The EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays has officially arrived!

The Holidays Have Arrived in EPCOT

While at the Festival, you can enjoy a whole bunch of tasty treats, check out some returning entertainment, and check out special activities like the Olaf scavenger hunt. But, something else tends to arrive with the start of a new festival…crowds. Just how bad are the crowds at the Festival of the Holidays on its opening day? Take a look with us here!

We started our day at EPCOT’s Festival of the Holidays bright and early this morning, but we weren’t alone!

Crowds

Right at the entrance, there was a pretty substantial number of guests waiting to enter those gates and start their day in the park.

Lots of people ready to go for early entry Rope Drop #EPCOTholidays pic.twitter.com/sXq5ZFGB5j

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) November 26, 2021

As is typically the case, there were certain pockets where there was more space, particularly over in the areas of World Celebration, World Nature, and World Discovery, where the presence of the Festival really isn’t felt.

But, over in World Showcase, the crowds were READY for a new festival to begin. The crowds were able to spread out a bit once they hit World Showcase, but the lines quickly started to form at the festival booths.

Let’s head to World Showcase!

One of the spots where the crowds were most evident is (unsurprisingly) near the festival food booths, where select booths had long lines!

Booth lines

We noticed particularly long lines at Las Posadas Holiday Kitchen in Mexico — this could be because it’s one of the first booths you see when enter World Showcase!

Las Posadas

There were also plenty of guests heading to the shops where the Festival merchandise is available.

Shop Crowds

The large crowds are not at all surprising considering yesterday was Thanksgiving, meaning this is a holiday weekend, coupled with the start of the new festival.

It’s looking busy!

We expect that crowd levels at the Festival could be pretty high throughout this holiday weekend. Crowds are also typically quite large at EPCOT on the weekends when a Festival is in place, so you can typically expect some big weekend crowds as well. And crowds will likely be quite high as it gets closer to Christmas and the end of the year.

Yeah, there was a lot of people

So, if you’re planning to visit Disney World soon and want to avoid the crowds, consider visiting during the weekdays and particularly weekdays away from the peak holiday dates. We’re experiencing all that the festival has to offer today and are bringing you FULL reviews of all of the booths, so stay tuned for more!

Click here to see ALL of our reviews of the 2021 Festival of the Holidays booths!

Are you planning to visit EPCOT for the Festivals of the Holidays? Tell us in the comments!

The post PHOTOS & VIDEO: Just How CROWDED is EPCOT’s Festival of the Holidays? first appeared on the disney food blog.