How to eat vegan at Disneyland Paris

I remember travelling to Disneyland Paris around five years ago as a vegetarian and finding it a challenge. So needless to say I was preparing myself for the worst as a vegan this time around! In the midst of finding little information on the subject I decided I would just have to find out for myself. Now having experienced it, I can assure you – you won’t starve! Here is the full lowdown on how to eat vegan at Disneyland Paris.

Breakfast options

Ah breakfast, the most important meal of the day. Sadly not getting off to a strong start on the vegan food front with this being breakfast…

But let me back up for a second here. Previously at Disneyland Paris you got a buffet-style breakfast at your hotel as part of your booking. However as of March 2017 Disney decided to scrap that and introduce different tiered meal plans. The plan you opt for depends on the budget you set yourself and will ultimately dictate where you can eat. Confused? Don’t worry I was too! It’s all explained here.

I was on the half board plan which meant I was eligible for a counter service breakfast so we chose to go to Cafe Hyperion in Discoveryland. It’s the nearest to the entrance and ain’t nobody got time to be hangry in the morning, am I right?

You get two options, a savoury or sweet. Only the sweet option has a vegan part to it which unfortunately is just one small crispy bread roll that you can have with jam and a bottle of orange juice or water. The sweet option also comes with a croissant or a pain au chocolate (which obviously is no good to vegans) and a hot drink choice of tea, coffee or hot chocolate (also no good to vegans unless you like your tea and coffee black).

I chose the sweet option so I was able to swap my croissant with my best friend’s bread roll and orange juice (thank you Tam!). It did the job. Plus you’ll find that you’re vibrating from ride to ride from all the sugar you won’t even notice you’ve got hunger pangs until well after lunch. I promise!

Lunch options

As we usually got breakfast around 11am after getting into the park at opening for 10am we didn’t need lunch and just opted to have dinner once the rides started closing at 5pm.

However on a couple of the days we did get a bit peckish late afternoon but just wanted a snack to tide us over. This is where options are limited at Disneyland Paris. Unless you want to have a sit down meal in a restaurant, you’re stuck with fast food – burgers, chicken nuggets and chips. Or for vegans, onion rings and/or chips.

This is pretty typical for theme parks in general so everyone expects it. But if you want to try and be a little healthier you can always pack some fruit and energy bars in your suitcase for this time of day.

Dinner options

This is where you’ll eat the best and after a full day of rides and running around, you’ll be ready for a proper meal. After all the sugar and fast food you’ll also be pleased to know that there are much healthier options at dinnertime for vegans (woop!).

Annette’s Diner

Annette’s is a really cool American-style 50s diner based in Disney Village. Expect servers on roller skates and all the diner classics like cheeseburgers, fries and milkshakes – much to the delight of your non-vegans pals! There are also a couple of meals you can veganise for yourself so you can enjoy the experience too.

For a starter you have the choice between hash brown potato sticks and the onion rings. Sadly the salad is non-vegan and the vegetable soup is made with chicken stock (why??). Have onion rings as they’re surprisingly tasty and if you’re having the chips with your main you won’t want chips twice with the hash brown potato sticks. (Unless you do, in which case you go Glen Coco!).

For a main there are two options – The Annette’s Style Soya Burger or the The Veggie Burger. The Annette’s Style Soya Burger can be veganised by asking for it without coleslaw and mozzarella (also check the brioche bun for dairy just in case).

The Veggie Burger can also be veganised by removing the mozzarella and side of coleslaw. It includes breaded tofu on a mushroom bun with more mushrooms (!), pesto, aubergine, courgette, avocados and cherry tomatoes. The mushroom bun wasn’t made clear on the menu so if you detest mushrooms like I do, order the Soya Burger instead!

For dessert unfortunately there are no non-dairy items available a part from a fresh fruit salad (just ask for it without whipped cream).

I won’t lie to you, the food wasn’t great (not even for my non-vegan friend) but you’ll enjoy the restaurant’s rock n’ roll vibe and fun atmosphere.

Bistrot Chez Rémy

Bistrot Chez Rémy has fantastic food for both vegans and non-vegans, plus the cutest decor of any of the Disney restaurants we visited. The restaurant is set out just as Rémy’s was in the movie Ratatouille, making you see everything from a rat’s view point…and it’s awesome! Everything seems so lovingly thought out, even the mirrors in the toilets which were fashioned after hand mirrors.

There is only one veganisable option for each course but if you let the restaurant know you’re vegan they’ll know exactly what to bring you. The servers are really friendly and helpful so you won’t feel awkward asking either.

As an ‘amuse-bouche’ (or pre-starter as we say!) we were offered freshly baked bread with a vinaigrette dip which got our taste buds ready for the amazing three course dinner we were about to have.

For a starter I had the mixed green salad with sun-dried tomatoes, crunchy radishes and a vegetable vinaigrette dressing. It comes with a poached egg but if they know you’re vegan they won’t add it on top.

I’ve got to say, I’m not a huge salad fan (what kind of vegan even am I?) and they pretty much lost me at radishes. But I ignored the child in my head and gave it a try and you know what? I ended up demolishing the whole thing…radishes et al! The sun-dried tomatoes combined with the vinaigrette dressing gave the salad a really nice sweet flavour.

For a main they veganised the vegetable and tofu navarin ratatouille for me by removing the butter sauce and potatoes. You’d think this would make the dish quite dry but they used a little olive oil instead and you wouldn’t have missed it – honest! It was really nice to be able to feel part of the cultural experience through this French dish which vegans don’t always get to do. Plus, the bed of vegetables helped reverse all the effects of the fatty fast food I’d eaten in the day I reckon!

For dessert unfortunately it was another fruit salad (boo, no cake!) but again was really nice. They combined orange slices with pineapple and grapefruit which made for a sweet but tangy dessert.

I’d say that Bistrot Chez Rémy was one of our favourite places to eat. Great atmosphere, great service, great food and overall a great vegan eating experience!

Captain Jack’s Restaurant des Pirates

Another fantastically themed restaurant. Captain Jack’s Restaurant des Pirates based in Adventureland is a bustling tavern with a Caribbean (naturally) inspired menu. The staff again were really helpful and knew exactly what to recommend on the menu for me.

When we went to Captain Jack’s Restaurant des Pirates it was our last day so wasn’t included in our half board plan. With this in mind (and the prices!) we just ordered a main. This wasn’t an issue though as the portion sizes were just right and the food was amazing.

For starters I did see some salads that could be veganised. I didn’t get chance to try any but there is a decent selection so it would be worthwhile asking the restaurant to find out which ones you can have.

As an amuse-bouche we were offered some freshly baked bread before I moved on to devour the vegetable curry with plantain banana and Captain’s rice. Tasty, tasty, tasty!

For dessert there appeared to be a few vegan options, but again, I didn’t try them – so check they are actually vegan before you order! These included baked banana in rum and cane sugar with caramelised pecan nuts, exotic fruit soup with muscovado sugar and coconut foam and an assortment of exotic sorbets.

Make sure you book in advance as this place was suuuuper popular. I had to beg the hostess to fit us in by promising we’d be quick and that we’d just have a main.

Restaurant Agrabah Café

Prince Ali! Fabulous he! Ali Ababwaaaaaaaaa. Now it’s in your head, pass it on heh! Man, I miss the Disney classics.

The Restaurant Agrabah Café is a Middle Eastern buffet-style restaurant based in Adventureland and is delightfully all Aladdin themed (duh). I didn’t actually end up eating here but during my research I found that others had raved about its great vegan and allergy friendly options. Think unlimited humous, pittas, veggies, cous cous and quinoa salad to get you started.

This is a super popular restaurant as well (in fact we tried to get in here before Captain Jack’s Restaurant des Pirates) so make sure to book in advance.

Snacks

Where Disneyland Paris did fall down in particular for me as a vegan was in the dessert department. As someone with a massive sweet tooth I was a bit disappointed that there was only usually either fruit salad or nothing at all.

But here’s where Starbucks saved the day. They didn’t just have one non-dairy milk option but four! They also had a couple of vegan cakes that were clearly marked so I didn’t even have to ask. I ended up having a coconut hot chocolate and chocolate vegan rice crispy cake every night on our way back to the hotel. Yum!

Thank you Starbucks you sexy vegan-friendly beast.

And there you have it. Now you know how to eat vegan at Disneyland Paris, why not check out these other posts on Disneyland Paris, 20 random (yet awesome!) facts about Disneyland Paris and top 10 things to do in Disneyland Paris (go oooooon you know you want to). 

Have a great time in Disneyland Paris! 😉

 

 

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