Experiences with eating gluten-free?

[keamyable]

I've recently been diagnosed with autoimmune issues and have to eat gluten-free. I've been having a horrible time with it at home lately, and it's made me very nervous about food in general. I'm going to WDW in a week and really don't want to be terrified of eating while I'm there. I've seen some reviews online (though a lot are kind of old) and have seen that Disney is apparently really great about allergies and all, but I would really love to hear anyone's personal experiences with gluten-free dining at the parks/resorts for some reassurance. What were the best meals you had? What was disappointing? Anything that surprised you? Any specific restaurants or snacks that I should go for?

(Also if anyone has GF experiences at Universal too I would be thrilled to hear them since there's even less information on that around!)

 

[kiramay]

I don’t have an allergy but wheat causes digestive issues. Most restaurants have a wheat free menu or the chefs will go over items at buffets. I had no problems eating at Sci Fi (salad), BOG (potato soup, turkey sandwich, and roast beef sandwich), Chef Mickey, and Satuli Canteen (got the beef bowl twice). We also ate at the Biergarten but I love the food so much I just dealt with the stomach issues. I’m really looking forward to gf beignets at POFQ this trip.

 

[EEva]

I've recently been diagnosed with autoimmune issues and have to eat gluten-free. I've been having a horrible time with it at home lately, and it's made me very nervous about food in general. I'm going to WDW in a week and really don't want to be terrified of eating while I'm there. I've seen some reviews online (though a lot are kind of old) and have seen that Disney is apparently really great about allergies and all, but I would really love to hear anyone's personal experiences with gluten-free dining at the parks/resorts for some reassurance. What were the best meals you had? What was disappointing? Anything that surprised you? Any specific restaurants or snacks that I should go for?

(Also if anyone has GF experiences at Universal too I would be thrilled to hear them since there's even less information on that around!)

My DD has celiac (as well as type 1 diabetes) and our experience was stellar. She didn't get "glutened" once! She even got to have fries!

Every restaurant we went to had many delicious choices for her. Some that I remember, The Wave, Pinocchio Village Haus, Rose and Crown, Teppon Edo, Crystal Palace, Sunshine Seasons, Mama Melrose.

At each place we would talk with a chef or manager. At the buffet they made her food in the kitchen, so no chance of cross contamination. It was amazing!! We are returning in June mostly due to the fact that Disney takes gluten free so seriously. Other places we travel, we just can't eat out.

 

[etail]

Very easy for GF, just always ask for gf menus. The best was gf naan at Sanaa over at Animal Kingdom Villas. They make it fresh and the chef/baker usually comes out to chat.

 

[EEva]

Very easy for GF, just always ask for gf menus. The best was gf naan at Sanaa over at Animal Kingdom Villas. They make it fresh and the chef/baker usually comes out to chat.

GF NAAN!?! That's a game changer. I may have to revisit my ADRS.

 

[keamyable]

Thank you for the reassurance everyone! It's great to know that they have things like the naan and beignets. Over the holidays I went to some restaurants at home and their gluten free menus were like "Cheeseburger, order with no bun" or "Tortilla soup, order with no tortillas" so it had made me pretty discouraged. Glad to hear I won't feel like I'm missing out on things!

 

[Dug720]

glutenfreedairyfreewdw.com has many of the allergy-friendly menus. Some are not super up to date, but a lot are. Fairytalefoodie.com has reviews of many of the restaurants from a GF perspective also.

Touring Plans also has a good number of the allergy-friendly menus on their site (for some reason I have problems finding the page from the site if I'm on there, but google Touring Plans Menus and there should be a link there for the page.

I'm heading for my first trip to WDW since my wheat allergy was determined, so I can report back after that. I know my experience on DCL was absolutely amazing, so I'm hopeful it will be as good at WDW.

 

[mckennarose]

I've eaten gluten free at Disney for several years and never had an issue. Note it on your ADR's and confirm when you get to the restaurant and they will either give you a special menu or have a chef come out to talk to you. I've had great experiences overall with one exception; Chefs de France. Chefs doesn't have a gf menu and the server had to go back and speak with the chef several times to see what could be made gf for me. Most of what was offered was that they would omit a sauce or substitute with a gf sauce, but that changed the dishes drastically. It wasn't a bad experience, just one that was not as easy or gf friendly.

My favorite places to eat for TS are:
Ohana (gf platter for breakfast and for dinner the meats are all gf. You will get a separate platter of chicken wings and a side of rice), Raglan Road (gf fish and onion rings are AMAZING), Tusker House, Sanaa (HIGHLY recommend the bread service with gf naan and the butter chicken), Biergarten, Spice Road Table (rack of Lamb is terrific!), Bongos, Rose and Crown.

QS favs are: Sunshine Seasons, Cookes of Dublin (same fish and onion rings as Raglan Road), BOG lunch, Flame Tree. I'm excited to try Satuli for the first time on our upcoming trip.

We usually go during Food and Wine or Flower and Garden and a lot of the booths have gf options which are clearly labeled.

I am not a fan of Erin McKenna's baked goods. I also pass on any Enjoy Life cookies if I'm offered them as a dessert option. OMG it's Gluten Free brownies are my favorite snack that you can find at some QS locations, like Sunshine Seasons. The gf beignets at POFQ are good, but I found them a little oily. It didn't stop me from eating a bunch though! It's rare to get a fried gf dessert!

Trust me...you will eat better at Disney than anywhere in your local city!

GF NAAN!?! That's a game changer. I may have to revisit my ADRS.

They will even share the recipe with you if you ask. I emailed guest services requesting it and they sent it to me along with the recipe for red chili sambal, which is my favorite of the bread service sauces!

 

[NOLA_Tink]

Chef TJ at Trail's End is AMAZING!!!!! He made my sister a multi-course fresh meal that was out of this world. Her #1 favorite restaurant was 50's Prime Time Cafe with their gf fried chicken, mashed potatoes, & gf gravy- plus a gf brownie sundae for dessert. (I think you need to email them ahead of time for the friend chicken.) She also loved the gluten-free stuffing and gf options at Liberty Tree Tavern. Best wishes!

 

[Raeven]

In my signature all the ones labeled DTR are our dining reviews, my boyfriend has a gluten allergy so we always review from an allergy perspective as well. We've had nothing but good experiences at Disney and Universal! Just always make sure to mention your allergy, because there are food that aren't gluten free that you would assume are (like nachos for example, the seasoning can be non gf sometimes). Also some of the third party restaurants & some of the lounges (even Disney ones) aren't as accommodating or certain things can't be modified. (For example I don't see a lot of the menu for Morimoto Asia he'd be able to eat and the guy at Territory Lounge at the Wilderness Lodge mentioned nothing on their menu was GF), but usually most will still have something or be willing to make something and all the Disney ones are great, a chef will almost always come out and walk you through what you can eat at a buffet or talk to you directly about what they'll make at all the restaurants.

Favorites from Disney:

• Erin Mckenna's Bakery-Everything is GF here and my boyfriend loves their donuts.
• Port Orleans French Quarter has GF beignets
• Nomad Lounge in AK has GF churros (we've never had these but have been meaning to)
• The festivals at Epcot usually have something, but I've found the selection is kind of small aside from Food & Wine.
• The best dessert party for GF snacks we've been too is the one in MK, they brought out a huge tray of Erin Mckenna's snakcs instead of a pre-packaged selection.
• A lot of places will have have GF pizza, but Blaze Pizza also has GF pizza and you can customize those.
• Deviled eggs/shrimp and grits at Homecoming (there aren't a ton of GF choices here because there's no dedicated fryer, but he always seems to enjoy what he can eat there).
• California Grill brunch
• Dluxe Burger has great burgers and fries
• I know steak is pretty much always GF, but he enjoyed steak at Jiko and Shulas, and the swordfish steak at the Boathouse
• Ale and Compass Restaurant has a 12 layer GF cake
• Boma has great choices for breakfast, a chef made him his own waffles, got him some donuts, made him an omelet etc. Most buffets will get you/make you whatever they can.
• At Mexican restaurants a lot of dishes that have flour tortillas they can sub in a corn one.
• Chinese food isn't usually safe, so he loves being able to eat at Yak and Yeti which has a good selection of GF Chinese food.
• Ohana dinner
• Las Ventanas has a GF french toast dish
• Overall most places will have GF buns for burgers, some kind of potatoes dish, dedicated fryers for fries, meat dishes that are GF, salads, GF pasta, some kind of sorbet/creme brulee/ice cream/flourless cake for dessert so you'll have options.

For Universal I wouldn't really advise QS for GF food, but I'm also not a huge fan of their QS. Though I've heard the ones in the Harry Potter sections aren't bad.

Favorites from Universal:

• Chocolate banana cake from Mythos
• Tuscan tomato soup from Mythos (without the croutons in it) they also give you cut up GF burger buns for the bread service which are actually really good.
• Margaritaville has a huge GF menu and is actually really good.
• The Kitchen at the Hard Rock also has a lot of GF choices, and was delicious.
• Islands at the Royal Pacific Resort has a gluten free breakfast pizza.
• Chicken alfredo and flourless chocolate cake at Toothsome
• The peanut butter burger at Cowfish (they have GF buns and fries)
• I've heard Vivo has GF pasta.
• I'm pretty sure Butterbeer is GF, but they also have a vanilla lemonade and other drinks in the Wizarding World.

 

[Dug720]

I am not a fan of Erin McKenna's baked goods.

I'm so glad I'm not the only one. I first encountered her stuff as "Babycakes Bakery" and was less than impressed. We have a MUCH better place in NYC (Tu-Lu's) that is amazing.

I'd RATHER eat pre-packaged stuff (even the Enjoy Life cookies) than Erin McKenna's junk.