Counter or Table for a Vegetarian?

[grumblygrew]

We have the chance to upgrade for free to OKW from POFQ-and change from Counter to Table for free (UK offer) in August, but my 15 year old is vege.
Does anyone have experience of what is on offer from both dining options to help us decide whether to change resort and upgrade dining.
Family of 4- will have rental car so can easily get to any dining area on WDW.
Thanks,
David

 

[TillyMarigold]

I would say that in general, there are 1-2 vegetarian options (of maybe 6-8 options on the menu) at absolutely any restaurant you go to, either table service or quick service.

If it's an upgrade to the regular DDP, I'd say go for it. The table service options are probably slightly more varied (assuming she's not very picky), but you can find enough variety at either to never have to eat the same meal twice. As long as you think about it ahead of time and don't think "Ugh, I'm starving, let's just eat right here even though it's the same veggie burger we had yesterday." (They're good veggie burgers, btw, but three times in a week is too many. A little planning and we could have eaten falafel or pasta or something instead.)

 

[HunnyJar]

Eating in WDW as a vegetarian has always been very easy for me as I am not particularly picky. I love most vegetables and grains, but I'm also a big fan of tofu. That being said, WDW is very vegetarian friendly in my opinion. Most CS will offer one vegetarian option, some places will offer more than one. A good example would be Cosmic Ray's - they offer a veggie burger at the burger station and a veggie wrap at the sandwich station. Some places are easier to find food for vegetarians than others. For example do not go to Lotus Blossom Cafe in China - even their vegetarian offering has chicken broth. But Sunshine Seasons on the other hand is very tasty and has several options for vegetarians.

TS is generally very good for vegetarians with one or more listing on the menu, but if you have it listed on your ADR's you will sometimes be given the chance to speak with a chef. This applies to buffets as well. Biergarten was one of the best experiences for that during my last trip. The chef came out and walked me through all the food of the buffet and pointed out what I could eat. Then he also made me a few things to eat on top of that. Excellent, excellent service and very good food!

Check the menus before you make your ADR's. While not all of the menus are up to date, they should give your 15 year old an idea of what to expect. You could also call 72 prior to your meal and ask to speak with a chef. I don't know if your child is a picky eater or not, but I have enjoyed many meals at WDW.

I hope this helps! Have a wonderful trip!

 

[MightyDuck001]

I would also suggest Teppan Edo, the Japanese restaurant, in Epcot. They make the food in front of you, so you can be clear about not want meat, and they've always asked me to clarify whether i'm vegan or just vegetarian so they make my food before they cook the meat on the grill.

 

[docmidnite]

I'll refer you to this post I made some time ago about one of my vegan dining experiences.

Feel free to look it over. They are more than accommodating

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1883960

Enjoy!

 

[jdisnut]

Every table service restaurant offers at least one vegetarian options, but some do it better than others. Boma at the Animal Kingdom Lodge stands out in my mind as a wonderful place for vegetarians. The buffet has the traditional carved meat stations, but the salad pod is phenomenal and substantial enough to base a meal around.

 

[Evita227]

I say go for the upgrade. There are options to speak to the chef and have meatless entrees made for you, as with the counter service stations, you get what you get. And most of these tend to be cheese pizza, veggie burgers and wraps. I could only take those so much on the trip. When I went to the table service restaurants, there are way more options!

 

[everythingALICE]

As a vegetarian, I would definitely prefer having the TS option over CS. While there are vegetarian CS options in every park, they can be pretty limited (for example, CS options in AK are basically a veggie burger or pizza). Epcot has loads of options and you can find a couple burger/pizza alternatives in MK as well.

Buffets (particularly Boma, Tusker House, & Crystal Palace) are great for vegetarians because it actually gives more than one or two options to choose from. Although most TS restaurants only have one veggie option on the menu, most chefs are very accommodating in making a meal with what they have on hand if the menu option is not appealing to you. Overall, the DDP w/ TS will give your daughter more variety during your trip.

 

[newdrama12]

These three links from allears.net will give an idea of what vege options may be available .

http://allears.net/din/vegcsparks.htm (CS meals in the parks)

http://allears.net/din/vegtsparks.htm (TS meals in the parks)

http://allears.net/din/vegresorts.htm (TS meals in resorts)

Hope that this helps!

 

[dopeyone]

The TS restaurants are very good at accommodating you. Even places that have no Vegetarian dishes on the menu..like Ohana or LTT the chef will come out and talk to you to find out what you'll eat, then prepare you something special! My veg daughter has never been let down, and she is slightly picky.