I'm shocked that there is no vegetarian resturants

[hakepb]

I find the “California = healthy” marketing amusing. I think California does that to keep others away from their beloved In-N-Out.

Many legendary foods at DL are not at all healthy. Churro stands at every corner, several Carmel corn stands, Hand dipped corn dogs.(I’m glad MK finally added them), the Plaza is known for fried chicken. Blue Bayou is known for the Monte Cristo (a deep-fried sandwich!) and the number of sweets...

(California has 2x as many people as Florida, so they should have 2x as many “healthy” restaurants, too)

 

[CinderDuffy]

Wow.

So those that prefer meat are "the lowest common denominator?"

Disney follows the money. They will build restaurants that make them money. So far, they have decided that a vegan restaurant doesn't follow that plan.

And although maybe not a fad, it is certainly pretty niche. And as some of us have been saying, it is certainly a choice.

You can’t win with preachy vegans. All you can do is toast their health with a hamburger.

 

[Melissa Perez]

I'm a lactose intolerant vegetarian that cannot tolerate fried foods

I find there to be plenty of food items that I can eat - including politely being creative! I have never had an issue.

And although I choose this lifestyle (and some of it chose me...) I can't imagine how many veg/vegan families travel together. I know if I mentioned going to a restaurant like this my dad would laugh me out of the park!

 

[skyblue17]

I'm confused by the idea of wanting to offer a vegetarian restaurant presumably to showcase lots of yummy vegetarian dishes and then having mac and cheese, pizza, sandwiches and salads... which are the things that vegetarians seem to bristle at having to choose from at non vegetarian places. I don't understand the need to be ideologically "pure" and offer a menu that is vegetarian but then offer junk food for people who would rather have meat. What i'd rather see is something that is based on a particular type of cuisine but maybe with a few options that are vegetarian and a few that are meat... but where the vegetarian options are thoughtful and thought through and not "pasta and veggies." Like Sanaa could add another couple of veggie options on their menu, it would be appropriate there. It wouldn't have to be an all vegetarian restaurant but there are opportunities for more vegetarian options.

A vegetarian restaurant for the sake of calling it vegetarian and being ideologically pure but that doesn't have amazing vegetarian dishes is not going to win anyone over IMO.

Sure, that sounds perfect! My thought was that those things I mentioned are common things that people who aren't necessarily that open-minded to non-meat dishes usually enjoy. Ideally, it would primarily have creative and fresh ideas. I think having a wide variety in just one place would be great.

Either way, Disney does seem to do better than a lot of places in this area. I sure was glad that I had a wide range of choices to eat each day. But I do remember one particular day where we couldn't agree on what specifically we wanted to eat and wasted almost half hour trying to find a place to go, and I can only imagine that's amplified when your food choices are limited. Obviously, not everyone can be pleased or specifically catered to, though, and it's great that Disney does as much as they do.

 

[Lisa F]

Also, "vegetarian" is not a type of cuisine. it's an ideology. Most types of cuisine can be made vegetarian with a little creativity... some cuisines lend themselves better to vegetarian and vegan because of the indigenous diets of the people the cuisine is based on. As has been pointed out, due to religious and social reasons there are many vegetarian Indians (although plenty also eat meat and not all Indians are Hindus with a prohibition against eating cows either), so this cuisine tends to lend itself to many varied and interesting vegetarian dishes and it is one of the cuisines where I am more likely to eat vegetarian because it's delicious for what it is and not some "meat dish modified without the meat", which I tend to not enjoy. But you will find vegetarian indian restaurants among large populations of Hindus because many of them tend to be vegetarian.

In places where ideology sells and people of the same mind who want to gather in places that cater to their ideology exist in large numbers, you will find restaurants that are vegetarian or even vegan. You can all sit around and be happy that you are not patronizing a place and giving them money when they are doing something you consider to be wrong (consuming meat). I respect the rights of vegetarians and vegans to feel that way...

But Disney is not in the business of catering to ideology. They are in the business of entertaining people. Their restaurants are themed. You have a pizza restaurant, and in that pizza restaurant they also have salads and appetizers and pasta and even meat dishes because it adds a level of variety so that families consisting of people with various tastes and dietary needs can all eat together in the same place. You don't have a "low carb" restaurant because there are people out there who believe that carbs are evil and unhealthy, where like minded people can gather and feel good about spending money in a place that supports their ideology. But if someone in your party eats low carb, they are more than willing to accommodate you at any of their restaurants to the best of their ability.

Sometimes Disney dilutes their theming TOO much in the opinion of many in order to try to make as many people feel welcome and able to dine there as possible. Cynics might call this "catering to the lowest common denominator" but I honestly have never really understood why people think it's such a big deal for a restaurant that sells a whole fish and head on shrimp to also have plain mac and cheese for kids.. but again, I'm not into ideological purity in restaurants when it comes to cuisine either. Having the mac and cheese does not take away from the other exotic choices IMO. And a vegetarian restaurant would be about ideological purity rather than theme, cuisine or entertainment. Disney is not really the place for it and among that particular cross section of america, it really is a niche as others have said.

 

[fla4fun]

Food & Wine Festival had an exclusively vegan booth for a couple of years (they don't have it anymore, removed it in favor of spacing a few vegan choices out over several booths).

Thanks for confirming that. I thought maybe I was remembering incorrectly. At F&W though it makes sense to spread the options over several booths, to make it more convenient for the vegan/vegetarian diners. I wouldn’t want to have to walk all the way around WS every time I wanted to eat, and I am sure they don’t either.

Didn’t they also offer a lot of veg friendly food in the Wonders of Life pavilion when it was operating? I don’t recall ever eating in there, but it seems like it was very veg oriented.

To be honest, the only way I can see a veg exclusive restaurant possibly working would be if it were part of something like Sunshine Seasons, so the veg diners could order without worrying about modifications and the carnivores could also order items they prefer at the other stations. I don’t think a free standing veg restaurant would be a big money maker for Disney.

Of course there is always the chance that a third party would open one in Disney Springs - never say never.

 

[Lisa F]

Sure, that sounds perfect! My thought was that those things I mentioned are common things that people who aren't necessarily that open-minded to non-meat dishes usually enjoy. Ideally, it would primarily have creative and fresh ideas. I think having a wide variety in just one place would be great.

Either way, Disney does seem to do better than a lot of places in this area. I sure was glad that I had a wide range of choices to eat each day. But I do remember one particular day where we couldn't agree on what specifically we wanted to eat and wasted almost half hour trying to find a place to go, and I can only imagine that's amplified when your food choices are limited. Obviously, not everyone can be pleased or specifically catered to, though, and it's great that Disney does as much as they do.

See but that is trying to push your ideology about meat on someone else. Why should someone eat something that is pure starch and fat for the sake of "being open to" a non meat dish? Give me a fabulous chick pea curry or paneer with just about anything sure, but I don't see how most omnivores are interested in cutting out meat just for the sake of not having meat. I'd much prefer my kid eat grilled chicken and fruit to mac and cheese or pizza. The appeal of having a place where you don't allow people to have meat is an appeal to ideology and IMO disney world is not the place for it.

For MOST of america avoidance of meat is not a primary concern. it's not even on the list at all. Everyone has their own dietary preferences based on their own situation and the notion that there should be a place where people can get to experience what it feels like to avoid meat for the sake of avoiding meat does not sound like a wide-appealing restaurant in a WDW setting.

 

[skyblue17]

See but that is trying to push your ideology about meat on someone else. Why should someone eat something that is pure starch and fat for the sake of "being open to" a non meat dish? Give me a fabulous chick pea curry or paneer with just about anything sure, but I don't see how most omnivores are interested in cutting out meat just for the sake of not having meat. I'd much prefer my kid eat grilled chicken and fruit to mac and cheese or pizza. The appeal of having a place where you don't allow people to have meat is an appeal to ideology and IMO disney world is not the place for it.

For MOST of america avoidance of meat is not a primary concern. it's not even on the list at all. Everyone has their own dietary preferences based on their own situation and the notion that there should be a place where people can get to experience what it feels like to avoid meat for the sake of avoiding meat does not sound like a wide-appealing restaurant in a WDW setting.

I agree! Initially, my thought is that there should be a place where a family with vegetarians AND meat-eaters can sit down and order off a menu and not have to select a default veggie option or request that something be made differently. Whether that meant a menu that appealed to primarily vegetarians but also had choices non-vegetarians would eat as well, or was just diverse enough to please both, didn't really matter. I guess I didn't consider that thinking that for one evening, someone who usually eats steak or a burger would be interested in something that wasn't steak or a burger was pushing an ideology. Either way, the point is probably moot. As someone who is NOT a picky eater, I have never had a problem finding something I like on a menu and love to try new things, so I guess another mistake is forgetting that a lot of people aren't into that.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

People were insinuating that OP was being selfish for inquiring about a veg restaurant, and just for those who aren't aware there are at least 4 vegan restaurants within 5 miles of DLR.

But see DLR and WDW are different. They cater to different people at times (DLR is a locals haven whereas WDW is more outside visitors for example). Most people realize that if Disney was to offer vegetarian only restaurant they would likely do it first in DLR. They may never do it in WDW.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Thanks for confirming that. I thought maybe I was remembering incorrectly. At F&W though it makes sense to spread the options over several booths, to make it more convenient for the vegan/vegetarian diners. I wouldn’t want to have to walk all the way around WS every time I wanted to eat, and I am sure they don’t either.

Didn’t they also offer a lot of veg friendly food in the Wonders of Life pavilion when it was operating? I don’t recall ever eating in there, but it seems like it was very veg oriented.

To be honest, the only way I can see a veg exclusive restaurant possibly working would be if it were part of something like Sunshine Seasons, so the veg diners could order without worrying about modifications and the carnivores could also order items they prefer at the other stations. I don’t think a free standing veg restaurant would be a big money maker for Disney.

Of course there is always the chance that a third party would open one in Disney Springs - never say never.

Disney Springs would probably be a good fit too. At least at that point they would get people who don't need to pay to get in there (like a restaurant inside the parks would).

 

[Pygoplites]

Disney Springs would probably be a good fit too. At least at that point they would get people who don't need to pay to get in there (like a restaurant inside the parks would).

Agreed. DS would be a good choice, especially since they might be able to get one of the large restaurant groups involved, since I think a Disney-owned-and-operated veg-focused restaurant won't happen. I also can't see somewhere purely vegetarian; for the time being it would need to serve some meat products (hopefully sustainable/organic).

My dream place would have multiple components: a QS outdoor part with salads, wraps, etc. (something similar to Maoz Vegetarian, a quick service concept that does have several Florida locations); a main 1 TS restaurant featuring international farm-to-table cuisine (there is a lot of Thai, Chinese, Indian, Middle Eastern vegetable-focused food--which could be enhanced with meat for those inclined); and finally, a small exclusive cutting-edge restaurant within a restaurant that does a multi course experiential meal (with a choice of omnivore, vegetarian or vegan). I am not a vegetarian, yet 2 of my best meals of all time were vegetarian (Twist by Pierre Gagnaire in Vegas and Victoria & Albert's).

What WON'T work is a stereotypical health food style restaurant. Because of the prices that WDW would have to charge, I think it would fail, especially since they would need to count on locals for part of their revenue. However, something that is more of a destination type of place could work, especially if it had some well-known chefs attached to it.

 

[Arielfan98]

I'm a little confused by the idea that if the whole family isn't vegetarian, no family would be interested in eating at a vegetarian restaurant. Vegetarian dishes can differ immensely, with something for everyone. There are plenty of people who happily eat meat nearly every day who would still eat a meal that has no meat! Think of all the pasta dishes (including mac and cheese), pizza options, sandwiches and salads that could be meatless! I understand that the demand is still likely not there for Disney to create a full vegetarian restaurant but acting like a family would rather go hungry than compromise with their vegetarians siblings/parents/friends for a night and allow the vegetarians a night away from the default veggie option is bizarre.

While your idea sounds good, it's not practical for most families. I find that carb heavy dishes cause me to gain weight and I never feel satisfied only eating pasta (I need grilled chicken with it, etc). Also, vegetarian dishes usually rely on dairy to make the food taste good/appealing. Once again, dairy causes me to gain weight. My body sustains itself on a lot of protein which cannot be found from eating rice and beans (sorry). Yes, I know it's only one meal, but Disney food is expensive no matter where you go and I wouldn't want to spend $$$ on a meal that won't fill me up/satisfy me. Luckily I don't have this issue because my family is filled with all meat eaters, but I'm sure there's someone in the same grain as me that lives with vegetarians/vegans.

I will, however, support vegans/vegetarians in their plight for more options at meat restaurants. I also think the vegetarian/vegan kiosk in EPCOT sounds fantastic!

 

[Colleen27]

Sure, that sounds perfect! My thought was that those things I mentioned are common things that people who aren't necessarily that open-minded to non-meat dishes usually enjoy. Ideally, it would primarily have creative and fresh ideas. I think having a wide variety in just one place would be great.

Either way, Disney does seem to do better than a lot of places in this area. I sure was glad that I had a wide range of choices to eat each day. But I do remember one particular day where we couldn't agree on what specifically we wanted to eat and wasted almost half hour trying to find a place to go, and I can only imagine that's amplified when your food choices are limited. Obviously, not everyone can be pleased or specifically catered to, though, and it's great that Disney does as much as they do.

That's probably another piece of why it won't happen... It is a lot more labor intensive, time sensitive, and prone to waste to try to keep a wide variety of fresh produce ingredients on hand than it is to stock meat, potatoes, rice, and pasta. Most of the good vegetarian recipes I have are things I do for dinner on a day I've been to the farmer's market when the major ingredients are in season. Not something I'd try to put together in January, when the ingredients would cost a small fortune and are of the sort of sad quality that comes from being shipped halfway around the world, nor are they things that can be scaled up to mass production and prepped in advance to cater to hundreds of diners each and every night.

It is far easier to achieve consistent preparation quality with meat and starch dishes, and as we all know Disney sometimes struggles with that even in their most highly-regarded restaurants. I just don't see them putting in the resources it would take to run even a pretty good vegetarian restaurant.

 

[ShadeDK]

I would also vote for more healthy options vs a vegan only restaurant.

I couldn't agree more - you have to search for the healthier options at WDW, and at times it's almost a lost cause. As the discussion of some of the more mainstream vegetarian/vegan options in this thread shows, those are not always healthy, either.

One limitation I haven't seen mentioned (although it's a long thread) is the average size of the menu at most WDW restaurants. Like most theme/amusement parks, menus are streamlined - offering about 8-12 entrees per location. Compare that with about 50-60 entrees typically offered at most full service restaurants in the "real world" (per restaurant market surveys). There's variety among Disney restaurant locations, but not much variety at specific locations. To Disney's credit, they get a lot of mileage out of those handful of selections to broadly appeal to most tastes at each location. But that also might explain why you don't see a vegetarian restaurant. The menus at any one location aren't extensive enough to offer variety for both meat eaters and vegetarians, but limiting it to vegetarian selections doesn't fit with the apparent goal of offering all tastes something on the menu (or, even if you tried to appeal to those tastes with more mainstream vegetarian selections, you're left with just a handful of slots for more interesting vegetarian choices). Could Disney expand menus to accommodate more variety? Sure - but that's also a change in the model and goes back to business decisions (and why there may not be a vegetarian restaurant).

 

[MickeyWaffles]

That said, I still don't think they will do it anytime soon as Disney caters to the lowest common denominator.

On another note, It makes me incredibly sad to see all of the negative attitudes and comments towards vegetarian and vegan food. (And also a strange amount of defensiveness from a few meat-eaters...) The world would be a better place if everyone just ate a little less meat.. just my opinion of course dont at me

Things like your “lowest common denominator” and “the world would be a better place if everyone ate a little less meat” statements are exactly why many people who eat meat view vegans and vegetarians unfavorably. Many people are guilted or shamed for eating meat by vegetarians and vegans in their families and friend circles and this causes negative attitudes.

I honestly don’t care what people eat. Meat, no meat, whatever. We eat a wide variety of foods and have our kids do it too. Dishes with meat, vegetarian dishes, vegan dishes. We eat it all. That is our choice. Not everyone is the same.

I do think that one of the biggest challenges is the availability and cost of fresh ingredients necessary to make vegetarian and vegan dishes and the amount of expensive waste there would be at the end of the day. It’s much harder to make these dishes at a large scale. Small local places can do this well. I don’t know how Disney would pull it off.

We don’t exclude meat from our diets but would try a vegan or vegetarian spot since we like to vary what we eat. I just don’t think it would get the foot traffic it needs to be successful. It would be nice if there could be better or more vegetarian/vegan options on the current restaurant menus, but those menus are pretty limited so they can streamline anyways.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

Things like your “lowest common denominator” and “the world would be a better place if everyone ate a little less meat” statements are exactly why many people who eat meat view vegans and vegetarians unfavorably. Many people are guilted or shamed for eating meat by vegetarians and vegans in their families and friend circles and this causes negative attitudes.

I honestly don’t care what people eat. Meat, no meat, whatever. We eat a wide variety of foods and have our kids do it too. Dishes with meat, vegetarian dishes, vegan dishes. We eat it all. That is our choice. Not everyone is the same.

I wish I could like this more than once.

I don't care what people eat. Other than please don't eat gluten in my car, unless you plan on cleaning up any crumbs. Otherwise have at it.

But this "lowest common denominator" business totally puts me off of anything or anyone that is vegan or vegetarian. It all seems very elitist.

 

[Dug720]

Things like your “lowest common denominator” and “the world would be a better place if everyone ate a little less meat” statements are exactly why many people who eat meat view vegans and vegetarians unfavorably. Many people are guilted or shamed for eating meat by vegetarians and vegans in their families and friend circles and this causes negative attitudes.

So much this!! And the poster you quoted tried to say she wasn’t one who judged yet she went on to say that. Which IS jugdy and preachy.

 

[CinderDuffy]

Things like your “lowest common denominator” and “the world would be a better place if everyone ate a little less meat” statements are exactly why many people who eat meat view vegans and vegetarians unfavorably. Many people are guilted or shamed for eating meat by vegetarians and vegans in their families and friend circles and this causes negative attitudes.

I honestly don’t care what people eat. Meat, no meat, whatever. We eat a wide variety of foods and have our kids do it too. Dishes with meat, vegetarian dishes, vegan dishes. We eat it all. That is our choice. Not everyone is the same.

I do think that one of the biggest challenges is the availability and cost of fresh ingredients necessary to make vegetarian and vegan dishes and the amount of expensive waste there would be at the end of the day. It’s much harder to make these dishes at a large scale. Small local places can do this well. I don’t know how Disney would pull it off.

We don’t exclude meat from our diets but would try a vegan or vegetarian spot since we like to vary what we eat. I just don’t think it would get the foot traffic it needs to be successful. It would be nice if there could be better or more vegetarian/vegan options on the current restaurant menus, but those menus are pretty limited so they can streamline anyways.

I don't feel guilt or shame when they're droning on about "the better world without meat" though. Once that starts, all I hear is the teacher from Charlie Brown. I just find it annoying and choose not to waste any more of my time around people like that.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

thing is, to some it is not a lifestyle choice but an ideology. And it does get pretty tiring when someone tries to push their ideology, if you don't have the same ideology.

 

[randumb0]

The only place I could see this working in Disney Springs