Disney Tips Your Guide To A Great Disney Vacation
Christmas looms large at Walt Disney World, with decorations, events, parades, seasonal overlays, and an endless array of merchandise dedicated to the popular holiday. But it’s not the only holiday that comes at this time of year.
This is also the season of Hanukkah, the festival of lights commemorating the victory of the Maccabees (a group of Jewish warriors) over the Greek army in recovering and rededicating the Second Temple. According to tradition, there was only enough oil to keep the lights of the temple lit for one night, but miraculously that oil lasted for eight nights, hence Hanukkah being called the “festival of lights” (and featuring lots of yummy foods fried in oil)!
For Jewish Disney Parks fans – or for anybody who wants to appreciate Jewish culture – here are the ways you can celebrate Hanukkah at Walt Disney World!
Hanukkah Storyteller
As the “international” Park at Walt Disney World, EPCOT is the best place to go to experience seasonal traditions other than the American version of Christmas. As such, it’s the top spot for celebrating Hanukkah at Walt Disney World!
Specifically, there are a couple of Hanukkah festivities as part of the EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays, “a spirited seasonal event inspired by cultures near and far.”
The most direct nod to Hanukkah can be found at the Hanukkah Storyteller show, a 15-minute performance that can be seen on a small stage located between the Morocco and France pavilions. According to the Walt Disney World website,
Guests will discover an entertaining celebration of Hanukkah along World Showcase promenade, where a storyteller recounts traveling abroad to explore the diverse music and traditions of Hanukkah around the world.
In the past, this performance has included live music and singing, an oversized dreidel, and stories of how Hanukkah is celebrated in various ways across the globe.
L’Chaim! Holiday Kitchen
L’Chaim is a Jewish toast, meaning “to life,” which makes it the perfect name for this celebratory booth at the EPCOT Festival of Holidays, located between the France and Morocco World Showcase Pavilions. Disney describes this eatery as a place to, “Propose a toast to life—sink your teeth into classic deli noshes with a side of New York flair,” and it is by far the most delicious way to celebrate Hanukkah at the Parks!
Credit: Vegan Disney World
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The hearty fare at this eatery has historically included Hanukkah classics like latkes and jelly doughnuts, plus other Jewish delicacies such as pastrami on rye, matzoh ball soup, and black and white cookies! Here’s the full 2022 menu straight from the Walt Disney World website:
Food:
- Pastrami on Rye with House-made Pickles and Deli Mustard
- Smoked Salmon Potato Latke (gluten/wheat-friendly)
- Potato Latkes (gluten/wheat-friendly and plant-based)
- Sufganiyot: Mini Jelly-filled Doughnuts
- Black and White Cookie (plant-based)
Beverages:
- Brooklyn Brewery Winter IPA, Brooklyn, NY
- Frozen New York Whiskey Sour featuring Manifest Whiskey and Manischewitz Blackberry Wine
The yummy food plus the beautiful menorah-themed tile mosaic makes this one of the best places to celebrate Hanukkah at Walt Disney World!
The Voices of Liberty
The a capella singing group that entertains guests in the rotunda of EPCOT’s American Adventure Pavilion is usually known as the Voices of Liberty, but during the Festival of Holidays they become the Dickens Carolers. Decked out in Colonial winter attire, they sing a variety of seasonal classics, including a beautiful Hanukkah medley!
Credit: Disney
The Jingle Cruise
As the name suggests, the Jungle Cruise’s seasonal overlay is mostly focused on Christmas during the Jingle Cruise. with Santa hats and other decorations merrily sprinkled throughout the attraction. This festive boat ride into the animatronic jungle is described as follows on the Walt Disney World website:
During the holiday season, the beloved Jungle Cruise experience is transformed into the Jingle Cruise—a festive-yet-familiar adventure from stem to stern!
Join the homesick Jungle Cruise skippers as they set out on a holly, jolly journey packed with silly shenanigans. The boathouse and beyond are decked out with merry décor that’s been mailed to the skippers or that they’ve created themselves. They’re even unwrapping a few holiday jokes to help everyone get in the spirit.
However, if you look (and listen!) closely, you’ll get a few tastes of Hanukkah as well! For example, in the queue line you can see a small menorah made of coconuts. Then, if you’re lucky you’ll get a skipper who tells some Hanukkah jokes! Just wait until you hear the one about Piranukkah …
Credit: Disney
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Main Street, U.S.A. Menorah
This one is a bit of cheat, as it’s at Disneyland and not (as far as we can tell) the Magic Kingdom, but on the west coast’s version of Main Street, U.S.A., a Menorah is placed in a second-floor window each year and lit properly for each night/day of the holiday.
Credit: Pinterest
Hanukkah Merchandise
And, of course, because it’s Disney, no celebration is complete without the merchandise to commemorate it. Though it pales in comparison to what is available for Christmas, there is a small line of Disney Parks products dedicated to Hanukkah.
Credit: Disney Parks Blog
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You can find a display of these items at World of Disney in Disney Springs (where you can also hear some Hanukkah songs mixed in with the seasonal playlist), varying from year to year, but usually it’s a safe bet you can at least find several shirts and a doll of Mickey Mouse with a dreidel. You can also find Hanukkah merchandise in the Parks themselves at the Magic Kingdom’s Ye Old Christmas Shop (yeah, that seems slightly problematic to us, too).
So a hearty “Chag Sameach” to those who are observing Hanukkah, and may the lights of Walt Disney World burn brightly as you celebrate at the Parks!
