Pre-Planning
We made our restaurant reservations a couple months in advance. this was tricky because I had to plan what park we would be at when. Having been there now and knowing that the parks are sooooooooo far apart I would have planned differently. I called the Disney Dining line ( (407) WDW-DINE) to get a list of the restaurants that we could eat at. They emailed me lists of fast foods in each park and menus from the restaurants.
Where We Ate
Rainforest Cafe @ AK
We have eaten at this chain all over the country and have always had very friendly reception. However, we did not get the usual friendly reception at Disney. The chef acted like we were a bother. Eventually we got a great meal, they had a fabulous vegetarian stir fry! We ate here three times, twice with reservations and once without.
Sci-Fi Dine In @ HWStudios
This was the most amazing meal we had the entire time. The chef was so friendly and accepted the challenge of making us a gluten free and vegetarian meal. We had an amazing pasta dish with sun dried tomatoes, white beans and capers. We also had a great polenta and pasta dish.
Akershus Royal Banquet Hall @ Epcot
Princess Character Breakfast
This was fun. Not sure it was worth what we paid just to eat Gluten Free vans waffles, fruit and potatoes. But it was fun and it got us in early to the park.
Hollywood & Vine @ HWStudios
Play & Dine Character Breakfast
Again, lots of fun, got us in to the park early but was a bit pricey for waffles and fruit.
Tutto Italia @ Epcot
This was the only bad meal we had. It was also the most expensive meal we had. The service was very slow. We ordered penne pomodoro and it had no taste at all. They did not have the GF bread that so many reviews touted.
Main Street Bakery @ Magic Kingdom
This was an amazing experience. I read in the guide that the reservation line sent us that you could reserve a to-go lunch box here. So I called ahead to do so and the manager took our order over the phone and sent us an email confirmation. When we arrived at the park we walked right up to the counter and gave our name and our meal was ready in minutes. My husband (non veg) had a GF Philly Cheesesteak and KT and I had Veggie sandwiches on GF rolls. Both meals came with fries and GF brownies.
Our Hotel
We did not stay at a Disney property because My husband's convention was at the Gaylord Palms. We emailed ahead to the hotel to tell them that we needed gluten free and vegetarian meals. We arrived at midnight and were able to get a wonderful gluten free pasta and garlic bread when we arrived, after a long day of travel. The chef even made us veggie sandwiches to take on the plane with us on the return trip home.
Resources
DizAbled
This website and book has great info for a variety of special issues including food allergies.
http://www.diz-abled.com/Disney-World-Restaurants-Menus.htm
Of Vegetarian Interest
A must see/do ride is the Living with the Land ride at Epcot. This is totally amazing! This is a boat ride through the Disney Greenhouse where you get to see new farming technologies that Disney is researching to make agriculture more efficient and environmentally friendly. Warning to Vegans the fish farming part might be a little disturbing. The vertical farming and creative greenhouse was fascinating. Not sure how I felt about the biotech stuff, but overall it was interesting.
This photo is not upside down, these watermelons are growing from therafters in the Land at Disney's Epcot!
