I Never Pay for This Disney Upgrade, But These 7 New Additions Just Changed My Mind

Can y’all believe it’s almost November?

We certainly can’t, and that means that the holidays are right around the corner. Not only are we looking forward to seeing all the holiday decorations and spending far too much money on holiday merchandise, and of course, getting to experience the Festival of the Holidays in EPCOT again. However, there’s been a change to the way this particular part of the Festival of Holidays will work that means buying this upgrade may be a necessity.

One of the biggest draws of EPCOT’s Festival of the Holidays each year is the Candlelight Processional. This is where a narrator (some nights with it being a special celebrity narrator) tells the Christmas story while a gorgeous choir and orchestra of Cast Members sing and play along. It’s a beautiful show that is a must-do for many.

In the past, shows could be seen by standing in line before the show and getting a first-come, first-serve seat (and lines can get LONG), or you can purchase a Dining Package and guarantee a seat at your chosen showing. Last year, there were 7 different table service restaurants that offered Dining Packages, but this year? This year there are 14!

Yes, a whopping FOURTEEN table service restaurants in EPCOT are offering Dining Packages, which means that the availability to get a first-come, first-serve seat just went down immensely. Since those with Dining Packages are guaranteed a seat, now that there are dining options to use to reserve your seat, a lot of people may choose to go that route to ensure they get a seat. Either that, or people are going to be waiting in line HOURS before the show begins in hopes to get a seat.