Is Epcot Festival of the Holidays entertainment worth planning around?

[studiojmm]

I'm taking an 11 year old Disney and Christmas enthusiast to Epoct (her 2nd favorite of the parks, she says) the first week of December. We will do the 6:45 pm Candlelight Processional (dining package).

Seeing more World Showcase performers are a priority, so I'm wondering if any of the holiday entertainments are worth planning around?

 

[Dolphindee]

This is our first time too, so I am interested to hear from people that have done it, however I have heard amazing things about the entertainment, especially the storytellers. I am hoping to catch them all and trying my best to plan around them. I think there will be some that I will inevitably miss but the one that I have heard is an absolute do not miss is Norway. I am sure there are others that are as well so I am curious to hear people's faves. I believe most of the shows are about 15 mins, at least the storytellers.

 

[Magpie]

I'm taking an 11 year old Disney and Christmas enthusiast to Epoct (her 2nd favorite of the parks, she says) the first week of December. We will do the 6:45 pm Candlelight Processional (dining package).

Seeing more World Showcase performers are a priority, so I'm wondering if any of the holiday entertainments are worth planning around?

If she's been to Epcot before, why not let her do the planning? Eleven year olds are great at that kind of thing. She'll be able to decide for herself which ones sound most interesting to her.

Here's last year's Holiday entertainment schedule: http://allears.net/epcot/holidays-around-the-world-epcot-2/ This year's will be similar, and should be out in November, so you'll have lots of time to make plans.

There will also likely be some sort of scavenger hunt - wherein you purchase a map and put stickers on it as you find various locations around the World Showcase. When you're done, you can take the completed map back to where you purchased it and get some sort of small prize (patches, pins, magnets, etc). Disney's been doing these a lot lately.

Personally, I think it's all worth trying to see, though it's really impossible to do it all.

Definitely don't miss the Holiday Carolers (Voices of Liberty) in the American Pavilion, though! They're incredible! (And make sure to sit on the floor right under the dome - the sound is beyond spectacular.)

 

[scrappinginontario]

If she's been to Epcot before, why not let her do the planning? Eleven year olds are great at that kind of thing. She'll be able to decide for herself which ones sound most interesting to her.

Here's last year's Holiday entertainment schedule: http://allears.net/epcot/holidays-around-the-world-epcot-2/ This year's will be similar, and should be out in November, so you'll have lots of time to make plans.

There will also likely be some sort of scavenger hunt - wherein you purchase a map and put stickers on it as you find various locations around the World Showcase. When you're done, you can take the completed map back to where you purchased it and get some sort of small prize (patches, pins, magnets, etc). Disney's been doing these a lot lately.

Personally, I think it's all worth trying to see, though it's really impossible to do it all.

Definitely don't miss the Holiday Carolers (Voices of Liberty) in the American Pavilion, though! They're incredible! (And make sure to sit on the floor right under the dome - the sound is beyond spectacular.)

There is a Christmas Tree scavenger hunt this year that my DD is excited about! I can't remember where I saw this last week but grabbed a picture to show my 9yo.

 

[Magpie]

There is a Christmas Tree scavenger hunt this year that my DD is excited about! I can't remember where I saw this last week but grabbed a picture to show my 9yo.

Yay! I LOVE scavenger hunts!

I figured they'd have one for Christmas, since they have them now for Food and Wine, Arts, and Flower and Garden, etc. So much fun!

 

[FFMickey]

We love Epcot at this time of year. We are planning a trip for this during the anniversary year!

 

[Disneyonmymind]

I want to see it all lol!

 

[djc9699]

The Norway storyteller is great. I would definitely plan on that one. I missed Italy last year, but have heard that one is great too. We did see Pierre Noel and Father Christmas and enjoyed them, but I wouldn't make them a priority.

 

[Eve & Wall-e]

This will be my first visit during the holidays. Seeing the Voices of Liberty Dickens Carolers is a must for me. I plan to see some of the storytellers as well, but not sure which ones yet. What about the holiday foods and snacks?

 

[westgirl]

We love to spend time experiencing all of the countries - last year we sampled a lot of the food booths around the world showcase. The Turkey Dinner near the American adventure was a favourite as was the Pork in China - a good use of a snack credit.

Don't miss the holiday ending to Illuminations as it'll be the last time to see it this year :-(

There is also a cookie scavenger hunt this year and if you buy one of each cookie there a "free" cooking and milk at the end. Not sure of the details but we'll be trying it in 5 weeks time

 

[czall]

Where did you see the info on the cookie hunt?

 

[disneygolfer1985]

I have been many times over the holidays and love the storytellers. Norway is not to be missed as well as Italy. I think France and the UK are good to see at least once. At UK you will learn about some of our Christmas traditions and where they came from. I like the music from Canada, but out of the music options, the mariachis at Mexico are really good. They are very interactive and they let the kids hit a piñata. As a previous poster mentioned, you do not want to miss the holiday ending to illuminations. That is the best part. I’m kind of sad I’ll miss it this year.

 

[westgirl]

It was on the update to the candlelight narrators I’ll try and find it

 

[Dolphindee]

It was on the update to the candlelight narrators I’ll try and find it

It was on the Disney Parks Blog post about the new narrators, last week or the week before. My youngest son and my mom are super excited for that!

 

[Crystal824]

It is hard to see them all. However, I think seeing a few of them is a must. We have seen Norway, Canada, and Italy. They were all pretty great.