Vegan Disney World Guests Now Have 400 New Menu Items to Choose From

There has always been a variety of foods to choose from at Disneyland and Walt Disney World—unless you're vegan. While many guests associate Disney with turkey legs and Mickey Mouse ice cream bars, others have had to settle for much less Instagrammable treats when dining at the parks. That changes this month: Disney recently announced that it's introducing 400 new plant-based items to its resort menus.

The new vegan dishes will first appear at Walt Disney World in Orlando Florida, starting at quick service locations on October 1 (National Vegetarian Day) and then spreading to table service restaurants on October 3. In spring 2020, the same menu update will roll out at Disneyland in California.

The offerings are a departure from the token vegan items that are usually tacked on to theme park menus (if they're made available at all). New dishes include steamed Asian dumplings from Le Cellier at Epcot, shiriki noodle salad from the Skipper Canteen at Magic Kingdom, and a chili-spiced crispy fried tofu bowl from the Satu’li Canteen at Animal Kingdom.

Even Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, which is new to both Disneyland and Disney World this year, has options for vegan diners. The "Felucian Garden Spread"—a plant-based kefta with herb hummus, tomato-cucumber relish, and pita—is coming to the Docking Bay 7 Food & Cargo restaurant.

The Walt Disney Co. is the latest major corporation to embrace vegan and vegetarian fare as mainstream food options. KFC, Burger King, and McDonald's have all been experimenting with adding plant-based meat alternatives to their menus in the past few years. Not only is expanding vegan options more health-conscious and environmentally friendly, but it's also good business: Market research shows that the global vegan food market will be worth $24.3 billion by 2026.