Vegan food and traveling usually don’t mix well together. When vacationing I set my dining expectations low with the assumption that I’ll be eating a basic salad at most restaurants. And if I find flavorful vegan food — then it’s a bonus sent from the vacation gods. Because I know many people might feel the same way, I documented the best Disneyland vegan food I discovered while wandering my way through the Disney California parks.
Breakfast
Coffee is a priority for me! My morning isn’t complete without this beverage. Our hotel room did have a coffee machine, but I need to have creamer. The hotel (Grand Californian) didn’t make lattes, but they did have almond milk — which I considered a win! In addition to coffee, I was able to find some vegan breakfast items from the room service menu. My vegan breakfast consisted of oatmeal, fresh fruit, and an English muffin with peanut butter. Not too bad.
There is a Starbucks in Downtown Disney; however, expect long lines! You can do a mobile order in advance to save you a little time, and the walk there is short. The nice thing about Starbucks is that they do have several options for plant-based milk. If you have a ticket for California Adventure, then there is a Joffrey’s Coffee stand (photo above) which made the BEST oat milk and almond milk lattes. My husband is now an oat milk convert. You can order via the Disney Genie+ app or in person. But either way, if you love coffee make sure to check it out!
Lunch and Snacks
The Disneyland Genie+ app helped locate plant-based meals. You can view dining options based on the park, time, and type of food. They have a “plant-based” tab that previews the vegan options available. This saved me so much time versus having to walk up to each restaurant individually. Below is a screenshot of the Genie+ app from my phone.
Walking around California Adventure I often stopped at the food stands to just see what they had available for vegans, and I was pleasantly surprised by some of the delicious options which included falafel, Impossible meatballs, and pre-packaged snacks like fruit and hummus.
Vegan Treats
During our adventures, I stumbled upon a couple of vegan treats. The first was a non-dairy soft serve at the Pixar Pier in California Adventure. We tried the mango flavor, which was okay. Wasn’t as flavorful as I was hoping, but a cool treat on a warm day was nice.
Then while walking through Downtown Disney I noticed that there was a Sprinkles cupcake shop! I hadn’t tried Sprinkles and was curious to know if all the hype was deserved. They only had one vegan option when I visited, which was red velvet, but it was decadent. We ordered two of them, and it was everyone’s favorite by far.
Downtown Disney
Downtown Disney is so lively and fun! There are several great restaurants to choose from which all have a full bar and full service. This is so nice after a day at Disneyland. My favorite restaurant was Uva Bar and Grille. It’s located in the center of Downtown Disney which allows you to catch all the action while dining outdoors.
For my meal, I had hummus, chips and guacamole, salad, and buffalo cauliflower! They had some other menu items that you could customize as well to be vegan. Add a margarita and I was satisfied!
Grand Californian Hotel
This hotel is beautiful with fantastic service. However, there weren’t that many vegan options available. We had lunch by the pool one day and I ordered a salad with an Impossible Burger patty (and French fries) — which was filling. And then for dinner at the hotel, I had a basic salad as it was the only menu item that was vegan. But for dessert that night we had the Sprinkles cupcakes, and all was right again.
Overall, the vegan food at Disneyland is “okay.” For me, the best options were all in California Adventure. But hopefully, they continue to add more options, and with Disney Genie+ it is easy to keep updated and preview your choices.
If you want to make sure you can find food, then I recommend planning. View the options on the app and call the restaurants in Downtown Disney before you make reservations (which I recommend). And bring snacks!
