Eating Out at Disneyland Paris – February 2020

If you are looking for places to eat at Disneyland Paris with lactose and egg free options I’m afraid I’ve failed you this time.  This trip was my first time staying in a hotel for more than one night since I started with IBS and food intolerances in 2013.  As my IBS has been out of control since October staying away was incredibly hard.  I spent most of my weekend just wanting to be in my own kitchen making a jacket potato.

Disneyland Paris offer a menu at some of their Hotels and Restaurants with meals free from 16 allergens called The Natama Menu.  The menu includes the choice of two starters, four mains, and three desserts.  I would highly recommend booking a table for evening meals, on our first night some restaurants were only allowing bookings, and others were a minimum of a twenty minute wait.  We had already left eating until late on as we were making the most of the park, so I was feeling very hangry and anxious which is never a good start to a meal for me.  On our next two nights we booked our evening meals when the restaurants opened around 1130, there was not much choice because so many people booked more than a day in advance, but we managed to book at a good time for us.

Toilets – For somebody who frequently needs the toilet, Disneyland Paris was the dream.  There were at least two blocks of toilets in every section of the park.

Please take my views with a big pinch of salt, my IBS was as angry as the Incredible Hulk, I was an anxious and emotional wreck and I was on the Low FODMAP diet restriction phase.  None of those things add up to a very good reaction after food and prevented me from eating proper meals on a few occasions because I was too scared of the potential reaction.

Planet Hollywood, Disney Village

We had no booking for Planet Hollywood so we were told to wait in the bar area and we would be seated in approximately 20 minutes which we were.  I went for one of my usual go to meal options, steak and fries.  I had an allergen card printed out in French and English to show the waitress.  She confirmed that they would be able to provide me with that meal.  Our steaks were very under cooked.  My well done steak was medium-rare, and my partner’s rare steak was blue.  He loves blue steak, so he kept his, and we sent mine back.  It came back much better, but I did not enjoy it very much, there was too much fat running through it for me.

Café Hyperion, Discoveryland

Café Hyperion was probably one of the busiest cafés we went in during the day.  While my partner queued I went on the hunt for a table and tried to relay on text how he to find me.  I could have done with leaving some kind of trail.  FYI the highest row seems to be the quietest.  The café has various shows on, so when choosing your seat, think about whether you can see the stage, some of the pillars are very high which can block your view (but I am only 5ft).  The toilets at this café were also the busiest we came across, the queue for the ladies was well out of the door.  The area in front of the toilets also became very busy when it rained.  We plowed on in our Lake District walking boots, waterproof trousers and waterproof coats.  I only had chips at this café so I don’t have any suggestions for a lactose and egg free meal, but it is one of the named places participating in the Natama Menu.

Captain Jack’s – Restaurant des Pirates, Adventureland

The Pirates of the Caribbean films are my favourites, their scores are incredible.  There was folk music playing and ships going through the restaurant from the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction.  The interior was fantastic, so well decorated.  Captain Jack’s is a special restaurant to us because my partner proposed to me nearby just before our restaurant booking.  I spent the whole meal staring at my ring in disbelief.

When we were looking at the menus for this restaurant online I was really confused about the number of menus and how similar they all were.  In the restaurant we were pointed to a particular menu so it was more straightforward.  I went for steak and sweet potato, there were a few other bits to the original meal but the waitress was amazing at organising with the chef a suitable meal.  As I could not have the majority of the meal I was given an extra steak.  The steak was so nice.  I would really recommend trying this restaurant.

Café Mickey, Disney Village

I’m quite upset about our Café Mickey experience because I knew how much my partner had been looking forward to it.  He planned our whole trip so carefully to make it special for us both, and my tummy made everything difficult.  We booked a table a day in advance, we went for a late time so that we could watch Galactic Celebration – Legends of the Force – A Celebration of Star Wars in the Studios Park.  I had been extremely unwell the night before, felt unwell most of the day, especially during the fireworks and had to use the loo as soon as we arrived.  I decided I would prefer not to eat because my tummy was so delicate, and I would have some cereal when we got back to our Hotel.  When my partner (fiancé by this point!) ordered his meal we told the waiter that I was too unwell to eat so would not be ordering anything.  He went to check with the manager that this would be ok.  So that really threw me, were we going to be asked to leave just because one person wasn’t eating?  The restaurant only had us downstairs and three other families, so it wasn’t as if I was taking up a vital seat, and even if I was, would they really have used the seat opposite my partner on a table for two for somebody else?  Anyway, anxious thoughts aside, the waiter came back and said it would be fine for me to be there.  My partner enjoyed his meal so much, he kept praising how good the food was.  He is really good at getting involved, so he loved the character interaction.  I was sat there hoping Goofy would walk more delicately because his heavy feet on the floor were churning my stomach even more haha.

Disney Blockbuster Café, Studio Park

The Disney Blockbuster Café appeared very busy, but once we were almost at capacity they opened up an upstairs seating area too.  There were staff enforcing people to queue for meals and only find a table when you had your food.  The servers were really quick so we were soon on our way.  Again, I only had chips so I cannot suggest meals, but this was one of the participating cafés for the Natama Menu.

Vegan Kitchen, Studio Park

If I had not been on the Low FODMAP diet at the time I would have been so happy when we came across the Vegan Kitchen, they had chocolate cake!  It is situated in the Studio Park between the Toyland area and Backlot Studio tram tour.

 

My Tips for Visiting Disneyland Paris 

(We visited on a long weekend in February with heavy rain every day)

1. Go for FastPasses on all the rides with that option – especially Crush’s Coaster in the Studio Park, and Big Thunder Mountain, Frontierland.  They were really good, had the biggest queues during our long weekend and their FastPasses went by dinnertime.
2. Watch Mickey and the Magician in the Toon Studio, Studios Park – I would have happily given this one a miss just reading about it, but I loved it, especially the music.
3. Read up on places to stand for the parades, everybody gets lined up quickly.
4. Study websites with suggested ride orders so that you can see and do as much as possible.  I wouldn’t have done this, but I’m so glad my partner did.  We followed his list every day and barely wavered from it.
5. Wear very comfortable shoes, you will be doing a lot of walking.
6. Book tables for your evening meals when the restaurants open.