Vegan WDW Dining Reader Reviews

Teresa Pitman – February 2004

My daughter Lisa and I just returned from a week at WDW. We are vegan (we don't eat meat, fish, dairy or eggs), so we reviewed the AllEarsNet(tm) website and chose our restaurants accordingly.

We stayed at the Pop Century, and expected to find few options at the food court. However, when we asked, we were shown three vegan choices on the menu: the vegetable panini sandwich, the soyburger (which is a Boca Burger, familiar to most vegans!) and the vegetable Lo Mein. For a basically "fast-food" place, that's pretty good. The soyburger, which is served on a whole-wheat bun, is only vegan without the coleslaw topping, though. They also carried hummus and bagel chips which made a great snack for us.

We had more delicious meals at the California Grill, the Brown Derby and at the Liberty House in MK. The dessert at California Grill was unimpressive, though – we paid a high price for a few small slices of fruit.

Our experience at Fresh was quite disappointing, unfortunately. We called in advance and were told it would not be a problem. When we arrived, there were only two items on the buffet we could eat – roasted vegetables and salad. Not exactly a balanced meal. The chef suggested we try the a la carte menu, and from that we ordered a vegetable panini sandwich. It came with a side order of asparagus fries – and when we asked, these turned out to be made with a batter including eggs. So all we could have was the sandwich.

But our very best experience was at Boma. When we spoke to the chef, he took us around and showed us all the items on the buffet we could choose from – and there were quite a few. But as we made our selection, another chef said "don't eat too much – I am going to make something special for you." Not long after, he brought us a large platter of beautifully arranged vegan foods – all delicious. The sauces on each item were perfectly seasoned and combined perfectly. There was so much we couldn't possibly eat it all. As we thanked him, he said "I'm making you a special dessert, too." He returned with another large platter with vegan "ice cream", topped with fried bananas, non-dairy chocolate sauce and raspberry sauce. It was so good!

When you are vegan, eating out is often a challenge. We were so appreciative of the chefs who put so much effort into providing us with delicious meals. It is also very encouraging to see Pop Century offering vegan and vegetarian choices in the food court.

(And by the way, we had a great trip!)