Gluten Free dining questions- help/advice needed please

[ZPT1022]

We're planning a long trip to WDW in August and I know from past experience that they are awesome with food allergies, but this will be my first trip since my celiac diagnosis. I was told that I should make my ADR's in February so I am trying to get an idea of what places I am looking to make those reservations. This is the list that the family is interested in, I would appreciate it if anyone could share any GF or food allergy experiences that they've had at these places, good or bad, so that I can plan accordingly.



Here's the list of considerations:

-Pizzafari

-50's Prime Time

-Fairfax Fare

-Mama Melrose

-Rosie's

- Sci Fi Dine In

-Pizza Planet

-Electric Umbrella

-Garden Grill

-Sunshine Seasons

-Akershus

-Le Cellier

-Liberty Inn

-Columbia Harbor House

-Liberty Tree Tavern

-Pinocchio Villlage Haus

-Tony's Town Square

-Boma

-Sanaa

-Beaches and Cream (for a snack)

-Chef Mickey's (breakfast and dinner)

-Contempo Cafe

-Kona Cafe

-'Ohana

-Earl of Sandwich

-T-Rex

-Planet Hollywood

 

[snorris49]

I'm leaving in 9 days and I'll be posting GF reviews of the following places:
Mama Melrose
Columbia Harbour House
Le Cellier
Kona Cafe
'Ohana

On my blog I have pictures and a review of some restaurants including Boma for breakfast.
I'm also dairy free as well, so my options are usually different than just GF.
I'll be sure to post those reviews when I get back.
Good luck! I've had great luck with GF/CF dining at WDW.

 

[mackay_j]

hi I am just back the ones I tried were all good for gluten free

We went to Chef Mickey- not my sort of thing - don't like buffets- but the chef did provide good info about what I could have and also produce the best sweet of my holiday, along with ok good .


Kona Cafe- very good for gluten free and nice food- not so sure about the open aspect to the lobby- but I would go back again

Saana- fab fab fab- one of the best meals and settings of our whole holiday

Other non disney places

Sam sneads, north orlando- good food as its a meaty gril place easy to choose something

Olive garden- they made me a lovey, off menu meal- they also have quite a plain gluten free menu

Red lobster- no gluten free menu but at least manager & chef helped get a meal together- ok

Magaretaville- ok for a quick bite to eat- plain gluten free menu

Hard rock- not so knollageable- but food I got was very nice
and I would def go back

underwater gril at seaworld - really poor for gluten free, very overpriced, all the counter food at seaworld was not good for gluten free dinning

Bush gardens- not great for gluten free - there are menus but you have to pull teeth to get them

Emerils at the poly resort universal- very expensive and not good for gluten free, my food was very bland, but nice setting

 

[pudge the fish]

Pizzafari- has GF pizza amy's-

50's Prime Time- Very good I have eaten gluten free here

-Fairfax Fare -never eaten here

-Mama Melrose- had a very good experience here. nice food for gluten free-

Rosie's this is a counter service with limited choices- don't think they can do gluten free?

Sci Fi Dine In-had a burger here on a GF bun- not bad

-Pizza Planet- GF pizza is GF pizza it's better than no pizza It's a amy's GF pizza-

Electric Umbrella- Wouldn't eat here for any reason, I would leave the park first.

-Garden Grill- I my experience we have always had AWESOME food & Service. others have had not so great meals. I have always gotten great food helps here.

-Sunshine Seasons- the section where they have Chicken, pork and Salmon is where you can get GF food.Things like Potatoes, Pork chop, carrots. The chef even offered me GF beer

-Akershus- Only breakfast here- good fruit and got a good breakfast

-Le Cellier- no problems here

-Liberty Inn- they have the GF brownie here, GF buns for Hamburgers- not great but ok

-Columbia Harbor House- They used to have a dedicated oven for GF fries but we haven't eaten here in ages so don't know

-Liberty Tree Tavern- have not eaten here since I became GF, but we are eating there this weekend and have been told that they can totally take care of me!

-Pinocchio Villlage Haus- again Amy's GF pizza

-Tony's Town Square- had a nice meal here, the waitress & chef were very helpful. I Have had friends not so great experience

-Boma- have not eaten here
-Sanaa- have not eaten here
-Beaches and Cream (for a snack) have not eaten here-

Chef Mickey's (breakfast and dinner) I have had great experiences here. I have read reviews where others have not.-

Contempo Cafe- Not eaten here since GF
-Kona Cafe-have not been here since eating GF

-'Ohana- Chef is awesome & I have not had any issues at all!!-

Earl of Sandwich- Nothing here except maybe a salad- it a sandwich shop.. lots of bread.

-T-Rex- not had a problem- others have reported some issues

-Planet Hollywood - haven't eaten there since I can't remember when

 

[clanmcculloch]

We have quite a few more issues than just gluten to deal with, but gluten is one of the many food we have to avoid. Here's my thoughts on the places on your list that we've eaten at. There aren't many from your list that we've eaten at, but here's my thoughts on the few. We really don't eat at a lot of CS locations away from our resort because it's just such a hassle with our huge list of intollerances. My kids would be limitted to basically just bunless burgers and chicken fingers at the parks but at our resort they prepare ahead of time for us so they have plenty of other options.

-50's Prime Time They bent over backwards for us both times. I won't go back though because both times we had waits that were WAY too long (once over 45 minutes, once 1.5 hours). I think the allergy meals were the best of everybody's.

-Garden Grill We were VERY happy with the allergy friendly meals. Even though somehow there was no note on our reservation (somehow this happened at several of our ADRs this past December; first time it's even happened), the chef still created some very tasty dishes. We'll be back.

-Akershus This past trip this was the only ADR we made that was a repeat from previous trips because we enjoyed it so much. The chefs here have been WONDERFUL.

-Le Cellier If you're only gluten (and even dairy) free then there are many, many options. Delicious food.

-Liberty Inn It's basic american style fast food. I believe that this is the ony CS place in the World Showcase that carries gluten free meal offerings.

-Chef Mickey's (breakfast and dinner) We've only done dinner. After having read many mediocre reviews prior to our trip I was wondering what I was getting us into. Boy was I glad we went. The chef was wonderful and I was surprised at just how many different safe foods were available considering our sizable list of intollerances. They even carry chocolate and vanilla cupcakes that are gluten, milk, soy and nut free all the time.

 

[hsmamato2]

our last trip was January 2010- and we tried a few things- ds16 is allergic to wheat,so we asked for some GF items..... Pecos Bills kids meal, 4.99 he got a GF bun for the cheeseburger and GF chocolate chip cookie- loved the cookie,decided he'd rather eat a bun free burger... this meal was our fave as it was enough for him,plus he got the toppings bar....
ordered gf chicken tenders at Columbia harbor house,they were good,took a bit longer to cook- they also offer gf fries everywhere,but ds ate the regular ones (again,he's not a celiac)
At Poly sushi bar/Kona cafe the chef was great, he got cucumber rolls and a sashimi thing minus wheat products with special tamari sauce-
At Yak and Yeti (indoor sitdown) this was GREAT food. He got the grilled mahi mahi meal with special veggie side and dipping sauce.....it was SO good!
Contemperary quick service- got the gf buns again for a cheeseburger- just ask for a manager to assist.
Kona breakfast- gf mickey waffles-
Boma and Chef Mickeys- he just picks off the regular bar- but in the past at CM,we've ordered GF waffles,pancakes,and once a dessert that was 100% better than any dessert on the regular bar.......
other than that he just adapts and orders what he wants off regular menu- he doesn't like the rolls,etc,being 16 he prefers straight up french fries!
I love eating out with ds in Disney....they take allergies very seriously.
seems like every cs place will give you a gf bun and brownie or cookie(mmmm) if you just ask

 

[ZPT1022]

Thank you for the replies. I know that some of those places (especially the counter service ones) may be harder to work with, but I really try not to limit DH and the kids to what's easiest for me. That was really their list after looking at menus and I'm trying to find out how well each one will work (or not). Thanks again, I thought it was wacky enough trying to plan for ADR's 6 months before we go, but throwing the GF thing in there just makes it that much more interesting

 

[clanmcculloch]

Thank you for the replies. I know that some of those places (especially the counter service ones) may be harder to work with, but I really try not to limit DH and the kids to what's easiest for me. That was really their list after looking at menus and I'm trying to find out how well each one will work (or not). Thanks again, I thought it was wacky enough trying to plan for ADR's 6 months before we go, but throwing the GF thing in there just makes it that much more interesting

The TS restaurants and ADRs aren't difficult from an allergy perspective. I do like to stick with Disney owned restaurants because they have so much more ability to offer alternatives, but when you're only looking at gluten free and no other allergies on top of that, pretty much any of the TS restaurants should be good (though I'm particularly hard on the Wave since DD11 ended up sick from there).

The difficulties lie more in the CS restaurants. Please look through the lists that you'll receive from the Special Diets department. It's VERY important to be aware of which CS location can and can't accomodate you. Each park has at east 1 CS location that's set up with plenty of options. Some CS locations won't have much beyond a bunless burger. Carry this list when you go to the parks. I'd hate to see you wait in a long line just to find out that there's nothing you can eat. I know you don't want to limit the rest of your family, but if you can't eat when they're eating then their vacation is also impacted. You're a family and families stick together. Give them the options from the list of CS locations that can accomodate you as listed by Special Diets.

 

[ZPT1022]

The TS restaurants and ADRs aren't difficult from an allergy perspective. I do like to stick with Disney owned restaurants because they have so much more ability to offer alternatives, but when you're only looking at gluten free and no other allergies on top of that, pretty much any of the TS restaurants should be good (though I'm particularly hard on the Wave since DD11 ended up sick from there).

The difficulties lie more in the CS restaurants. Please look through the lists that you'll receive from the Special Diets department. It's VERY important to be aware of which CS location can and can't accomodate you. Each park has at east 1 CS location that's set up with plenty of options. Some CS locations won't have much beyond a bunless burger. Carry this list when you go to the parks. I'd hate to see you wait in a long line just to find out that there's nothing you can eat. I know you don't want to limit the rest of your family, but if you can't eat when they're eating then their vacation is also impacted. You're a family and families stick together. Give them the options from the list of CS locations that can accomodate you as listed by Special Diets.

Unfortunately, I do have other dietary restrictions, gluten free is just the newest one, and the one I'm not used to traveling with yet. I actually have a tree nut allergy and a strawberry allergy as well as not being able to tolerate too much meat (small amounts of poultry are okay, nothing else really digests).

Our past experiences with Disney is that they are wonderful with allergy requests, but gluten free to me seems to be the most difficult allergy to date to deal with.

I'm so sorry to hear that your son got sick at The Wave, we're staying at the Contemporary so I was hoping they would be overall good to work with.

I should contact special diets department, I guess it didn't occur to me to bother them this far out from my trip, but they would know best. Do you happen to know how to get in touch with them? It's been 3 years since our last trip and I've lost that info.

I know I shouldn't feel bad, or like I am inconveniencing the rest of the family but I guess it's a mom thing- if it were one of the kids that needed something it would be done with no hesitation but when it's me, I feel bad/guilty making everyone else miss out on things (even though they have never once complained). Ahhh... mommy guilt

 

[palpluto]

Does anyone have a contact number for a chef at Boma or Kona? We have significant allergies, and were able to get ressies for this weekend but I think it is too late for the form.
TIA.

 

[No Wheat Pete]

I have just updated my website with more gluten free restaurant reviews. Additional review are welcome!
-Karen

 

[snorris49]

It definitely pays to ask Special Diets about certain Counter service restaurants too. I had them help me get in contact with the chefs from Yakitori House (one of my favs, pre-GF/CF) and they got a hold of me and gave me the ingredients for the chicken teriyaki and said they could make me some option (basically chicken and rice with gf soy sauce on the side) and then they emailed me again to find out when I'd be there so they'd have stuff available to me. I wouldn't be surprised if they come up with something extra. I thought that was really nice and impressive considering they don't take reservations, so they just know I'm going to stop there sometime during the week of our visit. I'm hoping to hear from tagierine cafe in morrocco too. I've already heard from the chefs at Restaurant Marrakessh, so here's hoping another WS CS will be extra accommodating!