Down the Rabbit Hole – a Vegan Alice and Omnivore Mad Hatter Taste Wonderland

[mandibc11]

"Curiouser and Curiouser!" - Alice's exclamation continually ran through my head as I looked over menus months in advance, attempting to find a little something for myself, while going places I knew my husband would love for his birthday celebration.

He agreed to let me do the Deluxe Dining Plan for us, but then his parents surprised us by giving it to him for his birthday - talk about exciting!

My parents pre-purchased the PhotoPass CD for him, so we were good to go with unlimited food and photos for the majority of our excursion.

Last September for our honeymoon, he (Jeremy) surprised me (Amanda) with tickets to DisneyLand Paris during our trek through Europe. It was his first taste, but being the Walt lover that I am, I wanted to really introduce him to the World and give him a proper feast.

"Who Are YOU?"

Alice - Me (Amanda), 27
Vegan and with Dairy Allergies, I planned everything about the trip, including making all reservations and contacting Disney Special Diets over a month ahead of time. I longed for waffles, savory dinners with cocktails, and hopefully even a dessert or two.

Mad Hatter - Jeremy, turning 29
A lover of ALL foods, especially when accompanied by honey mustard, he was excited about exploring this new world, making use of the Boardwalk's water slide, and having multiple milk shakes.

Our Itinerary Looked a Bit Like This:

Sunday, May 16th - Arrival Day
Lunch - Mama Melrose
Dinner - Les Chefs de France

Monday, May 17th
Breakfast - 1900 Park Fare
Lunch - Crystal Place OR Columbia Harbor House
Dinner - Ohana

Tuesday, May 18th
Breakfast - Boardwalk Bakery
Lunch - Tokyo Dining
Dinner - Restaurant Marrakesh

Wednesday, May 19th
Breakfast - Boma
Lunch - Tusker House
Dinner - Sci Fi Dine In Theater

Thursday, May 20th
Breakfast - Kouzzina
Lunch - Rose and Crown
Dinner - Jiko

Friday, May 21st
Lunch - Beaches and Cream
Dinner - Raglan Road

Saturday, May 22nd
Breakfast - Kouzzina
Lunch - Kona Cafe

And now I will begin at the beginning, and go on until I come to the end, at which point I will stop. I hope you'll come along for this taste of wonderland.

 

[princessallegra]

I'm in! Can't wait to read about your experiences. You guys are a cute couple!

 

[mandibc11]

I'm in! Can't wait to read about your experiences. You guys are a cute couple!

Thanks so much! I've been keeping up with your pre-trip report also, and I gotta say I love that tattoo!

 

[mandibc11]

I'll start off by saying that reservations were booked the full 180 days in advance. And while those original venues changed numerous times as the trip got closer, I was paranoid enough to make the ADRs I KNEW we would be going to as soon as possible!

Also, in regards to my diet, I not only made the ADRs online and specified my allergies, but then contacted Special Diets (specialdiets@disneyworld.com) to let them know that I followed a Vegan diet as well. I really wanted to make sure they knew only ONE of us would require anything out of the ordinary...because I didn't want Jeremy not to be able to get a steak if his heart desired it!

They emailed me back with a few documents regarding what foods the parks offered, which counter service locations were best, and a form to fill out including my ADRs and special requests. No sooner had I emailed it back to them than someone got back in touch, said it was noted, and let me know that if I needed anything above and beyond this, they would be happy to accomodate!

All that to say, I had a great experience in that area. Considering we were on the DDP, I really wanted to make sure the money wasn't going to be wasted because I hadn't given them enough of a head's up!

 

[princessallegra]

Thanks so much! I've been keeping up with your pre-trip report also, and I gotta say I love that tattoo!

Aw thank YOU so much! It was a labor of love, 5 hours straight I have to say I am really excited to read your reviews. It's just a cool combo-your DH being an omnivore and you being vegan. We'll get to see Disney dining from a very unique perspective! Looking forward to it!

 

[pennyplanner]

I'm excited to read your reviews. I'm sure they will be very diverse!

--pennyplanner

 

[mandibc11]

Aw thank YOU so much! It was a labor of love, 5 hours straight I have to say I am really excited to read your reviews. It's just a cool combo-your DH being an omnivore and you being vegan. We'll get to see Disney dining from a very unique perspective! Looking forward to it!

We are going on a trip to Europe in July, and I've decided to get a tattoo while we are there...maybe in Amsterdam. Now to just decide what that will be and where. It's a tough decision! I have a few designs in mind, but the location it the real toughy!

I hope that the reviews turn out well - it was hilarious to order food telling the chef that Yes, I'm vegan, but my husband would like the beef shortribs!

I'm excited to read your reviews. I'm sure they will be very diverse!

--pennyplanner

I'm excited you're excited! Hopefully I'll be reviewing a few things that haven't been discussed too much on the boards!

 

[Vegcentric]

Hey hey! Awesome that you're starting your reviews. I know you mentioned in the vegan dining thread that you were going to, so I'm pretty excited. Looking forward to seeing how your experiences turned out, and any helpful tips that might make my next trip this fall more enjoyable.

 

[AMadHatterMyself]

Well as the Mad Hatter of this journey down the rabbit hole I have to say that my wife's excitement of Disney has infected me and I am now hooked as well. It seems that I will be a constant character in the Magic Kingdom! The food was great and I can't wait for you to hear all about it from the mouth (or fingers) of a great writer - My Wife! Hope you enjoy!

 

[VeganRazzleDazzle]

I'm looking forward to your review!

I am also Vegan with an Omni DH. We are going for our anniversary August 29-Sept 3rd. Alot of your dining choices are the same as my current ADR's!

 

[mandibc11]

Hey hey! Awesome that you're starting your reviews. I know you mentioned in the vegan dining thread that you were going to, so I'm pretty excited. Looking forward to seeing how your experiences turned out, and any helpful tips that might make my next trip this fall more enjoyable.

I'm glad you found it - I really hope I'll be able to help out. I learned a TON from this trip and will try to be as descriptive as possible...I've also made a note to myself for next time...hopefully during the Food and Wine festival! Will you be going around that time?

Well as the Mad Hatter of this journey down the rabbit hole I have to say that my wife's excitement of Disney has infected me and I am now hooked as well. It seems that I will be a constant character in the Magic Kingdom! The food was great and I can't wait for you to hear all about it from the mouth (or fingers) of a great writer - My Wife! Hope you enjoy!

Well hello there - I'm glad you'll be giving everyone your two cents, as well! And yes, you'll absolutely be a constant in Disney from now on...perhaps in the fall?

I'm looking forward to your review!

I am also Vegan with an Omni DH. We are going for our anniversary August 29-Sept 3rd. Alot of your dining choices are the same as my current ADR's!

Wow, we're really similar! Actually, while in Disney I noticed that some of the waitstaff tended to whisper the non-veg specials to Jeremy for fear of offending me! Don't know if you've had experience with that in the past, but I only found it amusing.

 

[bluejasmine]

Im in, cant wait to hear the rest!

 

[Vegcentric]

Yes, we're actually going from October 20th to the 26th! Really excited about the food and wine festival and cannot wait!

 

[vinotinto]

Signing in! Love deluxe dining reports!

 

[mandibc11]

You can tell I was excited about this trip, because I checked into our hotel online a full three days beforehand! I couldn't believe that Disney even offered this, and of course I took advantage of it, because I wanted to get to our lunch reservations on time!

We had also used the Magical Express, so we just went to the front desk, got our "Key to the World" card, and headed straight to Hollywood Studios, only a short walk from the Boardwalk.

Like I said, it was Jeremy's first time to be here, but I couldn't wait to eat, so we rushed through the parks (stopping first to get a Fast Pass to the Star Wars ride). We were running about 15 minutes behind, and I knew the place would be packed. They were nice about it though, and at around 2:15pm we got a pager and waited in the VERY crowded front room while people cooled off from the heat outside and everyone's stomachs growled. I think mine was the loudest though!

The hostess had asked me right when we arrived which one of us had "allergies." Of course that would be me. Keep in mind that even if you don't actually have an allergy, any special diet is stamped with a big red ALLERGY across it to let everyone know to be on the lookout!

Now, I'm a breakfast kind of girl, and hadn't eaten anything that day but a protein bar. So, when our pager went off I practically ran to the table in front of the hostess.

Our waiter's name was Mazen, a very nice guy that truly seemed happy to work there. As soon as he saw the scarlet letters on our reservation ticket, he took our drink orders and said he would go and get the chef. Not 3 minutes later, a man walked back to the table with him, introduced himself as Christian, and said he would be my personal chef for the meal. Talk about customized service!

Jeremy loves most foods, so he had already picked out everything and was ready to order the appetizer, entree and dessert at once! But the chef was asking me a few questions, so he had to be patient. I told the chef I would love a pizza if he could make it, because I hadn't been able to have one in awhile. Any appetizer would do for me, and a dessert would be fantastic! He said he had something special in mind where sweets were concerned...that made me excited to end the meal before it even began!

First out came some bread, which Christian explained was fine for both Jeremy and myself to eat.

Neither of us are bread people, but I think I mentioned we were hungry. It was a bit hard on the outside, but had a warm soft middle that I dug out and dipped in the oil and spices that was brought along with it.

Shortly after came our appetizers.

We had both ordered the Mixed Green Salad, only mine wasn't able to have the Gorgonzola or Walnuts, making Jeremy's much prettier to look at, so I'll only include the picture of his. It came with apples and dried cherries in a tasty balsamic vinaigrette. The cherries really made it...not too sweet, with a great tart taste to them! Jeremy would argue that the HUGE chunks of cheese were the best part...I think he ate too much of it considering what he ordered as an entree!

He ordered the Goat Cheese Ravioli. Yes, another cheese-loaded dish! He really liked the consistency of the cheese, but didn't care too much for the caramelized onions that garnished the top. Overall he thought it was delicious, though.

My dish - Vegan Roasted Veggie Pizza! The chef was true to his word, and boy did he deliver! The vegetables were cooked exactly right, the tapioca flatbread was just crisp enough, and the sauce was fantastic (I asked for extra and they brought me out an entire dish of it). The cheese was just ok...it didn't add anything to the dish so I picked a lot of it off. Even still, I would HIGHLY recommend this!

We stopped gorging ourselves and asked Mazen to take the plates away before we were too full to have any dessert.

Jeremy was boring and just ordered the Vanilla gelato. In his defense though, it looked really good.

I had no idea what I would be getting, so I was happy to see these adorable treats!

Chef Christian brought this out himself - I think he was proud of it! Heck, I was proud of it! It consisted of a Trio of ice cream sandwiches made with Divvies cookies. Each was different, containing vanilla Tofutti, chocolate Tofutti, and a lemon sorbet. Two were drizzled in chocolate, and the lemon had a raspberry sauce on it. HEAVEN! I really wasn't expecting anything like that, expecting just vanilla Tofutti or something similar.

The out of pocket total would have come to $63.12 before gratuity. I will absolutely be going back next time we're there, and will probably get the exact same thing!

We both really enjoyed the entire experience. The staff was more than friendly, Chef Christian did a fantastic job at handling my requests, and the food was excellent. For our first dining experience of the trip, we were off to a great start!

 

[Vegcentric]

Those little sandwiches at the end are so, so cute! I almost want to change my dining reservations now to include Mama Melrose' because they seem to really do a good job at creating appetizing vegan food!

And pizza is awesome, of course.

 

[VeganRazzleDazzle]

WOW!

That dessert looks AMAZING!

I've heard about the pizza's but i've never seen anything like that from Mama Melrose. I may have to change my Hollywood Studios plans now!

I was going to do Sci-Fi Dine-In and 50's Prime Time Cafe. Now I have to figure out which one to change!

Thanks for the great review so far.

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

Great review, I'm in!

 

[princessallegra]

Add me to the WOW those little dessert sandwiches are adorable camp!!! Also that veggie pizza looks super yums. The Mad Hatters ravioli look sooo good!! And yums for the salad as well! Glad Mama Melrose was a hit for you guys!!!

 

[mandibc11]

Those little sandwiches at the end are so, so cute! I almost want to change my dining reservations now to include Mama Melrose' because they seem to really do a good job at creating appetizing vegan food!

And pizza is awesome, of course.

Honestly, I wasn't expecting such special treatment from them - that was a theme for the trip I think...the restaurants that sometimes do amazing things for vegans were good but not great, whereas places like Mama Melrose really stepped up in my book!

WOW!

That dessert looks AMAZING!

I've heard about the pizza's but i've never seen anything like that from Mama Melrose. I may have to change my Hollywood Studios plans now!

I was going to do Sci-Fi Dine-In and 50's Prime Time Cafe. Now I have to figure out which one to change!

Thanks for the great review so far.

We ate at Sci-Fi also! Maybe my review of that will help you make your decision...we also got milkshakes to go from 50s Prime Time.

Great review, I'm in!

Hey, thanks for Joining!

Add me to the WOW those little dessert sandwiches are adorable camp!!! Also that veggie pizza looks super yums. The Mad Hatters ravioli look sooo good!! And yums for the salad as well! Glad Mama Melrose was a hit for you guys!!!

It was one of my favorite desserts of the trip! He really loved his ravioli...and all the cheese in the salad too!