An Allergy, a Vegetarian, and the rest of them... May 2015 Dining Report

[jacksonsmommy]

Hello all!

My family and I just returned from 7 nights/8 days at the World. I decided I'd try a dining report for the first time. We have some interesting food issues in our family, so I thought it might be helpful to other people!

First of all...the Cast of Characters....

The Mom - That's me! I've been a vegetarian since I was 19 (mid 30's now). This was my 7th trip to Disney, and I'm the reason my husband agrees to go at all!

The Dad - My husband, normal eater, carnivore, not picky at all! Tolerates Disney for me and the kids, but I think he secretly loves it more than he will admit!

The oldest - My 10 year old son. Normal eater, Carnivore. This was his first Disney trip as an "adult" so he had fun ordering off the adult menu.

The middle - My 5 year old son. Picky eater, but no special issues. Loves pizza and chicken nuggets.

The princess - My youngest and only girl. She's 4 years old and has a dairy/milk allergy. You may notice in the pictures that she looks different from us....Just to clear that up now, she was adopted at 6 months of age. My middle son is actually adopted as well, but you wouldn't know by just looking!

We had the Dining Plan for this trip (1 TS, 1 QS, 1 Snack). I tried to take a lot of food pics, but I got home and realized I'm missing some... so I'll do my best!

Places we ate this trip:

Raglan Road
Tusker House
Be our Guest
Akershus
Chef Mickey's
Crystal Palace
Hollywood and Vine

Plus lots of counter service....

You may notice the character meal theme....my kids are the perfect ages and absolutely loved them!
I'll be reporting on vegetarian food, regular food, and allergy food/experience for each place.

Hope you enjoy!

 

[jacksonsmommy]

First up....arrival day!

We drove from Tennessee - it was about a 10 hour trip. We split it up into 2 days, so on our second day of travel we made it to Port Orleans Riverside for check-in around 12:30. Our room wasn't ready, so we decided to head to the food court for lunch. We used counter service credits here. I don't have pictures of my husband's meal for some reason, but I have everyone else's!

First up, me (vegetarian!). I had the create your own pasta, which was awesome! I chose Alfredo sauce, penne pasta, and several veggies - I remember mushrooms, artichoke hearts, onions, tomatoes, garlic, and some red peppers. They top it off with a generous helping of parmesan cheese. This was a great choice! The alfredo was really good! They also had pesto and marinara sauces, and you could have added chicken or shrimp to your pasta.

My oldest chose a barbeque sandwich. This was served on Texas Toast with coleslaw on top. He and my husband actually ended up trading... he didn't care for the BBQ, but my husband said it was good! He loved his red velvet cake dessert though!

My husband had the Pimento Cheeseburger, he said this was a good solid burger. The fries were really good with this too (I stole some...). I don't have a picture of his burger, but I did take one of his dessert. He had a warm apple blossom. It was delicious! We found out later in the week that you could get a scoop of ice cream with it, made it even better!

My middle son had the kids cheese pizza. He ate it all, so I am assuming he liked it. Kids meals get two sides with them - a choice of grapes, apples, carrots, or a cookie.

Finally, we get to the princess. I talked to the chef about her allergy when we got there. She absolutely loves hamburgers, so the chef made her a safe hamburger (separate grill) and fries (he offered a separate fryer, but we didn't need that accommodation). She chose apple slices and was also given a pre-packaged allergy safe cookie. She repeated this meal a couple times during the week, she loved it that much!

That wraps up our first counter service meal of the trip. Everyone was happy (well my son was once he traded with his dad...) and full. I was very pleased with the allergy options for my daughter. Next up, we head to Downtown Disney to shop, a Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique makeover, and dinner at Raglan Road!

 

[1stTimeDisneyer]

Beautiful family and great reviews!

 

[Vernie822]

Your kids are SO CUTE! Omg. And in the Be Our Guest picture, your husband totally loves Disney, you can tell.

Great start, and I can't wait to read more. Sounds like you had a great lineup of restaurants.

 

[autumnpalm]

Looks like a great start to the trip, and what a beautiful family you have!

 

[jacksonsmommy]

Thank you, Thank you!!

After our lunch at POR we got settled into our room and took the boat over to Downtown Disney. While the boys went to play at Disney Quest, my daughter and I headed to Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.

Not dining related...but too cute not to share! She adored her makeover!

After we finished, everyone met up at Raglan Road for dinner. This was our first time eating at this restaurant, and overall we loved it!

My husband and oldest son both chose the "Mighty Mixed Grill" for their dinner. According to the menu, it's a lamb chop, Guinness banger, sirloin steak, black pudding, chicken drumstick and bacon. It was all served over a bed of mashed potatoes. My husband cleaned his plate...my son ate it all except for the black pudding (blood sausage). They both pronounced it amazing!!

I ordered the Portobello Beauty burger -- a Portobello mushroom cap filled with Dubliner cheese and a tomato chutney. Served with fries. This was a really nice vegetarian option! My other choice was the risotto (which I hear gets rave reviews!) but I'm not a huge butternut squash fan, so I thought the Beauty was a better choice for me. I would definitely order this again!

My younger son had the kids macaroni and cheese with fries. He didn't eat much, but that doesn't mean anything...I tried this and it was good! The cheese used was an Irish cheddar (Dubliner), which gave it a really nice flavor. It was very cheesy!

Apparently I completely forgot to take a picture of my daughter's meal...

We discussed her allergy with the server, but he never brought a chef out which was frustrating for me. My daughter loves fish, so they were able to make her a dairy free fish and chips. It was your basic breaded, fried fish, and French fries. She loved this meal and ate it all!

My real disappointment came when it was time for dessert. Most Disney restaurants carry allergy free cookies and alternative ice creams (sorbet, Tofutti, rice dream, etc). The only thing Raglan Road could offer her was fruit - cantaloupe and honeydew at that....Once again I was not able to talk to the chef, this was all based on what the server told me. It's hard for a 4 year old to understand why she has fruit when her brother has ice cream. Normally we don't have dessert unless they have something for her, but it was included in the dining plan so we did it. After dinner we went next door to Erin McKenna's bakery (all vegan!) and got her a cupcake, so all was forgiven! It was really disappointing for me though.

The rest of us enjoyed the famous "Ger's bread and butter pudding." HUGE portion....no way could any of us finish it!

My younger son had the ChockooBerry Sundae - a mix of ice cream, berries, cookies, and chocolate. He loved this dessert!

Overall we enjoyed our meal at Raglan Road. The food was great, but our service was disappointing. No chef to talk to about allergy food and very slow service for refills, etc... We were here for over two hours! The kids were definitely antsy at the end. We loved the Irish dancing, so that helped keep us entertained. I would return, but with a better desert plan for my daughter (buy Erin McKenna's cupcake and take it in with us!)

Next up is our day at Animal Kingdom - Tusker House lunch!

 

[Adgie128]

Joining in. You children are adorable. Your DD's smile is so great in that picture. What a beautiful princess!

I found POR to have really great CS options. We enjoyed all of our meals at Riverside Mill. It seems like your family enjoyed it, too, which is good to see!

While I will eat meat, I often order vegetarian when I'm out. That burger you ordered at RR is right up my alley! I've never been too impressed by the menu, so seeing that your veg option was a good one is excellent. Hope that your princess enjoyed her dessert when she finally got it.

 

[Glittercat]

Hello to you and yours! I'm here for your dining report and especially for vegetarian dining! We are all four pescatarian but eat veggie 95% of the time! Such a happy family photo at Be Our Guest, I'm eager to get to know you!

 

[Glittercat]

She's gorgeous and looks so happy!

I ordered the Portobello Beauty burger -- a Portobello mushroom cap filled with Dubliner cheese and a tomato chutney. Served with fries. This was a really nice vegetarian option!

Oh yum! We have portabella burgers at home but didn't consider adding irish cheddar to them.

I thought the Beauty was a better choice for me. I would definitely order this again!

If we ever find ourselves there I will remember your post.

again...yumm this looks delicious! It must be about dinner time as that portabella burger has made me ravenous!

We discussed her allergy with the server, but he never brought a chef out which was frustrating for me. My daughter loves fish, so they were able to make her a dairy free fish and chips. It was your basic breaded, fried fish, and French fries. She loved this meal and ate it all!

Sorry about the frustration but happy she could eat well and safely.

After dinner we went next door to Erin McKenna's bakery (all vegan!) and got her a cupcake, so all was forgiven! It was really disappointing for me though.

So glad that was an option, and she got a fun dessert too.

 

[Chaitali]

You have a beautiful family! I'm looking forward to your reviews. We're going down to Disney World in November and my husband will eat everything but my parents and I are vegetarians. That veggie option at Raglan Road looks great

 

[Vernie822]

The Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique pictures are priceless.. I love her hair and her dress! How fun.

I ordered the Portobello Beauty burger -- a Portobello mushroom cap filled with Dubliner cheese and a tomato chutney. Served with fries.

Ok now THAT looks delicious! I'm not a vegetarian but I love portobellos.. I almost got this last time and went with the schnitzel and I was pretty disappointed - this looks great.

The rest of us enjoyed the famous "Ger's bread and butter pudding." HUGE portion....no way could any of us finish it!

Oh.. m.. g.. I love this stuff. I am hungry for it now.

Overall we enjoyed our meal at Raglan Road. The food was great, but our service was disappointing. No chef to talk to about allergy food and very slow service for refills, etc... We were here for over two hours! The kids were definitely antsy at the end.

I am so sorry she didn't have the same options (or at least an exciting one..) as you guys. How hard that must be for her. I'm sure the cupcakes next door totally made up for it, though!!

We had the same experience there in March. We were up front by the stage. It was a two hour meal. I think my water got refilled maybe once. It was just a little much! Could've easily been in and out in 60-70 minutes.

 

[jacksonsmommy]

Thank you all so much for the comments! I love reading your thoughts!

The next day was our first park day and we headed to Animal Kingdom. We were scheduled for a 2:00 lunch at Tusker House, and planned to leave the park after that. We had been to Tusker House for breakfast many times, but never lunch, so it was a nice change of pace!

Unfortunately as I'm looking through my pictures, I'm realizing that I only took character pictures here...no food pics! Accckk! So sorry!

As a vegetarian I was really happy with this meal. I filled up on samosas (an Indian food - fried wrapper filled with potatoes, peas, and Indian spices) with mango chutney, and lots and lots of hummus with naan bread. They had regular hummus and a red pepper hummus. Both were delicious! I also remember eating several cold salads - tabbouli, cucumber with vinaigrette, and regular salads with dressing. They also had some nice couscous and mashed potatoes.

My boys filled up at the carving station, the kids buffet (chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, etc), and lots of fruits and salads.

For my daughter, the chef came out and walked me around the buffet pointing out what she could have. I know she had hummus with crackers (the naan had butter and cheese), salmon (her favorite fish!), couscous, and some meat from the carving stations. She did not go hungry!

For dessert, they had a lot of different cookies, tarts, and small desserts on the buffet. My daughter was brought out some Tofutti ice cream and an allergy free cookie.

We all left full and happy! I would definitely return to Tusker House again for lunch (or breakfast!). It's a great option at Animal Kingdom. We had great character interaction and my kids love the little parade with the characters and African instruments.

 

[Jess_S]

I'm a vegetarian, so I'm following along with interest. I'm loving the food photos and seeing the big smiles on your kids' faces. It looks like you all had a great trip.

 

[lauritagoddess]

I'm following this with interest. I'm not a vegetarian 100% of the time, but am pretty close and am always looking for more options. And you have a beautiful family, your daughter's smile especially is fabulous.

 

[amytech]

I'm a mostly veggie eater and am following along to get more ideas for our trip next March!

 

[scrappinmom]

Following too ! We leave in 14 days & I will have a veggie girl & a celiac girl...so eating is going to be interesting for us. Your family is beautiful! I can't wait to read more!

 

[jesswindsor]

Following!! Just caught up!! You have a beautiful family!!!

 

[SouthernLady15]

Following. We don't have any food allergies or vegetarians in my family, but I enjoy seeing the variety of foods that Disney has to offer. Your family is beautiful and I love the picture of your princess all dolled up

 

[hockeygirl14]

Following along! I'm not a vegetarian but I am a "picky" eater (I just don't eat that much meat) - I love seeing all the different options!! Love the BBB,your pictures make me miss working there. I actually know the FGIT in the picture!!

 

[butiflfeet]

It's so nice to read your reviews! I don't have any allergies and I love to eat meat but my mom doesn't like to eat meat a whole lot so it's nice to see some options for her.