Gluten Free Dining at the Disneyland Resort: A Superthread

[MeeskaMooska13]

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.

Great tips!

 

[Davey Jones II]

Just for the record, this whole gluten free craze is way overblown. Only a small proportion of the population is allergic to gluten. The rest of us needn't worry about it.

 

[jina]

agreed that anyone who can tolerate gluten does not need to avoid it and only needs to read this thread if someone they are traveling with to DL can't eat it. But from reading most of the posts I'm assuming most folks on this thread know they can't eat it - life is way too difficult living truly gluten free (where 1 crumb or fries cooked in the same fryer as onion rings makes you sick for 3 days) and if you're spending time prior to a vacation making sure you can eat safely, it's pretty likely you're not doing it for fun. I only wish I didn't have to eat gluten free - but Disney resorts are the most magical places to travel to - for once I don't have to worry about being able to find safe food and even get to eat foods I've only dreamed of eating safely.

 

[JinglePoem]

I actually LOVE that there is a gluten-free craze! It's given my daughter and I a ton of more food options, outside of my own kitchen. Not everything that labels itself "gluten-free" is actually gluten free, so we still have to be very careful, but I love that places like Disney and even California Pizza Kitchen have bothered to really make gluten free dining a pleasure. That might not have ever happened, had it not been for a gluten free craze.

 

[TechGuy]

I don't eat gluten free as a choice... Except that eating GF keeps me from having three days of headaches, body pains, migraines, mental fog, utter fatigue and several other side effects from one cross contaminated meal.

It sucks! I wish I could eat in any restaurant, trust every server to understand that taking the croutons out of a salad doesn't make it GF, have a kitchen manager understand that no onion rings can be cooked in the GF fryer...but I can't and I need to rely on business es like Disney that make the effort.

For some, it's not a fad. It's a NEED

 

[mt mommy]

I don't eat gluten free as a choice... Except that eating GF keeps me from having three days of headaches, body pains, migraines, mental fog, utter fatigue and several other side effects from one cross contaminated meal.

It sucks! I wish I could eat in any restaurant, trust every server to understand that taking the croutons out of a salad doesn't make it GF, have a kitchen manager understand that no onion rings can be cooked in the GF fryer...but I can't and I need to rely on business es like Disney that make the effort.

For some, it's not a fad. It's a NEED

I ECHO this exactly!!!! IF I could eat gluten, I would LOVE IT. Life would be so much easier. Being sick after eating it isn't worth it!

I was at DLR in January and every sit down meal I had amazing experiences being GF! Cafe Orleans made me some type of ragout with a corn cake and blackened chicken. IT WAS DELICIOUS!! Chef Oscar took great care of me at Carnation Cafe, I got my own fries from a dedicated GF fryer! MMMMM. Your experience at DLR being GF should be wonderful!

 

[TechGuy]

I went Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo this weekend. it reminded me why I like DLR so much more than a standard amusement park. This was the weekend before the "season" starts. I was expecting to see all of the grounds well kept, the rides clean and shiny and such, they weren't. What I didn't expect to see were all of the advertising for unrelated businesses and a "resort" company hawking timeshares in some exotic land...ha.

As to Gluten Free, I didn't see anything I was willing to try. The website suggests I have a pulled pork sandwich for a "healthy" choice meal (no mention if the bread was GF). I didn't dare eat anything in park, outside of a soft serve ice cream in a cup. Cross contamination and a general lack of knowledge were my primary concerns.

 

[jina]

Agreed. I couldn't find anything safe at Discovery Kingdom as well as Great America in Santa Clara. And that constant sponsorship and advertising at Discovery Kingdom can only be described as vile.

Disneyland and WDW are the best places, theme park or not, to eat safely when you're GF. I actually feel normal again when I'm there, not high maintenance, not paranoid, not nervous, just relaxed and happy. Remember the days when you could just go out and eat food because it was food? Life was so simple back then .

 

[violentlyserene]

Just for the record, this whole gluten free craze is way overblown. Only a small proportion of the population is allergic to gluten. The rest of us needn't worry about it.

I am a huge fan actually. The fad loving masses are what companies listen to, not the relatively tiny band of diagnosed celiacs. Bless the masses for they bring me corn dogs that aren't made for vegan hippies who've forgotten what real food taste like and cheapish pasta in all of my grocery stores. I can even eat goldfish crackers. They are a pale imitation of themselves but it sure beats Annie's crap food.

 

[frank430316]

Just got back from a wonderful trip and really like the new allergy menus. We also managed to get a g-f Monte Cristo sandwich at Cafe Orleans. This is identical to the sandwich at Blue Bayou (even the same kitchen), but a little easier to get a reservation. I found it a bit heavy, but we shared the sandwich and my vegetable ragout with blackened chicken and it made a very nice meal. The trick is to call the restaurant directly and make a reservation at least one day out (they cannot do same day orders). Also they do not have a dedicated fryer, so be sure to get the first seating of the day. The chef will then sure your sandwich is fried in the clean oil, before any wheat products contaminate it. We had an 11:30 lunch and it worked out great! Chef Richard was amazing!

 

[lovetogowdw]

Anyone have photos of the new allergy-friendly menus for Disneyland? Or can you at least share the items you remember and your thoughts on whether it is making ordering easier/faster? Do you still ask to speak with the chef at table service restaurants?

 

[ashley0139]

I am a huge fan actually. The fad loving masses are what companies listen to, not the relatively tiny band of diagnosed celiacs. Bless the masses for they bring me corn dogs that aren't made for vegan hippies who've forgotten what real food taste like and cheapish pasta in all of my grocery stores. I can even eat goldfish crackers. They are a pale imitation of themselves but it sure beats Annie's crap food.

I'm sorry, gluten free goldfish crackers?!

I totally agree, I hope the fad stays for a long time. The cookies I ate growing up tasted like cardboard and fell apart when you took them out of the box. White it's true that unless you are intolerant to gluten or celiac, there isn't an upside to eating gf, there also isn't a downside. And it often encourages people to eat healthier anyway. But thanks, Davey Jones, for the unnecessary lecture on the gluten free thread.

 

[ashley0139]

Anyone have photos of the new allergy-friendly menus for Disneyland? Or can you at least share the items you remember and your thoughts on whether it is making ordering easier/faster? Do you still ask to speak with the chef at table service restaurants?

I go to Disneyland all the time and I've never seen these new allergy friendly menus. I can give you pretty good info otherwise though. Definitely still ask to speak with a chef, at both counter service and table service locations. They may not make anything special, but they will ensure there is no cross contamination and keep an eye on everything. Pretty much every location you go will have a gluten free option. I really wanted a lobster roll for the first time in my life at Harbour Galley, so the chef got a bun from Hungry Bear and put the gluten free lobster mixture on it. It was great, but huge. So often they will go out of your way to help. Every place that has burgers will have a gluten free bun. Table service is even easier than counter service. The chef will work with you personally. Have fun.

 

[jina]

I really wanted a lobster roll for the first time in my life at Harbour Galley, so the chef got a bun from Hungry Bear and put the gluten free lobster mixture on it.

ooh - I would LOVE a gluten free lobster roll. I wonder if I would be so lucky! I did have one once in my life at a restaurant outside of Boston and they too had a gluten free roll to put it on. So delicious!

We're going to the parks in a little over a week from now so I'll take photos of any allergy menus I see and post them here if I can figure out how to do that. So far we're booked for Blue Bayou, Carnation Cafe and Carthay Circle. It's our last trip before our AP's expire so we're splurging on table service while we can still get the 15% discount .

 

[lovetogowdw]

Jina let us know if you see any of the allergy friendly menus, and also what your choices are at Blue Bayou, as we have F! package reservations.

The email I received from Special Diets indicated they were currently rolling out those allergy friendly menus. Maybe it isn't progressing as fast at Disneyland as it is at WDW? (I've seen numerous posts for WDW version of those menus.)

So good to hear the lobster roll story ahsley0139. My celiac 9yo son has loved many extra special GF meals at WDW, but we've never been to Disneyland. Now I have hopes that a chef might treat him to something special on his wish list!

 

[JessieD]

I am not celiac, but my son and I both have a diagnosed gluten intolerance. Mild cross contamination doesn't seem to bother us. Does anyone know if the caramel apples or marshmallow wands have gluten containing ingredients? We are making our first trip there with him in the fall, and I want him to be able to have some fun, not pre packaged treats, stuff I can't get him in the grocery store. I reached out to Disney, but got a very generic answer about gluten free friendly options at sit down and counter services restaurant, but my actual question was not answered.

 

[jina]

Does anyone know if the caramel apples or marshmallow wands have gluten containing ingredients?

I have not looked at the DL ingredient list but when we were at WDW in 2013 there were no gluten ingredients on most of the apples -but they do make apples which have things like cookies and pretzels mixed in so there is a good chance for cross contamination. Having said that, I had a caramel apple that looked like Mike from Monster's Inc and I had no effects (usually I'm ill within 30 min and then 4 days of brain fog). I believe the apples are made on site so it's all one shared space. I've had other things from the Main Street candy place like toffee and pecan clusters/turtles, both with the same disclaimers from the staff about cross contamination but I haven't been glutened yet AFAIK. (my favorite indulgence was the Christmas handmade candy canes I was lucky enough to get to purchase one day - $14 for a candy cane is ridiculous but it was really good!).

The caramel corn they sell out in the carts is gluten free and a great treat, as most ice cream flavors at the creameries - I usually ask for a manager who will make ours with fresh cartons from the back. And there's always the Dole Whip. The fruit/sugar candies with I think Goofy on the bags are pretty disgusting IMO. I bought the sour balls once and I think some sort of gummy candy and they had terrible after tastes. They also had no gluten ingredients but the cast member said to consider everything could have gluten due to cross contamination (even those fruity things which were probably made in China so not on site like most of the stuff).

 

[arichau]

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.

Absolutely order GF first! All the walk ups I went to a few weeks ago called for a lead or chef when I said celiac even when I said I knew exactly what I wanted. It didn't take a ton of extra time but I think a lot of that was because I ordered first and we tried to eat at "off" times.

BTW Blue Bayou didn't offer me gluten-free bread but they have it if you ask for it and Carthay Circle's allergy menu is completely useless if you can't eat gluten - I asked for one when we were seated and our awesome server said pretty much the same thing when he saw I had it. There is literally almost nothing on that menu you can order. But there are tons of choices your server can talk you through. I was super happy with that meal!

I REALLY prefer just ordering what I need without any talks with servers or waiters so I hope they improve all of their menus. I wouldn't expect that from regular restaurants but since Disney already "gets it" better than most it would be great to just order like a regular person. After 5 days of having "special conversations" every time I had to eat something I was regretting not bringing my lunch in to the park (my first big trip after being diagnosed).

One interesting surprise was that the Mickey Breakfast buffet at PPH had allergy info at each station - that was great. I was then spoiled and disappointed in the Goofy's Dinner which didn't have labels and didn't have great gluten-free choices IMO. Still plenty to eat but having eaten there before I think I was just missing some of those items I think - really good GF cookie and brownie though!

 

[jina]

I was then spoiled and disappointed in the Goofy's Dinner which didn't have labels and didn't have great gluten-free choices IMO. Still plenty to eat but having eaten there before I think I was just missing some of those items I think - really good GF cookie and brownie though!

I agree. I was so disappointed with the Goofy's kitchen choices that I ended up taking a bunch of gluten Ease 2x enzymes and knowingly ate some gluten. Fortunately the enzymes work for me but I don't take them very often. I was led to believe Goofy's had things like gluten free pizza they could make for you but instead according to the chef who led me through the buffet, I could eat a few salads, the big slab of prime rib and some ice cream. versus the other 100 things on the buffet all which he said had gluten in it. Very disappointing compared to the variety offered at pretty much any other resort table service location. This was last summer so maybe something has changed since then.

 

[StormyCA]

I am not celiac, but my son and I both have a diagnosed gluten intolerance. Mild cross contamination doesn't seem to bother us. Does anyone know if the caramel apples or marshmallow wands have gluten containing ingredients? We are making our first trip there with him in the fall, and I want him to be able to have some fun, not pre packaged treats, stuff I can't get him in the grocery store. I reached out to Disney, but got a very generic answer about gluten free friendly options at sit down and counter services restaurant, but my actual question was not answered.

I specifically asked about the marshmallow wands (Tigger Tails) at Pooh Corner about 2 years ago. I was told that they were NOT considered GF by the CM working there. I didn't inquire as to why since they were pretty busy, but since the ingredients are GF (by all appearances) I assume it's because they're dipped in a communal pot. And I'd assume the same applies to caramel apples. I've never taken the chance and tried one, it's just not worth the reaction. I have had the English Toffee (packaged, but made onsite) and caramel corn (prepackaged) and haven't had a reaction.

But then again, I was told at Harbor Galley during that same trip that they had nothing GF, and it's apparent from this thread that they certainly do, at least now. So ask the CM behind the counter about the Tigger Tails. You may get a different answer! And if you do, please post on this thread.

Don't get your hopes up too much for fresh-baked or -prepared 'treats'. There really aren't any as far as bakeries, candy cases, QS, and CS are concerned. Some TS places have GF desserts, but even that's hit or miss. The dearth of GF baked goods (other than pre packed brands) is a real downer for me. And something I email about after every trip. Just one GF cupcake would be nice. There are plenty of GF bakeries that I'm sure Disney could 'partner' with in So Cal, just like WDW did with BabyCakes. Sigh.