2021 EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays: What to Eat, Drink, See and Ride

It's the most wonderful time of the year at Walt Disney World and the holiday season is in full swing throughout the parks. The 2021 EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays kicked off Nov. 26 and runs through Dec. 30. After a pandemic-related scaling back last year to a "Taste of" version of the annual festival, this year's celebration brings back beloved holiday storytellers and the Candlelight Processional along with plenty of other new offerings and returning favorites. Here are some of the best things to eat, drink, watch and ride at this year's festival.

Pick up your Festival Passport as soon as you enter the park. This booklet is your guide to all things festival, from Holiday Kitchen menus to entertainment offerings and their locations. Be sure to check My Disney Experience for up-to-date showtimes.

Peruse your Passport then pick a direction around World Showcase and visit some of the many Holiday Kitchens like this new one, Chestnuts & Good Cheer. Most of the festival food is sold from these freestanding holiday kitchens but some special seasonal menu items are also available from permanent locations like Refreshment Outpost, Refreshment Port, Joffrey's Coffee & Tea locations, and the Funnel Cake stand.

The new Chestnuts & Good Cheer Holiday Kitchen is serving - you guessed it - chestnuts fire-roasted and served to order as well as cinnamon-glazed almonds, cashews, and pecans. Ivanhoe Park Brewing Co.'s Hazel Nutty-Cracker Sweet Stout and T.G. Lee Eggnog spiked with Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey are the perfect boozy accompaniments.

'Tis the season for cookies! If you can never eat just one holiday treat, you're in luck. Take your cookie-eating up a notch with the Holiday Cookie Stroll. Pick up a festival booklet and collect stamps as you munch your way through five cookies from Cookie Stroll locations around World Showcase (you can get five different ones or five of the same!). Collect all five stamps and get a complimentary Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary ornament as a reward for completing the stroll.

Donut Box has stuck around after serving up a different menu of donuts during EPCOT's Food & Wine Festival. Four a-glazing holiday flavors are on the menu this season: Pumpkin Cake, Holiday, Chocolate Peppermint, and Eggnog and Cream-filled.

Sure, cookies and donuts are delish, but the best part about EPCOT festival food is discovering new flavors and international dishes. This Almond-spiced Cake from Tangierine Café: Flavors of the Media in Morocco hits all those holiday flavor notes with ginger mousse, orange ganache and sesame tuile.

It's not all sugar and spice at the festival. There are plenty of savory dishes to try before you move on to dessert. L'Chaim! Holiday Kitchen serves traditional Hanukkah staples like Potato Latkes and Sufganiyot along with this popular mini Pastrami on Rye sandwich with housemade pickles and deli mustard.

One of my favorite festival dishes last year makes its triumphant return and it's just as good this year. For a warm, hearty dish perfect for a cooler evening at EPCOT, head to the Bavaria Holiday Kitchen near the Germany pavilion for the Cheese Fondue in a Bread Bowl. Served with steamed baby vegetables, marble potatoes, and cubes of bread for dipping, the cheese is silky smooth with a hint of heat; the bread is fresh; and the vegetables are tender without being overcooked. Wash it down with a German hard apple cider, cold glass of Riesling, or a hot spiced housemade Glühwein.

Returning for its second year to the American Holiday Table is a plant-based Holiday Pot Pie made with jackfruit, mushrooms, carrots, peas, onions and puff pastry. Underneath the crisp pastry topping, the filling is light and brothy rather than creamy like a traditional pot pie, but it's just as delicious. Also on the menu at this kitchen is Slow-roasted Turkey, served with stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, and cranberry sauce. Some of the most festive brews you've ever heard of are on the menu here too: 3 Daughters Brewing Eggnog White Porter and Playalinda Brewing Company Peppermint Chocolate Stout.

Festival marketplaces in the France pavilion have become known for their delicious frozen cocktails. At Le Marché de Noel Holiday Kitchen, the Frozen Hot Chocolate Martini made with Grey Goose Vanilla vodka and chocolate milk is the perfect way to sip a holiday "hot" chocolate on a sunny Florida afternoon.

While you're in the France pavilion, be sure to visit the newly expanded area that's now home to EPCOT's newest ride, Remy's Ratatouille Adventure. To get your chance to ride, join the Virtual Queue at 7 am or 1 pm, or purchase Lightning Lane access in Disney Genie.

Returning for a second year, "Olaf's Holiday Tradition Expedition" is an all-ages scavenger hunt around World Showcase that teaches participants about holiday traditions around the world. Purchase a map for $9.99 and search for the hidden Olafs and then head to a redemption location to collect a prize.

While it's easy to only focus on the food, be sure to look up, down and all around at the holiday kitchens, even if you're not doing the scavenger hunt. We noticed some lovely new enhancements, like this gorgeous stained-glass-looking façade, new this year at L'Chaim! (Look closely and you might also spot you know who.)

Frozen fans familiar with "Olaf's Frozen Adventure" won't be able to get Olaf's catchy song, "That Time of Year" out of their head. The short provides some of the inspiration for this year's festival merchandise collection, which stars Olaf and Sven. Items like mugs and MagicBands, a Spirit Jersey, passholder hoodie, and T-shirts for kids and adults all come in wintry shades of blue with lots of snowflakes.

Get some holiday shopping done around World Showcase. There are a few spots where you can find country-specific holiday merchandise and it's no surprise that Germany, the land of Christmas markets and the originator of the "Christmas tree," has some of the best.

Throughout World Showcase, holiday storytellers share stories and traditions about festive celebrations from around the globe. Guests have been thrilled to see the storytellers return after last year's hiatus. In Italy, La Befana, the warm-hearted witch who delivers gifts to Italian children on the Eve of the Epiphany, shares her story.

Next to the L'Chaim! Holiday Kitchen, a Hanukkah storyteller shares music and stories about Hanukkah traditions around the world. He even got the crowd involved for a rousing rendition of "Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel." This fan-favorite storyteller is a must-see!

In the China pavilion, two performers don a stunning lion costume and become a four-legged marvel as they move and jump in unison. Kids will love this Chinese Lion Dancer's playful performance, a nod to the upcoming celebration of Lunar New Year.

Beloved musicians Mariachi Cobre return to their OG location in Mexico after being temporarily moved to the America Gardens Theatre since last year. Here, the story of Las Posadas is told with storytelling, dance, and Mariachi Cobre's wonderful music.

The big guy in red makes his triumphant return to greeting guests this year. Guests can visit Santa for a distanced, but still very engaging, interaction and photo at the American Adventure pavilion.

The lawn between the Land and Imagination pavilions has been a fan favorite distanced character spot since reopening. Fans love watching Winnie the Pooh chase butterflies and Joy from "Inside Out" frolic… well, joyfully. During the holidays they look extra cute in their holiday accessories - Pooh wears a Santa hat and Joy wears garland bedecked with lights and ornaments.

One of Walt Disney World's most beloved holiday traditions, the Candlelight Processional returns to EPCOT this year after last year's hiatus. A 50-piece orchestra, herald trumpets and the Voices of Liberty accompany the Walt Disney World Cast choir and a narrator in a retelling of the Christmas Story. Shows are performed nightly in the America Gardens Theatre at 5:15 pm, 7 pm and 8:30 pm. Dining packages are available and guarantee seeing at a designated show. For standby seating, guests should enter the queue closest to the Italy pavilion.

Living with the Land's vibrant greenhouses are even more colorful this time of year, thanks to the addition of twinkling lights, giant ornaments, stacks of presents, and snowmen. Normally best ridden in the daylight, this is one time to wait to do this attraction when the sun goes down and the lights go up.

EPCOT's shimmering icon got a major glow-up for Walt Disney World's 50th Anniversary thanks to the addition of "points of light," which are used to create a series of stunning lighting effects after dark. A new nighttime segment with a holiday lighting composition was added to coincide with the festival, bringing "new sparkle and a nod to EPCOT holidays past," Walt Disney Imagineer Zach Riddley said in an Instagram post.