Eating at Disney Gluten Free

[grumpjes24]

I just spent last weekend in Disney with a friend who is allergic to gluten. I have always heard that Disney caters to those with food allergeries but I was completely AMAZED at how GREAT they were with my friend! She has trouble eating out at home and was floating on Cloud 9 with all the choices she had while at Disney World!

We ate at Whispering Canyon Cafe (dinner), Le Cellier (lunch) and Cape May Cafe ( breakfast). At all three restaurants, the chef came right to the table to talk with her. At WCC and Le Cellier, the chef basically said they could make most anything gluten free!

At Cape May Cafe, the chef walked the buffet with her and showed her what was safe and then prepared her a special meal! They actually made her special gluten free Mickey waffles! They told her they have a waffle maker that is only used for gluten free waffles! My friend said they were the best waffles she had ever had!

Both for lunch and dinner, not only did she have a choice of meals, they also had options for dessert!

Counter service was a bit harder but we still found plenty of options. At Electric Umbrella, they had gluten free rolls. At the Pepper Market (in Coronodo), they made her pancakes for breakfast and pizza for lunch.

It was an amazing experience for her and I just wanted to let others know who may have similar allergies.

 

[greeneggs1082]

That is so great that your friend was able to experience Disney without having to worry about the food and her allergies. It amazes me the level of customer service Disney has. To think that with all the people they feed every day, they are able to cater to those that just can't eat what every one else eats!

 

[bubba]

Thank you for posting ! I was just diagnosed with celiac and have been exploring my gluten-free options for our Disney trip in May. You've made me feel a whole lot more comfortable about my options - thank you !

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

I'm glad you had such a good experience! My mother is also allergic to gluten, and she had the same experience--the chefs all came out to speak with her personally, and in several cases made her the dishes themselves. She felt like royalty.

 

[MrsJD]

Thank you for posting ! I was just diagnosed with celiac and have been exploring my gluten-free options for our Disney trip in May. You've made me feel a whole lot more comfortable about my options - thank you !

This is my DH's first trip to Disney and I have been doing quite a lot of research for his GF options. I also plan to do a dining review after our trip next week, including as much info as I can for the GF meals he has. We have ADR's for Tonys, 50s PT, Akershus, Shutters, Teppan Edo. I will also include what I can about counter service experiences.

Since you are newly diagnosed I will tell you that Outback Steakhouse is our go to place to eat out. They have an extensive GF menu. Carrabba's was also rather accomodating. It gets easier as time goes by to know whats safe and easy. We're going on three years with DH and its second nature now. Also, look for Udi's bread. Great products!!

 

[bubba]

Thanks for the info MrsJD ! It's all a bit overwhelming now, so I appreciate all the help I can get ! I look forward to reading your dining review - enjoy your trip !

 

[mccathy]

Thank you for posting this. This trip is our first with DH's gluten allergy - it was just recently (about 1 year ago) discovered.

He's also worried about finding gluten-free beer.

 

[itradehilton]

Look on the Disabilities thread alittle further down on the main menu. You will find lots of information and reviews. My DS has Celiac and our family has been GF for two years.

 

[wdhinn89]

Thank you for posting this. This trip is our first with DH's gluten allergy - it was just recently (about 1 year ago) discovered.

He's also worried about finding gluten-free beer.

They have Redbridge gluten free beer at Prime Time's

 

[babyrich]

Last year I traveled with a friend who is allergic to peanuts. Everytime we had a TS meal, they asked about any special needs or allergies. The chef actually came to the table to discuss her options and to assure her that her food would not come in contact with any peanuts. And people wonder why Disney vacations are so special

 

[2gr8DisneyKids]

Same experience with a dairy-intolerance. And with a 2 year-old that is not actually on the meal plan! We paid for additional food if at a CS or TS that was not buffet, but if it was a buffet they made her dairy-free Mickey waffles and asked if there was anything else we needed.

When people ask why we go to Disney so often I respond that is really the only way I get a vacation where I do not need to cook!

 

[MousketeerMary]

We have been twice in the past couple of years, and I have been totally amazed how they been over backward for my gluten free husband! The chef usually comes out, shows him if anything is gluten free, and tells him what he can CHANGE on the menu to make it gluten free.

I was worried the first time we went, but now I now this is totally so wonderful for folks with food allergies, the Disney staff really seems to care.

 

[webprinter]

We took DDIL in Dec. It was her first trip to WDW. She absolutely loved it and was shocked at how easy it was to eat there. I think her favorite meal was the fried chicken at 50's PT. She said it was the best fried chicken she has ever had. Now she wants the recipe. The only thing I felt bad about was when we went to the Biergarten. The chef showed her everything she could have. Then went on to tell her all the things extra they could have made her if they weren't so busy. I thought they should have left the last part out.

 

[ambertides]

The GF fried chicken at 50's is AWESOME. Definitely go when it isn't busy, though, they were a little frumpy about my requesting it, but we went at 1:30 and they were pretty packed.

 

[sherabby]

My son has multiple food allergies and this is why we are going back for our 5th trip with him in August. He loves the dining options and he gets dessert too!

 

[pixiedust1125]

They have Redbridge gluten free beer at Prime Time's

Weve also seen Redbridge at Sunshine Seasons! But ive heard you can get it at almost every sit down restaurant you just have to ask because it probably wont be on the menu.

 

[minniejack]

Even though we love Universal because it has such great roller coasters, we chose Disney this year specifically because of the reputation it has for gluten free.

We were looking at the cakes today on this forum and my DD16 has decided that because of their beautiful cakes and that they can be gluten free, that she will someday get married at Disney.

So far they've sent me all of the forms and the Poly club has booked me gf ADR. Looks way better than Universal where we pretty much starved between breakfast and night time.