Credit: Eric Lopez, FlickrWalt Disney always wanted his parks to be “in a state of becoming,” and no Disney Park exemplifies Walt’s vision better than EPCOT. With its ever-changing festival lineup and the interchangeable activities at CommuniCore Hall and Plaza, the park can be different every time you go. However, EPCOT is about to undergo yet another change that guests may not necessarily like or be ready for.
With Christmas having just passed, EPCOT is already moving on to its next celebration, well before any of Disney World’s other parks. On December 30, EPCOT’s Festival of the Holidays will conclude, as the park prepares for New Year’s Eve and the Festival of the Arts in mid-January.
For guests looking to experience EPCOT during the holidays, Tuesday will be the final day to enjoy the holiday kitchens, Cookie Stroll, and EPCOT’s famous Candlelight Processional. The final Candelight Processional takes place on December 30 at the American Gardens Theater, hosted by Sheryl Lee Ralph, best known for her role as Barbara Howard on ABC’s Abbott Elementary.
On December 31, EPCOT hosts its New Year’s Eve Celebrations, with some of the stages already being erected in the countries for the parties to ring in the New Year. Once 2026 hits Disney World, something unusual happens at EPCOT: it goes quiet for two weeks.
With the Festival of the Holidays wrapping up, EPCOT won’t have a festival until the Festival of the Arts opens on January 16. It’s unusual for EPCOT not to have a festival, but it’s a good way to ring in the New Year with the park as it was intended to be.
If you’re planning to visit Disney World and still want to celebrate the holidays, you don’t need to worry; the other Disney World parks keep their holiday decorations up well into January. The other parks keep up their decorations until after Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend, which takes place from January 7 to 11 this year.
With no holiday party at EPCOT, it was one of the last Disney World parks to get its Christmas decorations, and now it’s the first to take them down. If you missed out on EPCOT’s Festival of the Holidays, there’s always next year.
What do you think of EPCOT’s Festival of the Holidays? Let us know in the comments.