The Epcot International Festival of the Holidays
Juli Russ5.7.20During the holidays, from the end of November through the end of December, Epcot comes to life with holiday traditions from around the world. The Festival of the Holidays is a wonderful way to get a little taste of food, drinks and entertainment from the countries around World Showcase, as well as additional pavilions placed throughout the park.As you stroll from country to country you will find special holiday entertainment like an amazing performance from Chinese lion dancers, which captures the joy of celebrating the Lunar New Year. La Befana describes her visits to the children of Italy on the Eve of the Epiphany. You can also visit Santa Claus, Father Christmas and Pere Noel who each share their unique stories.
The Holiday Cookie Stroll is a fun family activity where special cookies are featured at several pavilions. The featured cookies this year were:
- Bavaria Holiday Kitchen: Linzer Cookie
- American Holiday Table: Gingerbread Cookie
- Yukon Holiday Kitchen: Peppermint Pinwheel Cookie
- Feast of the Three Kings: Chocolate Crinkle Cookie
- L'Chaim! Holiday Kitchen: Black and White Cookie
If you try each of the featured cookies, you will earn a complimentary Santa Mickey Sugar Cookie. It was fun trying each cookie and I have to say my favorite was the Chocolate Crinkle Cookie from the Feast of the Three Kings pavilion. Although the Black and White Cookie was a very close second!The highlight of the International Festival of the Holidays was the Candlelight Processional. Each night a celebrity narrator leads a choir of local high school students, The Voices of Liberty singers from the American pavilion and a 50-piece orchestra who all tell the story of Christmas. This is an incredibly moving experience that I would say is not to be missed. We were very lucky that on the night we were at Epcot Neil Patrick Harris was the celebrity narrator, which was very exciting for this “How I Met Your Mother” and “Doogie Howser” fan!
The Candlelight Processional is wildly popular. I saw people lining up at 11:00am for the 5:00pm show. A great way to avoid standing in a long line for hours is to make reservations for the Candlelight Processional Dining Package. Several restaurants throughout Epcot and Epcot area resorts participate in the dining package at breakfast, lunch and dinner. I suggest making reservations as soon as they are available, they do fill up quickly.I visited Epcot in early December and found the International Festival of the Holidays to be the perfect way to kick of the holidays and get into the holiday spirit. No matter when you visit Epcot you will love the traditions, the entertainment, and the food. I would be happy to tell you more about this special festival and help you plan a holiday visit to Walt Disney World.Contact me, julir@wishesfamilytravel.com, for all of your travel needs.Follow me on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/jruss.wft/ and Instgram https://www.instagram.com/travel.with.juli/.