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Kosher Food at Walt Disney World – Updated November 2021 – Including Menu

@iAmAviG

November 22, 2021

Before we went to Disney World we did the usual thing and Google’d “Kosher Food in Disney World” and was led to the same tired articles from 2017 with outdated information.

We then turned to Disney Dining and after waiting for two and a half hours on hold they looked at the same websites we did and gave the same outdated information.

What’s the best way to know information is outdated? Well, even Disney Dining gave us the name of a restaurant that hasn’t existed in over a year.

So here is what you need to know for finding Kosher meals at Disney as well as what is available (as of 11/14/21)…just note that these are all microwavable airline style meals, and not even remotely “fine dining”.

If you call 48-hours in advance and make a reservation, they can have Kosher food at any Disney restaurant. If you want to walk up and get food, visit the Quick Service Restaurants in the parks, where they should have a selection:

Animal Kingdom – Satu’li Canteen in Pandora AND Tiffins Restaurant in Discovery Island
Epcot – Sunshine Seasons in the Land Pavillion
Hollywood Studios – Rosie’s All-American Café on Sunset Boulevard
Magic Kingdom – Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café in Tomorrowland

As for the Kosher Certification, it is under Sterling Kosher Catering, which uses the umbrella of the OK. The menu, as we saw at Sunshine Seasons in Epcot was as follows:

Roasted Chicken Breast with Potato Kugel and Vegetables
Chicken Strips with Potato Pancake and Corn
Brisket of Beef With Potato Kugel and Vegetables
Hamburger Dinner with Potato Pancake and Vegetables
Hot Dog with Potato Pancake and Vegetables
Poached Salmon with Yellow Rice and Vegetables
Macaroni and Cheese
Kosher Cheese Pizza
Vegetable Lasagna with Vegetables
Parve Cheese Cake

Good luck on your quest for Kosher food in the place where pork Dreams Come True!

Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

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March 12, 2020

We all love our money. And nothing says money like: Regulation.

Okay, but seriously. The Federal Reserve is a nationwide banking system in place who’s goals include stabilizing market prices and moderating long-term interest rates (thanks Wikipedia).

The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago is one of twelve regional banks, and their responsibilities include helping to formulate the nationals monetary policy and provide services for cash, check, and e-payment processing.

And on top of all of that, they are also nice enough to have a free-admission money museum.

The Museum has a daily presentation that shows off the functions of The Fed, and also has a question and answer session, to let you find out all the little details that go into our money.

Other activities and exhibits include:

The story and history of the US Dollar, which has the evolution of our currency
Tricks and tips on how to spot a counterfeit bill
Take a picture with a suitcase full of one million dollars in $20s
A cube/pallet of one dollar bills, also equalling a million dollars
A souvenir bag of shredded money, which if you spend a lot of time trying to put back together, you won’t be able to get free money out of the situation

Willis Tower

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March 5, 2020

The view of a city’s skyline is always one of the lasting memories you have of a city. New York with the Empire State Building and the Freedom Tower, Seattle with the Space Needle, and Chicago with the Willis Tower.

One of the things that people like to do is take pictures of those skylines, which is fantastic from afar, but not from within, as you can’t take a picture of the skyline, from the skyline…with that in mind, it brings me to Mount Royal where you have a mountain overlooking the city and can take a picture of those great lines.

But going to the top of these tall buildings and looking down on the city is a rite of tourism, so up to the top of the Willis Tower I headed, where they have a glass box sticking out the side of the building that can make it look like you are standing over nothing 1500 feet in the air (but is likely not worth the half-hour wait for that photo opportunity).

One of the downsides of Chicago is that most of the main parts fall within the Loop, and that area isn’t terribly large, so when you are at the top of the center of it, there’s not much to see up there, without looking straight down…sure you can see really far…but you can do that from the airplane as you fly into the city.

Maybe next time I should head to the top of the Hancock Tower (seen to the right side of the featured picture above), so at least I can get a view of the most famous tall building in Chicago…the Willis Tower.

Millennium Park

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February 27, 2020

Everyone who has an Instagram and visits Chicago has to do the same thing…head to Millennium Park and take a picture with one of the biggest tourist traps in America these days. It used to be on road trips visiting the largest rubber band ball or the world’s best ceramic cow, but now it’s that stupid Bean…or what’s officially known as the Cloud Gate.

I went, I took my pictures of it, and I moved on through the throngs of crowds flocking to it, but as I explored Millennium Park, I found a few other parts of the park that had no people surrounding them, but were infinitely cooler.

Buckingham Fountain — This bronze fountain is fun to watch as it dances around, but it really comes to life at night in the warmer months as they turn it into a ten-minute light show
Maggie Daley Park rock climbing — Rock Climbing walls are all the rage these days, but it’s nice to see one outdoors surrounded by nature and just a great view of the Chicago skyline
Jay Pritzker Pavillion — This is the newer outdoor bandshell in the park, but it’s got a cool feel to it, that offers great acoustics for musical events
Crown Fountain — Kids splish-splash in the water that bounces around this area, but the crowning jewel is the two tall video walls that have videos playing through them, as water pushes out of the images

Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago

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February 20, 2020

The Museum of Science and Industry is located just south of Chicago, and is a fantastic place of learning for people of all ages, as it has a lot of history, but also plenty of hands-on experiences to let you learn and feel your way through. It is one of the options included in the Chicago CityPass (highly recommended) and when you buy admission to the Museum, it comes with many options, including Ticketed Experiences and a tour of the U-505 in the basement…but more on that in a minute.

The museum as a whole has plenty of options before you start adding in the extras that it offers, but among those ticketed/timed experiences are:

Wired to Wear: A look into how technology is advancing with smart clothes and devices that are helping change our wardrobes for the next generation
Future Energy Chicago: With the increasing demand for energy consumption, this is a look at how Chicago may approach the evolving revolution to power the future
Coal Mine Tour: Since 1933 this exhibit has taken people down the mineshaft and along the rails as you explore a true-to-life coal mine, complete with safety regulations and machinery that helped make their jobs easier, like the rock pusher below

As for their regular exhibits, that includes:

Henry Crown Space Center: Spacecrafts litter the room as they look into the missions that took us into space, as well as discussions about future trips to Mars and beyond
The Art of the Bicycle: Bikes have been around for 200+ years, and the evolution of them never stops, as they’ve gone from different sizes wheels to all sorts of materials to help make them lighter and faster. The room is full of tens of bikes, including this speedster:
Tesla Coil: 1.5 Million Volts surge through this tesla coil suspended from the ceiling, and you can hear the energy release all around the museum, as it jumps 10 feet between the grounding rings
U-505 Submarine: Elusive. Deadly. Captured. This German U-boar was lurking the waters, and the US Navy tracked it down, convincing the Germans that they had sunk the submarine, instead took it and captured it to learn its technologies.
Now it lives in the museum basement as a sight to explore, learning what life is like inside and how it works, all while discovering its amazing story.
Transportation Gallery: This room is a giant garage of things that have roamed the Earth, from planes to trains and other land cruisers, including a 1903 Wright Flyer replica.

SEA LIFE Orlando Aquarium

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February 13, 2020

Plain and simple, one of the worst aquariums I’ve been to, as it is a tourist trap designed to offer the least, for the most amount of money.

Zoos and aquariums should be fun experiences, giving everyone the opportunity to explore animals in their environments. But instead, the SEA LIFE Orlando Aquarium is a tourist trap, laying under The Wheel at Icon Park, and forcing people to walk thru a tight path with dim lighting interspersed with strobe lighting. To add to the real tourist experience, the aquarium offers a 15% discount to those that purchase online versus those who walk up to the door.

But let’s talk about what they do have to offer!

The aquarium offers distinct zones, focusing on the different water zones on Earth, from the Indian to Pacific Oceans, and the local Atlantic Ocean and Everglades.

They do have great views of jellyfish, as they light up the water, and you can get right up against the glass with stingrays, seeing their funny looking smiles on their bellies.

At the end of the day, don’t waste your time on this aquarium. I know that Sea World costs a lot more, as does Disney, but if you are going to be visiting Orlando, don’t waste your money on this one…

The Curves of Daytona International Speedway

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February 6, 2020

As the NASCAR season kicks off in a few weeks, I turn my attention to Daytona International Speedway, the place built by Bill France Sr. himself, the founder of NASCAR, and home to the “Super Bowl of NASCAR” the Daytona 500.

As you walk up to the Speedway you are greeted by a statue of France Sr and of Dale Earnhardt Sr. who passed away at the track in 2001, and by Champions Walk of Fame, featuring hand and footprints of previous winners.

As you ride around the track it’s amazing to stare straight up at the 31° banking in the corners, and then get out and walk up the 18°s at the finish line, and realize that cars drive crooked on there approaching 200 MPH.

Meanwhile, you can glance up at the seating while the stands are empty, and see the great work done on the color patterns, to make it always appear from afar that every seat is taken.

The pit lane and Gatorade Victory Lane are appropriately blackened with tire marks, and when you stand there to take a picture you can feel the excitement in the air of being where some of the best drivers in the world stood (and the absence of some of the best from the aforementioned Walk of Fame, like Kyle Busch, Clint Bowyer, and Brad Keselowski).

Behind the pits are the endless garages, able to hold the teams from the Truck Series, Xfinity Series, and the NASCAR Cup Series, and among them the Fanzone, that can hold hundreds who want to party before the event, or spend time there during the race.

In the center of the track is Lake Lloyd, a 29-acre man-made lake, that is there to help control the water on the track, and is where they took the dirt from to form the banking around the track. The lake is full of fish and hosts speedboat races and fishing tournaments.

Also at the track is a museum that features the heritage of Daytona, from when they drove on the beach all the way thru the most recent winning car.

If you get a chance to go to Daytona, be sure to take the tour, it’s worth every penny to take the tour and walk on the track, climb the stands, and see a piece of racing history.

The Better Areas of Epcot

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January 30, 2020

It amazes me how everyone focuses on “Drinking Around The World” when they enter the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow…but do they not realize they are paying large dollars to get into the park, and then paying even more for tapas and Mango Gingerita’s?

No, the better parts are the ones that show you the communities of tomorrow, the essence that the park was created around.

Living With The Land gives a great glimpse into how we can live better with the land around us, and make the most of the space and world we live in. Disney World uses innovation and cross-breeding to produce high-yield crops, including fruits and vegetables from around the world, as well as fishes growing in their “fish farm”.

Meanwhile, The Seas With Nemo & Friends is an underwater journey through reefs and sea anemone, and when you come out the other end you get to explore a saltwater aquarium full of clownfish, sharks, and turtles!

Other great attractions include:

Test Track where you can build a car and put it up against your opponent to see which one of you can go fastest.
Soarin’ is a hang gliding experience that takes you on a journey Around The World over some of the greatest sights Earth has to offer.
Character Spot offers a great place to meet and greet with Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy, away from the crowds, and is usually easy to find late-day pickups of FastPass+ to make for a minimal line for that fantastic photo op!
Disney & Pixar Short Film Festival offers you a 3D look at some of Disney’s shorts, from their early days through today. Unfortunately, with the launch of Disney+, this attraction has no real draw anymore, since you can watch a lot of these films from the comfort of your own home, without needing to waste Disney Park time on it…

2020 Grammys

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January 25, 2020

The 62nd Grammys are Sunday night, hosted by Alicia Keys, and here are my completely terrible predictions, based on who I think should win, and not who will actually win! Enjoy 🙂

I have only done categories in which I know enough about the music to choose from:

Record of the Year — Bad Guy by Billie Eilish — Billie Eilish exploded onto the scene this year, and I would love to see her walk away with at least one of these awards

Album of the Year — thank u, next by Ariana Grande — Contrary to what I literally just said, I think Ariana deserves the award for the best total album, as people like Lil Nas X and Lizzo had good songs, they didn’t shine across the full albums

Song of the Year — Lover by Taylor Swift — Bad Guy is right up there as my favorite of the category, but Lover was a very well planned out song by T-Swift
Meanwhile, the truly annoying “Truth Hurts by Lizzo” is sure to make some noise on the night…

Best New Artist — Billie Eilish

Best Pop Solo Performance — Bad Guy by Billie Eilish
“7 Rings by Ariana Grande” also deserves a mention, but I don’t think “You Need To Calm Down by Taylor” is better than the previously mentioned Lover

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance — Senorita by Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello — I think “Sucker by the Jonas Brothers” has a good chance as well, but Senorita absolutely exploded onto the music scene

Best Pop Vocal Album — No. 6 Collaborations Project by Ed Sheeran — I’m going with Ed here, as I think it’s likely to be his last music for a long while, but this is a really strong category, with Grande, Eilish, Swift, and even Beyonce in this category!

Best Country Duo/Group Performance and Best Country Song — Speechless by Dan + Shay — I’m speechless that this was nominated

Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media — Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse — Although I can see “A Star is Born” taking this one

The Magic of the Magic Kingdom

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January 23, 2020

The magic of Magic Kingdom is supposed to start before you even walk in the door…a place that can only be reached by special transport, either a monorail or ferry. But the Magic of a ferry is dampened by the fact that it ends so far away…as the ferry brought me to the Transportation Center, I was left picking the Cinderalla Castle out of the faraway distance.

But that magic gets reawakened as you walk down Main Street U.S.A., taking in the old-time USA street, on your way to the center of the Magic Kingdom spoke, and that glorious castle that is the highlight of every Disney photo album.

And then once you are through the Castle the fun and games really begin:

Mickey’s Philharmagic, with Donald Duck starring in the show, after trying on Mickey’s sorcerer’s hat, and causing general havoc and chaos amongst the orchestra.
It’s A Small World is one of those rides that I just HAD to try. Everyone talks about it and it’s one of the most well-known rides in the world. But the reality of it is that once you are 25 seconds into this 15-minute ride, you want the music to just end…something that infinite loop just refuses to do.
But if you can block out the sounds, the visuals are really something else. The rooms are filled with characters from all over the world, showcasing different cultures and creatures, and mixed in amongst them all are Disney movie characters with their native lands.
But I will admit I was very thrilled when I saw the following sign:
There are a bunch of other staples that jumps to the top of the lists…Tomorrowland Speedway, Space Mountain, and of course the Monsters, Inc Laugh Floor. What’s that, you aren’t familiar with the last of those? Well, get on board, because you can go there over and over and get fresh laughs every single time! With user-submitted jokes, and a laugh meter that always needs filling, and that one poor dude in the crowd that gets picked on to the joy of those with them!
Meanwhile, you can go for a climb up the Swiss Family Treehouse as you go check out the water windmill in action and get a glance at the Jungle Lookout where adventure beckons.
But my most fun of the day came amongst the wit and cheesy jokes of the Jungle Cruise as you hop into a real boat and take a trip through the rivers with a crazy tour guide to show you the Audio-Animatronic animals, that bring lifelike joy up close and personal.
Unfortunately, I was unable to see the Hall of Presidents but the story there was almost as good. As I waited for entry the police showed up, and the talk is they had to arrest someone that made a scene and threw something on the President Trump figure.

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