Gluten Free 4yr old - which restaurants were most accomodating?

[lam21575]

Hi there!

My DD will be 4 for our trip in October and has Celiac disease so on a gluten free diet. I know many of the Disney restaurants are very accommodating to food allergies/special diets (will be such a relief to travel and not worry!). She is a great eater and not terribly picky, but her faves are the typical children staples...pancakes, waffles, chx nuggets and mac and cheese, which are hard to find GF most restaurants. If anyone has recommondations for Disney restaurants where you've had good experience eating GF with a child, I'd love to know!

Thanks so much.

 

[cwhite92]

Hi there!

My DD will be 4 for our trip in October and has Celiac disease so on a gluten free diet. I know many of the Disney restaurants are very accommodating to food allergies/special diets (will be such a relief to travel and not worry!). She is a great eater and not terribly picky, but her faves are the typical children staples...pancakes, waffles, chx nuggets and mac and cheese, which are hard to find GF most restaurants. If anyone has recommondations for Disney restaurants where you've had good experience eating GF with a child, I'd love to know!

Thanks so much.

I have worked in Disney at a quick service restaurant. Disney is VERY accommodating to food allergies. The managers of the location make the food themselves in special fryers, ovens, ect. For gluten allergies (at my location) they had gluten free chicken fingers and bread, brownies and cookies. I'm not sure about other locations but i'm sure they are mostly the same! Just ask! I hope this helps!!

 

[Leota]

I had a whole raft of food intolerance issues on our last trip (due to leaky gut) I was gluten, dairy, egg & peanut free as well as some minor ones..... Disney couldn't have been more accommodating! I ate my first chicken wing in a year at Ohana, my first french fry at Typhoon Lagoon, an amazing breakfast at The Wave.....

Just let the hostess/server know or ask for a mgr. at any CS location & they will take great care of you. Because of how many issues I had, I contacted Special Diets ahead of time & they sent me a whole package of info & asked me to fill out a form telling them where I would be eating & when. But I understand that if you aren't faced with as many issues, you don't have to go thru all that.

 

[suffieldhockeymom]

Email special dietsSpecial.Diets@DisneyWorld.com and they can send a file that lists all the GF options at each dining location so that you can plan ahead. These items are not on the menu so you have to know what to ask for. In DTD, the cupcakes at BabyCakes NYC are all GF(as well as egg, milk and soy free). I did this for my son's milk/soy allergies. This is some of the options off his list:


Disney's Animal Kingdom® Theme Park

Flame Tree Barbecue

Gluten Free Burger Bun
Gluten Free Hot Dog Bun
Tapioca Hot Dog Roll - Ener-G®

Pizzafari

Macaroni & Cheese - Amy's®
Pizza Shell - Udi's®
Pizza, OG, Cheese, Rice Crust - Amy's®
Soy Milk Vanilla - Kikkoman®

Restaurantosaurus

AllergyFree Chicken Tenders
Gluten Free Burger Bun
Gluten Free Hot Dog Bun
Macaroni & Cheese - Amy's®
Soy Milk Vanilla - Kikkoman®

 

[hkeller27]

WE have 2 GF kids (in addition to myself) so we've been around the block! Hands down the best GF counter service experience we've had was at the Contempo Cafe in the Contemporary - they had EVERYTHING. Chicken fingers, pizza, mac and cheese, bread (grilled cheese, sandwiches), rolls (burgers), cupcakes.....the list went on and on. The worst though was Captain Cooks at the Poly - everything seemed to have soy sauce and there were few GF alternatives.

Columbia Harbor House is one of our favorite stops for the kids. Not every counter service location will have GF chicken fingers (a favorite for our kids), but you can get them, or mac and cheese, here! Pizza Planet and Pinnochio's have GF pizza (last we had was Amy's brand and it takes awhile to cook).

America in Epcot has great kid options - more nuggets and mac and cheese to be found here! La Hacienda in Epcot has corn tortillas for tacos!

Sunshine Seasons was fantastic too - the Grill section had chicken legs, mashed potatoes, rice, veggies - all GF!

Not every location has a dedicated fryer for french fries; we love to stop at Casey's for hot dogs (and they have good GF rolls), but the fryer there is NOT dedicated. They will usually always mention if it is/is not, but if they do not make sure you ask!

 

[clanmcculloch]

If a restaurant serves breakfast then they have some kind of gluten free waffle. A few (CRT, Crystal Palace, Akershus) serve Van's but the rest do Mickey waffles using Bob's Red Mill, Namaste or a combination of both.

The allergy chicken tenders (DELICIOUS BTW) are available at a lot of the TS and CS restaurants. When you email the Special Diets department, they'll send you an attachment that includes where you can find them. Same with the gluten free crusts, pastas and mac & cheese.

 

[Jessicalynne]

This is wonderful info!