The 2023 EPCOT Festival of the Holidays is officially here, and we’re bringing you with us to check it all out!

There are plenty of food booths with tasty items, shows and storytellers to watch, souvenirs to grab (of course), and even a cookie stroll to complete. But don’t let it overwhelm you — we’ve got you covered with everything you need to know. Now, it’s time to see exactly what this festival has to offer — so come along with us LIVE!

Festival Dates

The 2023 EPCOT Festival of the Holidays runs from November 24th through December 30th, 2023. That’s just over one month of holiday eats and more!

We’re kicking things off on the very first day of this festival and bringing you with us.

Getting Started and the Festival Passport

We got to EPCOT bright and early at opening time, which was 9AM (the park will close at 9:30PM). Guests staying in Disney World hotels were able to enter as early as 8:30AM with Early Theme Park Entry.

We’ll be taking you with us through the entire EPCOT festival, so get ready for TONS of cookie content, food reviews, and merchandise roundups!

It’s time to kick off the EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays! ❄️🎄 pic.twitter.com/rFdcWhhrYw

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) November 24, 2023

 

 

Make sure you grab a FREE Festival Passport, which holds all the info you need to navigate the festival successfully! Inside, you’ll find descriptions of each booth, including full menus and a few pictures. There’s also some information about the merchandise available at this year’s festival.

The Festival Passport is a SUPER helpful tool to help make sure you accomplish everything during your day at EPCOT. It’s organized to help you see exactly what’s available and when things are available, so you don’t have to wander the park without a plan.

Click here to see INSIDE the Festival Passport

You’ll also find info about the Cookie Stroll! To participate in the Cookie Stroll, you’ll purchase five cookies from festival marketplaces around EPCOT (there’s a list of several different cookies you can choose from in the passport, along with where you’ll find them) and get your passport stamped at each booth when you buy a cookie.

Once you have 5 stamps, you can show your passport at Holiday Sweets and Treats for a free treat!

Click here to learn more about the Cookie Stroll! 

Crowds

Most of the Holiday Kitchens do not officially open until around 11AM, but that doesn’t mean that crowds aren’t already waiting to get their hands on some eats! There was a small crowd building ahead of the official park opening, but we’ll be sure to keep our eyes on the crowd level throughout the day.

Thanksgiving Week is typically pretty busy in Disney World anyway, so that, combined with it being the first day of this festival, means many were expecting to see some serious crowds on opening day.

But did the crowds show up the way we expected? You might be surprised!

Click here to see what the crowds were like on the opening day of EPCOT’s Festival of the Holidays

Food Booths

This year, you’ll be able to visit more than 15 festival food kitchens, many of which will bring back some returning favorite food items. However, you’ll find a few new eats, too — and we’ll be bringing you our reviews right here!

OK, we’re too excited not to show off a few of the eats and drinks we’ve tried so far! Over at the Joffrey’s Coffee kiosk, we’re asking: has the Horchata Cold Brew redeemed itself at this year’s festival? We found out!

They can’t all be winners! We stopped by the Tuscany food booth in the Italy Pavilion and had an interesting experience with the new snacks and desserts.

The food here felt extra-expensive for those small portion sizes, but there was a silver lining to our experience.

Click here to see our full review of the Tuscany food booth

Time to head to the Refreshment Outpost!

This booth is a FAVORITE of ours!

Click here for a full review

Next stop: Shanghai Holiday Kitchen!

As you can see, we got a good variety of eats here! But is this booth worth a visit?

Click here for a full review of Shanghai Holiday Kitchen

You might think that our meal from Refreshment Port looks amazing, but we have some bad news.

While we’ve enjoyed the Turkey Poutine from this spot in the past, there were some changes this year.

Click here to see our full review of Refreshment Port

Sunshine Seasons, here we come!

Click here for our review!

The Holiday Sweets & Treats booth has tons of dessert items!

The name says it all. This place has plenty of holiday sweets and treats! So, should you pay this sweet spot a visit?

Click here for our full review of Holiday Sweets & Treats

We’ve got a life hack for ya over at the Refreshment Station!

You can get an Annual Passholder-exclusive treat here, complete with a souvenir cup!

Click here for our review of the Refreshment Station!

Where we headed next? Let’s go to Connections Cafe and Eatery!

You can check a cookie off your Holiday Cookie Stroll list with the Holiday Sugar Cookie!

Click here for our review of the Holiday Sugar Cookie

Over in France, we ordered what might be the most interesting spread of food EVER at Le Marche de Noel.

Despite the interesting assortment here, we found a new festival FAVORITE!

Click here for our full review of Le Marche de Noel

Speaking of festival favorites, let’s talk about the Shi Wasu Holiday Kitchen!

This booth was AMAZING! We had several great snacks and drinks; give this place a try on your next visit!

Click here for our full review of Shi Wasu Holiday Kitchen

Click here for a full review of Yukon Holiday Kitchen

Even the Connections Eatery gets in on the holiday spirit!

We tried the So Many Wishes drink for $6.29. Was it worth the price?

Click here for a full review!

…and it still is.

Here’s our full review

Then, it was off to the Tangierine Cafe: Flavors of the Medina food booth. Is it our favorite booth? No. But if you are a dips-for-dinner kind of person, you’ll want to check it out.

Every dish here this year is returning, too — so if you’ve been here before, you might want to skip it.

Check out our review

We had high hopes for Nochebuena Cocina, but they were dashed. We’re sad because this booth debuted in 2022 and was a favorite then, but that’s no longer the case.

The Pernil was still good this year, but the rest left us just wanting more.

Read our review

However, returning to the L’Chaim Holiday Kitchen restored our faith because everything at this booth still slaps. The new item here, the Rugalach, seriously impressed us.

If you go to just one booth at the EPCOT Festival of the Holidays this year, make it this one.

Here’s our full review

American Holiday Table had TWO of our favorite items of the day. The returning Slow-roasted Turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, and cranberry sauce is like Thanksgiving in our mouths, and we will order it again.

However, the Blackened Catfish with Hoppin’ John and comeback sauce also made our Best of the Fest list this year, although it’s a returning item.

Click here for a full review

Click here to see FULL reviews of EVERY. SINGLE. BOOTH. at the Festival of the Holidays!

Merchandise

You’ll find plenty of exclusive festival merchandise at this event — like this Spirit Jersey!

We also love this cookie jar…

…mug…

…and Corkcicle Tumbler!

There’s plenty more where that came from! We’ve got a FULL look at all the new merchandise this year. Check out the link below!

Click here to see a FULL LIST of 2023 Festival of the Holidays merchandise! 

Entertainment

Candlelight Processional

One of the most popular events at the EPCOT Festival of the Holidays is the Candlelight Processional.

You can head to the standby line or book a dining package to reserve your spot at the show. This show tends to attract some LARGE crowds, so be prepared and get there early!

The queue has already started to form for the Candlelight Processional tonight! ✨ pic.twitter.com/elUBlrBMm9

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) November 24, 2023

 

 

 

Read more about dining packages by clicking here!

Olaf’s Holiday Tradition Scavenger Hunt

If you want a fun activity the whole family can enjoy, Olaf’s Holiday Tradition Scavenger Hunt is a super fun way to spot hidden statues of Olaf all over EPCOT. Olaf is hiding with various holiday-themed items around the park, and it’s your job to find him!

You can play the game on your own or purchase a gameboard for $9.99, which includes stickers and clues for all the Olaf locations. If you purchase a gameboard, you can return the completed board for a prize!

Click here to learn more about this year’s scavenger hunt!

Storytellers

One of the best parts of the EPCOT Festival of the Holidays is the Storytellers in each country’s pavilion — we love learning about holiday traditions around the world.

We can’t wait to see Barn Santa from Norway, a Chinese Lion Dancer for the Lunar New Year, Pere Noel from France, Hanukkah stories, and more.

We spotted La Befana in the Italy Pavilion! 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/vksm1uHQLl

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) November 24, 2023

 

Click here to learn more!

Joyful! A Celebration of the Season

Joyful! A Celebration of the Season is also returning to this year’s festival.

This is a show featuring gospel and R&B entertainment that celebrates both Christmas and Kwanzaa!

Keep your eyes (and ears!) peeled for Joyful! These performances show multiple times per day! pic.twitter.com/5KL1v7Xklp

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) November 24, 2023

 

We had so much fun listening to the performers!

Click here for more information!

Other Entertainment

Keep your eyes out for the holiday version of Living With the Land!

This attraction is full of festive details that give us a little extra holiday cheer on our ride through The Lan Pavilion.

Click here to see what it’s like during the HOLIDAYS!

Oh, and Figment got a little holiday upgrade, too!

We love to check out the festive changes around the park! But heads up — one holiday overlay is seemingly NOT returning this year. 

NEWS: A Popular Ride Overlay May Not Return to Disney World This Year

Over in the American Adventure Pavilion, you can check out a NEW gingerbread display!

This display is SUPER detailed, and you have to see it for yourself.

EPCOT Built The History of America In GINGERBREAD And You Have To See These Pics

There’s a special show happening at Spaceship Earth during the Festival of the Holidays, and we NEED to tell you about it.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays everyone! ✨ pic.twitter.com/TqLn1mMXud

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) November 24, 2023

 

The show is set to “When We’re Together” from Frozen 2, and it is the THIRD show to play at night, after the Wish show and 100th Anniversary shows. This is the same show that was played last year during the festival as well!

Spaceship Earth’s ‘Frozen’ Show Is BACK in EPCOT!

We’ll be updating this post to ALL DAY as we explore the Festival of the Holidays, so keep checking back for more! If you’re interested in more updates, make sure you’re following us on Instagram.

Trying to plan the PERFECT trip to the 2023 EPCOT Festival of the Holidays? We’ll be keeping you updated on all of the latest. Click our links below for the information you need to know:

• Learn about the Candlelight Processional and Dining Packages
• Check out ALL of the 2023 Festival of the Holidays booth Menus
• See what eats you’ll need to try to get a PRIZE at the Festival!
• See what made our 2023 BEST OF THE FEST list!

And don’t forget to pick up our 2023 DFB Guide to the Holidays at Disney World! See more details about the book below.

Click here to see FULL reviews of EVERY. SINGLE. BOOTH. at the Festival of the Holidays!

Will you be checking out this festival? Tell us in the comments!