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There is a debate between Disney park enthusiasts. Which resort is best? Disney World is sprawling. It has its own mini highway system linking the parks. The castle is bigger and more impressive. But Disneyland is intimate. It sits right in the middle of Anaheim with little freeway fanfare. Disneyland is the only park where Walt walked.
At Disney World you would have to hit three separate parks to ride the best rides on offer, but at Disneyland you can get most of them in one go.
(It’s been a few years since I’ve visited California Adventure, and I hear it has gotten better over the years. However, based on my experience, only Soarin’ Over California is worthy of a major mention.)
I wrote my Guide to Eating Vegan at Disney World last year about this time, and this year I was able to visit my personal favorite bunch, Disneyland.
The last time I wrote about going to Disneyland was in 2009. I mentioned my top picks for dining at Disney while I’m there, and it seems like the options have only improved over the years. If people go to Disneyland or California Adventure looking for vegan food in the parks, they won’t have a problem finding it.
That said, it’s still theme park food. It’s produced to be made and eaten quickly for masses of people. Of course, some things are better than others.
(The oft-mentioned Vegetarian Gumbo in a bread bowl in New Orleans Square and a cheeseless veggie pizza at Redd Rockett’s Pizza Port are my personal favorites.)
However, this year we decided to avoid the amusement park food almost entirely, saving our time there for Indiana Jones, Space Mountain, and Pirates of the Caribbean.
Native Foods in Costa Mesa:
When I was looking into hotels, I noticed that I could get a nicer hotel for the same amount of money or less by staying a little farther away from the park. I booked a hotel in Santa Ana instead of Anaheim, which is 17-20 minutes away from Disneyland.
It worked out really well for our needs, because our hotel room had a refrigerator in the room and several vegan restaurants (including two raw restaurants, two locations of Native Foods, and a Whole Foods) within a five mile radius.
It was easy to grab snacks to keep in the room, have dinner the evening we drove into Santa Ana, get a quick bite before our day at the park, and have a leisurely brunch on the morning following our Disney excursion.
We started the morning of our Disneyland day at the Costa Mesa location of Native Foods as soon as they opened at 11 am. We sat outside to drink some sun into our skin.
David had a refreshing lavender lemonade, along with his top-pick at Native Foods, the Chicken Run Ranch Burger. I feasted on the Bistro Steak Sandwich with potato salad.
(To read more in-depth reviews of Native Foods, check out these posts about meals at Costa Mesa, Santa Monica, and Chicago.)
Vegan Disneyland:
With bellies full, we drove the twenty minutes to Disneyland. We walked onto Main Street, while The Music Man soundtrack played overhead. Balloons hung in the sky, along with the scent of vanilla.
As always, the light in the room above the fire station was on. It’s the apartment where Walt used to stay when he was at the park, and it’s always lit in his remembrance.
We stopped to take pictures in front of the castle, and then darted off to get a Fastpass for Space Mountain, my favorite ride of the park. After trips to Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, Frontierland, and Adventureland, we were ready for an afternoon snack.
I was pleasantly surprised by the healthy options available in Adventureland next to The Jungle Cruise. Instead of humble apples and bananas, there was hummus, coconut water, pineapple spears, watermelon, berries, and oversized pickles.
We picked up a package of mango slices that come with a slice of lime and packet of Tajin. We enjoyed the combination of spicy, tart, and sweet flavors.
The park wasn’t the busiest that I’d ever seen it, but there was still some leftover congestion from the holidays.
By the time we were ready for dinner, we decided to venture to Downtown Disney for a more relaxed atmosphere, away from the crowds. The Christmas lights were still up, and with live music playing, there was a festive atmosphere.
Vegan Downtown Disney:
At Downtown Disney, we tend to go to Tortilla Jo’s or Naples Ristorante e Pizzeria. This time we opted for Naples.
When you walk inside, you can see the pizzas being made and a large brick oven. The restaurant is larger than it appears from the outside with two levels for seating. We were seated in a quiet corner upstairs. (Although, as our dinner continued, more tables of families filled in around us.)
We started with bruschetta to share, which came with two large pieces of bread toasted with olive oil and a generous layer of tomatoes and basil.
The bruschetta usually comes with parmesan on top, and so we requested that it be omitted.
The pizza sauce and crust are vegan at Naples. So we ordered a Funghi pizza. Since we ordered it cheeseless, the server said that we could have two additional toppings for no charge.
(I love it when businesses do that since vegans are omitting the most expensive ingredients but getting charged the same price.)
We added fresh basil and garlic to the pizza topped with mixed roasted mushrooms.
The sauce itself was on the bland side, and I prefer a brick oven pizza to have more of that fire-licked flavor. However, for a touristy area, it’s a solid option if you like Neapolitan-style pizzas.
Revitalized, we walked back to the park for a few more hours of fun before heading to the hotel for the night.
luminousvegans says
I’m impressed that there are so many vegan options at Disney. Especially that exotic mango with Tajin and lime. That reminds me of how my mom used to eat mango…she would eat the mango slightly unripe and dip it in Thai chili spices, sugar and salt (something like that). Ok, now I kinda want a mango 😛
Cadry says
Yes, the fruit on display was a lot more interesting than one would expect for a theme park! In Los Angeles, it’s pretty common to see people pushing little food carts with tropical fruits, lime, and chili spices. I love the spicy twist on a sweet treat! Your mom’s concoction sounds good too!
acookinthemaking says
Looks like a great time! The bruschetta looks particularly appetizing.
I think it’s great that the server at Naples offered you extra toppings! It is something that I think more restaurants should do. For example, there’s a restaurant in my town that serves a beet spinach salad with shrimp and scallops (and I think shaved parmesan). Without the seafood and cheese it’s literally just spinach, roasted beets, toasted pine nuts, and dressing, but they will still charge you the same price. I think it’s ludicrous and completely unfair.
Cadry says
I wish more restaurants would do it too! The only other one I know of that does it is Follow Your Heart, a vegetarian restaurant in Canoga Park. If you omit cheese off the pizza, you get an extra topping. I can understand why restaurants can’t make all kinds of price changes based on omissions, but it would be nice if they would give you extra ingredients to replace the ones you’re omitting. At least that way you wouldn’t feel like you’re paying for all kinds of stuff you’re not getting. Plus, a lot of times restaurants will still charge EXTRA for avocado or guacamole, even when you’ve omitted the cheese or meat from the dish. Another example is Starbucks, where if you buy a latte you’re paying for the cow’s milk that obviously goes in it, even if you’re not getting it. Plus, you get charged an extra 60 cents for soy milk. It’s like you’re paying for milk twice.
acookinthemaking says
I had never thought about that at Starbucks (that you’re paying for milk twice) but you’re absolutely right! Add it to the list of reasons I am unhappy with that company.
flickingthevs says
I’m glad you managed to find some decent vegan options at Disneyland. A veggie friend of mine visited the one in Paris and reported it to be really veggie unfriendly, and more so for vegans.
Cadry says
Yeah, they do a good job at the Disney parks in the States of making vegan fare easy to attain. It seems like over the years they’ve only improved their game, and hopefully that continues.
David and I visited Disneyland Paris 8 years ago. I was vegetarian then, not vegan. We ate at the restaurant inside of Pirates of the Caribbean (Blue Lagoon), and they had a vegetarian option. The thing I remember being the trickiest there is that you’re out in the middle of nowhere. So if you’re staying on the property, your choices for dinner are pretty much what’s available at Downtown Disney. The problem with that is you have to have dinner reservations ahead of time, which we didn’t know. When we were ready for dinner, every place was packed with long waits. It made it more difficult to be choosey about where we ate.
rika@vm says
I haven’t been to resort parks in a long time…I would love to go back and see vegan options, too! What a great review! Mmmm, mango slices & lime/Tajin?! That reminds me of Mexico City 🙂 they do this with jicama matchsticks! Funghi pizza looks amazing!
Cadry says
Oh, I’ve never heard of doing that with jicama! That sounds really good!