The right food can make a vacation, and what you do not eat can make as much difference as what you do. As you plan your Disneyland visit, you might be wondering how to follow a plant-based diet or avoid allergens at the “Happiest Place on Earth.” On the other hand, you may have just finished cutting crusts off a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (“strawberry jelly NO apricot and only CREAMY peanut butter”) for your rather particular little one. No matter the reason, Disneyland Resort tries to be welcoming to guests with all kinds of diets. Here are our five tips for dining your way through Disneyland Resort with dietary restrictions (but without hassle):
Preview Disneyland menus before your visit.
Disney makes it easy to preview your dining options before you even arrive at Disneyland Resort. The Disneyland app and website have menus for both quick service and table service. We have even used the search bar on the app to search for particular food items and been rewarded with a list of suggestions.
As you peruse menus, you can take a look at descriptions of available dishes, and young children in particular might find the included photos helpful. Some menus even divide the food into categories by dietary restrictions, and the mobile order menus usually make it easy to filter dishes by common allergens.
Remember, you can preview and click through the mobile order menus even if you are not in the parks or ready to make an order: just do not complete that order until you are ready! Of course, menu options can change, but this is a good start.
Use mobile ordering.
The option to order food from the Disneyland app is great for a number of reasons. It particularly makes dining with dietary restrictions or ordering for a group with varied requirements much easier.
Mobile ordering your food allows you to comb through the food options—and potentially discuss them with little ones—without feeling the pressure of a line building behind you.
Additionally, mobile ordering makes it relatively easy to order food from multiple locations without multiple waits in line. This is helpful if your group cannot find a single dining location that meets everyone’s needs. We have ordered fries and milkshakes at Flo’s V8 Cafe in Cars Land, Yaki Udon at Lucky Fortune Cookery in San Fransokyo Square and then met on the patio overlooking Radiator Springs Racers.
We have found mobile ordering at Disneyland Resort to be convenient and use it whenever we can. Anyone can access mobile ordering through the Disneyland app, and we have created a guide to walk you through the process step-by-step. We hope our guide will help you become comfortable with the process too. You can check out our complete guide to mobile ordering here.
Speak to a Disneyland cast member about dietary restrictions.
Disney prides itself on being a welcoming and happy place for all guests, and cast members are the most important part of that welcome. You will likely find that cast members at the various eateries are eager to provide you with information and assistance. They have experience working with Disneyland guests and various dietary restrictions.
If a cast member is particularly helpful, do not forget to pay them a cast compliment.
Bring your own food to Disneyland.
Within reasonable limits (no large hard coolers, no alcohol, etc), you can bring your own food into the Disneyland parks. Caregivers bringing certain types of baby food or formula into the parks can even warm those items in a Baby Care Center.
Please do note that guests cannot bring loose ice into the parks. If you need to keep something cool during your visit, consider bringing reusable ice packs instead. (If you have a medication that needs to be kept cold, visit a First Aid center and ask for it to be stored there.) For the current list of restrictions on what you cannot bring into Disneyland, see the resort website here.
We bring easy snacks and water bottles to the parks every time we visit. We wrote a whole article about bringing food to Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park. You can find it here: Why You Should Bring Your Own Food to Disneyland. We also have an article on water bottles in Disneyland Resort here: Can I Bring Water Into Disneyland?
Remember, you have options!
The cliche that the only food in amusement parks is rubbery hots dogs and plastic nachos just does not apply to Disneyland Resort. There are so many food and drink options available around the parks and Downtown Disney, and there are more being debuted all the time. There are even special items that are sold only during particular seasons or celebrations.
You can find wonderful food at Disneyland Resort with or without a reservation, and we are sure you will find your own favorites. Here is a quick rundown of some of ours: 5 Best Places to Eat at Disneyland Resort Parks
Take a look around!
Thank you for reading this quick article on visiting Disneyland Resort with dietary restrictions (or picky eaters).
We hope you have found this article helpful. For general advice on planning your dining at Disneyland see: How to Save Money & Eat Well with Disneyland Dining Tips. That article is part of our Step-by-Step Disneyland Prep series, which we recommend to everyone planning a Disneyland visit. Please also consider subscribing to our free newsletter below and get the latest articles right in your inbox. Thanks again for reading.