Advice on Eating Kosher?

[red_velvet_rose]

My girlfriend and I are hoping to take the family to WDW next summer. There's six of us total (three adults, one teen, two kids), five of whom are Orthodox Jewish and are strictly kosher.

I know there are options in the park for kosher meals to be supplied with 24 hour notice. But I've heard that these meals are basically reconstituted TV dinners that we could get at the kosher market for half the price. Can anyone tell me if this is true or perhaps, has changed?

We are hoping to get one of the cabins in Fort Wilderness so that we have the option of having a kitchen in which to prepare some of our own food. (We already know where the closest market with kosher food is.) So breakfast and dinner will probably be handled in the cabin, but I doubt we'll want to drag ourselves all the way back to Fort Wilderness in the middle of the day for lunch.

I suppose I'm asking if we should just take bag lunches into the parks and skip the Disney kosher meals all together... or are the packaged kosher meals worth it?

Thanks!

Rosie

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

There was a thread on here not too long ago. The kosher dinners at Disney restaurants are in foil, similar to a TV dinner. I'm not familiar with the details, but I believe to be a truely kosher meal, it not only has to have kosher food, but also has to be prepared in a kosher kitchen. Heating a foil package allows Disney to accomodate this requirement.

 

[Tissa]

I have a friend who travels to WDW and eats Kosher. I'll get her to respond to you.

 

[newholidayx2]

I know there was a family who ate kosher at Crystal Palace

 

[my3disneygirls]

I just read about someone having kosher TS and CS. They overall were very pleased at how Disney could accommodate them. I believe they called ahead for TS and it was taken care of.

 

[mullertwin]

Hi, I am Tissa's friend We keep strictly glatt kosher. We have done a combination of things from eating the meals at the table service restaurants and counter service restaurants to bringing in our own food or preparing our own food at our DVC/townhome (we've never been to Ft Wilderness to stay only for the Hoop Dee Doo).

Anyway, my thoughts are like this, if you want "good" food, buy and prepare your own. The Publix on Orange Lake Rd off the 192 has a great kosher frozen foods section as well as a great selection of Publix brand stuff with an O-U on it. We've gotten Empire BBQ chicken there as well as chicken nuggets, etc.

As for the WDW food, it is "okay" but we are really there for the character interaction. Nothing beats dining with Pooh & Tigger or the Princesses or Mickey The food comes prepackaged in double wrapped airline style packs. The silverware is in plastic and says kosher cutlery on it and your server will give you "to go" cups if you want them (some people think it is okay to drink from the glasses and some don't). The previous is for table service meals. Yes, you need to plan ahead but you should do that anyway . Our favorite table service choice is the brisket but that is an adult meal and the kids were not too fond of the chicken nuggets or the mac and cheese but they are very picky eaters. BTW, you can order meat and the kids can order dairy and vice-versa. The soups are good, too.

As for counter service meals, the pro of them is that you can order them and in a few minutes they are ready for you. There is a dedicated microwave oven and they are also prepared in the plastic double wrap airline style container. The con side is that the choices are very limited. There are only chicken nuggets, burgers and a pastrami sandwich. We have only tried the nuggest & burger. They are okay, with the nuggets being the best of them (BTW, they are the same as the children's nugget meal). Kind of sad that they don't have any vegetarian or dairy option for the counter service.

Price wise, for the table service, they usually charge you the regular buffet price which is surely expensive but you are there to eat with the characters. The counter service meals are 8.99 each (not including tax).

There is plenty of fresh fruit to be found and some of the stuff in the sweet shops have a hechsher. The ice cream from Edy's is kosher but chalav stam.

I hope this helps. Feel free to PM or email me if you have more questions!