Orlando Family Trip Itinerary and Resources

My husband and I surprised our two kids (5 and 6 years) with a 5 day trip to Orlando. I didn’t plan too much in advance, aside from our day at Magic Kingdom (more on that later). Since so many people have been asking me about our itinerary, I decided to make a comprehensive post about the details of our trip with plenty of resources for both families and people who keep kosher in the Orlando area.

Pre-Trip: What I Packed and Prep

If you think it takes months and months to prep for a Disney trip, you’re mistaken. We decided just over a week before we left that we would go on this trip. We were able to book flights, the rental house, a car and tickets for all attractions within days of arrival. 

The only food we brought from home was frozen kosher meat because we were told it’s more expensive to buy in Orlando, and we bought the rest of the food when we got here at Walmart. There are other grocery stores where you can find kosher food, but we found the staples at Walmart. I will share more on those resources later on in this post.

We also brought both a meat and a dairy pan, a dairy pot, cutting board and knives. We kashered the oven, microwave and grill when we got here. Obviously ask your local orthodox rabbi about how to do all of these things.

I also packed some toys in the kids’ suitcase since the house didn’t come with any. Our toy list:

• Legos and lego sets
• Markers
• Sketch books
• Balls
• Tablets
• Books

If you’ve been following for a while, you’ll know that I also am a huge fan of these travel organizing shelves to pack the kids’ clothes in. You pack the clothes in the shelves, and when you arrive, you just take the shelf and hang it up in the closet. It’s fantastic. I made a reel about it. 

Day 1, Sunday: Travel Day and Arrival

We flew Southwest Airlines out of Midway International Airport at 7:45 am. We chose Southwest for a few reasons: 1) Every person with a seat gets 2 FREE checked bags. 2) Midway is only 10 minutes farther than O’hare when you go early in the morning before traffic hits. 3) I actually find Midway to be a really pleasant and easy experience, especially since they did their airport renovations. 4) Southwest is still leaving seats open on their flights so that customers can spread out safely. I really appreciated this, especially with kids.

When we landed in Orlando, we had a sky cap (yes, they still have those in Orlando) help us with our bags. It’s a free service, and I tipped him $20. It was definitely worth it. 

Car Rental:

We wanted to rent a van because we’re used to that much space. We used the app and website Turo to rent a car. It’s like airbnb for cars. It got dropped off right at the airport parking lot, and made things very easy. There’s none of that “take a shuttle, go to the Hertz counter, wait around, blah blah blah” stuff to deal with. I highly recommend using it.

If you’re not staying at a Disney Resort on the monorail and are planning on doing more than just Disney, you absolutely need to rent a car. Everything in Orlando is incredibly spread out. It takes at least 20 minutes to get anywhere, and if you don’t have a rental car, you’ll be totally stuck. This is the one part of this trip that I found super annoying.

House Rental:

We went straight to Walmart to pick up “supplies”, and then we headed to our rental house. We stayed in the  Encore Reunion Villas, but we booked on TopVillas.com. Top Villas allowed us to see many different home options, and it allows you to see homes in different resorts in the area. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend the customer service, but if you don’t care about dealing with humans, then it’s a great option. I’d still probably use the site again. 

There were honestly quite a few issues with the house we stayed in and communication from the property managers, which I don’t think is the fault of Encore Reunion. It did make our stay a little frustrating, so I think I would stay in a Disney Property Hotel in the future just for the ease of things. 

The first day of any vacation, we usually just spend it getting settled in and hanging out. We ordered pizza from the Wheely Kosher Pizza truck that came down to Encore for the 3 weeks of Yeshiva Winter Break. It’s not cheap, but it’s super convenient, and the pizza is pretty good. 

More info on food in it’s own section at the end of this post.

Day 2, Monday: Azi’s Birthday and Showcase of Citrus

It was still pretty cold in Orlando (high of 61 degrees), so we were tasked with coming up with activities that are good for 5 and 6 year olds that don’t involve water. My friend Chana recommended Showcase of Citrus, and we decided to check it out.

Showcase of Citrus:

I would recommend Showcase of Citrus to families with kids of all ages. It’s a great morning or afternoon activity. We all had a blast. The main attraction is an hour-long monster truck ride through the back groves, swamps and land of the Showcase of Citrus’ 2,500 acres. There are lots of animals including cows, bison, buffalo, goats, zebras, cranes and, if you’re lucky, you may spot some alligators! The tour guide was incredibly knowledgeable and informative about the land and animals. Did you know alligators can go up to 3 years without eating? And the gender of an alligator is determined by the temperature outside at conception? HOW COOL!

There’s also a unique playground and a small petting zoo. If you don’t keep kosher they have food trucks and a bar that you can order from. They also have a cute gift shop, where you will inevitably spend money you don’t want to. Overall, I’d say this is great for the 5-10 year old crowd the most, but it’s definitely enjoyable for older and younger kids as well. As a grownup, I had a great time as well.

This is one of the more “affordable” activities in Florida. The monster truck ride is “only” $25 per adult and $15 per child over the age of 3. You can also buy little bags of animal food for the petting zoo. I was really happy with the activity for the money spent. Highly recommend!

Azi’s Birthday:

It was Azi’s 5th birthday our first full day here. I always get balloons for my kids’ birthdays, so I drove 30 minutes to the nearest Party City. I did curbside pickup, and the process was really easy, aside from the fact that I had to drive half an hour to get there. He was really happy so it was worth it to me. There’s also a Starbucks in the same area, in case you need a coffee for the drive back to the Encore area.

 

Claudia Beberman from Orlando Kosher Shopper was also incredibly kind and helpful. She stopped by our rental and gifted Azi a gluten free chocolate cake that I assume she bought from the kosher Winn Dixie, and she brought him balloons as well. Claudia is a personal shopper and party planner in the Orlando area, and she specializes in helping people coordinate special things for their vacations. She does anything from private chefs to big parties. A huge thank you to her for her kindness and guidance!

Day 3, Tuesday: Disney’s Magic Kingdom and Space X Rocket Launch

Disney deserves its own post. So click here to check it out, including all of my tips and tricks for first timers, families and children with chronic illnesses.

As I mentioned in the Disney post, we left Magic Kingdom around 4:45 pm because we planned to go to Cape Canaveral to see a Space X Rocket Launch. Our family is a bunch of space nerds, so when we saw that there was going to be a launch when we were in Florida, we knew we had to go. Cape Canaveral is only about an hour and fifteen minutes away from Orlando, so we knew we could make it work. I had no idea that Cape Canaveral was so close to Orlando, and I don’t know why people don’t go there more often when they’re on vacation. 

Seeing a real rocket launch, in person, was truly one of the most incredible experiences I’ve ever had in my life. We watch these rocket launch videos on Youtube all the time, but to see it in person was beyond. It’s such a great educational experience as well. We played space and rocket trivia in the car on the way. 

So do you want to go see a rocket launch yourself? It’s super easy. 

First, you can check the different launches on this website. See if they match up or you can match up your trip to the launches. They are subject to cancellation or change based on the weather. For example, our particular launch was originally supposed to be the day before, but it changed. Then it got pushed two hours back. So we had to be flexible with our scheduling (e.g. we left Disney early) to make it.

There are a few different places to watch the launches. We went to the Cape Canaveral Rocket Launch View Point. It’s free, there are port-a-potties and there are bleachers there to sit on. It’s directly across from the Space X launch point. 

Here are some other viewing points to watch a rocket launch. Some are free, and some are not. Some launches can be viewed at the Kennedy Space Center itself, which would be amazing. But night rocket launches cannot be viewed at Kennedy because it closes to the public. 

You could really make a whole day out of it and visit the Kennedy Space Center and other things to do in the area called “The Spacecoast”. 

Day 4, Wednesday: Pool and Disney Springs

We were all pretty tired from Magic Kingdom and a late night space launch, so we hung around our rental house while the kids swam in the pool. In the late afternoon, we decided to venture to Disney Springs. 

Disney Springs is a really great, FREE (and free parking) way to experience some of the Disney phenomena. It’s an outdoor, gigantic “mall” with tons of restaurants (not kosher), shopping and activities that are part of the Disney franchise. I say this because that means that the indoor mask policies that Disney has apply here as well.

To-Do:

You can ride in a hot air balloon ($25/adult, $15/child), take a guided tour on Lake Buena Vista in a Amphicar (half car/half boat), listen to live music or just walk around. You don’t have to spend money here to have a good time. But watch out, because Disney gets you ($$) every time. There’s the World of Disney superstore, the Lego Store, a T-Rex store and a Coca Cola store, among others. 

Food:

As for Kosher food, there’s a Haagen-Dazs. All of the ice cream itself is kosher dairy. The real excitement is Erin McKenna’s Bakery. It’s a kosher, vegan and totally GLUTEN FREE bakery. This is very exciting for people who keep Cholov Yisroel kosher standards because everything is dairy-free. It’s also thrilling for a gluten free person (especially kids) who can go into this bakery and eat whatever they want. My personal review? It tastes gluten free and parve. But if you go in with those expectations, you’ll likely enjoy it. Be prepared to spend a little bit of money. It’s not cheap. But for those with certain food restrictions, it’s worth it.

Parking:

As far as parking, I’d recommend parking in the Lime garage to be closest to World of Disney, Lego and Erin McKenna’s. The Orange garage is okay too, but you’ll have to walk. But it’s a nice walk. Either way, Disney Springs is big, and you should be prepared to walk quite a bit.

There are many photographable areas throughout Disney Springs. It’s a beautiful area, with lots of small ponds, water areas, the lake, fountains and walls. If you’ve got some time to kill or want an evening activity without spending too much money, Disney Springs is great.

Day 5, Thursday: Encore Reunion Water Park and Kosher Grill

Thursday was our last day, but we booked our flight for 10 pm, so we had the entire day. It was warmest day we had so we spent it at the main pool and waterpark at Encore Reunion. It felt really resort-y, which was fun because we’d been staying in a house the entire time. 

Disney Restaurants Tip:

In the afternoon we actually tried to go to Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge because it’s supposed to be really fun to walk around with the animals. When we arrived, we found out that because of COVID protocols you are only allowed onto the property if you have a reservation at one of the restaurants (or obviously if you’re a guest at the lodge). If I had known this ahead of time, I would have made a reservation at one of the property’s restaurants for a meal. You can call 24 hours in advance of your reservation, and they will prepare a kosher meal for you. I was a little bummed this didn’t work, but now I know for next time. 

It turns out you can make meal reservations at many of the Disney restaurants and then get kosher meals so you can still have the full Disney experience. We’ll definitely be doing this next trip!

Instead, we headed to Kosher Grill to have our final meal on our way to the airport. There was a wait, but they were moving tables, and despite the crowd, the food was still excellent. It was pretty expensive, but I’d definitely go back for a special meal on our next trip.

Food:

This is not a comprehensive list of kosher food in Orlando and surrounding areas. This is where I ate with my family and my review. For a comprehensive list of kosher food in Orlando, check out Kosher Orlando. 

Gluten Free:

From what I saw, none of the kosher restaurants offer gluten free options, which was a bit disappointing. The Wheely truck ordered Heaven and Earth GF Cauliflower Crust Pizzas, but my son hates those, and it was a fortune. Kudos to them for trying. Claudia Beberman (Orlando Kosher Shopper) was able to get my son a gluten free boxes cake for his birthday. I assume she got it at one of the grocery stories. But aside from Erin McKenna’s there’s not much in the way of gluten free.

Wheely Kosher Pizza Truck:

The pizza was good, and it was very convenient because it was in our development. We got it a few times. I wish they had a homemade gluten free pizza for Azi. None of the pizza trucks in Orlando offered gluten free, and I think that could be really good for business if they did. 

Pizza Biza:

We never made it here because it was a bit farther from where we were staying, but I hear the pizza is very good. Seems a bit more gourmet than Wheely.

Ahuva’s Candy Corner:

They gifted us a large candy tray, and it was REALLY large. All of the candy comes from Oh Nuts and is kosher certified, even though Ahuva’s Candy Corner is not specifically kosher certified itself.

Kosher Grill:

They don’t take reservations, and there was about a 20 minute wait, but the food was excellent. We would definitely come here again. We didn’t even try the hummus or other Israeli food, which is what they’re known for. Best chicken salad I’ve had in a long time. I just wish they had anything gluten free on their menu. Azi ate chicken nuggets we brought in the car.

Krispy Kreme:

The Krispy Kreme closest to where we were staying was: 7930 W. Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy, Kissimmee, FL 34746. It was INCREDIBLE. Such a treat! Krispy Kreme is Cholov Stam. Kosher Orlando has more info about who oversees the hashgacha.

Rita’s:

There is one kosher Rita’s about 25 minutes from Encore.

11567 Regency Village Dr. Orlando, FL 32821

Walmart:

We got the rest of our food and supplies at Walmart, and we brought kosher meat from home in a suitcase.

Mikvah Tahara Chabad Orlando:

I actually had the opportunity to visit the closest mikvah to Orlando, and it was really a beautiful experience. I wasn’t using the mikvah myself, but the space was gorgeous. The Chabad Orlando rebbetzin runs it, and she did a beautiful interior decorating job. 

This is the info: