Vegan/Vegetarian Restaurant/Dining Help Thread

[Li-sa]

So just checking in - Did anyone have any thing they wanted me to check on while I'm at Disney? We leave Thursday. We will be at Universal (both parks), Kennedy Space Center, Sea World, Blizzard Beach, DIsney Quest and of course all 4 Disney theme parks.

Can't wait to see if my lead pans out for an over the top possible vegan treat. I'm really hoping it's right, but we shall see. What I read was old, so it may be wrong. This item can definately be made vegan if it were using the right recipe.......so keep your fingers crossed.

Hi,

Not sure if you're vegan due to ethical or dietary issues.
If it's ethical issues please read this (if not, feel free to ignore!): http://www.wdcs.org/stop/captivity/index.php

I won't be visiting Sea World.

 

[MelanieC]

Hi,

Not sure if you're vegan due to ethical or dietary issues.
If it's ethical issues please read this (if not, feel free to ignore!): http://www.wdcs.org/stop/captivity/index.php

I won't be visiting Sea World.

Thanks Lisa - I am vegan for ethical issues, and the dietary issues are a wonderful benefit. I do know all about the issues of animals in captivity and it doesn't just happen at SW. Technically, even Disney has animals in captivity and there will be groups who say Vegans shouldn't go to Disney or AK. My family would go to SW with our without me. I don't think making a stand and saying I'm going to sit in the hotel room will stop the abuse today, and I know each person makes a dent and that each person who eats as a vegetarian or a vegan makes a difference. Sometimes you have to pick and choose your battles. My family already thinks I'm wacky, lol.

I can't force my family to eat this way (trust me I try, lol) and my husband is just as head strong as me. He would seriously say, oh well we are going. I suppose I could take a stand and sit in the room by myself. Then I'd be cheating myself out of a day with my family. I do the best that I can and veganism is a continual work in progress. There is always room for improvement and I strive and work towards that. I'm not perfect, and as in all things I strive to be a better person and put the lives of animals above my want of food and things. Hopefully someday I will have the courage to make this stand, but at this point this isn't something I have worked into my life. All of this is much harder when you don't have a family with your same set of core values. My hubby gets free tickets to a Busch Theme Park each year with the military. I did try to talk him into going to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg this summer, but he loves SW and that is where he wants to go.

Last year my family wanted to go have wings at Hooters while we were in Orlando. There is absolutely nothing there I can eat, so in that instance I did go have dinner by myself while they went to eat at Hooters. So I do make a stand sometimes.

 

[Li-sa]

Thanks Lisa - I am vegan for ethical issues, and the dietary issues are a wonderful benefit. I do know all about the issues of animals in captivity and it doesn't just happen at SW. Technically, even Disney has animals in captivity and there will be groups who say Vegans shouldn't go to Disney or AK. My family would go to SW with our without me. I don't think making a stand and saying I'm going to sit in the hotel room will stop the abuse today, and I know each person makes a dent and that each person who eats as a vegetarian or a vegan makes a difference. Sometimes you have to pick and choose your battles. My family already thinks I'm wacky, lol.

I can't force my family to eat this way (trust me I try, lol) and my husband is just as head strong as me. He would seriously say, oh well we are going. I suppose I could take a stand and sit in the room by myself. Then I'd be cheating myself out of a day with my family. I do the best that I can and veganism is a continual work in progress. There is always room for improvement and I strive and work towards that. I'm not perfect, and as in all things I strive to be a better person and put the lives of animals above my want of food and things. Hopefully someday I will have the courage to make this stand, but at this point this isn't something I have worked into my life. All of this is much harder when you don't have a family with your same set of core values. My hubby gets free tickets to a Busch Theme Park each year with the military. I did try to talk him into going to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg this summer, but he loves SW and that is where he wants to go.

Last year my family wanted to go have wings at Hooters while we were in Orlando. There is absolutely nothing there I can eat, so in that instance I did go have dinner by myself while they went to eat at Hooters. So I do make a stand sometimes.

Hi Melanie,

Sorry, wasn't having a go at you, but I can't bear to see whales and dolphins in captivity (I blame Free Willy!). It's taken some soul-searching and a couple of posts here, before deciding to visit AK (I won't go to zoos in the UK as they are very sad places to visit imho).

My kids and I are veggie but dh is an omni, so I do understand that you have to balance family values.

 

[Li-sa]

Can anyone take a look at my TS ADRs and see if I've misssed anywhere we should really eat at (going for 14 nights, so hoping i have my dining credits worked out correctly)?

We are 1 veggie adult (me) 2 veggie tween girls and 1 omni dh!

Crystal Palace Lunch
Tusker House Lunch
Via Napoli Dinner
Hollywood Vine Breakfast
Hacienda Dinner
Park Fayre Dinner
WPC Dinner
Crystal Breakfast
Tutto Italia Dinner
Mama Melrose Lunch
Boma Dinner
Jiko Dinner
Raglan Road Lunch

 

[Teresa Pitman]

I feel okay about going to Animal Kingdom because (for an article I wrote) I was able to meet with a number of the people who work with the animals and the man who designed the animal section of the park, and have a real backstage tour with him. I do share your concerns about animals in captivity, but I think Disney has made a real effort to provide the animals with the things they need, with enrichment activities, and to care for them without any force or coercion. Jane Goodall once said that if she was a wild animal, she'd like to live in AK. Also, Disney does not take animals out of the wild, they started the park with animals born in zoos. They were even able to move some of their rhinos to a preserve in Africa to help build numbers there. They are also breeding some other endangered species backstage (not ever seen by visitors) to replenish stocks in the wild.

The manatees and many of the other animals in the Living Seas are rescued due to being injured or sick in the wild, and they are cared for and returned to the ocean once they are healthy again (if that's possible - the manatee Lou was injured so severely that a team of vets has determined that it wouldn't be safe for him to return to the wild. But most go back.) Disney then monitors them for a year or so to be sure they are doing well. One manatee who struggled to re-adapt to the wild was brought back to Epcot three times, but eventually was able to go back to the ocean and is doing well. They take the time to train them in preparation for their return to the ocean.

During the Gulf oil spill, Disney took hundreds of ill and injured turtles and other sea animals for care and treatment; I believe all have now been released back into the wild.

The people at Disney I talked to were very aware of the concerns about animals in captivity, and worked very hard to give the animals as natural and happy a life as possible. They also pointed out that people care more about animals they have gotten to know, so they hope there is educational value to the park. Disney is also involved in conservation efforts around the world and in conducting research to improve the care of animals. For example, Disney has rescued many injured sea turtles, and the vets have developed treatments to help the shells heal more quickly and effectively. These treatments have been published and shared with vets around the world.

I feel much better going to AK now!

Teresa

 

[Teresa Pitman]

Can anyone take a look at my TS ADRs and see if I've misssed anywhere we should really eat at (going for 14 nights, so hoping i have my dining credits worked out correctly)?

We are 1 veggie adult (me) 2 veggie tween girls and 1 omni dh!

Crystal Palace Lunch
Tusker House Lunch
Via Napoli Dinner
Hollywood Vine Breakfast
Hacienda Dinner
Park Fayre Dinner
WPC Dinner
Crystal Breakfast
Tutto Italia Dinner
Mama Melrose Lunch
Boma Dinner
Jiko Dinner
Raglan Road Lunch

If you like Indian food at all, you might want to try Sanaa - it's become one of our favourites. They have a vegan menu. The food is very mildly spiced; we always ask them to make it spicier when we go.

Teresa

 

[Li-sa]

Hi Teresa,

It was your reply and article that made me feel ok about AK.
It's the performing bit of seaworld I really object to as I don't feel animals should be made to perform for our entertainment.

We love Indian food, so I'll take another look at the Sanaa menu...is it 1 or 2 DDP credits per meal? Might swap for Jiko or Boma.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

Sanaa is just one credit!

Teresa

 

[Li-sa]

Thanks Teresa, have swapped our Jiko meal for one at Sanaa and saved a TS credit to use elsewhere.

 

[tmm09]

Hi All.

I've been watching this thread for some time...I've only been vegan since Feb. and I'm still learning!

I am taking my first Disney trip as a vegan in August and I have a few questions.

Do you call the restaurants in advance of coming in? What about CS? How far in advance do you call them?

Thanks for your help!

 

[MelanieC]

You can definately call the restaurants, although you don't
For the CS spots. Just ask for a manager and let them know your vegan (say the word allergy to the person at the counter if the look at you like you have 5 heads. Every once in a while someone doesn't understand, but they know what allergy means and will prompt them to get a manager or chef).

The CS spots are easy as long as they have vega usable food.

 

[CarrieR]

I wanted to reply to a couple of things that I hadn't'seen addressed --

At DHS- veg sand at Starring Rolls

Unless someone knows differently, and they have it in the back but not in the case, they no longer have the veg sandwich at Starring Rolls. That was far and above my favorite DHS CS (maybe my favorite CS at all of Disney,) so that makes me horribly upset. The only sandwiches they have are turkey and roast beef (?) Also, the frosting for the cupcakes merely says 'shortening' in the allergy book. I know there's been debate about whether it was veg shortening or animal lard. I read 'shortening,' my brain went 'veg' and I ate the cupcake -- it was excellent! -- but then I went after the fact, "You know, it didn't say veg shortening..."

I'm ovo-lacto as well.

We'll probably also need some help with our day at Hollywood Studios. Please feel free to recommend stuff nearby; we'll almost surely be driving to and between the parks that day.

My initial instinct was to consider Sci-Fi for lunch. I haven't eaten at Sci-Fi in a long time, since the old burger-and-fries days, so more recent experiences would be good input.

We did dinner at Sci-Fi in May and then 50's PT in July... I infinitely preferred the Sci-Fi dish. I am allergic to mango, so the tofu/veggie dish was out. I was able to order the shrimp pasta dish, subbing tofu for shrimp. The server said it was the first time he could recall someone doing that, and he'd been there 16 years! I did not verify the sauce being veg specifically, so you might want to do that -- but I also do not recall feeling ill afterwards. (My concern would be chicken stock in the sauce, or similar.)

Our server was GREAT and took all of our allergies/dietary restrictions in stride.

 

[lemonsours]

SPEAKING OF PHOTOS....

I started a veggie/vegan photo thread. Link is in my siggie.

I love photo threads... and though I LOVE the regular photo thread.... there was too much meat for my taste

Looks like this thread got merged back in with the regular food thread again. I'm so disappointed--it was so nice to be able to see the veg/vegan food options without having to scroll through pages and pages of meat pictures.

 

[packofjedis]

Does anybody know what the vegetarian option is on the DDP for dinner at Whispering Canyon?

I've seen someone got a skillet minus meat. Otherwise, the only thing I see for an entree would be the chicken vegetable pasta minus the chicken. Was wondering if there was another option in case I'm not in the mood for pasta.

Thanks!

 

[Chaitali]

Looks like this thread got merged back in with the regular food thread again. I'm so disappointed--it was so nice to be able to see the veg/vegan food options without having to scroll through pages and pages of meat pictures.

That sucks I guess that this would be the best place to continue posting photos if they're going to keep merging those threads together? Oh well. Here's a photo of my veggie enchiladas at La Hacienda de San Angel.


Veggie enchiladas by Chaita_1, on Flickr

And my margarita flight


Margaritas! by Chaita_1, on Flickr

 

[tmm09]

You can definately call the restaurants, although you don't
For the CS spots. Just ask for a manager and let them know your vegan (say the word allergy to the person at the counter if the look at you like you have 5 heads. Every once in a while someone doesn't understand, but they know what allergy means and will prompt them to get a manager or chef).

The CS spots are easy as long as they have vega usable food.

Thank you!

 

[Vegcentric]

Weird, I KNOW I replied recently about the thread merging...and it seems that quite a few of my other recent posts are missing as well. Huh. Those margaritas look amazing! Thanks for posting that pic...I plan on getting that next month when I'm there.

 

[MamaPotts]

Li-sa, I'd switch out that breakfast reservation at Hollywood & Vine (which is really nothing terribly special unless your tweens are intent on seeing Playhouse Disney characters), and head to Kouzzina instead for breakfast. Kouzzina has some truly lovely options. You can take the Friendship boats from DHS over to the Boardwalk (or even walk).

 

[Li-sa]

Li-sa, I'd switch out that breakfast reservation at Hollywood & Vine (which is really nothing terribly special unless your tweens are intent on seeing Playhouse Disney characters), and head to Kouzzina instead for breakfast. Kouzzina has some truly lovely options. You can take the Friendship boats from DHS over to the Boardwalk (or even walk).

Thanks for that...wasn't too sure about H&V but the kids love a buffet breakfast (not those characters though.) I've looked at Kouzzina menu and not too keen on it as dd1 and I don't like eggs. Any other suggestions for TS veggie (not vegan) breakfasts not too far from the studios?

 

[MelanieC]

I figured the picture post would get merged. The one I initially created got merged too.
After missing Chef TJ last year at Ohana when he moved to 1900 Park Fair, I got to have dinner tonight made by him. I'm absolutely stuffed and it was incredible. It was so much food. I'm hoping to update my live vegan restaurant report tomorrow evening.