Celiac Disease

[DVCisME]

Hi I am a mother of two young boys and have been diagnosed with celiac disease. I would love to hear any recommendations as to places to eat, some with characters, and snack options. Also I was wondering if anyone sent food down to the hotel before you got there. I have read the article at allears.net, but was just looking for more information from personal experience. Anything would be helpful and I would like to thank everyone in advance for their support.

[My2Cinderellas]

Hi - there have been several threads about celiac both here and on the community board that give good info about how they were accomodated. my FIL has Celiac, so these threads catch my eye :) I do know that when we were there, I was amazed at how often we were asked if anyone in our group had food allergies. We don't, and so didn't have anything noted on the ADR, but were still frequently asked when checking in.

As for sending food to the resort - I did. We had a quick breakfast of cereal, poptarts, PB sandwiches etc. in the room most mornings while getting ready. It helped so much from a time factor. Since you need to have things that are GF, I would definitely do this. I shipped a 21# box UPS ground for $17, sent it 9 days before we arrived and it arrived in 5 days. It was noted on our reservation and bell services brought it to the room within 30 minutes. I wrote "last name" and "arriving 4/22" on every side. I also included sunscreen and other little things to fill up the box.

have a great trip!

[dawnball]

I just received gluten free information for some of the parks for our next trip so I'll try to hit the highlights.

Note that WDW considers anything with no gluten added to be gluten free. They have less concern than I personally do about cross contamination, but that's because I have extremely low tolerance for cross contamination. Everyone is different and a lot of people are very comfortable with the products provided and the way that WDW handles things like buffets.


At Magic Kingdom:
We usually high Cosmic Ray's. On our last trip they told us that they used dedicated fryers, but the current list says:
Rotisserie Chicken
Fries done in an oven
hot dog/hamburger/grilled chicken on EnerG Foods buns - Note that these are probably the Seattle Brown buns, which I really like, but they look like whole wheat bread, not like white bread.

Other highlights from magic kingdom are:
dole whip, Amy's Gluten free pizza available at Pinocchio Village Haus, Gluten free Ice cream at the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor, soft serve and an assortment of ice cream bars including Mickey Bars. Main Street Bakery also has a few gluten/dairy free snacks like brownies, chocolate chip cookies and crispy rice treats.

Mickey bars used to be considered gluten free because the same vat of dipping chocolate that was used for dipping Mickey bars also dipped gluten-containing bars. I don't know if that cross-contamination no longer occurs or if WDW has just stopped considering it an issue.

At Animal Kingdom we really like Tusker House. I haven't gotten the AK/MGM no gluten added sheets yet, but I do have a short list of specialty foods for MGM/AK.

Pizzafari and Pizza Planet have the Amy's gluten free pizza
And there are gluten free brownies available at Beastly Bazaar and The Beverly Sunset.

At Epcot your best bet is usually to hit Liberty Inn. They have dogs/burgers/mac and cheese (Amy's), Pizza (Amy's), Baked fries or potatoes with advanced notice, Chocoalte chip cookies and brownies.

Sunshine Seasons can do rice pasta or dinner rolls with advanced notice and has some pamela's cookies and brownies from an unidentified source.

Generally available at TS locations are:
bob's red mill brownies, biscuits, pancake mix, mighty tasty hot cereal
Tinkyada or Mrs Leepers brown rice pasta
Amy's mac and cheese, or gluten free pizza
Ancient Harvest Quinoa/Corn Macaroni
Van's gluten free waffles
San-J tamari
Ener-G seattle brown buns, brown rice bread, tapioca pizza shells, and tapioca rolls

Good Luck!

[bitbangr]

We just got back and my son is gluten/casein/soy-free and we had excellent experiences with Disney food service.
We ate few meals in the parks and usually ate dinner in our room (Sheraton Vistana, which had a full kitchen). Publix carries some GF foods, and supposedly Disney gets some of their special foods from a local natural foods chain, Chamberlin's.
We had ADRs for both the '50s Prime Time Cafe (in Disney-MGM) and Garden Grill (in Epcot--character lunch). In both cases, a chef came to our table, discussed his needs and wants, and excellent food was delivered.
As for counter-service, we ate at Cosmic Ray's in MK and getting a GF hotdog bun was as easy as them pressing a button on the register and it was handled separately from the other food on the line. Hamburgers should be the same, and the rotisserie chicken is GF and very good. The turkey legs are also fine, but HUGE and messy! Main Street Bakery also has the GF brownies (ItsOK brand), which my DS said were great. Itsakadoosie bars (think giant spiral popsicle) are GF/CF/SF/...

Definitely contact the Disney Executive Chefs and Food and Beverage Managers (think I got the phone numbers either from a post here, or the Unofficial Guide) for the lists dawnball mentions. They definitely are used to handling GF.

[F4disneyfan]

Hi I am a mother of two young boys and have been diagnosed with celiac disease. I would love to hear any recommendations as to places to eat, some with characters, and snack options. Also I was wondering if anyone sent food down to the hotel before you got there. I have read the article at allears.net, but was just looking for more information from personal experience. Anything would be helpful and I would like to thank everyone in advance for their support.


My wife has Celiac and there was no place at Disney that didn't offer to accomodate her illness. If you make priority seating let them know at that time you have members of the party that have this they will note it. They will also send out the chef to go over meal options for this and make us a great meal that as my wife says even tasted good unlike most food she gets to eat LOL. If you do not make any PS then just let them know when you arrive and the server will tell them in teh back and somone generally teh chef will come out and talk to you no matter how you dine at Disney they will be very very accomodating towards this eating disease and any other problem/allergy.

[tiggerUK]

hi

does anyone know the brand of the strawberry fruit bars that they sell at WDW. trying to find out if joe can have them (many intolerances). i had been advised that the itzakadoozie bars were gf but unfortunately there are other ingreds joe can't have.

i would like to know what brand they are, thanks

[dawnball]

Strawberry fruit bars - Natural Fruit Corporation, West 20th St. Hialeah FL Plant #12-617 - Strawberries, water, fructose, sugar, citric acid, natural stabilizers, guar gum, carob bean gum, carrageenan.
Orange Juice bars - Natural Fruit Corporation, West 20th St. Hialeah Fl Plant #12-617 - Orange juice, liquid fructose, liquid sucrose, natural stabilizers (guar gum, carob bean gum and carrageenan), colored with tumeric.

[mrsnj91]

OMGoosh what a great idea to send a package down!! If we fly down, that would take a load off my back and my mind!! But some of our things require the fridge. Will the muffins and breads keeps?? I freeze everything here as Delaney doesn't eat it fast enough so I honestly don't know how long things will keep! LOL! And you just sent it to the hotel with your info on the outside?? And you told them it was coming and they held it there for you?? Boy I would be sure that would have been thrown in a storage closet somewhere and never seen again!:lmao: I am so excited! :woohoo:

[dawnball]

I wouldn't send anything that isn't shelf-stable ahead. You could send boxes of cereal or cookies or similar. Ener-g breads (which are designed to be shelf stable) would be fine. Something like Kinnikinnik breads that have to be frozen on arrival wouldn't do well.

[mrsnj91]

I make her bread with the Gluten Free Pantry. That should keep, no? Kinniki needs to be frozen?? That is her muffins and one of her main fav. snacks. :sad1: Most everything else I think we can just pack and store, like crackers and cereal and cookies and snack bars, etc. Even though I am sad over the muffins I am still on :cloud9: with the rest! I am beginning to think spending the money to head to Disney is so worth it just for the food! :rotfl: Where else can you get GF pizza and chicken nuggets at a park??:woohoo:

[DVCisME]

I receive info from Disney saying Liberty Inn also serves pizza, mac n cheese, baked fries, chocalate chip cookies, brownies; @ Coral Reef-Living Seas in Epcot they also have pizza, Garden Grill-The Land also has pizza.

I was curious, for anyone who knows, is one requires to use gluten free shampoo, lotion, dishwashing detergent, etc.? I have been getting conflicting information from my doctors. I do not know why they would make it if it were not required, however if it is not I do not need another expense. Thanks.

[mrsnj91]

I think it is a personal matter and how you react. Delaney is not that sensitive so we don't have to be so strict with shampoos and such. But I have read stories of others who are.

[mrsnj91]

How did you contact them BTW? I tried looking everywhere on their main board and I can't find an email or anything to ask about her food allergies and get info.

[dawnball]

I was curious, for anyone who knows, is one requires to use gluten free shampoo, lotion, dishwashing detergent, etc.? I have been getting conflicting information from my doctors. I do not know why they would make it if it were not required, however if it is not I do not need another expense.

For shampoo and lotion I make sure it's gluten free, because I sometimes get shampoo in my mouth (not a lot, but still). I've never seen dishwashing detergent with gluten in it to be honest, but I do check, just because I check everything. Most mainstream shampoos and lotions are gluten free, although it's becoming more common to add wheat protein to them as a "nourishes your hair!" scam.

My gluten free household products don't cost anymore than non-gluten free versions.

For mrsnj91 - you should be able to get contact information from Disney Dining when you make your ADRs. I usually just email Brenda Bennett at Brenda.Bennett@disney.com

[queenof3]

Hi all. I have 2 daughters with Celiac disease too and I keep saying they are going to eat the best they have ever eaten while in Disneyworld! :) Definitely contact Brenda Bennett. She emailed me lists of GF stuff and I email her as I think of more questions. She responds immediately and I asked her how to get in touch with the food court at our hotel. She forwarded them the email and they called me within 10 minutes! I wasn't expecting to talk to anyone right now (since we are not going until August):) But they took down all the info about when we were coming and have tons of food options for them already! It's definitely going to more of a vacation for me than I thought considering we won't have to worry every meal! :)

[tiggerUK]

hi dawnball,

thanks for posting the ingredients of the strawberry and orange fruit bars. not sure if these will be any good for joe as the fructose may be derived from wheat and i'm not sure about the citric acid.

but thanks, i really appreciate it.

[jen2be2]

We went to WDW one month after finding out that two of our DD's have CD. They were wonderful. I was so impressed with how much care the managers and chefs took to make sure the meals were prepared correctly. It did take more time to have the meals prepared, so going at off peak times or 30 minutes prior to your normal meals will make sure that you do not have very hungry kids waiting for their food.

We did have a hard time finding a place in Epcot that could accomidate thier needs.:confused3

We just moved back to CA and we are getting our annual passes next month. This is going on our 1st trip to DL since finding out about the CD.

I have already talked to the lead Chef and we are working on getting a special GF birthday cake. Chef Chris was very honest and told us that DL is not as far along as WDW is with CD options, but they are working on it. He also told us to pick up a GF list at City Hall everytime we come, as they are making a lot of changes right now.

[jen2be2]

fructose may be derived from wheat and i'm not sure about the citric acid.


I just checked on my "other words for gluten, or gluten containing ingredients that are not safe for Celiacs" from celiac.com and fructose and citric acid are not on the list. so they should be fine.

But if you really wanted to be sure, just find the number for Natural Fruit Corporation and you can call and ask them directly( I do this all of the time).

[kandeebunny]

As another poster said they do have Amy's gluten free pizza, but PLEASE be extremely careful with any Amy's stuff!

I have trace allergies, and react to these, upon inspecting the packaging the back does say "may contain traces f wheat/gluten" and a bunch of other stuff.

Also we stay at Pop or POFQ almost every time as we know the chefs there very well and they are fantastic. Their food courts stock gf bread and pasta, as well as cookies (on request) and brownies (at Pop ask a chef and they will point you to them, as they are mixed in with the regular snacks.)

WDW is our favorite vacation spot, and it has been made even more-so thanks ot the availibility of fantastic food.

Oh and check out 50's prime time...they do a g/f version of the fried chicken (yep done in a dedicated fryer!!!)

[tiggerUK]

I just checked on my "other words for gluten, or gluten containing ingredients that are not safe for Celiacs" from celiac.com and fructose and citric acid are not on the list. so they should be fine.

fructose can be derived from gluten, but under the codex alimentaris is allowed for cealiacs as it contains less than 1%. joe is extremely sensitive so cannot tolerate even tiny traces. fructose can also be safe of course, so i will try and contact the manufacturers and see what they say. joe also reacts to citrus fruits which is why i am cautious about citric acid.

[kandeebunny]

I just returned last week from Disney. This had been my 1st trip back since I've been GF. Overall, a very good experience. If you'd like to read about it, please check out my post called "Have A Magical Day" at celiacforums.com in the Travel Forum.

I wanted to post a direct link, but it appears that I can't due to a low post count. Sorry :(

Edit: Please see Have a Magical Day link in my signature, it will take you to the post ;)

glad to see you made it over here!

If you decide to go back check out 50's Prime Time Cafe (to die for GF fried chicken!)

Those Zebra Domes looked fantastic, I can't have them due to a corn allergy though, so chef TJ at Boma's makes me a fantastic cheesecake! (He also makes an amazing chicken fettuccini alfredo which even the non-gf members of my party said was to die for!)

[aklap]

I just returned last week from Disney. This had been my 1st trip back since I've been GF. Overall, a very good experience. If you'd like to read about it, please check out my post called "Have A Magical Day" at celiacforums.com in the Travel Forum.

I wanted to post a direct link, but it appears that I can't due to a low post count. Sorry :(

Edit: Please see Have a Magical Day link in my signature, it will take you to the post ;)

Thanks for the heads up on the GF Fried Chicken. We'll go back, it probably won't be for another 5 years - minimum. That's our usual time frame.

Hi DVC,

Yup, I bumped up Our Support Group Website thread. These are just groups with websites. I also bumped up the support group locators too. They are in the General Forum.

RATS I can't post links here yet, or I'd post them for you :( Anybody know what count I can post links?

As for reactions w/o being DH, we have a couple of people that will get a rash when they touch wheat. I have heard of others that have skin issues when consuming gluten. If you got more questions, pop on over to the CF board and ask :)

Check your email or spam folder, I approved someone from Jersey earlier today - I'm guessing it was you. :)

I just checked - that person is active... If you have problems, let me know!

Glad you're finding so much info!!

[DVCisME]

Al-
I saw that you are a moderator for celiacforums.com. I have been lurking there all day, never heard of it before. I was wondering if you know of anything in the state of New Jersey such as a support group or where I could get information?

Also, do you know if it is possible to have a skin reaction and not be DH?

Thanks! I registered today, but still cannot post over there yet. I am so excited you posted here I have found out so much information!

[mrsnj91]

DVCisME- Where in NJ are you? There is a support group near me. Well the closest to me anyway. I can give you the email address and Bill might be able to help you or maybe direct you to another one closer to you. Hold on and let me fetch it.....

His name is Bill Lucas and he runs the CSA Southern New Jersey Chapter # 9. His email is....
lucaswe@earthlink.net

Our next meeting will be on Sunday, May 6th at 2 p. m. Our meeting will be held at Virtua West Jersey Hospital, Evesham Rd & Carnie Blvd, Voorhees NJ in the Barry D. Brown Health Education Center.

[Database]

I receive info from Disney saying Liberty Inn also serves pizza, mac n cheese, baked fries, chocalate chip cookies, brownies; @ Coral Reef-Living Seas in Epcot they also have pizza, Garden Grill-The Land also has pizza.

I was curious, for anyone who knows, is one requires to use gluten free shampoo, lotion, dishwashing detergent, etc.? I have been getting conflicting information from my doctors. I do not know why they would make it if it were not required, however if it is not I do not need another expense. Thanks.


Hey DVCisME,

I have total compassion for what you're going through.

My DH is the celiac in our house. After he'd been on his gluten free diet for several months, he developed keratitis herpetiformis due to the wheat germ in his skin lotion. Poor guy!

There are plenty of products out there that are naturally gluten free. I can get back to you if you need more info on how he figures out what products are safe.

We loved our Disney Experience in January. WDW is the BEST!
They have Gluten Free Magic down to perfection! We felt like we were "normal"! Enjoy your trip.

BTW, our Gluten free hangouts in Central NJ are:

Outback (Mad Max and chocolate thunder from down under)
Pizzeria Uno (DH luvs the pork-sticks)

God Bless and Gluten Free Pixie Dust to ya!