The Resorts Gal Guide to Epcot’s International Festival of the Holidays
Epcot’s International Festival of the Holidays is held every holiday season between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve. It’s one of four festivals hosted throughout the year at Epcot, each having a unique theme. This festival celebrates holiday traditions worldwide through global cuisines, seasonal entertainment, festive decor, and more.
If you’re visiting during this festival, you’ll want to consider how you want to tour the park. For example, if this is a once-in-a-lifetime or an exceptionally rare visit, you might ignore the festival and focus on regular attractions and entertainment. You could also plan to combine some festival activities with regular touring. Lastly, if you’re a regular (or really into the holidays), you might forgo a regular touring plan and primarily focus on the activities offered at the Festival of the Holidays.
The choice is yours. However, whether you decide to combine a few things into your touring plan or go all in, you’ll need to know what’s available. That’s where we can help! Below is our complete guide to the Epcot International Festival of the Holidays.
2024 Dates: November 29th through December 30th
Holiday Kitchens
Here is a list of the holiday kitchens at Epcot’s International Festival of the Holidays.
- Bavaria Holiday Kitchen
- American Holiday Table
- Tangierine Café: Flavors of the Medina
- L’Chaim! Holiday Kitchen
- Yukon Holiday Kitchen
- Holiday Sweets & Treats
- Swirled Showcase
- Bubbles & Brine
- Wine & Wedge
- Experimental Prototype Cookies of Tomorrow (New)
- Favorites of Festivals Past (New)
- Char & Chop
- Refreshment Outpost
- Nochebuena Cocina
- Holiday Hearth Desserts
- Le Marché de Noël
- Tuscany Holiday Kitchen
- Shanghai Holiday Kitchen
- Shi Wasu Holiday Kitchen
- Las Posadas Holiday Kitchen
Select festival items will also be available at Refreshment Port, Funnel Cake, Connections Café, Connections Eatery, Sunshine Seasons, and Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea Company. Check back for a list of menu items for this year’s festival.
Learn More>>Epcot 2024 Holiday Kitchens with Menu Items and Photos
Holiday Cookie Stroll
If you consider yourself a cookie aficionado, you’ll be eager to learn about the Holiday Cookie Stroll. Each year, select holiday kitchens offer a unique cookie. After purchasing five of the ones listed on the stroll, you can pick up a complimentary cookie at a designated kitchen. Here are some of the cookie options we’ve seen.
- Hazelnut Linzer Cookie
- Gingerbread Cookie
- Black and White Cookie (Plant-based)
- Snickerdoodle Cookie
- Cinnamon-spiced Chocolate Crinkle Cookie
- Peppermint Pinwheel Cookie
- Holiday Sugar Cookie
- Jingle Sugar Cookie
- Spaceship Earth Tile Gingerbread Triangle (New)
- Coffee Mocha Cookie (New)
- Peanut Butter Cookie
(You must get your Festival Passport stamped for proof of purchase each time you buy a cookie. Make sure to pick up a passport when you enter the park.)
Entertainment
During the Epcot International Festival of the Holidays, you’ll find a variety of entertainment offerings. However, the most popular is Epcot’s Candlelight Processional.
Candlelight Processional
Each night of the International Festival of the Holidays, guests can hear the stirring story of Christmas retold in the American Gardens Theater of the American Adventure. The performance includes a celebrity narrator, a massed choir, a 50-piece orchestra, herald trumpets, and the Voices of Liberty.
- Dates: Nightly from November 29 to December 30, 2024
- Showtimes: 5:00 p.m., 6:45 p.m. and 8:15 p.m.
- Location: America Gardens Theatre at EPCOT
You might like to preview one of the following articles to learn more about this year’s Candlelight Processional. Note that dining packages sell out quickly.
Joyful
Joyful, a rhythm and blues choir, performs a tribute to Christmas and Kwanza during the Epcot International Festival of the Holidays. They are incredibly entertaining and worth taking the time to see. This holiday season, they will perform at a new location on the CommuniCore Plaza stage, offering four daily showtimes. Those times will be listed in the entertainment section of the My Disney Experience app on the day of your visit.
Holiday Storytellers
Many countries in the World Showcase offer a holiday storyteller at select times throughout the day. Times for each performance are listed in the entertainment section of the My Disney Experience app. We’ve listed each storyteller below per country.
- Mexico Pavilion: Las Posadas Celebration (Dancers, Piñatas and the music of Mariachi Cobre)
- Norway Pavilion: A Mischievous Magical Barn Santa (Celebrate the season with laughter as a mischievous Barn Santa visits Sigrid, an unsuspecting Christmas storyteller.)
- China Pavilion: Chinese Lion Dancer (Catch a glimpse of a colorful performance that brings good fortune and happiness in the Lunar New Year.)
- Italy Pavilion: La Befana (Hear the tale of La Befana, the kind-hearted witch who visits sleeping young children on the Eve of the Epiphany.)
- Japan Pavilion: Daruma Storyteller (Hear the fascinating story of the Daruma doll and the Japanese customs of the New Year!)
- Between the Morocco and France Pavilions: Hanukkah Storyteller (Witness a storyteller recount traveling abroad to explore Hanukkah’s diverse music and traditions worldwide.)
- France Pavilion: Pere Noel (Visit with Père Noël and rediscover the magic of Christmas through the letter of a delightful child.)
- United Kingdom Pavilion: Father Christmas (Join Father Christmas as he rings in the season, sharing the traditions of the United Kingdom with good cheer.)
- Canada Pavilion: Canadian Holiday Voyageurs (Explore holiday customs from the various regions of Canada on a musical tour of the Great White North with the Canadian Holiday Voyageurs.)
Meet Santa Claus
Santa Claus has a meet-and-greet inside the Odyssey Pavilion at Epcot. This is an excellent opportunity to take a holiday photo with your loved ones.
Voices of Liberty
The Voices of Liberty perform daily throughout the year in Epcot’s American Pavilion. However, they wear colonial seasonal attire and sing historical Christmas melodies during the holiday. Times for each performance are listed in the My Disney Experience app. You can also see them take part in the Candlelight Processional each evening.
Gingerbread Displays
Formerly, the American Adventure was home to gingerbread displays of historical monuments and a replica of the pavilion inside the colonial mansion. However, this year, a new gingerbread display featuring Spaceship Earth will debut at Epcot’s Communicore Hall. The display is expected to be 8′ tall! We have a separate article with more details about the creation of the geodesic sphere display.
Glimmering Greenhouses
Living with the Land has an incredible holiday overlay during the Festival called Glimmering Greenhouses. The greenhouse portion of the attraction is covered in holiday lighting and seasonal decor. It will remain open until the park closes so guests can enjoy it after dark. A special (extra-cost) Behind the Seeds Tour will be offered for the first time this year. The articles below preview the attraction and provide more details on the tour.
Olaf’s Scavenger Hunt
Olaf’s Holiday Tradition Expedition offers a unique way to explore Epcot’s World Showcase. You can pick up a scavenger hunt map at World Traveler, Creations Gift Shop, and select other locations throughout the park. The map costs $9.99 and comes with a prize.
Glittering Grove (New in 2024)
Communicore Hall is expected to be decorated with holiday decor and an enchanting forest called Glittering Grove. Here’s what Disney has to say about this offering:
Once you’ve finished marveling at the gingerbread Spaceship Earth, stroll around CommuniCore Hall to take in beautiful, seasonal décor inspired by EPCOT’s unique design. Enjoy an enchanting forest with the Glittering Grove presented by Balsam Hill, where twinkling trees bring festive flair.
Create a Snowflake (New in 2024)
A new, complimentary snowflake-decorating activity will be available at CommuniCore Plaza. Disney notes that this activity is perfect for children of all ages.
Scentsy Experience (New in 2024)
A snow globe garden inspired by Scetsy’s seasonal aromas will be available along the walkway between the Imagination Pavilion and the World Showcase. Guests can stroll through the garden and check out the new seasonal display. You’ll also be able to purchase holiday fragrances inside CommuniCore Hall.
Festival Merchandise
Merchandise celebrating the Epcot International Festival of the Holidays will be available at select locations throughout the park. A T-shirt or an ornament is often a fun and festive way to commemorate a holiday trip!
Other
While we’ve covered most things you can expect during the Festival of the Holiday, we felt it necessary to mention a few other things. For starters, Figment usually wears a holiday sweater on Journey Into Imagination with Figment during the holidays. If you’re a fan, don’t forget to take a spin! Those with the Memory Maker entitlement might also like to take advantage of a few special Magic Shots available during the holiday. You can usually ask PhotoPass photographers in the park what they have available.
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