Gluten Free Counter Service at Epcot

[123SA]

I assumed that my son would have an easy time finding gluten free (celiac) food at Epcot, but I am having a hard time finding safe places. We have two days in August scheduled at Epcot, during the food & wine festival. I'm looking for 4 meals. I see that there are gluten friendly options at the festival, but he needs gluten free. I did read a suggestion to check with the chefs at the booths, but that seems like a bad plan. Go from booth to booth, wait in line, question the chef, and then decide no this isn't go to work, so go wait in a different line?

I started looking at the counter service menus, but the only gluten free menus I can find is for the Regal Eagle and Spice Road table (I don't think I can convince him to try a lamb kebab). Are there really no other options? He will be happy with Regal Eagle, but not 2 times a day on two different days. Does anyone have experience ordering gluten free from any of these places? DO I just look at the menus, see if there's something he would eat if it was gluten free then ask? Although, I am back where I started...having to go from place to place , wait, ask questions, and potentially start over again at a different place. Seems like it shouldn't be this hard.

No allergy menu listed
Katsura Grill
La Catina
Les Halles Boulangerie-Patisserie
Lotus Blossom
The Refreshment Port
Refreshment Outpost
Sommerfest
Sunshine Seasons
Traveler's Cafe
Yorkshire


Allergy Menu listed
Regal Eagle - will try this
Spice Road - probably won't be willing to try it

THanks for your help.

 

[Eeyore daily]

Gluten friendly is what Disney uses as a term for gluten free so he could eat those items however if you're concerned about cross contamination just know that every place has a risk of that.

I believe Katsura Grill has some gluten free chicken teriyaki but not 100% sure as I've never eaten there. I've only read about it. The quick service in Mexico also has gluten free options since I believe a lot of the tortillas and chips are all made from corn and not flour. Les Halls doesn't have anything but crème brulee and macrons so that's not very filling for a meal but delicious for desert! Sunshine seasons has gluten free options as well.

 

[armerida]

My go-to’s at Epcot are the Mexican quick service (la Choza for Tostadas, la Cantina de San Angel for tacos, nachos etc.). Regal Eagle is also an excellent choice - you can get an extra order of their GF garlic toast as a side if you speak to someone inside, yum! Sommerfest in Germany has GF buns for the sausages. France has yummy sweet treats like the macaron ice cream sandwiches, creme brûlée, chocolate mousse.
This year’s Food and Wine festival has a ton of GF options, probably more than any other year as far as I can remember! The 2 savory dishes at the Mexico booth are confirmed GF even tho not marked on the menu. (The dessert option is not).

 

[123SA]

Gluten friendly is what Disney uses as a term for gluten free so he could eat those items however if you're concerned about cross contamination just know that every place has a risk of that.

Thank you for your response. I appreciate the time it takes to write a response, and reading people's experiences helps understand how we can proceed.

Yes, we are aware that everywhere he goes for the rest of his life, there is a chance of cross contamination. It is a sad conclusion to come to.

However, I think there is a difference between stating this food is (naturally) gluten free - which is what I think they mean by gluten friendly -- and saying we are are going to make a concerted effort not to contaminate this food. In trying to understand the language, I thought the food booths were saying, sure this is gluten free, but we are in a food booth in an amusement park - -there is a real risk for contamination here. While the label allergy friendly for gluten used by some of the restaurants and CS places means we are making a real effort to provide safe food and while it is possible to contaminate the food, it is not very likely. Unfortunately, my son needs the really likely it won't be contaminated..so I'm looking for places that have that standard.


I was just surprised that more places didn't have the allergy friendly menus like the CS places in MK,AK and DHS do.

 

[MDIME]

I also have celiac disease and on my Epcot day last January we had lunch/snacks/drinks from the Festival of the Arts booths during the day. For dinner we made an ADR for Trattoria al Forno at the Boardwalk. It was fantastic! We just went out through the IG and made sure to be done before the park closed so we could get back to our car.

 

[cyndiella]

I am gluten sensitive and have found every place (Table service) I have eaten at in the past 7 years and 12 visits have been super accomodating, Just because a restaurant doesn't have a GF menu on line does not mean they don't have GF choices. Ask to speak to a chef, have your food allergy noted on your reservation. Most often the chef will tell you he can make almost anything on the menu GF so don't worry. Quick service also has options.

 

[123SA]

I am gluten sensitive and have found every place (Table service) I have eaten at in the past 7 years and 12 visits have been super accomodating, Just because a restaurant doesn't have a GF menu on line does not mean they don't have GF choices. Ask to speak to a chef, have your food allergy noted on your reservation. Most often the chef will tell you he can make almost anything on the menu GF so don't worry. Quick service also has options.

Thanks! I do have some table service reservations and I feel okay with them. Recently, we had an unfortunate trip to a local chain restaurant that advertises their gluten-free menu, so he's definitely nervous about eating food not prepared at home.

 

[GinnyBear's_mom]

Restaurants in World Showcase are notoriously bad for handling food allergies as many of the locations are not owned by Disney and they do not have to follow the same training and procedures as those owned by Disney.

Sunshine Seasons does have an allergy menu listed on the app and they also usually have some good pre-packaged gf brownies or cookies so you might want to check that out to add more variety.

Although they are table service, Coral Reef, Rose and Crown and Garden Grill have allergy menus on the app as well. Biergarten used to be a great option but with their new limited menu the gf options they offer might not justify the price.

 

[cyndiella]

Thanks! I do have some table service reservations and I feel okay with them. Recently, we had an unfortunate trip to a local chain restaurant that advertises their gluten-free menu, so he's definitely nervous about eating food not prepared at home.

I hear you on that! Went to Olive Garden last weekend, first time since the plague - ordered off the GF menu and got "Glutened".. not a great week for me and not never going back to OG! I have never been Glutened at Disney! Not afraid to eat there!

 

[Ermise]

I can relate to your concerns. Our son has Celiac and is very sensitive to cross-contamination. We do not feel comfortable eating at 99% of local/chain restaurants in our area. We have been to Disney World several times since our son was diagnosed and we feel comfortable eating anywhere within the parks, but we do make a point to speak to a chef wherever we dine, table service or counter service to make sure they understand his level of sensitivity. Our son has not experienced any symptoms of eating anything contaminated while there.

I agree with your assessments of the festival booths. We would only consider one if every item made in the booth was gluten free and I think the last time we went there was only one.

Sunshine Seasons is a great GF option for counter service at EPCOT especially at the grilling station. The rotisserie chicken and salmon are great options.

The allergy menus can be helpful but you will find there are additional options that can be made safely by the chef, especially at the table service restaurants. It is helpful to speak to them to not only ensure safe meals, but it also opens the door to other possibilities not listed on the allergy menu.

The frustrating part for us has been locating the allergy menus online. For some strange reason WDW itself is a terrible resource. I don't know that the policy is here for recommending other websites but Gluten Free and Dairy Free at WDW has many updated allergy menus. Alexis's Gluten Free Adventures is another great resource with helpful reviews and photos of food.

 

[Shellyred8]

I'll hop on board of the Sunshine Seasons bandwagon for GF items. I also really liked Reagle Eagle for their GF items. Someone else mentioned Trattoria Al Forno over at the Boardwalk. I had their kids spaghetti and meatballs on my last trip and it was really good.

 

[Lisa_lvspplmvr]

My daughter’s favorite meal was the salmon at Sunshine Seasons . We went back for it a second day . It really was nice and fresh . While she doesn’t have a food allergy her twin brother is allergic to peanuts/ tree nuts . He is anaphylactic to peanuts so I know your concerns . I went through all of the quick service in each park to find allergy menus for him ahead of time . At Epcot Sunshine Seasons and Regal Eagle are the only QS with allergy menus on the website. At Sunshine Seasons you order at the register . It comes with an allergen stick to let you know it’s safe .
Not sure if you’d like other QS spots with allergen menus but here’s what I’ve found .
Magic Kingdom- Tomorrowland Terrace , Pecos Bills , Cosmic Rays , and Pinocchio village house
Hollywood Studios - PizzaRizzo , Backlot Express, ABC Commissary, Ronto Roasters , Woody’s Lunchbox , Rosie’s
Animal Kingdom - Satuli Canteen, Flame Tree , Restaurantosaurus
Disney Springs- Deluxe Burger
Hope this helps

 

[LiteBrite]

Hubby and I are both very gluten intolerant, and we find Epcot to be a little challenging for counter service, primarily because so few of them are run by Disney, which means we feel less safe with them. This isn't to say that you won't find anything safe, just that it's more of a hunt, and you have to be a lot more proactive, asking to speak to a chef or manager.

Regal Eagle is our favorite, but in the past we've had success with La Cantina and Sunshine Seasons. I know everybody's saying the same places, which is probably because of how limited the safe CS choices are at Epcot.

 

[123SA]

Reporting back -- My son had no problems with food he ate at Epcot. He had Regal Eagle twice, different items. He really liked the food, and the staff seemed very knowledgeable. He had food from the Australia Booth and lunch at Coral Reef.

11 day trip and he had issues only on the last day and we can't figure out from where...in the end I think he decided it was from drinking out of the wrong water bottle.