Vegan Eats
Disney World Parks By Kylina Matteoli
What’s tasty, vegan, and has mouse-shaped ears? That’s right, the food at Disney World. To conclude our Disney series, this week’s post covers all the delectable vegan food within Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios. To show you everything available, this post will be in a bullet-point format to make it easier for you to find what food is available at the park you are going to visit. I’ve organized the food options into the respective parks they can be found in. Initially, I was going to just cover two of the parks, but after some research I realized there were too many options available at each park that I couldn’t help but include them all. You know, in case you go on an epic quest to find all the vegan food available. You never know. Go crazy – try them all! Let’s head down Main Street U.S.A. to begin our magical time at Disney World with some tasty vegan eats.
First, if you have read my Disneyland Vegan Eats, you will see a few of those options are also available at Disney World. And like I said in my Disneyland post, you can always choose to dine in at one of the many restaurants available within the park. But, make sure to make your reservations in advance since they do fill up quickly. And if you have any allergies or dietary concerns (vegan) then if you book your reservation online make sure to check off the allergies/dietary concerns option. This way, the chef will prepare something special and specific just for you. You can also email SpecialDiets@DisneyWorld.com or call (407) 939-3463 to make sure they are aware of your vegan request.
Helpful Tips
- Just because I’m writing about what you can buy at the park, don’t get the wrong impression that the only way you can eat vegan is by purchasing it at the park. Yes, you can bring your own food and snacks to the parks. When I first went, I didn’t have extra money to spend on the sometimes-pricey food in the park, so I packed a whole day’s worth of meals and snacks. I had a backpack to lug it around in, but you can also store it in a soft-edge cooler and rent a locker for $9 a day to place it in (hard-edge coolers won’t fit in the lockers). And if you are staying at one of the hotels or resorts, make sure to stock up on snack options that can easily be found in the cafeteria or front desk areas such as bananas, apples, carrot sticks, and water. These snacks are very handy if you are travelling with children while you are waiting in the sometimes-long lines to order your food at the park. I had snacks to keep my little eight-year-old cousins at bay to prevent them from throwing a hunger tantrum.
- Sometimes it’s a little awkward or out of our comfort zone to ask for things to be made vegan specifically for us. But don’t fret about this, seriously. No matter where you go in Disney World (Parks, Hotels, Resorts), almost all these places will work with you. Just make sure you tell the hostess/server right away that you are vegan. If they are not quite sure, they will most likely whip out a large binder book that has all the ingredient info listed on all their dishes. Trust me, they will work with you. Just remember to ask nicely and the cast members will help you.
Disney World Parks
Magic Kingdom
- Pineapple Dole Whip – Found in Adventureland. Only the orange and pineapple flavors are vegan.
- Vegan Ice Cream – Found on Main Street USA in Main Street Ice Cream Parlour. They have Tofutti and Rice Dream ice cream options. I had a root beer float with Rice Dream Vanilla ice cream and it was so refreshing and delicious on a hot summer day.
- Vegan Burger – Found in Tomorrowland at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café. The great thing about this burger is that it has a vegan bun, thanks to popular demand made by vegan visitors.
- Vegan Burger – Another vegan burger can be found at Peco’s Bills in Frontierland.
- Vegan Snacks – Found at Gaston’s tavern you’ll have a selection of fresh, healthy snacks from hummus and veggies, fruit, and regular or chocolate soy milk.
- Vegan Burrito – Found at Tortuga’s Tavern in Adventureland. This burrito is actually made vegetarian, including romano cheese in their cilantro rice. Just ask for it to be made with the white rice instead, and voila, it instantly becomes vegan.
- Vegan Ratatouille – Found in the Be Our Guest restaurant. This restaurant is pretty tough to get a dinner reservation, so if you want to experience it but cannot get in, grab lunch instead. It’s best to get there around 10-11 am to beat the crowds.
- Vegan Quinoa Salad – Found at the Be Our Guest restaurant.
- Vegan Chili – Found in Columbia Harbour House
Animal Kingdom
- Tusker House – 20+ Vegan Options at this Indian and African inspired buffet.
- Pineapple Dole Whip – I seriously could not get enough of this stuff! It’s such a shame that the only place in the world that sells it is at Disneyland and Disney World.
- Garden’s Kiosk (allergy food kiosk) – Found in Discovery Island near the entrance to It’s Tough to Be a Bug. This stand is by far a vegan’s dream. It has hummus with veggies, fruit, rice chips, vegan granola bars, cupcakes, cookies, doughnuts, and Tofutti ice cream (chocolate or vanilla) served in pints. PINTS!!
- Fresh Fruit and Veggies – Found at Harambe Fruit Market. This place serves the largest variety and biggest portions of fruits and veggies found not only in this park but the other three parks as well. Most notably, their pineapple spears are huge and make a perfect snack to beat the heat.
- Vegan Pizza – Found at Pizzafari. They have vegan cheese available. Say, cheese please!
- Veggie Samosas – Found at Mr.Kamal’s kiosk
Epcot
- Vegan Snacks – Found in Sunshine Seasons (the same building as Soarin’), there are plenty of allergy and vegan-friendly snacks including, regular or chocolate soy milk, Enjoy Life cookies, vegan candy bars, fruits, veggies, and other treats.
- Vegan Noodle Dish with Gardein beef-less strips – Found in Sunshine Seasons.
- Vegetarian Platter – Found at Tangerine Café in Morocco, this place has many vegan lunch options including a really nice vegetarian platter with hummus, falafels, cous-cous, and fresh salad, but pass on the non-vegan pita bread; or if you are with some non-vegan friends, they can enjoy the pita bread.
- Chips and Guacamole – Found in Mexico. They serve this in a giant portion which makes a perfect and very filling snack that you can easily share.
- Vegan Sushi – Found at Tokyo Dining in Japan. They have vegan sushi options like vegetable rolls or the classic rolls like cucumber or avocado rolls as well as yummy edamame.
- Sorbet – Found at L’artisan des Glaces in France. Try some yummy dairy-free sorbet. I had a scoop of mango and raspberry.
Hollywood Studios
- Vegan Snacks – Found at the Anaheim produce cart is a large assortment of vegan-friendly snacks including, fruit, veggies and hummus, pretzels, and pickles.
- Vegan Noodle Bowl with Fried Coconut Tofu – Found at the Hollywood Brown Derby restaurant.
- Vegan Pizza – Found at Toy Story’s Pizza Planet. They have vegan cheese available, so say yes to extra cheese!
Available at All Parks
- “Buttered” Popcorn – This popcorn isn’t exactly buttered. It’s made with 4 different vegetable oils. So, grab a bag and make sure to watch the castle light show at night.
- Mickey Pretzels – This yummy, carb-o-rific snack is indeed vegan. So, throw some mustard on it and enjoy!
- Starbucks Coffee – Just like at any normal Starbucks, you can order any coffee delight you care for by substituting the milk with soy, rice, almond, or coconut milk. This can definitely help perk you up through those long days of waiting for your FastPass times.
- Vegan Roasted Nuts – There are nut vendors scattered throughout the parks that offer cinnamon-glazed almonds and pecans. They are to die for.
- Pineapple Bars – These tasty treats can be found at most of the ice cream stands throughout the parks.
Downtown Disney
- Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater – This place offers vegan burgers, fries, and, wait for it, vegan Tofutti milkshakes! How awesome is that? Plus, the retro décor of the restaurant is pretty cool too.
- Erin McKenna’s Bakery, NYC (also known as Babycakes) – This bakery offers vegan and gluten free treats like, donuts, cookies, cupcakes, cinnamon rolls, and so much more.
Photos courtesy of Babycakes, PETA, and Kylina Matteoli
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