My Vegan Trip to Disney World – Resort Food Experience

Breakfast sandwich disney world vegan art of animation

RESORT FOOD EXPERIENCE – Lunch/Dinner

During my stay, I found that the resorts typically have better options and more selections than the theme park restaurants. This is because there are actual chefs preparing your food, not just people bringing some pre-made food to the counter.

It should also be noted that food selection and quality at each resort differs. I didn’t like any of the choices at Pop Century, so I trekked the extra ten minutes to the Art of Animation resort for better food choices.

Once you enter, there are multiple counters — Art of Animation had about 3 or 4 —  (not unlike the types you see at Subway or Chipotle) you can choose to order at, each specializing in a different menu item. For example, one counter might be dedicated to salads, one to pasta, and another to sandwiches. It can be a bit confusing at first, but you get the hang of it by the 2nd or 3rd visit.

My strategy for ordering a near hassle-free vegan meal? To tell the chef (sometimes called the “manager”) that I was a) lactose intolerant and b) vegan. They take food allergies quite seriously at Disneyworld, so you’ll get the best no-nonsense attention to your meal if you say you have an allergy. A little white lie never hurt anyone, right?

After you’ve stated your case, my advice is to seek out menu items that can be easily made vegan– things like sandwiches, pasta and pizza (they do serve Daiya at some restaurants!). Look for things like “custom pasta” or “custom smoothie,” because they can then adjust the ingredients to your liking.

Custom Pasta:  Fair, but really, can't you do better?

During my stay, I pretty much had pasta every night– I personally hate salad, so I didn’t even bother looking for a custom salad (though they do have that option). The pasta entree is also substantially larger, so much so that it could probably feed two people easily if you aren’t super hungry.

This is likely the most healthy option at dinnertime, and also the best value.
This is likely the most healthy option at dinnertime, and also the best value.

The pasta comes with a choice of noodle type: whole wheat linguine, bowties, rotini and campanelle. You can then choose from an assortment of toppings: I opted to have all the vegetables except for olives, since everything seemed good to me.

The vegan topping list:

  • Green peas
  • Onion
  • Broccoli
  • Tofu
  • Garlic
  • Mushrooms
  • Red bell pepper
  • Spinach

After adding your toppings, you can choose the marinara sauce (both the pesto and alfredo have dairy in it) and it gets fried all together in a clean saucepan. Yay!

You also get a nice piece of dairy-free garlic bread at the end (olive oil and garlic).

Art of Animation also offers custom smoothies as a dessert choice, in addition to vegan raspberry and mango gelato.

For the smoothie, the original dairy smoothie base can be subbed for orange juice, and the fruity mixes (mango and orange) are also vegan. Fruits like blueberry, raspberry, banana, pineapple and strawberries can be added to your heart’s content. The custom smoothie will be an extra charge, but my very nice cashier (shoutout to David from Long Island!) didn’t charge me for it.

I ended up having a bit of pasta leftover, which I felt pretty bad for not eating– but I was stuffed! It’s a good idea to split this dish, as I mentioned before, because even my voracious appetite couldn’t devour the whole bowl of pasta (all the toppings for no extra charge!), in addition to my very filling, fresh-tasting fruit smoothie.

Drinks –

If you are on the quick service plan, you can choose a packaged drink in addition to your meal and dessert (desserts are only available during lunch and dinner, fyi). Choices range from Minute Maid juice, Smartwater, Odwalla and even Silk soymilk– but being the cheapskate I am, I tried to max out my money by choosing the most expensive drink selections (Odwalla is the priciest!), since they all count as one drink.

Dessert –

I was pretty shocked that they had babycakes!
I was pretty shocked that they had babycakes!

Believe it or not, I was able to find some mini Babycakes vegan chocolate cupcakes in the dessert section… which were actually not as dried as the regular ones you get at their regular cafe, since it’s sealed in plastic. It makes for a decent portable snack for later, and it’s probably one of the only vegan desserts that are easy to gran-n-go. Otherwise, you can opt to get the vegan raspberry or mango gelato, or the smoothie as I mentioned before.

Breakfast –

For vegans, breakfast is probably the most difficult meal, but thanks to Chef Tony at Art of Animation, I was able to have a delicious breakfast sandwich everyday (with the exclusion of the first day, when I was still getting my bearings about how to order/etc).

After telling him about my “allergy” to lactose and my veganism, Tony managed to whip up a delicious toasted veggie sandwich using Udi’s bread (which kind of resembled french toast), roasted red potatoes, spiced cauliflower, sauteed button mushrooms, spinach, onion and garlic, which made for a very filling way to start my day. Yum!

Definitely a tasty vegan meal--- plus, the chef seemed elated to make something other than his usual assembly line fare!
Definitely a tasty vegan meal— plus, the chef seemed elated to make something other than his usual assembly line fare!

Since I was staying multiple days, I went back to Tony the next day, and he made me another sandwich, this time using roasted tofu as well. Mmm!

The next morning, he made me another yummy sandwich!
The next morning, he made me another yummy sandwich!

Snacks –

There are quite a variety of snacks which I recommend you use up prior to venturing out into the theme parks, as you’ll need them to keep you energized throughout the day. Sealed plastic fruits like pineapple slices, cantaloupe, apples and oranges are one choice, along with whole fruits like bananas, oranges and apples. There are the usual potato chips and the like, although a smart snack like pretzels or Stacy’s chips is probably the healthiest bet. Tip: check the ounces or weight of the snacks you choose to get the most for your money!

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7 comments

  1. I’m curious, so you were staying in Pop Century and you walked to Art of Animation everyday? I’m leaving Saturday to stay in Pop Century and I’m so worried that I’ll be starving.

    1. Hi Brittany,

      Yes, I indeed made the trip to Art of Animation every day, since they were the closest veg-friendly spot when not in the theme parks. At the theme parks themselves, you will be able to find some vegan offerings here and there. Make sure to look for things that can easily be made vegan: pasta, salads, etc. They have an allergen/complete ingredients listing binder book if you are ever in doubt of a menu item.

      Hope you have fun on your trip and find suitable munchies!

  2. Happy to have found your blog! Going to Disney with the fam this fall, and while I’m happy to eat a veggie burger and fries every now and then, I do not want to have it for every meal of vacation! :)

    1. Thank you for reading! Yup, we vegans should have choices too, and I’m happy to be the guinea pig for all my loyal readers :)

  3. Hello, just so you know I’m pretty sure Udi’s breads have egg in them. Thanks for the post though! I’m staying at Art of Animation so it was helpful.

    1. Hi Alex,

      Nope, I looked at the Udi’s ingredient list on the bag the chef brought out to me, and it was completely vegan. If in doubt, ask for the full ingredient listing.

      Thanks for your comment!

      -VC

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