EPCOT Festival of the Holidays: The Complete 2026 Guide
If you have ever wondered what it would be like to celebrate the holidays all around the world without ever leaving a single theme park, the EPCOT Festival of the Holidays is your answer. This is one of my favorite times to be at EPCOT. The World Showcase feels different in December. The lights, the music, the smell of warm food drifting from the Holiday Kitchens, the sound of a choir coming from the America Gardens Theatre… it genuinely puts you in the holiday spirit in a way that is hard to replicate anywhere else.
Whether you are planning a Thanksgiving week visit, a December family trip, or just starting to dream about a holiday Walt Disney World vacation, this guide covers everything you need to know about the EPCOT Festival of the Holidays in 2026.
*This post may contain affiliate links. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.
Planning a Walt Disney World vacation? Be sure to check out my guides to Walt Disney World in 2026 and Walt Disney World in 2027!
What Is the EPCOT Festival of the Holidays?
The EPCOT Festival of the Holidays is Walt Disney World’s annual celebration of holiday traditions from around the world, taking place each year from the day after Thanksgiving through December 30. The festival transforms EPCOT’s World Showcase into a globe-spanning holiday experience, with storytellers sharing traditions from different cultures, specialty food and beverage booths called Holiday Kitchens, family-friendly activities, exclusive merchandise, and the crown jewel of the entire season: the Candlelight Processional.
What makes this festival special is its emphasis on the diversity of holiday celebrations around the world. You will find Christmas traditions alongside Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Lunar New Year, and more, all woven into the World Showcase experience in a way that feels genuinely warm and educational. It is a wonderful festival for families, and one of the most beautiful times of year to be at EPCOT.
Like all EPCOT festivals, the Festival of the Holidays is included with regular EPCOT park admission. The Holiday Kitchens, festival merchandise, and some paid activities are additional costs, but access to the storytellers, the Candlelight Processional (standby), and the general festival atmosphere comes with your ticket.
2026 EPCOT Festival of the Holidays Dates
Official dates for the 2026 EPCOT Festival of the Holidays have not yet been announced by Disney. Based on the pattern of previous years, the festival is expected to run from Friday, November 27, 2026 (the day after Thanksgiving) through December 30, 2026. Disney typically releases full festival details, including the Candlelight Processional narrator lineup and dining package information, in the late summer or early fall. I will update this post as soon as details are confirmed!
Holiday Kitchens
The Holiday Kitchens are the festival’s answer to the Global Marketplaces at Food and Wine, and they are every bit as enjoyable. These specialty food and beverage booths are set up throughout World Showcase during the festival, each offering dishes and drinks inspired by holiday traditions from different countries and cultures. Think tamales in Mexico, festive noodle bowls in China, schnitzel in Germany, holiday pastries in France, and warm seasonal drinks at every turn.
Like the Food and Wine booths, the Holiday Kitchens are designed for grazing. Portions are individual and priced separately, so you can work your way around the world trying a little bit of everything. It is one of the best ways to spend an afternoon at EPCOT during the holiday season, especially when the weather cools down and a warm bite from the Canada booth sounds absolutely perfect.
Full Holiday Kitchen menus for 2026 have not yet been released. Disney will publish a Foodie Guide closer to the festival opening, and I will update this post with the full details as soon as they are available.
The Candlelight Processional
If there is one experience at the EPCOT Festival of the Holidays that guests talk about year after year, it is the Candlelight Processional. This beloved holiday tradition takes place nightly at the America Gardens Theatre in the American Adventure Pavilion, and it is genuinely one of the most moving performances at Walt Disney World.
The show features a celebrity narrator telling the story of Christmas, accompanied by a 50-piece live orchestra, the Voices of Liberty, herald trumpets, and a massed choir of Disney cast members and community singers. It runs approximately 40 to 45 minutes and typically takes place three times each evening. In 2025, showtimes were at 5:00 PM, 6:45 PM, and 8:15 PM, though exact times may vary slightly in 2026.
The Candlelight Processional is included with EPCOT park admission, but getting a seat without a dining package can be very challenging, especially for popular narrators or busy December weekends. Standby lines can stretch to two hours or more on peak nights. If seeing a specific narrator is important to you, a dining package is strongly worth considering.
The 2026 narrator lineup has not yet been announced. Disney typically reveals the full celebrity lineup in the fall, a few weeks before the festival opens. Past narrators have included Jordan Fisher, Gary Sinise, Marlee Matlin, Brendan Fraser, Brie Larson, Sheryl Lee Ralph, and many more. I will update this post the moment the 2026 lineup is released!
Candlelight Processional Dining Packages
A Candlelight Processional Dining Package includes a meal at a participating EPCOT restaurant plus guaranteed seating at one performance of the Candlelight Processional. This is the most reliable way to secure your spot, especially if you have a specific narrator in mind or are visiting during a busy stretch like the week of Christmas.
Dining package guests enter the theatre through a dedicated queue and are seated in a reserved section, though specific seat locations within that section are not assigned. Even with a package, arriving early is a good idea if you want to be close to the stage. Your assigned performance is determined by your dining reservation time, so you cannot use your guaranteed seating at a different show than the one assigned to you.
Participating restaurants, pricing, and booking details for the 2026 dining packages have not yet been announced. In past years, adult prices have ranged from around $55 to over $100 depending on the restaurant, with child prices ranging from approximately $24 to $53. Restaurants that have participated in previous years include Le Cellier Steakhouse, Rose and Crown Dining Room, Biergarten Restaurant, Garden Grill, Coral Reef Restaurant, Akershus Royal Banquet Hall, Spice Road Table, and Regal Eagle Smokehouse, among others. I will update this section with confirmed 2026 details as soon as they are available.
Festival Activities and Entertainment
Beyond the Holiday Kitchens and the Candlelight Processional, the EPCOT Festival of the Holidays is packed with activities and entertainment that make it worth spending a full day (or two) at the park.
World Showcase Storytellers
One of the most charming and underrated parts of the festival, the World Showcase Storytellers are live performers stationed throughout the pavilions who share holiday legends and traditions from their respective countries. You might hear the story of La Befana in Italy, the legend of the Barn Santa in Norway, or traditions surrounding Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Lunar New Year, and more. These performances are free with park admission and happen multiple times throughout the day. They are wonderful for kids and genuinely interesting for adults too.
Joyful! A Celebration of the Season
This lively musical performance combines Gospel and R&B vocals to celebrate both Kwanzaa and Christmas. It has been a festival staple for years and takes place near the entrance to World Showcase, making it easy to catch as you are heading into the promenade. It is energetic, joyful (as the name suggests), and a great way to get into the holiday spirit right at the start of your World Showcase stroll.
Living with the Land: Glimmering Greenhouses
During the festival, the classic Living with the Land boat ride is transformed into a sparkling holiday experience. The greenhouse sections of the attraction are decorated with twinkling lights, ribbons, and festive holiday decor, creating a truly magical version of an already beautiful ride. It is a wonderful thing to experience after dark when the lights really shine.
Santa Claus
Guests can meet Santa Claus at the Odyssey Pavilion during the festival. This is a lovely option for families with young children and tends to be a very sweet, low-key character meet compared to the more hectic character experiences elsewhere in the resort.
Olaf’s Holiday Tradition Expedition Scavenger Hunt
This family-friendly scavenger hunt sends guests around World Showcase in search of Olaf in 13 different spots throughout the park. Purchase a map and stickers at select merchandise locations, including Creations Shop and World Traveler at International Gateway, then find the holiday traditions Olaf has gathered and lost along the way. Once you have found them all, redeem your completed map at a participating location for a prize. The map was $11.99 in 2025; 2026 pricing has not yet been confirmed.
Holiday Cookie Stroll
The Holiday Cookie Stroll is exactly as delightful as it sounds. Pick up your Festival Passport and purchase any five designated cookies from the official Cookie Stroll locations around the park, collecting a stamp for each one. Once you have all five stamps, redeem your passport for a complimentary specialty cookie. The cookies themselves are festive, creative, and genuinely good, representing flavors and traditions from different countries around World Showcase. You do not have to complete the stroll in a single visit, which makes it a fun multi-day activity if you are staying for a few days.
Tips for Visiting the EPCOT Festival of the Holidays
Book your Candlelight Processional dining package early. This is the single most important planning tip for this festival. Dining packages for the Candlelight Processional open for booking well before the festival begins, and popular narrators and prime dinner times fill up fast. As soon as booking opens, have your restaurant preference and party size ready to go.
Weekdays are significantly less crowded. The Festival of the Holidays is enormously popular with local Florida residents, and weekends, especially in December, can be very busy at EPCOT. If your schedule allows, plan your festival visit for a Monday through Wednesday. The first and last weekends of the festival also tend to draw extra crowds.
Stay into the evening. EPCOT at night during the Festival of the Holidays is absolutely magical. The World Showcase is beautifully lit, the Candlelight Processional fills the air with music, and the atmosphere is warm and festive in a way that is unique to this time of year. Do not rush out after dinner. Stay for the evening show and soak it all in.
Use the Festival Passport. The Festival Passport, available through the My Disney Experience app or as a physical booklet in the park, is your guide to everything happening at the festival. It lists Holiday Kitchen locations, Cookie Stroll stops, storyteller schedules, and scavenger hunt details all in one place. It makes navigating the festival so much easier and ensures you do not miss anything.
Plan your Holiday Kitchen route ahead of time. World Showcase is a long walk, and the Holiday Kitchens are spread throughout it. Having a rough idea of which booths you most want to visit before you arrive saves you from backtracking and helps you pace yourself so you are not too full by the time you reach your favorites.
For the most up-to-date information on dates, dining packages, and the Candlelight Processional narrator lineup, be sure to visit the official Walt Disney World website.
Planning your first Walt Disney World vacation? Be sure to visit my step-by-step planning guide to get started!
Ready to Keep Planning?
Here are some resources to help!
- Guide to Walt Disney World in 2026
- Guide to Walt Disney World in 2027
- Best Day to Visit Each Disney World Park
- EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival Guide
- EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival
- EPCOT Festival of the Arts
Walt Disney World Resort Guides:
- Disney Value Resort Hotels
- Disney Moderate Resort Hotels
- Disney Deluxe Resort Hotels
- Disney Deluxe Villas
Walt Disney World Dining Guides:
- Dining in Magic Kingdom
- Dining in Epcot
- Dining in Hollywood Studios
- Dining in Animal Kingdom
- Disney World Dining Reservations Guide
Walt Disney World Attraction Guides:
