Ask us a Disney Question: Is the Dining Plan Worth It for Vegetarians?

This question come from Emily, who asks:  “Is it worth getting the meal plan if your a vegetarian? Are there enough meal options?”

Emily:  Thanks for your question and for reading Chip and Co. We really appreciate it.

The answer really has to do with whether or not the dining plan is a good deal for you in general, I think.  Most Disney table service restaurants have at least one vegetarian entree on the menu.  If it were the case that there was just one vegetarian item, I might hesitate to recommend the dining plan to vegetarians.  Fortunately, you can request a vegetarian meal that is not on the menu by using the procedure listed here.  The great thing is that most chefs regard making a vegetarian meal as a fun challenge, so you’ll likely be pleasantly surprised if you trust the chef to use his imagination.  Most dishes will reflect the theme of the restaurant.  You can also ask for something special at a buffet or have someone point out the vegetarian options to you.

The trickier issue is going to be counter service meals.  You’ll find the most vegetarian options in the Magic Kingdom and in Epcot, so you might consider taking advantage of counter service options when you’re in those parks and saving at least some of your table service credits for Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios.  Snacks are generally meat-free, so they’re a non-issue; vegans will find lots of fruit and other items that don’t contain animal products.

Given that there are a lot of dining options for vegetarians, the real question is, will the dining plan work for you from a financial and convenience standpoint?  Ask yourself these questions:

1. Are you the kind of person who doesn’t like to stop touring the parks for meals?  If you are a commando type guest, the plan might be inconvenient for you to stick to since you’ll basically have to plan your days around where you’re eating.

2.  Do you usually eat several table service meals on a trip?  If so, this might be a good option for you.

3.  Can you get all your advanced dining reservations?  Getting the dining plan and not getting the ADRs you want can be a waste of money.

I found that four table service meals plus all the counter service meals and snacks added up to about what I paid for the plan, making the next three meals essentially “free,” so for our family the dining plan worked out. It also allowed us to try restaurants we wouldn’t have tried otherwise.  Keep in mind, though, we rarely have a “commando” day in the parks, so having to leave because we had an ADR wasn’t a huge issue for us.  One other thing I liked was that it was paid for ahead of time. My husband is the kind of person who gets sticker shock at a large restaurant bill, so not having worry about it was a huge bonus.

More information for vegetarians dining at Disney World can be found here.

Chip wrote an older post about the dining plan for our friends over at Couponing to Disney that you might want to check out.  I also did a post recently on my experiences with the dining plan which you can read about here.   Finally, our own Lisa just wrote a quiz on the pros and cons of the dining plan.

Hope this helps with your decision!

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