Hi Crystal!
Welcome back to the Disney Parks Moms Panel!
My girls are about the same age as your child, so we have faced this dilemma. In our experience, when we are dining at character meals, buffets, and/or family-style meals, we pay the adult price for our girls. At other restaurants, there has been some flexibility. One of our girls has significant food allergies, so Cast members have been quite helpful in making sure she has a suitable meal.
Having said that, there are a number of vegetarian options at restaurants throughout the Walt Disney World Resort. There are certainly vegetarian options on the adult menus. Our girls spent a year not eating beef and pork, so they scoured the menus to make sure they could find appropriate meals. Once you decide which restaurants you plan to visit, I suggest that, with your child, you review the menus for each. For example, take a look at the lunch menus for
Coral Reef Restaurant,
The Edison, and
ABC Commissary. The menus are located on the home page of each restaurant's website. Just look for the link that says View Menu.
Fortunately, we now have a guide to
Plant-Based Cuisine Options at Walt Disney World Resort. And, we all follow the Disney Parks Blog to learn more about
Some of the New Plant-Based Dishes Now Available at Walt Disney World Resort. My advice would be to speak with a Cast member at each restaurant if there are no vegetarian options on the adult menu.
Crystal, I will add that at quick-service restaurants, we just purchase the meals we want. And, we have ordered appetizers and soups for lunch when not using one of the
Disney Dining Plans!
Magic and memories,
Donyell