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The NEW Problem You’ll Have at the EPCOT Festival of the Holidays This Year

October 18, 2024 ,

We’re getting hyped for the holiday season in Disney World!

EPCOT Christmas Tree

As we inch toward the end of the year, Disney World is getting prepped for the holidays, and this year, some big events are returning. We can’t wait to party all night again at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party and Jollywood Nights, and of course, we’ll be spending some days at the EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays. If you’re planning to visit the festival this year, we’ve got a WARNING for you!

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One of the major highlights of the Festival of the Holidays is the Candlelight Processional. This nightly show takes place in the America Gardens Theatre and features a Cast Member choir, an orchestra, and a celebrity narrator who tells the story of Jesus’ birth. The show is absolutely stunning with all the candles and the classic holiday season music and is usually quite popular.

Candlelight Processional

For 2024, the showtimes have changed to 5PM, 6:45PM, and 8:15PM. If you want to catch the show, there are two ways to watch inside the theater — you either need to book a dining package at a participating EPCOT restaurant to have reserved seating, or you need to wait in the standby queue before the show starts. The standby queue can get quite long for those who don’t have reservations, and we’ve often seen Disney cut off the standby line when the theater gets full. And this year, it may be harder to get a seat!

Candlelight Processional

Last year in 2023, the Candlelight Processional dining packages were available to be booked at seven different table service restaurants. On top of that, you could get day-of packages at Regal Eagle Smokehouse. However, for this year, the list of dining package-eligible restaurants includes fourteen different table service spots, plus Regal Eagle. That’s double the options!

Regal Eagle Dining Packages

Dining packages for the show typically book up quickly because they’re so popular, so this is good news for those who haven’t been able to snag one in the past. However, this could be BAD news for people who prefer to wait standby for the shows — with more seats in the theater being filled by dining package users, there will ultimately be fewer seats for the people waiting in the standby line.

Dining package entrance for EPCOT Festival of the Holidays’ Candlelight Processional

Now, it’s unclear if Disney will try to balance the number of dining packages so that there are fewer available per restaurant and about the same number available overall. That’s a possibility, though not really something we’ll be able to tell until we see the pre-show crowds. For now, if you’re planning to wait in the standby queue for a Candlelight Processional, we strongly encourage you to get there EARLY. Last year, we would see people lining up for the first show as early as 3PM on nights when a popular celebrity was narrating.

Candlelight Processional crowds in 2022

But if you’re hoping to avoid the long line and would rather do the dining package instead, reservations become available starting on October 29th. Prices vary depending on the restaurant, but you’ll get an entrée and dessert, or a full buffet (where applicable), as well as a nonalcoholic beverage (or alcoholic beverage for Guests 21 and older). The offerings vary slightly with the Spice Road Table dining package.

2022 Dining Package Ticket

With your dining package, you’ll receive a badge with a specified time to show up at the Candlelight Processional. You’ll take that badge to the dedicated entrance and wait in the dining package queue, where you’ll be seated before the standby guests. The dining package guests also typically get closer seating than those without packages.

Candlelight Processional 2023

So things could be different this year! We’ll be watching the crowds going into the festival season to see if it’s harder to get a seat. Stay tuned to DFB for all the latest EPCOT festival news!

Click Here to Learn More About the Festival of the Holidays!

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Are you going to the Candlelight Processional this year? Tell us in the comments!

The post The NEW Problem You'll Have at the EPCOT Festival of the Holidays This Year first appeared on the disney food blog.



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