We may be enjoying the last few days of EPCOT’s Food & Wine Festival, but there’s another fest just around the corner!

That’s right, we’re talking about the EPCOT Festival of the Holidays which officially kicks off on November 25th! We already know which holiday booths are coming to the festival, the celebrity narrators for the Candlelight Processional, cookie stroll details, and more, but we just learned about a few extra details that are coming to this year’s festival!

We are at a media preview of the Festival of the Holidays today and Disney shared several fun announcements with us about the festival.

We’re getting a sneak peek into the 2022 EPCOT Festival of the Holidays today ❄️ #epcotholidays #mediaevent pic.twitter.com/lI4aQwWRe8

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) November 16, 2022

So, let’s get into it!

Santa!

Over in the Odyssey Pavilion, you’ll not only be able to meet Santa this year, but there is a new immersive experience here that includes sitting in Santa’s sleigh!

At this year’s EPCOT Festival of the Holidays, you get to sit in Santa's sleigh! 🎅 It’ll be an immersive experience in the Odyssey building. #epcotholidays #mediaevent pic.twitter.com/BtSCpTodbg

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) November 16, 2022

Along with this Santa meet and greet spot, there will be different storytellers with Santa in the World Showcase pavilions.

Candlelight Processional Details

We’ve already learned about the celebrity narrators coming to this year’s Candlelight Processional performances and the dining packages available for the performances, but Disney also shared some details on what we can expect from the show this year!

Disney announced that they are bringing back guest choirs to the Candlelight Processional in 2022. There will also be a 54-piece orchestra this year. The show will also have some changes such as new orchestration and new lighting — we can’t wait to see this offering back in the parks!

Also, on the nights Gloria Estefan is narrating the show (December 13th and 14th), her Christmas album will play as you walk into the theater. What a fun touch!

Voices of Liberty

The Voices of Liberty perform year round in Disney World, however the songs can change depending on what festival is going on. But for the EPCOT Festival of the Holidays, the Voices of Liberty are getting all new outfits!

We didn’t get to see the outfits just yet, but stay tuned for that on November 25th when we cover the entire festival!

Merchandise Update

This year, Olaf and Sven from Frozen are the stars of the Festival of the Holidays merchandise! We got a sneak peek at some of the most popular items including this year’s Spirit Jersey…

…Dooney & Bourke collection…

…a pin featuring Sven and Olaf…

…a pin with the Frozen squad…

…a long sleeve Sven shirt…

…this Olaf Ornament…

…and a MagicBand.

This is a limited-edition MagicBand so there will only be 1,000 of these available!

Sneak Peek at Food

Okay, EPCOT Festivals have a lot going on…but we’re all here for the food, right? Well, we got a sneak peek at a few of the ciders available at this year’s festival! There will be both alcoholic and non-alcoholic options.

There will be both alcoholic and non-alcoholic apple ciders at the 2022 Festival of the Holidays ❄️#epcotholidays #mediaevent pic.twitter.com/mQf8xAhrXv

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) November 16, 2022

We tried the 3 Daughters Brewing Cranberry Hard Cider that will be available at Tangierine Cafe, the Stem Ciders Cocoa Caramel Hard Apple Cider at the Refreshment Outpost…

…the Woodchuck Winter Hard Cider at Tangierine Cafe, and the non-alcoholic Apple Cider which will be available at Holiday Hearth.

Disney also announced a few of the menu items that will be coming to the festival including Horchata Beer, Mojo Pork, and Plant-Based Impossible Meat Tamale with Spicy Chili Sauce at Nochebuena Cocina, Coquito Soft Serve at Refreshment Port, and Blackened Catfish at American Holiday Table.

The 14 Menu Items CONFIRMED for EPCOT’s 2022 Festival of the Holidays

Menus have still not been announced for the 2022 festival, but we were told they would be shared VERY soon!

First Look at Scavenger Hunt

We also got a look at this year’s Olaf-themed Scavenger Hunt! This is what the board looks like and it will cost $9.99.

Once you find all of the Olafs hiding around World Showcase, you’ll get to choose from three different designs of little coin purses. We’re excited to see what these look like next week!

That’s everything we learned from the media event about EPCOT Festival of the Holidays this year. We’ll be at the festival on its opening day, November 25th, so make sure to follow along with DFB for full reviews of each booth, a look at entertainment, characters, and more!

Everything We Know About EPCOT’s 2022 Festival of the Holidays

What are you most looking forward to at the EPCOT Festival of the Holidays? Let us know in the comments!

Disclosure: In nearly all circumstances, Disney Food Blog writers and photographers pay full price for their own travel, hotel, food, beverage, and event tickets. We do this because it’s important to us as journalists to ensure not only that we give you unbiased opinions, but also that you can trust us to do so since we’re paying our own way. On rare occasions, when we are invited by a company to attend a preview as media, and when we choose to accept that invitation, we will always make you, our readers, aware of that situation. We were invited by Disney World to attend a media event for EPCOT Festival of the Holidays. Note that when we attend events as media we are 1) Not required to review that event/food on any of our channels, and 2) Not required to review that event/food favorably. You can always count on DFB to give you a 100% unbiased and honest review of any event that we attend, food that we eat, or beverage that we drink. You can see more in our Disclosure Policy. Thank you for reading. — AJ