Disney Confirms 3 Changes for the Festival of the Holidays in EPCOT

Santa Claus is coming…to Disney World!

Disney has been busy, busy, busy dropping news about one of our favorite times of the year, EPCOT’s Festival of the Holidays! We have even more to share with you, including where you can meet the jolly old St. Nick himself this year. Spoiler alert: it’s NOT the same as last year.

EPCOT’s Festival of the Holidays is one of EPCOT’s most beautiful festivals. It’s filled with all kinds of exclusive treats, drinks, and holiday stories — told by special storytellers around the World Showcase. On top of that, there will be exclusive activities and meet-and-greets.

One thing that has always been a hit for families with kiddos is meeting Santa Claus! Each year during the Festival of the Holidays, Santa comes to meet and take pictures with all the friends who come to visit him. In the past, you could go see Santa at The Odyssey building. However, this year, St. Nick is parking his sleigh somewhere else.

This year, you can visit Santa Claus and get a holiday photo (worthy of a Christmas card) with him at the CommuniCore Hall. Santa will be there daily during the festival, through December 24th (he still has to deliver presents, obviously).

You’ll be able to meet with Santa at 11 AM, 12:30 PM, 2 PM, 3:30 PM, and 5 PM — unless otherwise posted. Speaking of CommuniCore Hall, “JOYFUL! A Celebration of the Season” will now be held at the CommuniCore Plaza Stage.

JOYFUL! brings a joyous tribute to Christmas and Kwanzaa with gospel, R&B, and holiday songs to EPCOT. The show will be held daily from November 28th to December 30th, 2025, at 2 PM, 3:05 PM, 4:05 PM, and 5:10 PM. We’ll have to keep an eye out for what this means for the Encanto show that also takes place on the stage.

Finally, Disney dropped news that Olaf’s Scavenger Hunt will be seeing the same price increase that Pluto’s Pumpkin Pursuit received for the Food and Wine Festival. This means it will be $11.99 this year. Keep that in mind if you enjoy doing those scavener hunts during the festival.

If you haven’t heard, Disney just announced the full lineup and schedule for the Candlelight Processional this year! The Candlelight Processional might be our favorite part of the Festival of the Holidays, and there are some iconic stars showing up to narrate the Christmas story this year.

If you’re looking for a travel agent to help with your vacation, we recommend our friends at Mouse Fan Travel. They’re experts in the field with over 20 years of vacation planning experience, and they can help take a bunch of the stress out of the entire booking process for you!

We can’t wait for the festival, although maybe we should enjoy Food and Wine since it just got here! For more Disney news and updates, make sure to stay tuned to AllEars.

NEWS: Disney Reveals FULL SCHEDULE and Celebrity Narrator Lineup for Candlelight Processional in EPCOT

What’s your favorite part about the Festival of the Holidays? Let us know in the comments!

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