Understandably, Jewish theme park visitors, sometimes, feel left out during “holiday” season in Orlando area. Since my “day job” is as a Christian minister, I am familiar with the Maccabean revolt. I could overwhelm you with details about the historicity of Antiochus Epiphanes IV. In contrast, some of you may just want to ponder what happens on those eight crazy nights of Hanukkah. Though, Hanukkah may not be the highest Jewish festival, it is an important reminder of Jewish tradition during “holiday” season. How does one celebrate Hanukkah at Universal Orlando Resort?
There is some predictable bad news and some great news for people wishing to celebrate Hanukkah at Universal Orlando. The expected bad news is you will not find a huge display of Hanukkah decorations in the parks. Ironically, you can sometimes find a small display of Jewish holiday items in the year-round Christmas shops. Overall, the theme parks will look like a Christmas warehouse exploded in certain sections. As you might imagine, you could be walking through Universal Studios Florida or Islands of Adventure during Hanukkah
never seeing anything that reminds you of that celebration. Of course, it is unfair to expect that in Seuss Landing and the Wizarding World areas. Apparently, there were no Jewish people in those literary works, oh well!
The great news is you can celebrate a menorah lighting every night of Hannukah at Universal Orlando. All eight Universal Orlando hotels have a complimentary menorah lighting ceremony starting November 28 through December 6th. This will allow you, if you choose, to remember the traditions with other like-minded people. These ceremonies will happen nightly at sundown as you might expect. Universal encourages guests to confirm the exact time with your resort. The best way to confirm these times are to visit the front desk or concierge desk at one of the resort hotels. Another option is to call the concierge at 407-503-3200. In addition, you do not need to be staying at an on-site Universal Orlando Resort hotel to participate.
Now, I barely passed Biblical Hebrew several decades ago. Having said that, Shalom and Hanukkah Sameach!
Featured image Source: Orlando Weekly
Pirates & Princesses (PNP) is an independent, opinionated fan-powered news blog that covers Disney and Universal Theme Parks, Themed Entertainment and related Pop Culture from a consumer's point of view. Opinions expressed by our contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of PNP, its editors, affiliates, sponsors or advertisers. PNP is an unofficial news source and has no connection to The Walt Disney Company, NBCUniversal or any other company that we may cover.
