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Disney has set the dates for the 2026 EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays, giving holiday travelers an important piece of the calendar earlier than usual. The festival will run from November 27 through December 30, 2026, beginning the day after Thanksgiving.
That 34-day window is packed with returning favorites, including the Candlelight Processional, Holiday Storytellers, festive kitchens, the Holiday Cookie Stroll and Living with the Land – Glimmering Greenhouses. The dates are confirmed, but several details that can shape a park day—especially menus, celebrity narrators and dining packages—are still coming later.
In This Article
- Confirmed 2026 festival dates
- Returning entertainment and storytellers
- Holiday food and Cookie Stroll
- Best experiences after dark
- Details Disney has not released
The 2026 Dates Create a Short Break After Food & Wine
The 2026 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival ends November 21, leaving five full days before Festival of the Holidays begins on November 27. Anyone visiting during Thanksgiving week should pay close attention to that gap: EPCOT will still have its regular attractions and holiday decorations, but the festival kitchens and scheduled Festival of the Holidays programming will not begin until Friday.
The event is included with valid EPCOT admission, although Disney notes that a theme park reservation may be required depending on the ticket type. Individual food, drinks, scavenger hunts and dining packages cost extra.
For travelers who can choose their dates, early December is often the most flexible part of this festival window. Thanksgiving weekend and the final stretch before December 30 can bring heavier holiday crowds, while a weekday visit gives you more room to build a park day around performances and World Showcase stops.
Plan Around the Shows You Care About Most
The Candlelight Processional returns nightly at America Gardens Theatre with a celebrity narrator, mass choir and full orchestra. Disney has not yet announced the 2026 narrators, performance times or Candlelight Processional Dining Package details.
This is the festival offering most likely to control your evening plan. Standby lines can become a major time commitment for popular narrators, while a dining package typically provides guaranteed seating for a designated performance. Our earlier guide to Candlelight Processional Dining Packages explains how the option has worked in previous seasons, but 2026 restaurants and prices still need official confirmation.
JOYFUL! A Celebration of the Season is also returning with gospel, jazz and R&B music celebrating Christmas and Kwanzaa. The Voices of Liberty will perform holiday songs as the Dickens Carolers. These shows are easier to sample without organizing the entire day around them, but checking the My Disney Experience app for same-day showtimes will help you avoid crossing the park unnecessarily.
World Showcase Is the Heart of the Festival
Holiday Storytellers will perform daily around World Showcase, sharing legends and seasonal traditions connected to the pavilions. The 2026 lineup includes Las Posadas in Mexico, Barn Santa in Norway, a Chinese Lion Dancer and Si-Zhu Trio in China, Adventskalender in Germany, La Befana in Italy and the Daruma Storyteller in Japan.
Guests can also find a Hanukkah Storyteller between Morocco and France, Père Noël in France, Father Christmas in the United Kingdom and the Canadian Holiday Voyageurs in Canada. These short performances reward a slower World Showcase afternoon. Trying to see every storyteller in one lap can turn the experience into a schedule chase, so families may have a better day choosing a few traditions that interest them most.
Santa Claus will greet guests in CommuniCore Hall and may also appear while traveling around World Showcase. Goofy dressed as Santa will meet guests at The Odyssey. Père Noël and Barn Santa remain part of their pavilion storytelling experiences, so there are several different holiday character moments rather than one single Santa stop.
Save Several Festival Highlights for Nighttime
EPCOT’s holiday atmosphere gets much stronger after sunset. Spaceship Earth receives festive lighting, World Showcase decorations become more noticeable, and the Glimmering Greenhouses overlay turns Living with the Land into one of the calmest holiday experiences at Walt Disney World.
The Gingerbread Spaceship Earth display also returns. Its Celebration Countdown presented by CITIZEN will activate every 15 minutes with new holiday song-and-light sequences. Because the show repeats frequently, there is little reason to wait around for a long time—work it into a CommuniCore Hall stop instead.
If you only have one EPCOT day, a practical split is to use the morning for rides, spend the afternoon with storytellers and food booths, then save the greenhouse overlay, holiday lighting and Candlelight Processional for the evening. That protects attraction time without missing the experiences that look best after dark.
Holiday Kitchens and the Cookie Stroll Return
Holiday Kitchens will again serve seasonal food and drinks inspired by celebrations around the world. Disney has not released the 2026 menus or prices yet, so it is too early to build a complete food plan.
The Holiday Cookie Stroll is confirmed. Guests buy five qualifying cookies from participating locations, collect stamps in the Festival Passport and redeem the completed stroll for a treat. The purchases do not usually need to happen all at once, which makes the stroll easier to spread across the day.
Budget-minded visitors should wait for Disney’s Foodie Guide before deciding how much to set aside. Festival portions can add up quickly, and the Cookie Stroll is best treated as a shared activity if your group also wants to sample savory dishes.
More Returning Activities for Families
Olaf’s Holiday Tradition Expedition scavenger hunt returns around World Showcase. Guests purchase a map, look for Olaf at participating locations and receive a holiday keepsake after completing the activity. Disney has not announced the 2026 price or prize.
Festive Fragrances presented by Scentsy will return for its third year along the walkway between the Imagination! pavilion and World Showcase. The snow-globe garden will feature new fragrances inspired by holidays around the world, including Noche Buena and Diwali.
These activities can be useful when a family needs a break from attraction lines, but they serve different purposes. The Olaf hunt gives children a goal as the group circles World Showcase; the fragrance garden is a brief walk-through stop rather than a major time commitment.
What Disney Still Has Not Announced
The dates and broad attraction lineup are official, but several planning details remain unknown:
- The 2026 Candlelight Processional narrator schedule
- Dining Package restaurants, prices and booking date
- Holiday Kitchen menus, prices and operating hours
- Daily entertainment and storyteller showtimes
- Olaf scavenger hunt price and completion prize
Disney says more information about narrators, dining packages and food will be released later. Until then, the useful move is to lock in travel dates and leave the detailed EPCOT itinerary flexible.
EPCOT Festival of the Holidays 2026 FAQ
When is the 2026 EPCOT Festival of the Holidays?
Is EPCOT Festival of the Holidays included with admission?
Will the Candlelight Processional return in 2026?
Is the Holiday Cookie Stroll returning?
Where can guests meet Santa at EPCOT?
Which 2026 EPCOT holiday experience would shape your park plan most: Candlelight Processional, the Holiday Kitchens or the World Showcase Storytellers? Let us know in the comments below; we would love to hear your plans.
Source credit: disneyparksblog.com
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