Epcot International Festival of the Holidays is a joyous celebration of all the Showcase nations holiday traditions. It’s a festival of fascinating festivities of culture with seasonal food and beverage, live entertainment and storytelling. Epcot Festival of the Holidays takes place from November 29th-December 30th. I was invited to a media preview of this wondrous event. Here’s what we got to see.
Holiday Kitchens
Holiday kitchens are throughout the World Showcase where you can indulge in culinary traditions from around the world. We got to try some seasonal dishes from four of them Yukon, L’Chaim!, Bavaria and Holiday Sweets & Treats. My favorite dish was the Canadian Soup. Great flavor and the almond toppings added an extra crunch. So comforting and LOVE the pretzel roll on the side.
Yukon -Canada Pavilion
Canadian Wild Rice and Ham Soup with Almonds with a Pretzel Roll
Inniskillin Ice Wine
L’Chaim!
Schmaltz Brewing Co Chanukah Hanukkah Pass the Beer
Smoked Salmon Potato Latke
Potato Latkes with Sour Cream
Bavaria – Germany Pavilion
Pork Schnitzel with Mushroom Sauce and Spaetzle
Glühwein: House-made Hot Spiced Wine
Holiday Sweets & Treats – Promenade Refreshments
Chocolate Peppermint Shake featuring Twinings Peppermint Cheer Tea and Whipped Cream Vodka
Frozen Fun – Norway
Bruni Cupcake – Kringla Bakeri
Another fun event to indulge in during Epcot International Festival of the Holidays is the Cookie Stroll. Grab a Festival Passport and locate the 5 official cookie stroll locations. Each one has a special cookie for purchase and you will receive a stamp. Collect all of them and bring your passport to Sweets & Treats Holiday Kitchen to receive a complimentary Santa Mickey Sugar Cookie! You can complete it in one or several visits.
Cookie Stroll Locations
- Bavaria Holiday Kitchen at the Germany Pavilion Linzer Cookie
- American Holiday Table at the America Pavilion Gingerbread Cookie
- Yukon Holiday Kitchen at the Canada Pavilion Peppermint Pinwheel Cookie
- Feast of the Three Kings near the Mexico Pavilion Chocolate Crinkle Cookie
- L’Chaim Holiday Kitchen between the Morocco and France Pavilions Black-and-White Cookie
You can listen to our podcast below about Epcot International Festival of the Holidays Event on Magic 24.7 or watch the vidcast of the episode here.
Entertainment Epcot International Festival of the Holidays
Living with the Land Merry & Bright Nights – Holiday Overlay
After the sun sets, ride Living with the Land for a special, sparkling tour. Enjoy a peaceful evening cruise and view twinkling, holiday light displays throughout the greenhouses. I was so taken back by this wondrous surprise! Living with the Land is already a peaceful ride and with this addition of lights and merriment it’s just so pretty. Love it!
Characters are in their Holiday best for festive meet n greets. You can enjoy the Candlelight Processional for the story of Christmas told by a celebrity narrator, and accompanied by a choir and 50-piece orchestra. Live musical performances like Joyful and Santa Storytellers from each country on what their holiday traditions are.
Merchandise for Epcot International Festival of the Holidays
This year’s merchandise features our favorite chipmunks Chip N Dale! There is a new spirit jersey with them as the focus and a red hoodie with “the best gift to the world” with World Showcase symbols on it. A trendy Christmas Lightbulb Bag, Magic Band featuring Chip N Dale LTD2500 and a Cookie jar to pair with the Cookie Stroll. One piece that caught my eye was the Christmas bulb green mug for Epcot and there is a red twin mug in Magic Kingdom for a set. They also have an Exclusive Passholder shirt, ornament featuring Chip N Dale and pins. The Scavenger Hunt with 3 options for a special prize is returning again this year.
If you are a Frozen fan there is lots of Frozen II merch: plushes, dress-up outfits for kids, pop funkos, Alex n Ani bracelets, shirts, dolls, Olaf Loungefly and a huge castle play set.
Don’t forget to see Anna and Elsa in their new outfits from Frozen II at the Royal Sommerhus in the Norway Pavilion.
There is so much to see and do during Epcot International Festival of the Holidays. With the cooler temps during this holiday season, I am looking forward to comfy sweaters and hitting up the cookie stroll and some live entertainment. Wishing you and yours a joyous holiday season. If you’re interested in learning more about Epcot International Festival of the Holidays schedules, click here.
Come follow along on Instagram @acupofcharming for all my adventures as they transpire.
Thank you to Walt Disney World for hosting me for this Festival of Holidays experience. As always, all opinions are my own.
