IS IT Possible to eat healthier AT DISNEY?
Can you find a vegetable in the Magic Kingdom without spending $70 a plate?
While most people go to Disney to love the food and snacks there are others who have food sensitivities, allergies, or health concerns that don’t love the choices in food at Disney.
Most of the Disney restaurants do have allergy friendly options these days. But if you’re not a fan of plant based meats (often made of soy and other ingredients that don’t work for some), it’s not easy finding healthier options.
Fortunately, most of Disney dining (especially the full service restaurants) are willing to try and accommodate dietary concerns.
Note: everyone has a different definition of what is ‘healthy’ these days. For us, gluten free, dairy free, and egg free are a priority due to food senstitivies and the following highlights what we found at Disney’s Magic Kingdom.
Here are several options in order from more expensive to less expensive:
Be Our Guest
Modeled after Belle’s castle where you stop inside a storybook experience it’s often a favorite among all ages. You’re paying for the setting though. You can find a vegetarian / vegan / gluten free meal filled with vegetables, but the price point will start upwards of $67 + tax + tip.
This restaurant no longer has a lunch counter service option. Lunch and dinner are full service. The prices for a several course meal begin at &67 for adults and $39 for children 10 and under. It includes appetizer, entree, and a dessert.
Cinderella’s Royal Table
Healthy options and fresh vegetables can be found here as well. Depending on your budget and how far in advance you plan your trip might determine if you visit this restaurant.
The price point starts at $79 for adults and $49 for kids (+ tax + tip).
Liberty Tree Tavern
Mashed Potatoes (For Gluten/Wheat, Egg, Fish/Shellfish, Milk, Peanut/Tree Nut, Sesame, and Soy Allergies), Seasonal Vegetables, and Salads. While you might find healthy options on the menu, It is an all-you-can eat dining experience.
Prices for lunch are listed at $39 for adults and $21 for kids. That’s a lot of $$ for vegetables, but if your family or friends eat a lot, there could be options here.
Jungle Navigation Co. LTD Skipper Canteen
Menu items like curried vegetable stew, falafel, edamame hummus can be found here. Kids menu ‘create your own’ has steamed broccoli, seasonal vegetables, marble potatoes, and rice.
If you speak to a Cast Member, they can likely accommodate dietary concerns, especially if we know there are items such as seasonal vegetables and potatoes there.
Columbia Harbor House
New England inspired counter service restaurant. It is a seafood inspired restaurant which won’t appeal to vegans. However, they serve rice and steamed green beans plus salad. It’s possible to make a meal of that.
We had the salmon with rice and green beans. We’d go back to this restaurant again. The food wasn’t greasy or overly laden with oil or butter. The prices were manageable and they had options for kids such as shrimp skewers or salmon with rice and green beans.
This is a dramatic difference than most kid restaurant menus which offer the standard cheeseburgers, mac n cheese, or chicken tenders with fries. We don’t like fried greasy food, we don’t eat hamburgers and we can’t eat dairy or gluten. Therefore, most typical kid menus don’t work for our family.
We were happy to dine here and would do so again.
Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe
Vegan Veggie Rice Bowls
Prices are affordable starting at $9.99 for a veggie bowl + extra for guacamole.
OTHER SUGGESTIONS:
Take your own food into the park. Pack a backpack with food that travels well and you can eat it inside the parks. Years ago they didn’t allow outside food and drink to enter the part, but they do now. We’ve done this several times and it works well for us.
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OTHER RESOURCES
You can find reviews of the above restaurants by Vegan Disney Food blog.
You can view the menus of all the Disney restaurants on the Disney app. You’ll need this app for your experience at Disney.
Find ideas for travel ready meal ideas that could work at the parks:
Dr. Kimberly Spair at Reclaimers of Health blog. See Travel-Ready Meals for Your Wellness Journey