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thesustainableswap · 4 years

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Plant Based Eating in Disney World.

So leading on from my last post we talked about trying to stay zero waste in Disney World and Universal and we uncovered: it’s bloomin’ hard. But how hard is it to follow a vegan or vegetarian diet in the parks and on the go? Now it’s not too hard, you’ll always find options (I’ll correct that to ‘you’ll always find one option’), they just might not be good quality. Especially if, like me, you’re used to eating organic, locally grown produce as close to the season that the food would naturally grow in (i.e endives in December!) America doesn’t have the same laws as the UK or EU when it comes to food quality but a lot of the products in Disney do boast ‘no GMO’ on their packaging which is good, as I already avoid unnecessary preservatives and chemicals in my food so I wouldn’t want to be eating anything genetically modified.

I will quickly say I was on a dining plan for my time in Disney World which means when you book the holiday you pay for your meals up front and receive credits. The amount of credits changes depending on what plan you are on. It’s a really good thing to do if you can, as it means any money you bring can be either spending money or tips for your servers. If you can’t do this and don’t have a huge amount of spending money you’ll most likely be dining at ‘quick service’ locations rather than ‘table service’ locations. If I wasn’t on the dining plan there is no way I would have been able to afford the ‘table service’ options. It’s all about weighing up what is important to you on a trip. If you’re a foodie and willing to spend the extra, try and eat at table service locations whenever possible, they are so worth it. If you’d rather spend money on souvenirs then quick service will get you through the trip, it just might not be a great time for your stomach.

In Universal breakfast was always spent at a Starbucks. While I have spoken already on how much packaging they use for their porridge (oatmeal), this meal was a really great start to the day. Oats, nuts and berries, mixed together with warm coconut milk... it was such a nice get up and go item filled with goodness. Me and my partner liked it so much that we bought a fruit and nut mix from our local bulk store to add to our porridge now. The only downside to this meal was the packaging, but porridge is always a safe, go to healthy option to give you energy in the morning. (Future Jess editing: They would only let us substitute the milk in our porridge at a Starbucks location. When we asked in Disney World at our hotel, they said no).

Moving into the parks, we had lunch one day at Krusty Burger (Krusty Land, Universal Studios) in Universal. My partner had a plant based black bean burger with avocado, tomato, lettuce, some kind of burger sauce and chips. I really wanted this option, but unfortunately avocado is a food that hates me. My face goes red and I’ll usually be sick a few minutes later. Not fun. Instead I settled with a cheese pizza, because the pizza was served on a paper plate. It was average. I would have chosen a salad but there was lots of plastic involved there. So, if you dined here I’d recommend the burger, my partner said it tasted great even if it looked a little sad.

Three much better options were found in Universal’s City Walk, and if you’re looking for good food with more choice you’ll definitely find it there. The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen was brilliant and definitely up there on my ‘highly recommend’ list. I had pasta with tomatoes and artichokes in a white wine sauce and my partner had a superfood salad (which I tried, and I was a little bit jealous that I didn’t choose it because it was not only amazing but huge). Both these were solid choices, though I think mine was only vegetarian while my partners was vegan. Our second restaurant was Hard Rock Cafe and it is a great place due to the memorabilia. I love looking around at all the instruments and costume pieces. The food here is good (I’m certain I had an impossible burger which is generally something you can’t go wrong with!), but out of this and Toothsome, the Chocolate Factory just has a bit more wow factor. For something quick, Panda Express was a winner in my book, though it is much more cafeteria style dining so don’t expect anything fancy here. Just some gooooood noodles.

Moving over to Disney World - I won’t touch on everything I ate here because this post would go on forever but I will give a shout out to the best of the best and also my least favourite item so you know what to avoid. Let’s start with my least favourite so that we can focus on the good stuff after. I ordered a rice bowl from Pecos Bill (Magic Kingdom, Frontier Land) and it was terrible. A plate of unattractive looking, definitely just-been-zapped-in-a-microwave, mushy black beans, rice and a yellow and green courgette mix appeared before me. This was the most bland thing I ate the whole holiday. If you see this in Pecos Bill, avoid avoid avoid. Especially when Pecos Bill have a really great plant based burger and super tasty trio of tacos (where you can instead ask that your three tacos be filled with cauliflower instead of meat). No to the mushy rice bowl.

Yak & Yeti (Animal Kingdom, Asia) is a definite go to spot for all veggies and vegans alike and this restaurant is amazing because not only is it a table service location, but it is also a quick service location! Expect lots of spicy noodles, perfectly cooked veg and curries. On our visit to the table service location of Yak & Yeti I ordered the Vegetable Lo Mien. It’s important to note that despite no animal products being listed in the ingredients I noticed it didn’t have the customary green leaf printed next to it (which is Disney’s way of showing you if an item is plant based.) I asked my server this and she explained that the noodles were cooked in an oyster sauce, but that it could be changed to create a vegetarian dish. She even asked whether I wanted my noodles changed from egg noodles to rice noodles so this could even be made into a vegan dish - you just have to ask. My partner ordered the Roasted Vegetable Bowl which was out of this world. It was everything I wanted the rice bowl from Pecos Bill to be and more, spicy and sweet with a ton of veggies. Yak & Yeti’s quick service menu is good too, though there is only one plant based option: a Vegetable Tikka Masala. Still, it was super tasty, so regardless of your budget Yak & Yeti is a sure place to visit.

The Brown Derby (Hollywood Studios, Hollywood Boulevard) is pricey, I’ll be honest. Saying that, this was the best table service meal of the entire holiday. Whoever the chef was who came up with the Ginger-Lemon Grass Pho has my tummy’s eternal gratitude. I’d honestly wager to say this was one of the best things I’ve eaten in my entire life. On top of that, the portion was huge. This is always a bonus for me, because sometimes vegan and vegetarian options can look a little sad, and be a little small. But my oh my this pho really packed a punch. It came with three spring rolls, and a selection of chilli’s, jalapenos and coriander so you could have some fun customising it to your tastes. If you can spare some dollars this is 100% the place to visit. Such a lovely atmosphere, and incredible food.

Finally, Docking Bay 7 (Hollywood Studios, Galaxy’s Edge) has my heart as the biggest surprise of the holiday and best quick service location. Myself and my partner loved Galaxy’s Edge and decided to see what options they had when it came to food. At first we were disappointed, because the initial quick service location we ended up in (a circular room with a fake Star Wars-esque pig being spit roasted) didn’t have a plant based option. We continued our journey expecting to be left hungry but happened upon Docking Bay 7. We checked out the menu and ordered their only plant based option - the Felucian Kefta and Hummus Garden Spread. We initially ordered one to share and after the first bite my partner went back up to the till to order himself his own portion. It was that good. We even came back a few days later to have it again. Essentially it is made up of three plant based meatballs, hummus blended with herbs, a tomato and cucumber relish and two pieces of what to me was like a thin naan bread. If you’re in Hollywood Studios and you need a quick bite to eat, this is the location for you.

A few small shout outs now: Teppan Edo in Japan serves amazing food with a show from the chef and, in general, Epcot does have some good options around their Food & Wine festival. My only niggly thing is that most plant based options at the festival were desserts. My highest festival praise goes to the booth in Africa, lowest festival praise goes to the booth in India (which surprised me as I perceive India as a country which eats lots of vegetables so, maybe the dishes decided on were not the best to reflect their country.)

Have you eaten at any of these locations in Disney World? Are there any plant based favourites of yours that you think I missed? Let me know!

Until next time,

The Sustainable Swap.

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