Gluten Free Dining at the Disneyland Resort: A Superthread

[disneychrista]

Are these fresh or pre-packaged?

They are pre-packaged. My daughter brought me one home one and it was pretty good (though the ones I make are better ).

 

[StormyCA]

Does any know if DL caters to other food allergies besides gluten? or basically, are there many food options?

DS and I both have gluten (me)/wheat (him), soy, dairy, eggs and almonds (me)/peanut (him) allergies. Luckily, they are not severe but avoiding them completely is ideal.

Yes, they do. If you have multiple allergies, it's suggested you email them head of your visit.

"Metabolic Disorders and Multiple Allergies
Guests with requests associated with the list below should contact the Disneyland Resort at DLRSpecialDiets@email.disney.com at least 14 days prior to arrival and after booking all dining arrangements for their entire visit:

Allergy or intolerance not listed above under common food allergies
Phenylketonuria (PKU)
Metabolic disorders
A single Guest with multiple allergies/intolerances or multiple Guests with allergies/intolerances within the same party
Our restaurants will do their best to accommodate Guest dietary requirements but cannot guarantee that they will be able to meet all requests."


https://disneyland.disney.go.com/guest-services/special-dietary-requests/

 

[DahliaRW]

Are these fresh or pre-packaged?

(I greatly dislike the dry pre-packaged options. I can buy those at my local grocery store and not like them anyway at home. I opt for fruit over those any day.)

Yes, but they are actually good AND they heat them for you which makes them yummier. The muffin is Udis. The brownie and cookie are another brand that I couldn't figure out (so I probably have not had that brand at home, I can usually tell). The brownie was fantastic.

I believe the reason that DLR doesn't have fresh baked gf goodies is simply logistics. They would have to have a dedicated gf kitchen to do that to avoid cross contamination. That is costly for them to implement, and probably not enough of a demand for gf baked goods to make it worth it when they can easily purchase pre-made goods.

 

[StormyCA]

Yes, but they are actually good AND they heat them for you which makes them yummier. The muffin is Udis. The brownie and cookie are another brand that I couldn't figure out (so I probably have not had that brand at home, I can usually tell). The brownie was fantastic.

I believe the reason that DLR doesn't have fresh baked gf goodies is simply logistics. They would have to have a dedicated gf kitchen to do that to avoid cross contamination. That is costly for them to implement, and probably not enough of a demand for gf baked goods to make it worth it when they can easily purchase pre-made goods.

True to a certain extent. But there are some good GF bakeries in So Cal that they could probably contract with to provide something, similar to the way BabyCakes did in WDW. But as you say, if there hasn't been enough demand, they aren't going to do it. That's why I email every single trip & encourage others to do so, too.

 

[corinne76]

Yes, they do. If you have multiple allergies, it's suggested you email them head of your visit.

"Metabolic Disorders and Multiple Allergies
Guests with requests associated with the list below should contact the Disneyland Resort at DLRSpecialDiets@email.disney.com at least 14 days prior to arrival and after booking all dining arrangements for their entire visit:

Allergy or intolerance not listed above under common food allergies
Phenylketonuria (PKU)
Metabolic disorders
A single Guest with multiple allergies/intolerances or multiple Guests with allergies/intolerances within the same party
Our restaurants will do their best to accommodate Guest dietary requirements but cannot guarantee that they will be able to meet all requests."


https://disneyland.disney.go.com/guest-services/special-dietary-requests/

thank you so much!

 

[DahliaRW]

True to a certain extent. But there are some good GF bakeries in So Cal that they could probably contract with to provide something, similar to the way BabyCakes did in WDW. But as you say, if there hasn't been enough demand, they aren't going to do it. That's why I email every single trip & encourage others to do so, too.

That is true. I did find at places like Jolly Holiday they actually handed me the gluten free goody in the package it came in (I only got the muffin there, but I had the brownie at Ariel's and was told it was the same). In some of the dining locations, it may be that they don't feel safe with having unpackaged baked goods due to cross contamination, etc. It may be a storage issue. I do know hat JH they made my sandwich fresh. The chef came and talked to me, went back and made it, and brought it out to me herself, I'm assuming so that they could monitor the area the whole time and ensure no cross contamination. Pre-made but not pre-wrapped goodies may be more difficult to monitor and insure they remain safe.

 

[violentlyserene]

Thanks for the input everyone! I don't have to be particularly careful and generally just order based off previous reviews and ingredient lists. Premade baked goods is a disappointment since I can get those here and don't because they just aren't that great usually. I am very excited about the prospect of waffles though. I can make them but mine aren't Mickey shaped!

 

[jina]

I haven't seen any gluten free menus listed for Harbour Gallery but I heard they sell a baked potato with chicken. Does anyone know if it's gluten free?

 

[SMD]

I haven't seen any gluten free menus listed for Harbour Gallery but I heard they sell a baked potato with chicken. Does anyone know if it's gluten free?

The previous version (which was the same one served at Troubador Tavern) was not. They may have changed the sauce since they added the cole slaw, you'll have to ask.

 

[violentlyserene]

Does anyone know when the new allergy menus will be available? The picture I saw of them looks like it'll make things a lot easier.

 

[SMD]

They're supposed to be available now at BB, Carthay, Steakhouse 55 and C33.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Does anyone know when the new allergy menus will be available? The picture I saw of them looks like it'll make things a lot easier.

Disney is doing a slow roll out with them in a "top down" fashion.

 

[violentlyserene]

Well that's torturous! Is menu changing at all or just the appearance? I'm suddenly having to be a whole lot more careful than I used to be so I'm sort of freaking out at the idea of trying to eat out like this for 9 days straight.

 

[jina]

We just got back from a quick 2 day trip to do the Neverland 5K. Here's a summary of our dining:

Naples (Downtown Disney) for dinner: was disappointed to find they did not have GF pizza - just pasta which they said they cooked al dente (we're more partial to mushier pasta) so we ended up deciding to roll the dice, take gluten ease 2x enzymes and try the pizza (the enzymes prevent my physical symptoms like GI distress and 3 days of brain fog but I really do not know if they are stopping all autoimmune activity so I don't take them very often). The pizza was good but not "enzyme worthy" in the future. Their menu did list a number of salads and entrees as GF and they had sides of veggies so we were able to get our veggie fix too. But having said that we probably won't be back.

Storytellers (character breakfast) - chef came out to offer to make us GF waffles and pancakes plus bring us GF things made in the back which were on the buffet if we were worried about cross contamination. As we were there right when we opened and they had the GF items on the opposite side of the buffet from the gluten stuff we just took fruit, eggs, potatoes and sausage/bacon from the buffet. No reaction. Lots of fun and character interaction and DD5 enjoyed playing follow the leader and hokey pokey w/ the ranger, characters and other kids at breakfast.

Carthay Circle (WOC dining package) dinner - our best meal although the bread was an embarrassment - probably ener-G hamburger rolls sliced, toasted and seasoned with some dairy free margarine and a little garlic, salt and parsley. I'd opt for the Storyteller's venice bakery flatbread any day. The salad appetizer, all protein entrees and the lemon panna cotta dessert were GF. I had the pork chop with peach blackberry salsa while DH had the salmon. Both were great. DD5 who can eat gluten had the kids filet which had broccoli - both were GF but the gluten part was little fried balls of macaroni and cheese. She also had a tomato soup for her starter which was GF so I tasted it - apparently we can order that instead of the salad as well. We had a 4:50 resie and were seated in a room next to the patio which overlooks the parade so at about 5:30 our server told us we could go out and watch the parade - super fun! The Carthay circle WOC reserved location is perfect- set a bit up and dead center for a perfect view. We got there an hour before the show and were 2nd in line so we had our choice of spots. Way better than our experience in the blue section 2 years ago when we got there 90 min early and had to fight for a spot on the rail and still could barely see. Dinner was $61/adult and $23/child which included the reserved fastpass ticket. Glad we had a 15% AP discount.

Jolly Holiday Bakery - this was a disappointment. We both had the caprese sandwich GF which came on a cold dry probably Udi's or ener-G hamburger bun. Barely edible. If they had just toasted the roll it would have been a totally different experience but oh well. They did warm up (in sealed package) a OMG it's gluten free chocolate brownie which was very good. The chef said they also had a GF packaged Udi's blueberry muffin and a chocolate chip cookie.

We never did make it to Harbour Gallery to see if the baked potatoes were safe but we'll check it out on our next trip.

 

[clanmcculloch]

Anybody know the current brands of different GF products? Looking at the last couple of pages of this thread it looks like there are Udis and Ener-G buns depending on location, Udis muffins at a few places, and OMG cookies & brownies at many locations. Are the OMG products the ones with our without dairy? What kind of pasta is there these days? Are there any lithe GF desserts anywhere? I know we can get Dole Whips and last I checked the popcorn in the cards were vegan (we're dairy free tools one of my kids is egg free) but I'm hoping well find something besides fruit and the occasional sorbet in the restaurants.

I'm so spoiled by WDW where they'll email list of allergy products by location so I can plan ahead.

 

[JinglePoem]

My daughter and I popped into Carnation Cafe, yesterday, for lunch. I was very sad to learn that they can no longer do gluten free fries, there- apparently as of a couple of weeks ago. They now have a dedicated menu of allergy free offerings (which is nice, as you can peruse a real menu and select from there), although the chef can still provide you with some creative choices not found of those menus, but fries are no longer an option.

 

[clanmcculloch]

Is it only at Carnation Café or did they change the fries everywhere?

 

[JinglePoem]

I didn't specifically ask, mostly because I was surprised, but my server worded it in such a way that I believe it is only at Carnation. I'll be back in the parks, on Sunday, and will make a point of asking. I'll update, unless someone else answers it first.

 

[clanmcculloch]

Thank you!!

 

[TechGuy]

If anyone can take photos of the new GF menus, the would be great. I need to be very careful in where I eat but in general DLR is great for GF eating.

That being said, if the CM you are talking with doesn't seem understand your GF questions/the importance of GF/ what GF means, find another CM/Chef/Manager...or restaurant. Also, order your GF meal first in case they need more time (or need to get another CM to answer questions) before you get all the other orders placed and everyone else settled in.