The term “Meatless Monday” was part of an international campaign designed to encourage people to start their week off in a way that was healthy for their bodies and the planet. It has a lot of history behind it, but the basic idea is that you don’t eat meat for one day out of the week!

This concept inspired me with an idea for an interesting recurring segment for “Fish are Friends, Not Food.” So, in upcoming posts I will be developing 1-day meatless-itineraries for those who either already don’t eat meat, but don’t know what to get in the parks, or for those who DO eat meat, but are interested in challenging themselves to one meatless day in the parks! I will give multiple options for each meal, in case your preferences are different. I’m keeping each section limited to 3 options, so that I can make a printable “pocket” itinerary for all of you vegan diners in the parks!

Each restaurant will be labeled CS (counter service) or TS (table service) appropriately. At counter service locations, the ordering process involves waiting in line at a podium, ordering your food with a cast member, waiting for your order at a counter, and bringing the meal to an available table to sit down to eat. A table service location is more similar to a restaurant and involves being seated, and served at your table. You may need to make an advance dining reservation to dine at TS locations and tip your server’s!

So, let’s start with the park that most people start everything with; Magic Kingdom!

Breakfast

1. Crystal Palace - TS, (to the left off of Main St) & 2. Cinderella’s Royal Table- TS, (in Cinderella’s Castle!) Both restaurants are buffets and will have similar options for vegans. Buffets are good options for picky eaters. A chef will take you around the buffet to show you what options are good for you! You will find cereal, oatmeal, soy milk, rice milk, coffee, breakfast potatoes, fresh fruit, and make sure you talk to a chef who will most definitely prepare you your own vegan, allergy-friendly Mickey Waffles!

• Another option may be to eat in your resort cafeteria where you will find the same options listed above.

Lunch

1. Columbia Harbor House- CS, Liberty Square- CHILI!Please, please, please get a cup chili! It has mushrooms, (but they are big enough to pick out if you don’t like them),olives, beans, peppers, onions, and, well, so much more! Depending on how hungry you are, you can add a side of steamed broccoli and/or french fries (I always do!).
2. Be Our Guest- CS, New Fantasyland- Try the Quinoa, Shallot, and Chive Salad which has green beans, potatoes, olives, roasted bell peppers, and tomatoes!
3. Columbia Harbor House (again)! CS, Liberty Square- Try the Lighthouse sandwich, which comes with hummus with tomato and broccoli slaw. The Slaw has dairy, so ask them to substitute it with regular steamed broccoli and an allergy-friendly sandwich bun!

Snack

1. Just can’t wait until dinner to eat again? Stop by the Fantasyland Pretzel Wagon for a pretzel!
2. Or head over to The Plaza Ice Cream Parlor at the end of Main St near the castle and ask for a cup of Tofutti or Rice Dream Ice Cream!

Dinner

1. Tony’s Town Square -TS, Located at the beginning of Main St (on your right if you are facing the castle)  Let them know you’re vegan and the chef will cook you up a special pasta dish with vegetables and garlic sauce, or just marinara or tomato sauce! The pasta is served with a house salad on the side, so order Italian dressing, balsamic vinaigrette, or oil and vinegar with this. For dessert you can order tofutti ice cream, sorbet, or rice dream ice cream.
2. Be Our Guest Restaurant- TS, Located in the New Fantasyland Expansion! Try the vegan Ratatouille! It’s oven-baked Zucchini, Eggplant, Mushrooms, and Caramelized Onions sliced and layered on Quinoa served with Bell Pepper Salsa.
3. Liberty Tree Tavern- TS, Liberty Square- Apparently they have a delicious veggie burger here that can be made vegan upon request. Get it with the allergy-friendly bun and toppings!

Snack

• Stop by the popcorn cart at the end of Main St and stroll towards the castle while you munch away on hot, fresh popcorn!

<<(Here’s a pocket guide of the above information for you to print out and take along with you on your next WDW vacation!)

I’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave them in the comments below, please!

Angie has been a WDW addict since her first visit at age 8, and since then her life has never been the same! She lives in southeastern MA with her boyfriend, Kevin (fellow Disney lover), and their 3 dogs, Flip, Josie, and Hildy, where she is currently training to become a professional dog trainer.  Please join Angie every week in “Fish Are Friends, Not Food: Eating Vegan in WDW!” Angie believes that WDW is the most magical place for people with special diets, so, should you have any special diet questions (especially about vegan and gluten-free dining) she’d be happy to help! Angie is also an artist, and you can see her work at www.angiecarreiro.com! 

Disclaimer: This blog post, and all past and future Fish Are Friends, Not Food blog posts, are written with my most recent knowledge of the food in WDW parks. Please note that things are constantly changing, so this information might not always be up to date. Also note that I do not take into consideration refined sugar, cross contamination, or impure food items. With that said, always ask a chef before ordering if you are unsure about something, because the recipe may have changed or you may have a different way of defining your vegan lifestyle.

The post Fish Are Friends, Not Food: Magic Kingdom 1-Day Vegan Itinerary appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

So, what does Disney offer for their vegan kids? Here are some options found on the menus around the parks and resorts:

Pretzels, Popcorn, Ice Cream, French Fries- SNACKS! YES! What kids don’t love snacks!? Pretzels and Popcorn carts are scattered all over any of the 4 theme parks and are always vegan (just don’t get the cheese pretzels or any dairy dipping sauces!) Rice Dream and Tofutti dairy-free Ice Cream can be found at most table service restaurants which already serve ice cream of the dairy variety, or at the quick service restaurants I’ve mentioned in a previous post.

Pasta with Marinara Sauce (or oil and garlic)- Anywhere that you can think of that already serves pasta will have this option. This includes most of the resort cafeterias, like Art of Animation, The Rainforest Cafe in Animal Kingdom and Downtown Disney, Mama Melrose in Hollywood Studios, and Tony’s Town Square in Magic Kingdom, just to name a few.

Fruit (and veggies)- Maybe I’m a little out of the loop on this one, but kids like fruit, right? Every one of the 4 parks in WDW has a food cart somewhere on property. In Magic Kingdom, for example, look right outside of the Haunted Mansion! You’ll see a variety of fruit options like apples, bananas, and oranges at these carts, all for just $1 each! They also offer applesauce cups, sliced apples, carrot sticks, and other fruit choices as alternative sides to fries for kids’ meals!

Salads- Most kids menus have some sort of type of salad listed as an option.

Mickey Waffles- These tend to come up at least once in every post I do. Every kid is going to want to wake up to Mickey Waffles in the morning, so ask the chef for the vegan variety! Pair them with some Silk soymilk or juice!

PB&J- Even if it isn’t listed on the menu, most counter service and table service restaurants can make you a peanut butter and jelly sandwich!

Some other options only found in specific restaurants include:

Vegetable Lo-Mein- Found at Yak and Yeti in Animal Kingdom. They also offer white and brown rice here. Make sure before you order that this option is still vegan.

Tacos de Vegetales or Enchaladas de Vegetales- at La Hacienda de San Angel at the Mexico pavilion in Epcot! Ask for these without cheese, please!

Whole Grain Macaroni with Marinara Sauce- try it for lunch or dinner at the new Be Our Guest restaurant in Magic Kingdom’s New Fantasyland!

Everything at Babycakes NYC in Downtown Disney!

I hope that it is obvious that the options I’ve included here are only a handful of possibilities for kids to eat at Walt Disney World. It’s important to note that these options are all items that are already listed on menus around the resort and usually can be ordered without any special requests. However, if your child has a specific taste for something not listed on any menu, tell a cast member whether it be your server at a table service restaurant or the cast member at the podium at a counter service location about your special dietary restrictions and they will do their best to make it happen!

Who here travels with kids? What are your kid’s “tastes” like? Leave your answers in the comments below!

Angie has been a WDW addict since her first visit at age 8, and since then her life has never been the same! She lives in southeastern MA with her boyfriend, Kevin (fellow Disney lover), and their 3 dogs, Flip, Josie, and Hildy, where she is currently training to become a professional dog trainer.  Please join Angie every week in “Fish Are Friends, Not Food: Eating Vegan in WDW!” Angie believes that WDW is the most magical place for people with special diets, so, should you have any special diet questions (especially about vegan and gluten-free dining) she’d be happy to help! Angie is also an artist, and you can see her work atwww.angiecarreiro.com!

The post Fish Are Friends, Not Food: Vegan Kids at WDW appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

Hello and welcome to The WDW Radio Show – Your Walt Disney World Information Station. I am your host, Lou Mongello, and this is show #308 for the week of January 13, 2013.

I’m here to help you have the best possible Disney vacation experience, and bring you some Disney magic to to wherever you are with this podcast, videos, blog, live broadcasts, events, trivia books, CDs and more. You can find it all at WDWRadio.com and I want to thank each and every one of your for listening and for the 7th year in a row, helping vote WDW Radio the Best Travel Podcast for 2012.

This week I invite you to join me (virtually) around the table for another live Walt Disney World dining review. We’ll step onto Main Street, USA and dine at Tony’s Town Square Restaurant. We’ll discuss its history, story, inspiration from Lady and the Tramp and its details, and then review the menu from appetizers and desserts. It’s a chance to share lunch with us and maybe introduce you to a new dining experience in the parks.

You’ll also learn about Disney’s ImagiNations contest from friends who participated in this competition created by Walt Disney Imagineering. The grand prize gives the winner an opportunity to win an all-expense-paid trip to Walt Disney Imagineering in California and possible internship opportunities.

I’ll have the answer to our last Walt Disney World Trivia Question of the Week, and pose a new challenge for your chance to win a Disney prize package.

I’ll then have some announcements at the end of the show, including details about our 6 Year Anniversary Show in February and how YOU can be a part of it, as well as how you can join us on our WDW Radio On the Road group trip to Disney’s Aulani Resort in Hawaii! So sit back, relax, and enjoy this week’s episode of the WDW Radio Show.

Thanks for listening! Be sure to tune in next week!

- Lou Mongello

Information and Links from This Week’s Show

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Have you ever eaten at Tony’s Town Square? What was your opinion? Leave your answer in the comments section below!

Learn more about WDW Radio On the Road at Aulani in Hawaii and get a no-obligation quote!

• Listen to this week’s episode for the Walt Disney World Trivia Question of the Week for a chance to win a Disney prize package!
• Disney Meets and WDW Radio Meets of the Month in Walt Disney World – Get dates and locations on our Events page
• Watch & chat during our LIVE WDW NewsCast Wednesdays at 7:30pm ET at WDWRadioLIVE.com
• For more videos, subscribe to our WDW Radio channel on YouTube or the show in iTunes
• Get Celebrations Magazine on your iPad/iPhone in iTunes App Store

The post Show # 308 – Tony’s Town Square Live Review and Aulani Event Info appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.