Gluten Free Dining .... a Piece of Cake (well, GF cake)!

[CrabbyPatty]

First of all, I don't know HOW you guys do it - taking detailed and lovely pictures of every meal! Personally, we all loved our meals so much that I never even had time to snap a picture before we started devouring the food!

So, if you'll bear with me, instead of pictures, how about a thousand words in exchange for each picture?

Our party: Myself, my good friend of 25 years, my 8-yr-old daughter and my friend's 7-yr-old grandniece (my daughter's best friend). We came for a week of fun with no grand plans to see everything, but to have fun where ever we went, and to enjoy all the free food with the DDP!

August 26th: We arrived late afternoon, checked into CBR, the girls went swimming and we dressed for dinner (actually, dresses for all of us - we thought it would be nice for the first night and would look lovely with our flower leis from the Polynesian), took the bus over to MK, and the monorail to the Polynesian for dinner at Kona Cafe at 7:40 p.m.

The place was BUSY, and the whole second floor seemed to be fairly packed - lots of noise.

We checked in, got a buzzer and waited about 7-10 minutes before we were seated. I thought the tables were very close together, and it seemed that our waitress was VERY busy with many tables. We waited a while for drinks, but I did like that I could get a virgin Pina Colada for my beverage here - nice touch!

I have a gluten allergy, so we waited until the Chef came to talk with me. He offered to make the Teriyaki steak with a gluten-free soy sauce, plus offered some dessert suggestions. Then we had to wait until the waitress came to take our orders, and then more time before we finally got drinks, and then finally our meals.

The girls each ordered chicken noodle soup as their appetizer and it looked like they enjoyed it. One ordered ravioli (which she downed in about 2 seconds flat) and the other had a burger. They both ordered the sundae. They were very happy.

My friend had the Pomegranate Barbecued Pork Chop with fingerling potatoes and Swiss chard. I had a taste of the pork - it was very good, although I think the term "barbecued" is a bit misleading - it seemed like more of a pomegranate marinate / glaze, IMHO.

I had the teriyaki steak, with sticky rice and broccolini. The glaze was served on the side. The steak wasn't the highest quality, but it was good.

For dessert, I had the chocolate fondue, which came with strawberries, melons and kiwi, plus three macroons (it also comes with a lacy cookie for those who aren't gluten free (GF). The chocolate was wonderful - definitely NOT your Hershey-syrup level of chocolate. Very smooth and very rich-tasting, and I was not able to finish it and took the macroons home to snack on later. It was a very satisfying end to the meal.

My friend had the creme brulee, which she enjoyed very much.

In general, we enjoyed the meal, although the service was a bit slow because the place was PACKED. Also the noise level was high. Although I will say that my friend didn't think it was as loud as I did, so maybe I was just more tired and bit more sensitive to noise that evening.

Cost for the meal - roughly $85, or $0 on the DDP and 4 TS credits.

Edited: I totally forgot that the Chef brought out some GF tapioca rolls for me, which were warm, along with some whipped butter while the rest of the party had the standard warm bread and butter.
Personally, I'm not the hugest fan of GF bread since I think it tends to taste very dry, but boy oh boy spread with butter, these rolls were pretty darn good!

 

[BeccaGrace]

Great review...looking forward to the rest of your report! My girls are both gluten (and dairy) free so I am interested in hearing how it worked out speaking to the chefs and what options you were offered. Also how long it took to get the special ordered items.

Sounds like a yummy trip!

 

[bluejasmine]

Yea! We will be eatting at Kona in 2 wks!

 

[let'sgo]

Sounds like a great trip--nice and leisurely. I'm looking forward to reading your reviews!

 

[CrabbyPatty]

On the 27th, we had an 8:05 a.m. breakfast at Akershus. It was wonderful to be able to walk around Epcot with almost no one there, and as we made our way to Norway (a bit later than the 15 minutes before they recommend you get there), there was a short line waiting to check in, and then another short line waiting to be seated.

After a short 5 minute wait, the girls had their picture with Belle and we were escorted to a nice table for four in the same room as the buffet line. The waiter, Stefan, came right away and told me the chef would stop by shortly to discuss my GF options. While my friend and the girls went to the buffet table, the Chef stopped by (about 2-3 minute wait) to discuss my options, which was just about everything (except for the "usual suspects" like bread items) except the cheesy potato casserole which has a slight bechamel binding using flour.

The buffet line had fresh fruit, yogurt, cheeses, lovely looking breads and pastries, cold meats, etc.

The waiter then brought the platter with bacon, scrambled eggs, potato wedges and the cheesy potato casserole. While I'm not a huge fan of scrambled eggs, Disney does make WONDERFUL scrambled eggs - not dry and very moist and tasty. We really enjoyed them throughout our trip!

The cheesy potato casserole (which I sampled despite the GF warning) was also WONDERFUL. The whole buffet was very satisfying and had a good selection of items. We really enjoyed it.

Also, the princess interaction was great. You really have to admire Disney - they have it down on how to get the characters through a room efficiently. The princesses started in another "wing" of the restaurant and we could see them approach, so we could gauge when to get our autograph books ready, etc.

When they approached, they worked the room in the same pattern each time, so you knew when they were coming to your table next. The interaction was quick, but didn't seem rushed at all. And the princess dresses were just GORGEOUS. Each princess signed the autograph books, had pictures with the girls, and then answered any questions they may have had and then said goodbye.

We didn't feel rushed at all during this buffet and really enjoyed the food. The princess interaction was great, and we saw Belle, Arial, Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. The picture with Belle was also included in the meal (one large picture plus 5 smaller ones) which I thought made this buffet a very good deal.

While I won't go to Kona Cafe again, I would definitely do this buffet breakfast again on a future trip. Cost for the meal: $106.46 or $0 on the DDP plan and 4 table service credits.

Coming up later that same day ...... an early dinner at Old Port Royale (CBR).

Edited to note that unlike some posts I saw earlier about princess dresses, not every kid at this breakfast wears a princess dress. In our smaller dining area of perhaps 8 tables, there was one table of four sisters that all had princess dresses on, and I noticed one or two kids in line with princess dresses, but it was definitely NOT a dress-up event.

 

[Sandy321]

very nice reviews - and I had to chuckle at the camera comment - I love taking photos - but I dont ever get around to do a review!!

Thanks for taking the time!!

 

[CrabbyPatty]

After a morning with highs (Soarin') and lows (the constant whines of "I want to go back to the hotel and swim!"), we staved off some of that complaining by getting snacks, courtesy of the DDP. The girls got a Mickey ice cream bar and a Mickey ice cream sandwich - $3.25 each - $0 and 2 snack credits on the DDP plan.

They ate the bars in the shade of the Coral Reef restaurant bench outside, and I must admit that the Mickey-shaped chocolate-covered bar was EXCELLENT (which I finished after DD ate her fill and had a mouth COVERED in chocolate).

We hopped back to the hotel, swam in the pool a bit, and then had an very early dinner (old-folks "early" - like 4:15 p.m.!) at the Port Old Royale. The girls had the cheese pizza, which was VERY small, and not very tasty. They each left part of their pizza and filled up on chocolate pudding and breadsnacks (also not very tasty - very dry and hard).

The adults had the chicken caesar salad, which was surprisingly tasty and chocked full of chicken strips. While the salads were good, we later learned to wait until 5:00 p.m. when the broiler opened. The broiler at POR has very good full meals, with protein (steak, chicken, salmon), potatoes, rice or beans on the side, plus bread. We got these items in later meals and thought they were excellent.

Up next: MK, Main Street Bakery and Sunshine Seasons.

 

[CrabbyPatty]

We started out our day at MK, eating at the Main Street Bakery. We got there fairly easy (not RD early, but about 9:30) and got plenty of carbs for breakfast. There was a bit of a line and I'd estimate we waited about 10 minutes to order and pay for our items. The girls got bagels and cream cheese, water and juice and my friend got a pastry, grapes and a drink.

Being GF, I passed on the rolls, and just had some juice, a Lara bar and nut/raisin mix I'd packed in my purse. I'm personally not found of the gooey roll/juice combo as a breakfast (give me bacon any day ...... hhhmmm, BACON ....) but everyone in our group was satisfied with the quick breakfast and we were soon on our way. I estimated our bill at about $35, or $0 on the DDP plan and 3 counter service meals.

After a morning filled with Dumbo, Haunted Mansion, It's a Small World (twice), Magic Carpets (twice), Tiki Room, etc., we found ourselves in AdventureLand by the Aloha Isle stand.

Now I will freely admit that I had previously MOCKED the Glory that is The Dole Whip Pineapple Float, and I am here to tell you that it is probably the most refreshing snack I had at Disney, and there is absolutely nothing like it on a hot, sticky day. They are HUGE and incredibly wonderful, and my friend and I each had one, while the girls had small cups of ice cream. Our snacks cost about $15, or $0 on the DDP and 4 snack credits.

We went back to the hotel, swam again, and then headed back to Epcot for dinner and Illuminations.

We ate at Sunshine Seasons, and liked the variety of foods offered. I had a rosemary rottisseri chicken with carrots and potatoes with Vitamin Water, and my daughter had the mini-sub with applesauce and carrots and Dasani. The chicken was really tasty, and very satisfying. I don't know what Disney does with their potatoes, and my friend and I debated throughout the trip if they are real or some sort of incredibly tasty mix, but they are GOOD. DD had my chocolate cake dessert, which has some wonderful tasting chocolate frosting on top.

My friend had chicken sweet n' sour with the Fruit Tulip (a lovely-looking little tart) for dessert and her niece had the kid's chicken drumstick meal with mashed potatoes and applesauce. I think we all cleaned our plates that night.

I liked that there were some other offerings for kids at Sunshine Seasons. If I were a kid at Disney, I would be dismayed with cheese pizza, chicken nuggets and the like, but neither of the girls complained during the trip and between eating chicken drumsticks, subs, and shrimp (later at Teppon Edo) plus eating the desserts that came with the adult meals, I think they were very satisfied!

For some reason, I didn't write down the cost of these meals, but using Allears as a guide, I would estimate about $45.00, or $0 on the DDP and 4 counter service credits.

Up next: Tusker House and Dino-Bites!

 

[natalielongstaff]

great reviews ( even without piccies! )

 

[tscrapper]

Hi CrabbyPatty

Is there any place at down town Disney where you ate my hubby is Celiac andI don't know where to go in DD to eat... either counter service or quick service.

 

[valree]

Great reviews! I am also GF and was a little concerned about eating at Kona. I've had my eye on the teriyaki steak. You said it wasn't the best quality - was it fatty?

 

[CrabbyPatty]

Thanks for the questions. Sorry, we didn't get to Downtown Disney, but if you are interested in what various restaurants can do for GF guests, you can contact the Special Diets department at WDW - specialdiets@disneyworld.com - and they will send you a list of what you can or can't eat at various restaurants.

Also, after I made my ADRs, I got either emails or phone calls from some of the restaurants telling me what they could substitute to make a meal GF. Disney is VERY helpful in this area!

RE: the steak at Kona. I just went to TGIFriday's the other day with my daughter and ordered their steak/potatoes meal for $9.99. I thought THAT steak was better than the one at the Kona Cafe, in that the texture was finer and it had a really good taste.

However, the steak at Kona wasn't fatty or gristly ...... I just didn't think it was one of those "OMG, the best steak I ever ate!" meals. But then again, I had a GF teriyaki steak served on the side and perhaps the original meal is more of a marinated steak and has a much more intense flavor? I'm not certain. Sorry to have confused you on that!

 

[CrabbyPatty]

We had an 9:05 a.m. breakfast at Tusker House on Saturday, arriving a few minutes early. We waited for a few minutes to be seated, but I ran over to Kilimanjaro Safaris which is just right around the corner and got FPs for our safari after breakfast, so the timing worked out very well.

As you come up to the restaurant, they take your picture with Donald Duck - dressed in safari gear - and then you can purchase it later for $30 if you wish.

The waitress brought us water and jungle juice fairly quickly (and yes, that juice is REALLY good) and the Chef came over in a few minutes to discuss the menu. Other than the obvious items like bread, there was little on the buffet that I COULDN'T have, and the Chef offered to make me some GF Mickey waffles.

Those Mickey waffles are the ONLY food picture I took the entire trip, and while they looked very nice, actually they weren't incredibly tasty. But I think that's more because GF breads just aren't as moist as wheat-based items so even though you can drench those waffles with butter and syrup, they still have this sort of stick-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth dryness, IMHO.

We all enjoyed the buffet - my daughter found they had Froot Loops [sigh] and really liked that, along with a doughnut (hey, we were on vacation!), and I thought that ham was very good, along with the fruit, yogurt, sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs, potato wedges, etc. They also had two frittatas that looked very good, and the tator tots on the kid's menu were good. Cost for the breakfast was $70.25 or $0 on the DDP plan and 4 table service credits.

After exploring Animal Kingdom, and sweltering in the sun to ride the Triceratops Spin and waiting for the girls to play in the Boneyard, we went over to Dino Bite Snacks about 1:30. They have a nice sitting area off to the side with a canopy, so it's a good spot to get out of the sun. We ordered a coke float and a root beer float, plus the chocolate chip ice cream sandwich and a large bottled water - $15, or $0 on the DDP and 4 snack credits.

The floats were small, but very refreshing! For the ice cream sandwich, you have a choice of either oatmeal raisin or chocolate chip cookies and there are three snoops of ice cream in the middle. It's really good sized - not "our entire family ate this, and still have some left-over" - but more than enough for a hungry and hot kid!

Later: Old Port Royale once again, and some good counter service pizza ....

 

[BeccaGrace]

OMG, they can make GF Mickey waffles!?!?!
My girls won't care how they taste -- they will just be SO happy if we are able to get them!
Thanks for sharing the pics...sorry they didn't taste very good!

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

great reviews...can't wait to read more. Thanks for sharing

 

[CrabbyPatty]

..... after absolutely SWELTERING at Animal Kingdom, we ate our snacks, and then headed back to CBR for some swimming in the big pool. The girls loved the pool, and while they were playing in the section by the water slides, the adults had a nice refreshing drink by the pool (vodka in some sort of mango slushy). As Rachael Ray says ....... YUMMO. Life is good!

We decided to "stay in" that evening and went over to Old Port Royale for dinner. Having learned our lesson earlier about the broiler having the "best food" (IMHO), the adults got a roast turkey/potatoes/veggie dinner and a baked chicken/potatoes/veggie dinner. We got bottled water and milk, plus two of the "Worms in the Dirt" desserts (for the girls).

The dinners were very good - again, we enjoyed the tasty Disney potatoes (real or not? Who knows .....) and the proteins were excellent. Cost was about $35, or $0 on the DDP and 2 CS credits.

We ordered a cheese pizza for the girls OOP which cost about $16. It was a good-sized pizza and unlike the tiny "dry" cheese pizzas the kids get as part of the children's menu, this pizza was GOOD (or so I was told!). The slices were really big, and the sauce was tasty, and we ended up with two pieces left over, which the girls scarfed down for breakfast one morning.

We ended the night sitting in beach chairs as the girls played in the white sand and we could see the Illuminations fireworks through the trees. Again, life is good!

 

[tscrapper]

Thanks for sharing all the GF info.

 

[thejman]

Great reviews!

 

[CrabbyPatty]

We started out the morning at Old Port Royale with breakfast. We adults had the Bounty Platter which had scrambled eggs, potatoes, bacon or sausage, a biscuit and a french toast stick. They were pretty flexible about the items on the platter, and I got extra potatoes and sausage instead of the french toast and biscuit.

The girls got cereal/milk and a Mickey waffle platter, and we all loaded up on drinks - coffee, cranberry juice, orange juice, plus bottled water. We spent $35, or $0 on the DDP and 4 counter service credits.

We headed over to DHS, and ended up sitting at the Studio Catering Co, around lunch time, which was under a big canopy, and right next to the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids play area. We relaxed with cokes (2 snack credits) while the girls played for a while in the play area, and then we had lunch there.

Now, the DIS Dining page says this about the Studio Catering Co: "The focus is Mediterranean with Greek Salad, Gyros, Lamb, Tandori Chicken, etc." - to which I can only say, HUH? I recall a menu with burgers, salads, chicken wraps, and barbecue sandwiches.

My friend ordered the Chicken Caesar Wrap and cheesecake, and the girls each had the Kid's Chicken Drumstick meal.

I ordered the barbecue sandwich on a GF hot-dog bun and a chocolate cake (which my DD ate). The cashier called over the manager which I mentioned I needed a GF substitution and he brought out a big book with ingredients. I got some sort of dry GF bun with a big hunk of barbecued pork on top. This was NOT good. The addition of ANY type of sauce would have been welcome, but while the meat tasted fairly okay, it was dry, dry, dry and on a dry, dry, dry GF bun. I mean, there was no barbecue sauce available, and a few packets of ketchup sort of "moistened" up the meat, but really.

My friend was not impressed with the chicken wrap, which had far, far too much wrap and not enough chicken. She ended up pulling it apart and eating the filling and leaving about 75% of the wrap.

Out of all our dining experience, I would characterize this as the poorest counter service food. We paid about $35 for our meals, or $0 on the DDP and four counter service credits.

Later: Teppon Edo ..... and Nemo

 

[CrabbyPatty]

I think the highlight of our dining was eating at Teppon Edo! We just loved the entire look of the place, and my daughter still is talking about this meal and wants to go again next time we go to WDW!

We arrived a few minutes early for our 5:40 p.m. dinner and were seated at the table with 5 other guest (3 adults and 2 small kids). It took quite a long time before our chef arrived (compared to 2 other tables in our area that had guests seated about the same time we were). It was noted that I had a gluten allergy and the chef cooked my dinner on the grill first, to avoid cross-contamination with other gluten items. She gave me some GF soy sauce (La Choy is GF), and then told me I couldn't have any of the sauces offered to the other guests since they had regular soy sauce in them.

I had the sirloin steak and chicken meal, with veggies, mushrooms and onions and a bowl of sticky rice. There was a LOT of meat and it was very good (probably not as seasoned as the other meals since they had all these great dipping sauces). My friend also had the combo, and the girls had the shrimp.

The chef made the onion volcano, which the girls thought was really fun, and then she brought out the shrimp for the children (turns out every kid ordered shrimp). She "paraded" the shrimp around, saying that was Nemo, and then cut off the tails with a flourish of her knife, then popped the tails into the garbage with a flick of the knife. The last one popped up in the air, and seemed to disappear, then she showed the kids that it was in the brim of her chef's hat!

We all ordered the chocolate ice cream for dessert and really enjoyed it. It was very "icy" rather than creamy and we loved the consistency. The total cost for our meals was $107.30, or $0 on the DDP and 4 table service credits.