EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays 2026: What You Need to Know ✨

September 14, 2026

EPCOT during the holidays has its own kind of magic. From World Showcase traditions and seasonal food to Candlelight Processional nights and twinkling park details, this festival gives you plenty to do without needing a separate event ticket.

The 2026 EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays presented by AdventHealth runs November 27 through December 30, 2026. If you’re visiting Walt Disney World during that window, here are the details worth having on your radar before your EPCOT day.

What makes Festival of the Holidays different?

This isn’t just EPCOT with Christmas decorations. The festival leans into holiday traditions from around the world, which is what makes it feel different from the other EPCOT festivals.

You can stop for Holiday Kitchens, catch storytellers throughout World Showcase, work your way through the Holiday Cookie Stroll, listen to seasonal entertainment and see special holiday touches around the park.

It works just as well for someone who wants a food-and-entertainment day as it does for someone who simply wants to slow down, wander World Showcase and soak in the holiday atmosphere.

Holiday Kitchens, storytellers, cookies & more

Holiday Kitchens return with seasonal dishes and drinks inspired by celebrations around the world. Disney has also confirmed the Holiday Cookie Stroll: buy five qualifying cookies, collect the stamps in your Festival Passport and redeem the completed stroll for a special treat.

Around World Showcase, Holiday Storytellers bring traditions to life in the pavilions. The 2026 lineup includes experiences such as Las Posadas in Mexico, Barn Santa in Norway, La Befana in Italy, Père Noël in France and Father Christmas in the United Kingdom.

You’ll also find JOYFUL! A Celebration of the Season, the Voices of Liberty performing as Dickens Carolers, Santa appearances, festive park décor and seasonal touches after dark.

Candlelight Processional returns nightly

For a lot of Disney visitors, Candlelight Processional is the heart of Festival of the Holidays. The show combines a celebrity narrator, a 51-piece orchestra, Voices of Liberty and a choir of more than 150 Disney Cast Members and community singers for a retelling of the Christmas story.

Performances are scheduled nightly at 4:45 PM, 6:30 PM and 8:00 PM at America Gardens Theatre.

As of September 14, Disney still has two narrator windows listed as To Be Announced, so keep that in mind if your dates fall on December 2–3 or December 13–14.

2026 celebrity narrator schedule

Nov. 27–28: Auli‘i Cravalho

Nov. 29–Dec. 1: Gary Sinise

Dec. 2–3: To Be Announced

Dec. 4–5: Whoopi Goldberg

Dec. 6–7: Robin Roberts NEW

Dec. 8–9: Jason Kelce NEW

Dec. 10–12: Neil Patrick Harris

Dec. 13–14: To Be Announced

Dec. 15–16: Lauren Daigle

Dec. 17–19: Ralph Macchio

Dec. 20–21: Henry Winkler

Dec. 22–23: Lacey Chabert NEW

Dec. 24–25: Jodi Benson

Dec. 26–27: Simu Liu

Dec. 28–30: Eva Longoria

Candlelight Processional Dining Packages

Standby seating for Candlelight is first-come, first-served, and popular narrator nights can fill quickly. If you’d rather take some of the uncertainty out of the evening, Disney’s dining packages pair a meal with one guaranteed seat per person to a same-day Candlelight Processional performance.

Booking opens October 14, 2026. Most participating restaurants include an entrée and dessert or buffet, plus a drink. Spice Road Table has its own package format with small plates, a shared tagine, a shared dessert platter and a drink.

Disney is also offering a same-day option at Regal Eagle Smokehouse, subject to availability.

TPPF tip: If you have your heart set on a particular narrator, especially one of the bigger returning names, don’t treat the dining package as an afterthought. Put the October 14 booking date on your calendar and compare the restaurants before reservations open.

Dining package pricing varies by restaurant, and availability can change.

Gingerbread Spaceship Earth is confirmed for 2026

This one is officially back. The Gingerbread Spaceship Earth display returns to CommuniCore Hall, combining EPCOT’s most recognizable shape with some seriously detailed holiday pastry work.

Disney also confirmed the Celebration Countdown presented by CITIZEN. The display lights up every 15 minutes with new holiday song-and-light shows.

Even if you’re not trying to check every festival offering off a list, this feels like an easy stop to work into the day — especially if you’re already passing through CommuniCore Hall.

Don’t overlook the smaller festival experiences

Some of the best Festival of the Holidays moments are the things you stumble across between the big headliners.

• Living with the Land – Glimmering Greenhouses: the classic boat ride gets twinkling lights, seasonal décor and holiday narration.
• Olaf’s Holiday Tradition Expedition: a scavenger hunt through World Showcase with a holiday keepsake at the end.
• Santa sightings: including Santa in CommuniCore Hall, Père Noël in France, Barn Santa in Norway and Goofy dressed as Santa at The Odyssey.
• Festive Fragrances presented by Scentsy: a sensory garden of snow globes and holiday-inspired scents along the walkway between Imagination! and World Showcase.

These are the kinds of stops that can turn a “we’ll just walk around EPCOT for a while” afternoon into one of those days where you realize you stayed until dark. 😂

Why families love Festival of the Holidays

EPCOT festivals sometimes get treated like they’re mostly for adults because so much attention goes to food and drinks. Festival of the Holidays has plenty of those, but it also has some easy wins for families.

Olaf’s scavenger hunt gives kids something to look for while you move through World Showcase. The Cookie Stroll turns festival snacking into a little mission. The storytellers make the countries feel more interactive, and Glimmering Greenhouses is a calmer holiday experience when everyone needs a break from the crowds.

Add Santa, seasonal entertainment and all the decorations, and there’s plenty here that doesn’t require kids to care about another food booth. 😉

A few things worth remembering

• Festival of the Holidays runs November 27–December 30, 2026.
• The festival itself is included with EPCOT admission; some activities, food, scavenger hunts, tours and dining packages cost extra.
• Candlelight Processional is offered nightly, but seating is not guaranteed unless you have a qualifying Dining Package.
• Menus, entertainment schedules and other operating details can change, so recheck Disney’s official information as your visit gets closer.

Build a Disney look you’ll actually wear again

If your EPCOT holiday day has you thinking about festive park outfits, our Mix • Match • Reuse collections are built around getting more mileage out of the pieces you already love.

However you do the holidays at EPCOT, make it your day ✨

You don’t have to do every kitchen, every storyteller and every show to have a great Festival of the Holidays day. Pick the pieces that sound like you, leave room to wander, and let EPCOT handle the twinkle lights.

We’ll keep watching the remaining narrator spots, menus and other festival updates as Disney releases them. See what’s new at The Pixie Packed Family anytime you want the next update.