A Great Lunch Option at Starring Rolls Cafe
Even if you just want “not to go overboard,” (I feel your pain.) the tips, menu options, and “eat this not that” suggestions will help!
General Advice:
First thing first. These are tips everyone already knows, but we sometimes need a reminder or two…or three.
- Look for fresh, not processed foods: You can find fruits and veggies in every theme park. When you’re in a resort food court, consider a salad, boiled egg, or pita and hummus.
- Learn to be a “bother:” Order sauces on the side, substitute veggies/fruit for fries, ask that your meat not be cooked in butter, or see if you can order a half-portion of an entree for less money.
- Watch portion size: Disney likes to give you your money’s worth when it comes to food, so be aware when you order. Make a meal out of an appetizer, and when you splurge on a rich entree or huge dessert, share with someone else at the table.
- Eat breakfast: Breakfast is going to be one of the easiest and cheapest meals to eat healthily in a restaurant, so book mid-morning breakfast ADRs and fuel up with eggs, veggies, and wheat toast. Plus, there’s no temptation of ordering dessert!
- Call ahead: If you’re eating at a set-menu restaurant or want healthier, or no-sugar-added dessert options, call or write to Disney ahead of time (SpecialDiets@DisneyWorld.com, or 407-824-5967).
Sanaa's Menu is Full of Delicious, Healthy Choices
…there’s going to be something there that won’t eventually kill you
Here are a few menu options for table-service, parks, resorts, and counter-service dining.Table Service
- Sanaa, Kidani Village: Mustard Seed Crusted Scallops, Salad Sampler, Tandoori Chicken or Shrimp with rice
- Teppan Edo, Epcot: Hibachi-style cooking. Consider fish or chicken with veggies.
- Yak and Yeti, Animal Kingdom: Miso Salmon, Mandarin Chicken Salad
- bluezoo (Swan/Dolphin), Nacroossee’s (Grand Floridian), Coral Reef (Epcot): All have light fish/seafood dishes.
- Kouzzina, Disney’s Boardwalk: Kouzzina Sampler (Choice of two skewers with Marinated Olives, Spiced Cashews, Dolmades, Tzatziki, Hummus, and Grilled Pita), Fisherman’s Stew, Spiced Briami
- The Wave, Contemporary Resort: Seasonal Vegetable Stew or Linguini with Clams and Red Sauce
- Tusker House, Animal Kingdom: Tofu, Chicken, Salmon, Rice, Veggies
- Tokyo Dining, Epcot: Sushi, Chicken, Steak, Veggies, Rice
- Marrakesh, Epcot: Chicken Kebabs, Fish Tangine, Salmon
Have a Fruit Bar Instead of a Mickey Bar
Kids’ Picks offerings make it easy for kids to have a healthy meal — choices include carrot sticks, grapes, apple slices, applesauce, jello.
Grown-ups, you can often find grilled chicken or rotisserie chicken offerings. Also, check for veggie burgers, turkey sandwiches or tuna pitas, wraps, and veggie flatbreads.
Restaurants that will offer good, healthy options include:
- Tangierine Café, Epcot: Veggie Platter, Mediterranean wraps and salads, Couscous, Tabouleh
- Sunshine Seasons, Epcot: Soups, Salads, Noodle Bowls with Stir-fried Veggies, Roasted Meats, Oatmeal
- Cosmic Ray’s, Magic Kingdom: Turkey and Bacon Wrap, Veggie wrap/burger
- Sleepy Hollow, Magic Kingdom: Chicken and Rice Soup
- Tomorrowland Terrace Noodle Station, Magic Kingdom: Steamed Broccoli, Noodle Bowls, Tofu
- Tamu Tamu, Animal Kingdom: Tuna salad pita, Turkey and swiss on Focaccia
- Flame Tree BBQ, Animal Kingdom: Turkey sandwich
- Starring Rolls and Backlot Express, Disney’s Hollywood Studios: Grilled veggie sandwich, Southwest salad with chicken
Fruit and Veggies at the Contemporary Resort
Options in the parks include: Fresh Fruit, hard and soft pretzels, whole pickles, turkey and veggie sandwiches, no-sugar fruit bars, bags of nuts, Chip and Dale’s food line (nuts, pretzels, dried fruit), fruit cup, dole whip.
Resorts:
Disney’s Resorts are usually where you can find the most healthy options for grab-and-go. Most resorts have a quick service area with yogurt, cereals, fruit, veggies, sandwiches, milk, and other healthy options. Check the food courts and gift shops for these.
Home-away-from-home (Villa) resorts also will carry deli meat and cheese, whole grain bread, and other picnic items. Consider having a healthy picnic on the Boardwalk instead of grabbing burgers at a counter-service place.
Lots of Great Options Here
I debuted the Disney World Version of Eat This Not That on the WDWToday podcast, but there were a few combos I didn’t get to mention. Don’t have nutrition info for most of it, but what I do have, I’m posting! By the way, this is for those of you who don’t want to completely deprive yourself of some good-tastin’ stuff, but still want to make better choices overall.
Instead of a Mickey Bar: 1 Bar, Calories: 330, Fat: 22g, Carbs: 31g, Protein: 3g…
Have a Dole Whip: 1/2 Cup Prepared, Calories: 80, Fat: btwn 1 and 3g (differing based on sources). Note that the usual Dole Whip serving is more than a 1/2 cup, but even with size, you’re saving on fat calories.
Instead of an ice cream cone at the Fountainview in Epcot…
Have a Kaki Gori from Japan
Instead of a Cosmic Rays cheeseburger…
Have a grilled chicken sandwich with veggies or a veggie wrap
Instead of a Margarita from Mexico…
Have a glass of wine from Germany
Instead of ordering steak at a table-service restaurant…
Have a pork or chicken dish for one or two nights
Instead of cheese fries… (I know. Painful.)
Have a soft pretzel, or even some pretzel nuggets with cheese sauce
A Dole Whip is Low-Calorie and Low-Fat
Instead of a Turkey Leg (Nearly 1000 calories!!)…
Have a deli sandwich at a bakery or a grilled chicken sandwich at a counter service restaurant
We Can Do It!
So, you can see that Disney’s made huge strides to improve the availability of healthy, fresh items for their theme park, resort, and restaurant guests. There really are some gorgeous, delicious dishes available that won’t mess with your heart or pack on the pounds. Do a little bit of research, look at menus ahead of time, and go in armed with some will power.
You should always have fun on vacation, but your choices don’t have to be ALL bad.
Enjoy!
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Great column about this topic AJ. Eating at WDW is like being on “temptation island” and while there are some healthier options, they aren’t as easy to find as the 1000 calorie turkey leg. I totally agree about being a “bother”. You should definitely ask for food the way you like it cooked or without the fattening additives like sour cream or butter or whatever.
Great information…and advice! Thanks for bringing to us.
I heard that all of the hot dogs were going to be chicken… true? If so – YUCK!!! Can’t they at least leave Casey’s alone?
Splitting is always an option. Even when I was 50 pounds heavier, a whole turkey leg was too much food for me, but it was comfortable to split with my wife (and a whole meal at 500 calories isn’t bad by anyone’s standards). You’ll probably get charged a fee for an additional plate at a table service restaurant, but that’s not a problem for quick service.
Matt — Thanks. “Temptation Island,” no kidding. I’m a person who “lives to eat,” so it’s nice that Disney has a lot of moderate choices that are still enjoyable. Whether I make those choices…that’s a different story.
Lori — Glad I could help! Lots of great veggie items, too!
Eeyore — Yep — the hot dogs are now a mix of chicken and beef. You still get some beef in there, at least. I hear you about Casey’s — there’s something special about a Casey’s hot dog, to be sure.
Great article. Thank you.
We are always trying to eat healthier…. even while on vacation… well except when we go to Cracker Barrel or having a dessert…. anyway we try..
Erwin — Thanks for the confirmation and notes from your experience.
Eric — You bet! You can at least try and be “aware.” I always enjoy my food more when I do that anyway.
I tease about gaining weight on my November Disney trip thanks to your great posts but with many trips under my belt (pun intended), I have yet to gain weight while at Disney. Part of that is all of the walking but most of it is about making better choices. I love that I can get fruit for a snack credit at Pop (although my husband and older son manage to always use all of our snack credits, leaving me without)!
Of course, thanks to your blog, I have many more food stops to fit into our trip!
And chicken hot dogs? Ewwww
Great post! I haven’t had a chance to listen to the podcast yet … I’m running about 4 episodes behind.
At Beach Club Marketplace, we were so pleased to find the deli sandwiches you mentioned — it was a quick, filling and hot lunch (they will toast the sandwiches for you) that left me feeling much better than a cheeseburger would have.
In the spirit of full disclosure, however, I did eat a cheeseburger at Beaches & Cream the next day that left me feeling pretty happy as well.
But at least I made better choices on most days, which was my goal!
Great post and lots of good, workable ideas. You obviously you put a lot of work into this post and into your contribution to the WDW podcast.
Now you’re singing my tune, AJ! GREAT article! I love that there are so many great, healthy options at WDW that go beyond your basic, boring salad. I would never have guessed that a Dole Whip was such a healthy snack.
Shayne — Thanks for the reminder about the deli sandwiches at Beach Club. That’s a great addition to the list!
Chris — Thanks for your comment. I think this topic is pretty important — I’m thinking of adding an Eat This Not That column to the blog. Maybe every month or so.
Gray — Thank you! There are more and more options every day; especially in table-service dining.
Janna — The walking DOES help! If you’re a commando Disney guest, it’ll be hard to gain weight. (If you’re a pansy Disney guest, like me, who only rides rides in the morning and with fastpasses, you won’t walk nearly enough!)
If you have other ideas for good, healthy eating choices in the World, let me know!
Dole Whip good for you?? Stop the presses! That’s great news! I also love the apple slices that you can get in the parks. They’re usually kept chilled and can be a great cool snack on a hot day.
Confession time! We spend most of the year counting calories and maintaining a healthy diet, but when we are prepping for a Disney trip (and usually our stays are for 10 days!) I lose a few pounds in advance and let go at Disney!
My body goes into shock the first 2 days then throws in the white flag and accepts that this will be uncontrolled! I certainly won’t mention how many bacon double cheeseburgers I might have at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe….Joe is much more rational and controlled. He the ying to my yang. Or something like that…..
But I can attest to seeing Joe take advantage of the many healthier options available, and over the past 10 years we’ve been going, there are indeed many, many more options. Sunshine Seasons at Epcot was a great addition and offers alot of really good selections.
Forgive me….it’s a disease…..addiction….I can’t help it!
Pitting a Dole Whip against a Mickey bar? That just makes a person want both.
Jen — Those apple slices are usually my go-to treat!
Jeff — Again, the 80/20 rule at work! If you’re careful with your eating 80% of the time, use that WDW vacation as your 20% “let go” time. My main problem is keeping up with the 80%…
Annette — Ha ha! Ice cream fest!
Perfect timing! I’m planning my long awaited return trip to WDW and am trying to wrap those plans around a wife with a very specific, healthy diet. This helps immensely!
Great news, Jason!! Also, just checked out your blog — looks great! Can’t wait to see your posts about your upcoming trip!