Food for Passover at Kings Island and Canada's Wonderland

For KI, I am not really worried about finding a grocery store with a Kosher section, or even with having to leave the park. I don't keep Kosher, so I just want to try to stick with the spirit of the rule. I am not necessarily looking for a Kosher dining option, but the option to substitute Matzo for bread. If this means bringing in my own food, great! I'd rather eat my own food than Cedar Fair's crap.

I just want to know about my options there.

For Canada's Wonderland, I am not sure about bring food over the border, but it looks like, based on the replies here, that I have plenty of options outside the park for buying food.

Jeff,

There are other Jewish coaster junkies? As far as I know, I think Cincinnati has a fairly large Jewish community, so I think you are at least partly right in your sarcasm.

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I just got off the phone with KI (I called in the middle of composing this post), and the best answer I could get was to go to my car and eat.

Looks like Matzo sandwiches! If worst comes to worst, I could just order food minus the bun. That doesn't follow the letter of the law but since I'm not religious, what is important for me is that it follows the spirit.

I was thinking Waffle House minus the bread. Their hash browns have no bread, and boy are they tasty! Heart Attach on a Plate! There is a Waffle House just outside the park, right?

Now with Wonderland, anyone know if they have grills or a picnic area?

-Sam

EDIT: Jeff, Thanks for sticking up for me!

*** Edited 4/16/2008 5:36:39 PM UTC by Avalanche Sam***

Waffle house at the north exit off I-71 :) for KI. Get a parking lot pass out to leave and come back :)

Have a great time and yes Cincy does have a very large Jewish Community that is more than welcome in the mist of us krauts.

Chuck, who laughs at himself before even thinking negativly of anybodys religion, race or whatnot.

Scattered, smothered, and covered. Good eats.

Of course, that's not exactly a pork-free grill, there. ;)

Brian,

I just get them plain. No need to scatter, smother, cover, chunk, slice, dice, etc.

I don't keep Kosher, and as I stated before, I am more interested in following the spirit of the rules than the letter.

Charles,

Wouldn't my Platinum Pass give me in and out privileges anyway?

I am tempted to bring some Matzo into the park with me. Talking to Cedar Point yesterday, that would be considered "special diet/need," so if they are truly consistent across parks, I shouldn't have much of a problem at KI.

Oh, and for all you GL conspiracy theorists out there, Mr. K is supposedly coming to KI on opening day. Oh wait, you all decided to boycott CF anyway!

-Sam

Sweet, you can tell him how much the food sucks and how over priced it is even by theme park standards. :)

All or nothing with the hashbrowns.
That's what I say.

And don't even THINK of forgetting my chili!

-CO

Had to laugh at that sign from GAdv. What the hell is tuna salad on a tossed platter? For $13, couldn't they just hand it to you politely? I sure hope they don't mean a platter previously tossed out by someone else!

Also funny they mention the passover bun with the hot dog that they don't specifially mention is kosher. Who is the official exclusive kosher food partner of Six Flags anyway?

Oh, and for all you GL conspiracy theorists out there, Mr. K is supposedly coming to KI on opening day. Oh wait, you all decided to boycott CF anyway!

I predict the boycott ends the moment Behemoth opens in 2009 (and yes, I'm also predicting they recycle the name).

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Oh, and for all you GL conspiracy theorists out there, Mr. K is supposedly coming to KI on opening day. Oh wait, you all decided to boycott CF anyway!

-Sam

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Let's not get back on that topic please! I am so sick of hearing the whiners with their conspiracies.

Parker17,

Part of the conspiracy had to do with food, so it is on topic. They bought Geauga Lake so they could bring Ben and Jerry's to Cedar Point. Problem is that when they realized how bad Ben and Jerry's was, they closed Geauga Lake, and the Ben and Jerry's stand at Cedar Point!

Sorry, I couldn't think of anything better.

But seriously,

In response the the Great Adventure thing:

Kosher food is expensive. When I get Kosher burgers for when I grill out at Cedar Point, I think the good ones are priced somewhere around $6 a pound! Kosher meat has all these rules associated with it, so of course the cost is generally higher.

But even with that high cost, the food is way better than the crap inside the park. I don't know if I save any money by grilling Kosher burgers, but they sure taste good!

But a lot of everyday food items are Kosher anyway. Ever wonder what that OU symbol was on a lot of food items (it looks like a U inside a circle)? Well, it is like a seal of approval or maybe seal of certification from the Orthodox Union. That symbol tells you that the item is Kosher. There are also other symbols from other organizations that certify items as Kosher.

-Sam

*** Edited 4/17/2008 9:53:09 PM UTC by Avalanche Sam***

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Avalanche Sam said:

Kosher meat has all these rules associated with it, so of course the cost is generally higher.

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Yeah, like you can't sweep the killhouse floor for your hot dog and burger meat!

-CO

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Avalanche Sam said:Brian,I just get them plain. No need to scatter, smother, cover, chunk, slice, dice, etc.I don't keep Kosher, and as I stated before, I am more interested in following the spirit of the rules than the letter. Charles,Wouldn't my Platinum Pass give me in and out privileges anyway? I am tempted to bring some Matzo into the park with me. Talking to Cedar Point yesterday, that would be considered "special diet/need," so if they are truly consistent across parks, I shouldn't have much of a problem at KI.Oh, and for all you GL conspiracy theorists out there, Mr. K is supposedly coming to KI on opening day. Oh wait, you all decided to boycott CF anyway! -Sam

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The platinum will get you in the parking lot the first time. It was always the policy that you needed a passout to leave and come back. Same as a stamp at the re entry gate.

Better safe than sorry

Kosher is one thing, Kosher for Passover is completely different. Much of it has to do with keeping things separate. That's why you see grocery store shelves lined with paper or foil under the Kosher for Passover food, and it's why Jewish kitchens are thoroughly cleaned before the holiday and have separate dishes and utensils for Passover (or use paper/plastic). You can't just take a standard restaurant kitchen that's been cooking and serving regular food and put out anything that's Kosher for Passover, it has to be cleaned and certified, or used only for that purpose during the holiday. Which reminds me - Reuben's Glatt Spot at Great Adventure is across from the Chiller site, which is in the closed off area this year. Wonder how they'll handle that.

Just a heads up on CW and Season Pass preview night. If you want to be certain about special diet email guest services to double check but I wouldn't count on it so best to pick up some food in the area and keep a cooler in the car.

Last year at Season Pass preview night hunger set in and we went to grab something quick at You Go Grill. I ordered something listed on the menu board (I can't remember what it was now but think it was a chicken sandwhich) and got a blank stare back from person behind counter. I ordered again and they said they didn't know what I was talking about. So I pointed to it on the menu and then got a nervous look, so she said let me check I'm not so sure about that. After a few minutes she came back and said "I don't think we have that yet".

My experience with food ops in general was that they were a still kinda getting warmed up on Season Pass Preview. So trying to work in special diet offerings, even if they're available, could be really frustrating.

An Update:

I visited Canada's Wonderland on the preview night, and was lucky enough to get a ticket from some folks for a private event the next day.

Their food lineup seems very impressive!

Since I am not keeping Kosher, but am simply trying to follow the spirit of the rules by substituting Matzoh for bread, it was easy to find great food there at the park.

They have fresh cut fries, and they also have a food stand that among other things, has great Rotisserie Chicken. They offer a quarter chicken (dark only from what I was told or lead to believe Friday) with fries and corn on the cob. I only wanted quarter white, and according to their executive chef on Friday, and their foods (director, I think) on Saturday, I could get that.

I ordered a quarter chicken (white) meal with a large drink, and though it was VERY EXPENSIVE, it was VERY GOOD! In fact, the corn was amazingly good!

So thanks for the advice. Also, the buffet looked like it wasn't too bad!

-Sam

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Parker17 said:

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Oh, and for all you GL conspiracy theorists out there, Mr. K is supposedly coming to KI on opening day. Oh wait, you all decided to boycott CF anyway!

-Sam

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Let's not get back on that topic please! I am so sick of hearing the whiners with their conspiracies.

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Actually this thread is making me hungry. ;)

-Tina

Whoa. There is a buffet at Wonderland now.. Wow..

El Gato Coastro,

It has been there since at least 2007 if I remember correctly, as I think I saw it on my trip last year.

The other interesting thing:

There seemed to be a Matzoh shortage here in the Cleveland area. Before leaving on Saturday night, I swung by a Jewish section of the area, and they had plenty. I didn't end up eating any on Saturday, but it was good to know that if I didn't bring my own that I could find some up there. I did buy one box up there, so at least I have a buffer next year in case of another "shortage."

-Sam

If you are going to pay out the wazoo for food at a chain park you MAY as well get the buffet, like any TRUE coaster enthusiast. ;)

-Tina

I have not been to Wonderland in a couple of years! Strange considering I live up the road from the Park!

This year will be different!