Vegetarians--what do you eat at Coronado Springs Resort??

[PrincessKitty1]

Maya Grill doesn't have any vegetarian entrees, and the Pepper Market looks like pretty slim pickin's for dinner too. Will I just need to eat at the parks?? DH and I are thinking about making reservations at Boma one night....

 

[CanadianImagineer]

Do you mean Coronado Springs perhaps?

 

[PrincessKitty1]

Yes, thanks! Edited.

 

[VillianinVogue]

I'd like to hear about this too. When I was looking at the menu there seemed to be absolutely nothing to eat for veggies.

 

[VillianinVogue]

Bump

 

[PrincessKitty1]

Just back from our 3-night stay at Coronado Springs. As I gathered from the menus on Allearsnet.com, there was virtually nothing vegetarian available.

DH and I were very happy we brought cereal and milk for breakfast--that's what we had every morning. One day we were still at the resort for lunch (the other days we were at the parks) and I went begging at the pannini grill at Rix's quick service.

Despite the sign that said "Fresh paninis grilled to order," the cook flatly refused to make a fresh panini for DH (who is not vegetarian) and insisted he could only have one of the premade paninis sitting under the heat light.

He also told me he could not make me a plain cheese (meatless) panini because "the panini are all premade." He then relented and made me a grilled cheese panini (Wonder bread and a slice or two of American processed cheese food, 10 bucks).

I guess I'm very spoiled by the other resorts where I've stayed, where the food was reasonably priced and vegetarian meals were not hard to come by. I don't mind paying a reasonable amount of money for good food (we did 3 table service meals at the parks) but I don't like to spend $35 for a buffet breakfast or $10 for a Wonder bread sandwich.

I would stay at Coronado Springs again (the room price was quite reasonable, the grounds were pretty, and we loved our Cabana room) but it would be my last choice among the Moderate and Value resorts because the food is better, more plentiful, and more reasonably priced at the other resorts.

 

[Laura]

Thanks for the report! Sorry to hear that you had such bad service, though.

 

[VillianinVogue]

How rude of him! He should have been a bit more accomodating. I am sorry for the bad experience.

 

[fall08CP]

We're talking about vegetarian (no meat) not vegans, yes? Can't vegetarians eat pasta? They have fabulous fettuccine alfredo It took me four sitting to finish it! Otherwise there is fish at the Mexican grill, cheese quesadillas, and I'm sure the taco salad can be made without meat. Cheese and veggie pizza would also be options.. the pizza were made to order when I last got one in 2006. And of course the yummy bakery!! Those are just from the top of my head.. I'm sure with research there are more

 

[PrincessKitty1]

We're talking about vegetarian (no meat) not vegans, yes? Can't vegetarians eat pasta? They have fabulous fettuccine alfredo It took me four sitting to finish it! Otherwise there is fish at the Mexican grill, cheese quesadillas, and I'm sure the taco salad can be made without meat. Cheese and veggie pizza would also be options.. the pizza were made to order when I last got one in 2006. And of course the yummy bakery!! Those are just from the top of my head.. I'm sure with research there are more

Fettucine alfredo--there was no fettucine alfrede BUT it is very often not vegetarian anyway and I will not eat it at a place that doesn't cater to vegetarians because they will tell you it's vegetarian when it's not (alfredo sauce is often made with chicken stock).Fish--not vegetarian.

Cheese quesadillas--there were no cheese quesadillas, only chicken and beef. Generally beans aren't vegetarian so I wouldn't request a specially made quesadilla in a place that doesn't seem to understand or care about vegetarians, because the beans will most likely have lard in them.

Taco salad--I didn't see any taco salads but again, I need to know ingredients are vegetarian (but I have to say, as a vegetarian, I don't consider a plain old salad a meal anymore than most meateaters do ).

Pizza--the pizza at Rix was called a "hand-tossed" pizza but was actually a SLICE of pizza for 10 dollars. I would have needed two to fill me up. Perhaps there were better pizza at Pepper Market?? I may have missed them. However, there are no plain cheese pizzas on the menu.

One of the reasons I love Disney and spend 6-8 weekends a year there is because I know I can always get a decent vegetarian meal. At Disney restaurants, there is ALWAYS a designated chef who will make sure there are vegetarian meals available. The food service at Coronado Springs isn't owned by Disney, and it shows.

 

[AlohaPolynesian]

When I stayed there I just had breakfast in the Pepper Market and was fine. I usually had oatmeal, omelets without meat, yogurt, fruit, bagels, etc. However, I can't help you with dinner suggestions because I found that there was a much better variety in the parks or at other resorts.

Despite being known for its meat skewers, Ohana is actually my favorite place to eat. The vegetarian dinner option is awesome and I could eat a few of the sides.

I'd also recommend Raglan Road (the Goat's Town salad and the tomato gin soup are wonderful) and Columbia Harbor House (it's counter service but the Lighthouse sandwich is one of the best veggie meals I've had).

Good luck!

 

[Carmell226]

We went in early April and I found alot to eat.
Actually Maya Grill offered 3 vegetarian options the night we were there, I think they change nightly but all of them sounded really really good. I actually eat fish, so I had the swordfish that was on special there that night but my Mom ordered one of the vegetarian options and liked it.
The pepper market has alot you could have, most everything there is made to order so you can have the meat left off, like I had quesadillas and instead of the chicken they added extra onions and peppers on it. They will also make a pizza however you want it and they had a salad station where they would make it however you wanted. If you eat seafood they also had shrimp and Salmon.
Same thing with Breakfast items, and there is a Breakfast burrito that has no meat in it.
I think in general in Disney they are helpful when you tell them you have a special dietary need, it never hurts to ask to have something made special for you!

 

[Elise79]

The Maya Grill has set dishes that stay on the menu all the time and then they do a lot that vary so are more seasonal etc.

The Pepper Market is probably better set up to cope with veggie requests than Rix - Rix is meant as a 'grab and go' type place. Everything in the PM is made to order.

They have pasta, pizza etc that I am sure would be fine to be done with out the meat and the pizzas are litterally made to order (or where last time I had one) they take a plain base add the tomato sauce, cheese and topping while you watch!

 

[BadgerBruce]

We are not vegetarian, but we love the made to order cheese pizza at the Pepper Market. In the past, we have ordered it with black olives & tomatos. This time, this chef would only use whatever toppings were sitting in front of him.
A different CM may hunt down some other toppings for you, as they have for us in the past.

 

[maggiew]

Fettucine alfredo--there was no fettucine alfrede BUT it is very often not vegetarian anyway and I will not eat it at a place that doesn't cater to vegetarians because they will tell you it's vegetarian when it's not (alfredo sauce is often made with chicken stock).Fish--not vegetarian.

Cheese quesadillas--there were no cheese quesadillas, only chicken and beef. Generally beans aren't vegetarian so I wouldn't request a specially made quesadilla in a place that doesn't seem to understand or care about vegetarians, because the beans will most likely have lard in them.

Taco salad--I didn't see any taco salads but again, I need to know ingredients are vegetarian (but I have to say, as a vegetarian, I don't consider a plain old salad a meal anymore than most meateaters do ).

Pizza--the pizza at Rix was called a "hand-tossed" pizza but was actually a SLICE of pizza for 10 dollars. I would have needed two to fill me up. Perhaps there were better pizza at Pepper Market?? I may have missed them. However, there are no plain cheese pizzas on the menu.

One of the reasons I love Disney and spend 6-8 weekends a year there is because I know I can always get a decent vegetarian meal. At Disney restaurants, there is ALWAYS a designated chef who will make sure there are vegetarian meals available. The food service at Coronado Springs isn't owned by Disney, and it shows.

I feel for you and am sorry that you couldn't find more vegetarian options, but I don't understand some of your comments above.

You say many times that you won't eat at a place that doesn't care about vegetarians and that the alfredo sauce "probably isn't vegetarian". But did you ask? Disney is so good about accomodating people with dietary needs. I've eaten at the Pepper Market and they always made special orders for me because I'm picky (no onions, etc.)

Maggie

 

[PrincessKitty1]

I feel for you and am sorry that you couldn't find more vegetarian options, but I don't understand some of your comments above.

You say many times that you won't eat at a place that doesn't care about vegetarians and that the alfredo sauce "probably isn't vegetarian". But did you ask? Disney is so good about accomodating people with dietary needs. I've eaten at the Pepper Market and they always made special orders for me because I'm picky (no onions, etc.)

Maggie

First of all, there was no fettucine alfredo. A different poster had fettucine alfredo at Coronado Springs years ago. So no, I didn't ask, because THERE WAS NONE.

If you're not vegetarian, you won't understand my comments.Restaurants that don't cater to vegetarians will often say a dish is vegetarian when it's not. I've actually had that happen with fettucine alfredo as well as other sauces and soups. I'm sure any vegetarian can list numerous times that they were told a dish was vegetarian when it clearly wasn't.

My point is that the food service at Coronado Springs is not run by Disney (at least Rix and Pepper Market are not). Disney chefs have been GREAT about accommodating my vegetarian diet. I don't trust non-Disney chefs, especially in restaurants that clearly don't cater to vegetarians, to tell me what has meat in it and what doesn't. MOST alfredo sauce has chicken stock in it. MOST beans have lard. MOST servers in restaurants have no idea what's in the food and will tell you their best guess.

Also, DH and I don't use the dining plan and consequently the prices at Coronado Springs eateries are way out of line with what we are used to paying at other resorts. We've stayed at all the Values, 3 Mods, and the Dolphin, and have found food prices to be much more reasonable at other resorts. In fact on our last day we drove over to POFQ (our favorite mod) and ate lunch (using our Tables in Wonderland card) for $10.63 for both of us.

Considering the paucity of choices and the high prices, I would much rather eat at the parks or at another resort than at Coronado Springs.

 

[stella27]

First of all, there was no fettucine alfredo. A different poster had fettucine alfredo at Coronado Springs years ago. So no, I didn't ask, because THERE WAS NONE.

If you're not vegetarian, you won't understand my comments.Restaurants that don't cater to vegetarians will often say a dish is vegetarian when it's not. I've actually had that happen with fettucine alfredo as well as other sauces and soups. I'm sure any vegetarian can list numerous times that they were told a dish was vegetarian when it clearly wasn't.

My point is that the food service at Coronado Springs is not run by Disney (at least Rix and Pepper Market are not). Disney chefs have been GREAT about accommodating my vegetarian diet. I don't trust non-Disney chefs, especially in restaurants that clearly don't cater to vegetarians, to tell me what has meat in it and what doesn't. MOST alfredo sauce has chicken stock in it. MOST beans have lard. MOST servers in restaurants have no idea what's in the food and will tell you their best guess.

Also, DH and I don't use the dining plan and consequently the prices at Coronado Springs eateries are way out of line with what we are used to paying at other resorts. We've stayed at all the Values, 3 Mods, and the Dolphin, and have found food prices to be much more reasonable at other resorts. In fact on our last day we drove over to POFQ (our favorite mod) and ate lunch (using our Tables in Wonderland card) for $10.63 for both of us.

Considering the paucity of choices and the high prices, I would much rather eat at the parks or at another resort than at Coronado Springs.

My vegetarian friends are usually pretty flexible and creative when dining out. And I have never been in a restaurant where servers have given them a difficult time about their special orders. It sounds like CSR was not a good fit for your special dietary needs. I hope you were able to find something better.