Sorry for the lack of social media posts over the last two weeks, we've just returned from an AMAZING family holiday in Florida and the jet-lag coming home was a nightmare!
As part of a family celebration we were lucky enough to fly first class (very posh!) so obviously we had to take photos of our first class veggie food!
We spent almost every day at Disney and Universal theme parks and honestly, as much as we love stuffing our faces with fast food and sweet treats, we were craving fresh fruit and vegetables by the second week!
Being a huge tourist destination in America we thought there'd be plenty of meat-free options for us in the parks, but apart from the odd bean burger or "health sandwich" (a chicken sandwich without the chicken...) there sadly wasn't much choice available in the quick service restaurants. (There may have been more options in the table service restaurants, but we didn't fancy those at the time).
Our favourite quick service meal was in Disney's Hollywood Studios at Fairfax Fare, Sunset Boulevard. We had the Fried Green Tomato Sandwich which was juicy, crispy and so sooo tasty! It was also the best value for money meal we had while in the parks too, around $10 each for a sandwich and fries. We highly recommend trying it out!
Fried Green Tomato Sandwich at Disney's Hollywood Studios
In Universal's Islands of Adventure we had the first veggie thing we could find, a fried vegetable rice burger patty with fries. I can't remember the exact name of it, but it was from The Burger Digs in the Jurassic Park area. The best thing about the burger was the lettuce, tomato and pickles from the "free" salad bar, the patty itself was bland and flavourless.
Vegetable Rice Burger at Universal's Islands Of Adventure
However, we did return to Island's of Adventure later in the holiday and found a great little place called Doc Sugrue's Desert Kebab House serving vegetarian kebabs in The Lost Continent area. For around $12 dollars we had a lovely seasoned fresh vegetable kebab with a side of chips/crisps and a drink. If only we had of found this place on our first visit to IOA!
Vegetarian Kebab at Universal's Island's of Adventure
Universal Studios didn't offer much variety for us either, and what they did have was pretty much the same as the Disney areas. We ate at Beverley Hills Boulangerie on Rodeo Drive, this was our first try of the "health sandwich" and it was.. okay. It was basically a cress sandwich with cucumber, cheese and tomato, served with a side of coleslaw and a slice of melon for around $10 each.
Health Sandwich at Universal Studios Florida
We timed our visit to Disney's EPCOT well as it was during their annual International Food & Wine Festival so there was plenty on offer for everyone. If you're not familiar with EPCOT, a large part of it is World Showcase, a mile long strip split into 11 areas each representing a different country from around the world - a perfect opportunity to sample international cuisines! Our first stop was in La Cantina de San Angel restaurant in Mexico where we tried the Empanadas con Queso (fried tortillas filled with cheese), a decent portion with fresh tangy Mexican slaw.
Empanadas Con Queso at Disney's EPCOT
We also sampled a South Korean vegan BBQ which was tiny but tasty. In Germany we tried giant salty pretzels and chose creamy vanilla ice cream over crepes in France. We ate A LOT in EPCOT.
So, that's it! If you're a vegetarian and you're visiting Walt Disney World or Universal Studio's Florida any time soon, be prepared for lots of fries, lots of sandwiches and lots of cheese. Of course all of the sweet treats were suitable for us, but the sugary portions are so huge that you're destined for diabetes after the first bite..
A selection of sweet treats in Disney's Magic Kingdom
Of course we did eat outside of the theme parks too, but we'll save that for another time ;)