during the event, too. These are in addition to or instead of existing shows. Please keep this in mind when you plan your visit. The shows include:
• Voices of Liberty Dickens Carolers at The American Adventure
• Canadian Holiday Voyageurs at the Canada Pavilion
• Chinese Lion Dance at the China Pavilion
• Fiesta de Navidad at the Mexico Pavilion
The musical options during the Festival of the Holidays are constant enough that you’ll be humming the entire time you’re at the World Showcase. The only warning I’ll give you is that it’s a danger zone for anyone participating in the Little Drummer Boy Challenge.
With the Candlelight Processional, the Holiday Storytellers, and musical performances at the World Showcase, you’d want to attend the Festival of the Holidays even if it didn’t have delectable foods. The Cookie Stroll and Holiday Kitchens are what puts the event over the top as a must-visit seasonal event.