Disneyland with Food Allergies Dec. 12 - 16

[Wonder2008]

So is Aladdin playing every day?

It was during our stay. During past visits, it played 4 or 5 days each week. It probably depends on the time of year.

 

[Wonder2008]

Saturday, December 14, 2013 Evening

After the pool, we took the Monorail back to Disneyland for the evening. When we arrived at the Downtown Disney station, there was a really long line. I'm sure it would have been faster to walk, but we stayed anyway. Once we arrived at Tomorrowland, we went straight to the Disneyland Railroad and rode it to Mickey's Toontown. We were just in time to see the lights get turned on at "it's a small world holiday". Then we went to see "Mickey and the Magical Map". This show was really, really good. I'm really glad they are doing stage shows at the Fantasyland Theatre again. The last one we saw was Snow White in 2006. I won't spoil anything, but there's a lot of really good music in the show. As would be the case the rest of the night, everything was really crowded (it was a Saturday night). We were able to get on Casey Jr. and Pinocchio, but it was also parade time so it was hard to walk around too. We had wanted to eat dinner at the Plaza Inn, but it and the Jolly Holiday Cafe both had very long lines to enter. So, we got chicken sandwiches from the Tomorrowland Terrace. This time, the chef spoke to us through the ordering window, and it was a little hard to hear him because of the nearby entertainment (Elvis tribute band - they were pretty good). This wasn't our favorite dinner of the trip, but it was still good. Next, we waited for the fireworks for about half hour only for them to be cancelled due to winds. That was disappointing, but we had already seen them on our first night. Even without the fireworks, there was still a snowfall which was nice. After that, it was really hard to get over to the New Orleans Square area for Fantasmic! at 10:30. We waited another half hour for the show, which was not cancelled. We didn't have a great view, but we love the show and the new (for us) Maleficent dragon. It was a really cold night, so we decided to go on Winnie the Pooh in Critter Country and leave slowly after that. We stopped at "it's a small world holiday" (it had a two-hour wait earlier) to see the clock tower open and the really nice projection show. Then, we ended the night with a trip in the front of Monorail Blue to Downtown Disney. So, it was a good night, not perfect, but we still had two more Disneyland days!

 

[Leshaface]

I really enjoy eating at Storyteller's Cafe! Have eaten there 3 times and each time was excellent. Waits are pretty long for dinner, but well worth the wait, especially if you're staying at the GCH.

Agh, too bad about the fireworks being cancelled. I really enjoy seeing Fantasmic but the seating situation is terrible. I'm short (almost 5'5") and it's difficult to get a good viewing unless you show up hours early to get in towards the front, so we usually skip it.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

I really enjoy eating at Storyteller's Cafe! Have eaten there 3 times and each time was excellent. Waits are pretty long for dinner, but well worth the wait, especially if you're staying at the GCH. Agh, too bad about the fireworks being cancelled. I really enjoy seeing Fantasmic but the seating situation is terrible. I'm short (almost 5'5") and it's difficult to get a good viewing unless you show up hours early to get in towards the front, so we usually skip it.

Great because we are staying at Grand Californian Villas. Did you happen to notice any gluten free meals?

 

[Wonder2008]

Great because we are staying at Grand Californian Villas. Did you happen to notice any gluten free meals?

I definitely recommend the Storyteller's Cafe. I found it pretty easy to eat lunch there. It was not crowded, so you may not even need a reservation (it's table service). I know they have a quick service area at the pool, but I don't know how easy it would be to ask about allergies there. They also have the Napa Rose - it's out of my price range, but I'm sure they handle gluten-free requests every day.

 

[Wonder2008]

Sunday, December 15, 2013

This would be our second California Adventure morning. At this point we had already done most of what we wanted to, so this was a chance to do some favorites a second time. We started the morning in Cars Land, but it wasn't open yet. So, we went to Paradise Pier instead. We went on Toy Story Midway Mania and my sister beat me, then she went on California Screamin'. We went back to Cars Land and went on Radiator Springs Racers once more and Mater's Junkyard Jamboree. I'll admit this was what I was looking forward the least in Cars Land. But, it was still fun. We got our World of Color Fastpasses, but first I asked if it was shown the previous night when Disneyland's fireworks were cancelled. They said it takes very strong winds to cancel the show. That made me feel better because we definitely wanted to see it a second time! Actually we went on Mickey's Fun Wheel and it was noticeably windier at the top than our first time on it two days before. My sister went on the Tower of Terror, then we went to "A Bug's Land" for the first time. We've always just thought it was a kiddie land, which it is, but we went on Tuck and Roll's bumper cars. There were just as many adults as there were kids! It was hard to steer the car, but it was a lot of fun. I liked how they made signs out of popsicle sticks and cotton swabs. We took the Red Car Trolley to Buena Vista Street where we used one more of our 20% discounts at Elias and Co. I got a World of Color hooded sweatshirt. It was a pretty good deal with the discount, and it was sent to our hotel. We also went to Ghirardelli and definitely did well there. We were given peppermint bark squares (I love those!) and we filled a bag with mix-and-match squares. The ingredients on the label don't show any gluten, and I've never reacted to them. We also saw the Toy Story zoetrope at the Animation exhibit. This was fascinating! Before lunch, we saw the Red Car Newsboys show. This was really good.

Lunch

Lunch was a little confusing because our lunch was spread out over the park. We got a pickle from Filmore's at Cars Land, my sister got a chicken sandwich from the Taste Pilot's Grill, and I got pizza at Paradise Pier's Boardwalk Pizza and Pasta. I had wanted their bbq chicken pizza, but they said it would take about 40 minutes to make it from scratch. So, I got their gluten-free pizza instead. If I had known that, I would have stopped by earlier to see if they would let me pre-order it. My dessert was some of my Ghirardelli squares, but my sister had a Mickey-shaped pretzel. The cast member at the stand showed us the ingredients, and it had no dairy. We were really happy she could enjoy that.

We had another afternoon at the Disneyland Hotel's monorail pool and I went down the Monorail Blue slide two more times.

Up next - a very full night.

 

[WDW_Diane]

We Simply Had a Wonderful Disneyland Christmastime Hello everyone, My name is Robert and I took my sister to Disneyland during the holidays for the first time. This trip report will focus on food allergies, but I'll also tell what we did each day. We live on the east coast of the country, so Walt Disney World is a car trip away while Disneyland is a 5-hour flight away. We last went to Disneyland in June of 2009 - I don't think I need to tell you that a lot has changed over the last 4.5 years. As I said, we both have food allergies. I'm gluten-intolerant, so it's not a severe allergy but I avoid gluten anyway. My sister can not have dairy, rice milk, or rice flour. Her allergy is more severe than mine. I'll start off by saying that our dining experiences were very, very good. I will detail where we ate and what we had during each meal.

Thanks for your report. I read it all. I have a severe shellfish allergy and worry a lot about cross contamination. Like you, I've been to WDW a lot but DL not as much. I'm planning a trip that includes a day or so at DL in March. I have had great experiences at WDW with them talking to me about my food allergy and putting me at ease while eating there. I appreciate this info!

 

[Wonder2008]

Thanks for your report. I read it all. I have a severe shellfish allergy and worry a lot about cross contamination. Like you, I've been to WDW a lot but DL not as much. I'm planning a trip that includes a day or so at DL in March. I have had great experiences at WDW with them talking to me about my food allergy and putting me at ease while eating there. I appreciate this info!

You are very welcome!

 

[Leshaface]

Great because we are staying at Grand Californian Villas. Did you happen to notice any gluten free meals?

Hope you have an amazing time! We'll be staying at the VGC in July for the first time (in the villas anyway) and i'm really excited.

Sorry, I didn't happen to notice any gluten free meals, but I think Wonder may have answered

 

[Leshaface]

For having a brand new land come in, I was disappointed with the ride selection in Cars Land. Obviously, RSR is AWESOME, but MJYJ I've been on it once, and it was cute, but nothing I feel like I should get on every time i'm there. And I haven't even been on the other ride yet. Is it Luigi's? The line is always way to long for that short of a ride.

I absolutely love being in Bug's Land. The theming is terrific! I love how you have to walk through the cereal box to get into the land. Amazing!

 

[Wonder2008]

Sunday, December 15, 2013 evening

After the pool, we actually started packing a few things. We were bringing home a lot of breakable things like ornaments so we just wanted to make sure they get home safely. That out of the way, we went to Disneyland to see the Christmas tree lighting at 5:00 and Christmas Fantasy Parade at 5:30. After the parade, we went back to our hotel for dinner at the Tangaroa Terrace. I really liked having a quick-service restaurant at the Disneyland Hotel because in recent years it really didn't have one. My sister got a chicken sandwich topped with pineapple and I got a hamburger with pineapple, bacon, lettuce, and tomato on a GF bun. I'm not a hamburger person, and this was actually my first burger in a long time. But, it certainly was anything but just a plain burger and it was really good. After dinner, we went back to California Adventure to see "World of Color" at 9:00. First, I got another chocolate-dipped ice cream from the Cozy Cone Motel and my sister got a pineapple spear from Filmore's. We had a much better view of the show than our first time seeing it. After the show, we left via Cars Land just to be sure we get to see it at night once more. We went to Disneyland to wrap up our night. We went on the Indiana Jones Adventure, Space Mountain, and "it's a small world holiday" around 11:45 so the park was closed when we got off. We made a few stops on Main Street, and went back to our room for the night.

Up next - Our last day (unfortunately) but a really good day!

 

[Leshaface]

You guys got some big name rides in over at DL so late at night. Great job!

Boo to last days!

 

[Wonder2008]

Monday, December 16, 2013

Today was our last day at Disneyland. Hopefully another first day will come along sometime. Anyway, after a quick breakfast in our room we went to California Adventure to start our day. It opened at 8:00 for Disney hotel guests, but we were only there for about an hour. We went to Toy Story Midway Mania where my sister beat me by about double the points I had. It was not crowded at all, but we planned to go to Disneyland at 9:00. So we left California Adventure around 8:50, went to Disneyland, and were on Main Street before the morning rope drop. After that, it was directly to Peter Pan's Flight. I think we still waited about a half-hour even though we went first thing in the morning. Almost everything else in Fantasyland had shorter lines - Mr. Toad, Matterhorn (right side), Snow White, Alice in Wonderland. We got to see Mickey Mouse leading the Disneyland Band down Main Street. We also went to Tarzan's Treehouse and the Indiana Jones Adventure. We went on three times during this trip and got all three gifts (future knowledge, eternal youth, and riches). We ended our morning by riding Monorail Blue round-trip in the front. Now, it was time for one of our favorite meals of the whole trip.

Lunch

We went back to the Jolly Holiday Cafe for lunch. There was no line, unlike during dinnertime a few nights. We got really, really good service here. The chef came to speak with us and our orders were pretty simple. I got the Caprese sandwich on a gluten-free bun and my sister got a turkey sandwich on sourdough bread. We both got more of the fantastic housemade chips. But, it was dessert that made this meal stand out. My sister was able to have the Matterhorn Macaroon. All they had to do was leave off the white chocolate "snow". She has had plenty of macaroons at home, but this was huge! She loved it, and probably would have gotten more if it wasn't our last day. I got a slice of the flourless chocolate cake. For both my sister and me, the chef brought out a laminated ingredient list. There's plenty of dairy in the chocolate cake, but it was gluten-free as far as I was concerned. It too was fantastic, a huge treat, and one of the best things I've ever tasted! Desserts for my sister had been pretty limited to this point, so we were both happy she could have this one.

Up next - our afternoon and wrapping our Disneyland trip.

 

[WDW_Diane]

Monday, December 16, 2013 Today was our last day at Disneyland. Hopefully another first day will come along sometime. Anyway, after a quick breakfast in our room we went to California Adventure to start our day. It opened at 8:00 for Disney hotel guests, but we were only there for about an hour. We went to Toy Story Midway Mania where my sister beat me by about double the points I had. It was not crowded at all, but we planned to go to Disneyland at 9:00. So we left California Adventure around 8:50, went to Disneyland, and were on Main Street before the morning rope drop. After that, it was directly to Peter Pan's Flight. I think we still waited about a half-hour even though we went first thing in the morning. Almost everything else in Fantasyland had shorter lines - Mr. Toad, Matterhorn (right side), Snow White, Alice in Wonderland. We got to see Mickey Mouse leading the Disneyland Band down Main Street. We also went to Tarzan's Treehouse and the Indiana Jones Adventure. We went on three times during this trip and got all three gifts (future knowledge, eternal youth, and riches). We ended our morning by riding Monorail Blue round-trip in the front. Now, it was time for one of our favorite meals of the whole trip. Lunch We went back to the Jolly Holiday Cafe for lunch. There was no line, unlike during dinnertime a few nights. We got really, really good service here. The chef came to speak with us and our orders were pretty simple. I got the Caprese sandwich on a gluten-free bun and my sister got a turkey sandwich on sourdough bread. We both got more of the fantastic housemade chips. But, it was dessert that made this meal stand out. My sister was able to have the Matterhorn Macaroon. All they had to do was leave off the white chocolate "snow". She has had plenty of macaroons at home, but this was huge! She loved it, and probably would have gotten more if it wasn't our last day. I got a slice of the flourless chocolate cake. For both my sister and me, the chef brought out a laminated ingredient list. There's plenty of dairy in the chocolate cake, but it was gluten-free as far as I was concerned. It too was fantastic, a huge treat, and one of the best things I've ever tasted! Desserts for my sister had been pretty limited to this point, so we were both happy she could have this one. Up next - our afternoon and wrapping our Disneyland trip.

Thanks....anytime the chef comes out to talk to me, I'm in my eating comfort zone. That mostly just happens at Disney.

 

[Wonder2008]

Monday, December 16, 2013 - Afternoon and Evening

Backing up just a little, while we were waiting for our monorail trip before lunch, the cast member on the platform saw my Walt Disney World sweatshirt and told me that this monorail doesn't go to Epcot. I thought that was funny.

Anyway, leaving the Jolly Holiday Cafe there is an arch with a quote from "Mary Poppins", the last line Bert says to Mary: "Don't stay away too long". This being our last day, it had a somewhat different meaning for us. After lunch, we went to Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, then to Fantasyland to see "Mickey and the Magical Map" once more. We then went to Main Street to see "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln", which we never saw. In the lobby they were playing the film that they showed for Disneyland's 50th anniversary - it was nice to see that again. After the show, we went to Calfornia Adventure to see "Aladdin". I'm glad we did, because the Genie was really having a great day. When he goes over the Genie rules, he said that he can not bring people back from the dead.. but he brought back Twinkies!!! The whole audience absolutely loved that! Later on, he gave his "famous" Sultan Peppershaker line. Next, we went back to our hotel to get a few things together and to get ready for our last night. We started at Disneyland and went on Pirates of the Caribbean. We were still a bit full from lunch, so we decided to just get snacks for dinner. My sister got another Mickey pretzel from a cart in Frontierland, and I got a pineapple spear. We watched the clock tower at "it's a small world holiday", then we tried to see the fireworks because we had not been hearing anything about the show being cancelled. We didn't have a good view, but at least we got to see it once more. After the snowfall, we took in the sight of Sleeping Beauty's Winter Castle and Main Street's lights and the Christmas tree, then we left slowly to California Adventure. We must have entered just before 10:00 (I thought the park closed at 11:00 that night, but it closed at 10:00 - we must have just made it in time). So, we ended our vacation with "World of Color". We were going to just stand in the back somewhere, but we were told the yellow section had been opened, and we had a really good view. After the show, we just left the park really slowly, walked through Downtown Disney once more and returned to our room.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Our flight was scheduled to leave LAX at 10:00, so we took the 7:00 Disneyland Resort Express bus. We arrived around 8:15 or so, and we had a lot of traffic. (If you are using the Disneyland Resort Express but not staying at the Disneyland Hotel, you'll board a bus that will take you to the Disneyland Hotel, then transfer to a bus to your airport - allow time for all of that.) Security lines were pretty short, but after I was scanned they patted down the top of my left foot - don't ask me. The flight east was shorter than the flight west due to the wind. We landed on time and drove home.

Closing

Our vacation was as close to perfect as can be. It being December, the weather isn't as reliable as it is in the summer. But, we had no rain, nice days, and cold nights. Seeing everything decorated for Christmas was wonderful, as was everything that was new at California Adventure.

Walt Disney World is still better than Disneyland as far as food allergies is concerned, particularly dairy allergies, but Disneyland has made progress with gluten-free options. We definitely got the same attention from the chefs at Disneyland that we've come to expect from WDW.

Thank you very much for reading along, and I'll try to answer any questions you may have that I did not cover.

Have a Magical Day!

Robert

 

[BWV Dreamin]

Loved your report!! I am somewhat nervous as I have no strategy when going in the DL parks other than to use EMH to get cars land FP. I really want to see Alladin. And now I feel much better knowing there are many GF options. Thanks again!!

 

[Leshaface]

Wow that's insane that you still waited that long for Peter Pan even though you got there right at Rope Drop. But you got a LOT done that day.

So glad that every thing was to your liking at Jolly Holiday

Such a great TR! Thanks for writing it!

 

[mt mommy]

Thanks for your trip report. I am gluten sensitive too, so this was very helpful!

 

[Beesma]

Both my daughter and I have gluten sensitivities and I've been concerned about our upcoming trip to DL. Thanks so much for obliterating my fears! It sounds like you were able to find GF options all over the place. I'm glad to hear they have GF pizza! We'll definitely have to try that.

As far as the chef's warning against the fries, that usually means they use the same oil to fry their onion rings, so you are correct, it's usually a cross-contamination issue. My daughter and I have both found that the fries will contain so little gluten that we don't get sick from it. But, it can be a risk to have the fries, especially for those with severe allergies.

Thanks so much for your trip report. It really did calm my concerns about eating in DL.

 

[PrincessFran]

Thanks for the report! My little girl is allergic to cow's milk, so I was a little worried about eating in the parks, but this was so helpful! I'm much more relaxed about it know and can't wait to start our trip!