Eating well at a theme park isn’t difficult these days, especially if you’re partial to Dole Whips, Butterbeer, and churros, but eating healthy—and vegan—is often an entirely different story. Luckily, there’s more to theme park fare than 1,600-calorie sprinkled donuts and endless popcorn bucket refills, with ever-expanding menus that won’t have you scrambling to pack celery sticks and tofu salad before you make your way through the turnstiles.
Granted, Universal Studios doesn’t have a plethora of truly vegan dishes yet, though their vegetarian offerings are plentiful and easily found. Still, you can always make simple substitutions in order to customize a non-vegan dish, like ordering a cheese-less pizza from Hollywood & Dine or requesting Volcano Nachos sans chili, cheese, and sour cream at Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville. If you’re looking for something even easier, here are five of the best no-substitution, 100%-vegan dishes you’ll find at Universal Studios Orlando.
1. Portobello Veggie Wrap, Confisco Grille (Port of Entry)
Image: Theme Park Tourist, Flickr (license)
Confisco Grille has some of the richest vegan offerings at Universal’s Islands of Adventure, from a veggie-based Adventure in Fajitas dish (ask to omit meat, cheese, and sour cream) to Pad Thai made with rice noodles and vegan sauce. If you’re looking for a no-fuss vegan alternative, however, you won’t find anything better—or easier to order—than the Portobello Veggie Wrap, which is filled with Portobello mushrooms, caramelized onions, roasted red peppers, cucumbers, spinach, and finished off with hummus and balsamic glaze.
There isn’t much else to munch on in Port of Entry, save for Starbucks’ limited vegan options, but it’s worth noting that you can find the same menu at Backwater Bar.
2. Vegan Burger, The Burger Digs (Jurassic Park)
Image: William Warby, Flickr (license)
Across the pond in the northernmost area of the park, The Burger Digs offers a variety of entrées perfect for carnivores: the BBQ Burger, Bacon Cheeseburger, and slightly less decadent Grilled Chicken Sandwich. For the herbivores, on the other hand, there’s the Vegan Burger, which substitutes the standard beef patty for a vegan brown rice and mushroom patty and can be dressed up with toppings to taste. (Unfortunately, they haven’t quite perfected the art of the vegan milkshake just yet.)
Elsewhere in the Jurassic Park section of the park, there are few dishes worth mentioning, though Pizza Predatoria has plain-lettuce salads and cheese-less pizzas available by request and vegan pretzels can be found over at The Watering Hole. Of course, typical snacks like chips and fruit cups can also be found at most locations as well.
3. Veggie Platter, Leaky Cauldron (Diagon Alley)
Image: Sam Howzit, Flickr (license)
The best bet for a vegan meal in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is found over in Diagon Alley, where the Leaky Cauldron serves a mean Veggie Platter for lunch and dinner. The dish, which must be requested off-menu as there are currently no vegetarian or vegan options on the main lunch/dinner menus, usually comes with cooked tomatoes, beets, mixed roasted vegetables and a side salad (just remember to leave off the bread, which isn’t vegan). And though Butterbeer may not be vegan (yet), Tongue-Tying Lemon Squash, Otter’s Fizzy Orange Juice, Peachtree Fizzing Tea, Pumpkin Juice, and Gillwater definitely still are. It’s also worth noting that Hogsmeade’s Three Broomsticks has a few vegan sides and a Baked Potato (omit sour cream and butter) on the menu, though it’s still worth asking if they can make up a Veggie Platter as well.
While there are precious few dishes for vegan wizards and Muggles to enjoy in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade, plenty of scrumptious treats can be found in the shops. You’ll find vegan-friendly Dark Mark Lollipops and Puking Pastilles at Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes and Candy in a Can, Tongueburners Tooth-Splintering Strong Mints, Pear Drops, Pineapple Cubes, Fizzy Wizzy, and Sherbet Lemons at Sugarplum’s Sweet Shop, not to mention the plethora of Cinnamon Balls, Jumping Snakes, and Sugar Quills, and assorted other sweets at Honeydukes.
4. The Leprechaun’s Rainbow, Finnegan’s Bar and Grill (New York)
Image: Theme Park Tourist, Flickr (license)
Closer to the entrance of Universal Studios Florida, Finnegan’s Bar and Grill has a healthy alternative to the giant Lard Lad donuts you’ll find elsewhere in the park: a fruit platter served with raspberry sorbet. It’s one of the few truly vegan desserts available at Universal (if you don’t count the array of sweets stocked at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter) and a refreshing alternative to some of the heavier entrées on the menu.
For something more savory, Finnegan’s also offers an off-menu vegan burger, as well as sides of steamed veggies and potato wedges. Just beware the Black Bean Burger—its all-vegetable patty contains egg. Other options in Universal’s New York area include the Minestrone Soup and a modified vegan Spaghetti & Meatballs dish (order without meatballs or bread) at Louie’s Italian Restaurant, though these are a bit plain and overpriced for what they offer.
5. Veggie Wrap, Kohola Reef Restaurant & Social Club (Wave Village)
Image: Paolo Guereta, Flickr (license)
I know, I know… two wraps on the same list? Hear me out, though—Kohola’s signature veggie wrap is one of the best items on their grab-and-go menu, whether you adhere to a strict vegan diet or not. This wrap comes with slow-roasted zucchini, grains, hummus, yellow squash, and black beans. If you’re in the mood for something a little lighter, you can also pick up a veggie sushi roll for a dollar more or grab the Tropical Baby Greens salad, which features shaved carrots, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, tofu, mango, black beans, palm hearts, and toasted almonds tossed with a soy garlic vinaigrette.
Outside Volcano Bay’s Wave Village, the vegan offerings are considerably scarcer, though you can still find tropical fruit salads and French fries everywhere you go. You can also chow down on the Tropical Baby Greens salad at Whakawaiwai Eats over in River Village and, if you’re feeling inspired, request a modified pizza from their menu as well.
Interested in finding more mouthwatering vegan options over at the Disney Parks? Check out our rundown of some the iconic dishes you can enjoy at Walt Disney World. What’s your favorite vegan dish to indulge in at the parks?
