It’s the most wonderful time of the year!
EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays
Between Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party and Jollywood Nights, and of course, the EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays, there’s just so much to see and do! But, if you’re planning to visit the Festival of the Holidays this year, we’ve got some bad news to share with you.
The 2024 EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays runs from November 29th through December 30th and is full of holiday entertainment, merchandise, and of course — food! This is one of our favorite festivals of the year (okay, we kind of say that about all of them BUT STILL!) and we look forward to it every year. This year, though, there are a few things we need to warn you about!
Candlelight Processional Woes
The Candlelight Processional takes place nightly during the festival at the America Gardens Theatre and features a Cast Member choir, an orchestra, and a celebrity narrator who tells the nativity story. It’s a festival tradition and quite popular — but you can guarantee a decent seat with a Candlelight Dinner Package.
Candlelight Processional
The standby queue can get quite long for those who don’t have reservations, and Disney has been known to cut off the standby line when the theater gets full. This year, it may be even harder to get a seat as the list of dining package-eligible restaurants has doubled in comparison to last year!
Candlelight Processional sign
Essentially, this is BAD news for people who would rather wait in the standby line for the shows and don’t want to shell out for a dining package. The more seats in the theater taken up by people with dining packages, the fewer seats for those in the standby line.
FULL SCHEDULE of Celebrity Narrators for This Year’s Candlelight Processional
CommuniCore Hall Gripes
Alright, now that we’ve officially experienced the first EPCOT festival since CommuniCore Hall has been open with Food & Wine, we must say we’re a little…disappointed. Based on the concept art, we were expecting something grandiose and breathtaking instead of a space that ultimately just reminds us of a high school cafeteria.
What is happening here?
There’s the possibility that Disney could have something impressive planned for this space during the Festival of the Holidays, but there’s an even higher possibility that we’re just going to be disappointed again.
It’s SHORT
The Festival of the Holidays is barely a month long this year — which isn’t really different from past years, but when you compare the length of this festival to other holiday events at Disney World, it does seem short. This might be bad news if you’re planning an early November holiday trip to the parks and are hoping to experience this festival!
Spaceship Earth show from festival
Luckily, there’s always Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party and Jollywood Nights that start earlier in November if you’re still looking to experience that holiday cheer!
Holiday storytellers
In the meantime, we’ll be on the lookout for the latest announcements about this year’s EPCOT Festival of the Holidays, so make sure you stay tuned to the Disney Food Blog for more news!
EVERYTHING We Know About the 2024 EPCOT Festival of the Holidays
DON'T MISS A MOMENT
OF HOLIDAY MAGIC
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MORE Disney World Holiday INFO!
Learn About Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party
Get the Latest Information About the EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays
Get All the Details About Disney Jollywood Nights
Everything You Need to Know About Disney World Holiday Dining and Events
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Are you going to the Festival of the Holidays this year? Tell us in the comments.
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We are going to WDW 12/26-1/1. The Candlelight Processional is quite good if you have never seen it before. I’m going to try to film part of it for my blog, but I’m really looking to see the singers at the American Adventure pavillion.
Ridin’ Thru Disney
Yes!! We are coming enforce!! Four generations of Disney-loving “ Girls “ will be coming in November ! Great-Grandma, Grandma , Momma, and Great Granddaughter! We are SO excited for this wonderful trip!