Gluten-free at World Showcase and Downtown Disney

[Wonder2008]

Hello,

I'd like to hear some opinions and personal experiences with gluten-free dining at World Showcase and Downtown Disney. I chose those two because many of the restaurants there aren't Disney-owned. So far, I've eaten at China's Lotus Blossom Cafe (just OK), Mexico's Cantina (good), Rainforest Cafe (not good, but it was quite a few years ago so hopefully things have changed), and Babycakes (very good).

I'd like to hear if there are particular restaurants that you'd recommend I try, or, if there are restaurants I should avoid. I'm not a very "fancy" eater, but I like to try new things.

Thank you in advance for any information you can provide,
Robert

 

[dizney4us]

Both our daughters are GF, they LOVE to dine at Germany. A lot of the items on the buffet are GF to begin with, but in the past we have had it noted on our reservation and the chef (Paul) has made lots of special things for them. He is wonderful! Had good luck in Italy also, and Mexico. No luck, however, for GF in France.

 

[primrosea]

I would also LOVE any feedback people have from recent Gluten Free trips. Although we have been to WDW a couple of times the past couple of years , this trip will be our first as a Gluten Free Family. It seems like the choices are endless, but being the crazy planner I am I would love any specific suggestions of great restaurants or those to avoid, especially those that Gluten Free children have eaten at!

 

[DVC_Princess]

Our past few trips, we have been having dinner at Coral Reef because I feel unsure about some of the WS restaurants. The food has been excellent and their chocolate wave dessert is TDF!

However, I have eaten at the outdoor Mexican cantina post renovation and menu change. This was Oct. and I was very disappointed. I could only eat the chicken enchiladas which I did not like and would not order again. They were very spicy (rare for WDW). I generally like heat but these were uncomfortably spicy and lacked any additional flavor. The entire rest of the menu was off limits. Apparently, the chips and churros use the same fryer making them completely cross contaminated. I used to enjoy this restaurant and outdoor atmosphere but no more!

Alternatively, I ate at La hacienda and enjoyed it. And the last time I was inside at San Angel Inn, they had changed the salsa and added wheat. So I'm less enthusiastic about that restaurant these days as well.

My only other experiences are the Princess Breakfast at Norway (decent food, felt safe eating it, but nothing to rave over) in April and Rose & Crown Pub. We ate there last Aug. (2010) and I haven't been back. Had the Shepard's pie which was decent and the House Salad (terrible, tasted like they added a pound of salt, how do u mess up a house salad?). But the waitstaff was clueless about allergies and at one point during the meal asked how I liked the "malt dressing". I of course panicked it was barley but she went and checked with the chef and apparently she had the wrong dish in mind. I did not feel safe there.

Also, whenever I'm at DTD, we have been heading over to Saratoga for the Turf Club. I have had many excellent meals there and Chef Ron is so knowledgeable about food allergies. Love it there!

 

[3prettyprincesses]

I agree, Coral Reef was an excellent GF meal. The chef was very knowledgable and my meal was delicious. It was one of my favorites of our whole trip. A must-do for our next Disney trip for sure.

WS makes me a tad nervous too. We ate at San Angel Inn twice for lunch last trip. The first time, excellent, no issues. The second time, our waitress barely understood English. I asked for the chef to come over and she kept saying something else to me. When the chef finally did arrive, I was relieved since it was the same chef from our lunch a couple of days ago. However, just as I was about to eat the green salsa he brought me, I noticed it was too green, like it had avocado in it which I am severely allergic to. I quickly asked him if there was, and he got really embarassed and said it did have avocado and whisked it away from my table. After that, I was really, really leary of eating anything there and he hovered over our table the entire time like he was worried I was going to have a reaction. So, honestly, I won't eat there again.

I have read excellent GF reviews of Le Cellier but have yet to try it since going GF myself. I've also heard great things about La Hacienda too.

Akershus was a great experience as well. We had breakfast and it was very good.

OP, I can understand your worry about the WS restaurants since they're not Disney owned. Eating GF (or with any food allergy) is risky but Disney does such an excellent job!

 

[clanmcculloch]

In WS we'll generally choose between Akershus, Biergarten or LeCellier for TS. Yes, all Disney owned restaurants. We don't eat CS in WS though in a pinch we'd go to the American pavillion. We've had very good experiences at each of these TS restaurants though LC really does not have very many options but we go because DD13 is a HUGE steak and mushroom fan (the chef sautees a bunch of mushrooms for her filet since due to other allergies she can't have the mushroom risotto so it's one of her favourite restaurants despite lack of options; DD11 has to just deal since there's very little she likes that she can actually eat). The majority of the non-dessert items on the buffet at Biergaten are already gluten free which is so wonderful. Even my fussy DD11 found plenty to eat there which surprised me. Chefs at Akershus have been wonderful and extremely accomodating every time we've eaten there as well. There were plenty of options including a lot of stuff from the cold bar.

Our one experience at Chefs de France is when I learned that non-Disney owned restaurants are NOT the same as Disney owned. They definitely lived up to the French reputation with their rudeness. It was a pain getting the chef to come out to speak with us and we were definitely made to feel like we were a huge inconvenience to both our waiter and the chef and they had very few options for us. DD13 (9 at the time) ended up with a bunless burger and dressingless salad for lunch followed by fruit for dessert. Yeah, that's what every kid wants to eat; NOT.

I would consider Rose & Crown if I thought my kids would be interested in anything on the menu.

I'm considering trying the Mexico cantina but now I'm wondering if we can. I thought there were some kind of tacos that were gluten free. I'll have to check the latest menus when they come in to see.

 

[Wonder2008]

Hello,

Thank you for all of your comments.

DVC_Princess - In December 2010, I was able to eat at the new Mexico Cantina. I got the chicken tacos completely unmodified because they are/were corn tortillas. Is that not the case anymore?

clanmcculloch - Thanks for pointing out that some World Showcase restaurants are Disney-owned (I didn't know that). Do you know for sure which World Showcase restaurants are Disney-owned and which aren't?

Robert

 

[DVC_Princess]

DVC_Princess - In December 2010, I was able to eat at the new Mexico Cantina. I got the chicken tacos completely unmodified because they are/were corn tortillas. Is that not the case anymore?

Sorry, I misspoke, it was the chicken tacos that I ate (not enchiladas). But unfortunately, mine were terrible. Maybe I caught them on a bad day? I don't know when churros were added to the menu (if it happened at the reopening or shortly thereafter) but that's the change that affected the menu. I really used to enjoy the nachos but can't have them anymore due to cross contamination.

 

[clanmcculloch]

clanmcculloch - Thanks for pointing out that some World Showcase restaurants are Disney-owned (I didn't know that). Do you know for sure which World Showcase restaurants are Disney-owned and which aren't?

I am sure that LeCellier, Biergarten and Akershus are Disney owned and operated. I think Rose & Crown is as well but I'm not 100% positive and haven't bothered to confirm since the menu just doesn't interest us (well, it would if we didn't have allergies but nothing that looks easily modifiable to be safe interests us).

Teppan Edo is not Disney owned but it has a great reputation for handling allergies. I know that China, Morocco, Italy and Mexico are not Disney owned and operated.

 

[Wonder2008]

Thank you both again!

Robert

 

[jcano]

We went last month with 2 gf DDs.

At DTD we ended up at Planet Hollywood after trying Wolfgang Puck's (nothing available in the quick serve and we just didn't want what they had at the sit-down). They both went for the chicken tender and baked fries at PH. I can't remember the other options. Ghirardelli for hot fudge sundaes were fabulous. They had an allergen menu available at the register. My gf app on my phone also listed the Italian place as having gf pasta available, but that wasn't guaranteed. It recommended calling ahead.

At Epcot, we loved the Garden Grill. Great character interaction and most of the menu was already gf. The set menu scared me a bit with the selections, but we really liked it all...except the fish (other allergies messed that up).

We also ate at Teppan Edo as we have in the past. They always do the girls' first with gf soy sauce.

We tried the Mexican cantina this time and were very happy with the tacos.

We ate gf at Disney parks or resorts for 8 days with no complaints...now THAT'S a vacation!

 

[Wonder2008]

jcano - I had a sundae at Ghirardelli too a few years ago - it was amazing! I'm not really interested in Planet Hollywood, but thank you anyway. We ate at the Garden Grill in 2006 - I really liked the revolving restaurant, but wasn't thrilled with the menu.

Robert