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PHOTOS & VIDEOS: We’re LIVE from the 2021 Festival of the Holidays in EPCOT!

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Are you ready to eat ALL the holiday goodies your stomach can handle?

2020 Festival of the Holidays Sign

Today the holidays have officially kicked off in EPCOT with the 2021 Festival of the Holidays! We’re so excited to do the Cookie Stroll, and check out ALL the Holiday Kitchens! Do you want to come along with us? Join us as we report LIVE from the 2021 Festival of the Holidays! And keep checking back ALL day as we will be updating this post with every festival detail. Let’s get into the holiday spirit.

Festival Dates

The 2021 Festival of the Holidays kicked off at EPCOT today (November 26th) through December 30th, so you have a little more than a month to get your fill of holiday treats!

EPCOT Festival of the Holidays 2021 Passport

Should we get to the cookies? First, we have to get into EPCOT!

Getting Started

We got to EPCOT bright and early today before the park opened at 10AM. Cast Members went ahead and let us start entering the park around 9AM.

 

We snagged our Festival Passport to help us navigate the fest, and started limbering up for a big day of eating.

 

Crowds started forming on the path to World Showcase as the time got closer to the official park open.

Crowds

Lots of people were ready to Rope Drop the fest!

 

Crowds

So, how crowded is the first day of EPCOT Festival of the Holidays? You could certainly find pockets of space, but the festival was pretty crowded!

Crowds

We saw long lines at the food booths and notable crowds at merchandise spots. The first day of a festival is usually a busier occasion and it’s the day after Thanksgiving! If you’re headed to the fest on a busier day, keep in mind you might see some lines.

Want to see more photos of the crowds? Click here!

And weirdly enough, people aren’t the only busy bees at the festival…

Hello, Mr. Bee

…there are also ACTUAL BEES. There were SO MANY BEES around the fest today! Keep in mind that you might find this unexpected nuisance during your visit.

To learn more about the EPCOT bees, click here!

Entertainment

Candlelight Processional

The beloved Candlelight Processional has returned to EPCOT this year and we spotted quite the line for the first showing.

 

Want to reserve a seat at Candlelight Processional? You’ve got options!

Regal Eagle Food

Consider booking a dining package in EPCOT for the event!

Want to learn more about dining packages? Click here!

Later in the evening, Candlelight Processional OFFICIALLY came back!

 

If you need us, we’ll be crying over the return of this holiday tradition.

 

The voice of Moana is the celebrity narrator tonight!

Unsurprisingly, the event ended in a standing ovation!

What a great show!

Click here to see more of this event!

Storytellers

Festival Storytellers are BACK this year, sharing the history of holidays around the world. We stopped by and spotted the Hanukkah Storyteller. He’s got showtimes throughout the day!

 

We learned a lot from the Japan Pavilion Storyteller too!

 

Hear tales from Sigrid and Barn Santa over in Norway!

 

Characters

We spotted Santa Winnie the Pooh waving from the lawn near Journey Into Imagination with Figment!

 

And we spotted Mulan with a festive headpiece on for the festival!

 

Other Entertainment

A great tradition for kiddos (and the young at heart) is Olaf’s Holiday Tradition Scavenger Hunt.

 

With this map, you try to spot the summer-lovin’ snowman around the park — for a prize!

Want to learn more about the hunt? Click here!

We’ve been on the lookout for weeks and FINALLY, Figment is wearing his holiday sweater on Journey Into Imagination With Figment!

 

What a fun little holiday overlay!

To see more of Sweater Figment, click here!

We caught a performance from Joyful: A Celebration of the Season!

 

You can spot some amazing and historic gingerbread displays in The American Adventure. Take a look!

 

We spotted more live music from The Canadian Holiday Voyageurs!

 

Guess what? There’s a NEW holiday light show on the Spaceship Earth Beacon of Magic!

SO PRETTY.

Click here to see more of the show!

Basically, there’s a WHOLE lot to see at the fest!

Click here to see ALL the entertainment!

Food and Drink

Our first food stop of the fest was Refreshment Port!

Refreshment Port Festival Eats

This spot isn’t technically a booth, but the quick-service location does have a number of festival offerings like a Pumpkin Spice Ginger Cocktail and a Coquito Soft-Serve Waffle Cone.

 

No spoilers: But this spot might even have had some Best of the Fest picks!

Click here to see our review of Refreshment Port!

Over at L’Chaim! Holiday Kitchen, we snagged the Black and White Cookie as part one of the festival’s Cookie Stroll.

 

But this booth has more great eats too!

Click here for our REVIEW of L’Chaim!

And The Donut Box LOADED US UP with amazing holiday donuts.

 

Did we mention you can wash them down with the Annual Passholder Exclusive Cup with Gingerbread Milkshake?

 

It’s pretty hard to pick a favorite eat from The Donut Box!

Want to see our FULL REVIEW of this booth? Click here!

Try not to swoon when you look at the Mini Pumpkin Pie Funnel Cake from the Funnel Cake Stand!

 

This treat was SO. GOOD.

Click here to see more of this treat!

Las Posadas Holiday Kitchen brought us some beautiful cocktails and hearty portions.

 

New eats from the Mexico Pavilion? We’re in.

 

This booth is known for heartier portions so bring your eating pants!

Click here to see our REVIEW of Las Posadas!

American Holiday Table is bringing us another of the Cookie Stroll cookies with the Chocolate Crinkle Cookie.

 

But this spot also has some holiday STAPLES.

 

Did you know you get a prize if you eat all of the cookies in the Cookie Stroll?

Click here for our FULL REVIEW of American Holiday Table!

Shi Wasu Holiday Kitchen in the Japan Pavilion has a new line-up of drinks this year.

 

Our next stop is a NEW BOOTH at Chestnuts & Good Cheer. Did someone say Fire-roasted Chestnuts?

 

We were pretty happy with this new booth!

Want to see more of the new booth? Click here!

We love Bavaria Holiday Kitchen every year and we have our reasons…the reasons are cheese in a bread bowl.

 

Seriously, we would stick a straw in this stuff.

Click here for the FULL REVIEW of Bavaria!

Holiday Hearth Desserts has the very cute Spaceship Earth Cookie.

 

You pretty much have to take a pic of this cookie.

Click here to see more about this cookie!

Tuscany Holiday Kitchen was tasty this year!

 

This booth isn’t typically one of our favorites, so we were pleasantly surprised.

Want to see the full review of this booth? Click here!

In a Dole Whip mood? Head to Refreshment Outpost for the Coconut Pineapple Cake!

 

There’s NEVER a wrong time of year for Dole Whip.

Click here for our FULL REVIEW of this treat!

Mele Kalikimaka was a new booth last year and we LOVED it.

Mele Kalikimaka Booth

So, we’re happy to be back.

To see more of this booth, click here!

We were VERY happy with the eats at Tangierine Cafe: Flavors of the Medina.

 

The savory and sweet eats were AWESOME!

Want to see more of Tangierine Cafe? Click here!

Yukon Holiday Kitchen had a unique addition to the Cookie Stroll with the SNICKERS-Doodle Cookie.

 

Yep, it IS made with Snickers!

Want to see more of Yukon Holiday Kitchen? Click here!

Remember how we mentioned you get a prize at the end of the Cookie Stroll? We got an Ornament Cookie AND an Ice Cream Sundae in a Souvenir Cup!

 

So many sweet treats!

Click here to see more about the Cookie Stroll!

Did you know there’s also a CHAMPAGNE BAR?

Holiday Market Champagne Bar

Yep, you can stop by the Holiday Market Champagne Bar between Japan and Morocco.

To learn more about this spot, click here!

Our last stop? Le Marche de Noel in the France Pavilion!

Hint: Chocolate lovers should stop here.

Click here for our REVIEW of the France booth!

The Joffrey’s locations of EPCOT also have some fun drinks like this Carolers’ Cold Brew.

They’re great for getting some caffeine in your system!

Want our REVIEW of this drink? Click here!

As you can see, there’s a LOT to eat at this year’s holiday fest.

Click here to see ALL of the reviews from this year’s fest!

Merchandise

We stepped into Creations Shop to check out some of the festival merchandise and spotted some COOL new Frozen merchandise! Get it? Cool?

 

There’s even a new Festival of the Holidays MagicBand with Olaf on it!

 

Check out the fab Frozen-themed festival pins.

 

Did this cookie jar just win festival merchandise? We’ve been waiting for a way to turn our kitchen into a cookie stroll!

 

There’s certainly a LOT of festive merch to check out.

Want to see more of the festival merchandise? Click here!

Though not technically a part of the Festival of the Holidays festivities, we also spotted the Gold Holiday Popcorn Bucket!

We’re not sure we knew a popcorn bucket could look so festive and beautiful!

Click here to see more of this popcorn bucket!

We’ll be updating this post to ALL DAY as we explore the Festival of the Holidays! Stick along with us so you don’t miss any part of this holiday festival. And if you’re looking for more updates follow along with us on Instagram!

Want to see ALL of the booth menus for Festival of the Holidays? Click here!

DON'T MISS A MOMENT
OF HOLIDAY MAGIC

Holidays at Disney World: DFB's Merriest Guide is a one-of-a-kind resource that will help you get the most out of your holiday vacation at Walt Disney World.

It includes all the must-have information for navigating the holiday season at Disney World, including:

  • The COMPLETE schedule of events for the Holiday Season
  • How to avoid the crowds on Disney World's busiest days (and when Disney World closes their parks due to capacity!)
  • ALL of the events, activities, and holiday additions in Walt Disney World. ALL. OF. THEM.
  • And, of course, we'll tell you where to eat!

Save 20% on the Holidays at Disney World: DFB's Merriest Guide with code PEPPERMINT.

Are you planning to visit Festival of the Holidays? Tell us in the comments!

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Comments

  1. I was there today. Boy, it’s hard going alone with so much food. I had the Frozen Hot Chocolate Martini – I may get this every time I go. The Bread at Morocco, fresh and hot out of the oven. The Pastrami Sandwich (as good as I remembered), black/white cookie and the blue Cosmo (so yummy) at L’Chaim. I’ll be back next Friday and now that I have my Passport I can start marking things I need.

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