Gluten Free Disney?

[Inspira]

Does anyone have any idea if Disney has gluten free menus in any of the restaurants? I am worried about being able to find something to eat in the parks.

 

[makinorlando]

I have no personal experience, but there is another poster - Kimmar067 - that has an ongoing trip report, and her husband is Gluten free - she has had good experience with the chefs at Disney.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1206399 - it's a very long thread, but if you can week through and find the actual days of her trip you maybe able to get a hint of what is was like for her. (I think she is out of town right now.... so that is why I am sharing her info!)

I am sure you will get other posters as well, just thought I would share!

 

[tcmsu]

We are really looking forward to our trip, we leave Saturday. My DW and DD both eat a gluten free diet and from the information here on the Disboards, talking with the Dining people, and even having a call from the Polynesian regarding the Spirit of Aloha show, we are very confident that Disney knows what they are doing.

Based on other posts, I contacted Brenda Bennet using email - Brenda.Bennett@disney.com and received a great list of things that are Gluten Free, where to get them, etc,etc. She was very helpful and responded very quickly and offered to answer any questions we may have either by email or telephone.

As for the call from the Polynesian resort, they called us last week to go over their entire menu and what was and was not ok.. I posted about this in a thread called "Just got a call today.....(Kind of Long)"

We are on the dining plan and when we made our reservations, we made sure to specify that 2 would need Gluten Free meal....Each restaurant while not having a specific "Gluten Free" menu can accomodate special dietary restrictions. We were also given phone numbers to each restaurant where we made a reservation to talk to them if we had questions, and were told to ask to speak with the manager/chef when we got there regarding what they could eat.

I'll try to report back when we're back from vacation..

Good Luck

 

[bwallace]

check allearsnet.com

i think they have a section in their dining info about gluten-free

go to the dining area and look down the left hand menu.

don't hold me to it though

 

[Ella's Mom]

I've read posts in the past about eating gluten free at Disney. It sounds like people have been happy with their experience. I'd recommend making ADR's and calling the restaurants before you arrive. We just returned from Disney and I read something about (but I can't remember where) giving restaurants 72 hours notice for special dietary requests.

 

[Inspira]

Thanks for the info everyone - I was also in the library today checking to see if any of the Disney Guides have gluten-free references. They must be older versions though as there was not much there. But the information you have posted has given me quite a bit of info to tackle first.

 

[Feigned]

My sister was just diagnosed with celiac and had to have gluten-free meals. Make sure to have Disney note that you need gluten-free meals on your reservation. At the podium, we always were asked if we did indeed have an allergy/intolerance and we said yes and they put it right on the card put on the table for your server. We were given numbers for the chefs at all the restaurants we were eating at and were told to call 72 hours in advance. If they do not pick up, just leave a message. Most were very good at calling back! They will be able to explain what you can and cannot eat. They also will try to work with you in what you will want to eat and will prepare special food. My sister ate better than she has eaten in months.

At your meals, a chef will come to your table as well to talk to you about your options. At buffets, the chef took my sister and dad (who is going gluten-free with her) around and showed them what they could and could not eat. If they were not able to eat specific foods and wanted something else, they offered to make it. They had special desserts, macaroni and cheese, etc. Ohana was the best by far, with the chef Kim (very nice guy), giving them the most personalized attention of any restaurant. They were able to eat basically everything that the rest of the family could eat, but it had to be prepared separately, with some different ingredients. Everything was very tasty they said!

My sister did have a little trouble with the counter service meals, just because she didn't bother to contact the correct people ahead of time and was just winging it. I don't recommend this. She was able to get gluten-free food, such as burgers/hot dogs/pizza, but she would have had a bigger selection had she talked to someone. We visited a few days after our real trip (we have APs), for a quick day while we visited my aunt in Florida, and ate at the Liberty Inn in Epcot, which my sister found to be the best counter service place for gluten free food. She spoke to a cast member there, who told her that she could get a list of all gluten free foods in each park if she needed it, and he gave her who to contact, which I don't specifically have... but I hear Brenda (whose e-mail is up there) should definitely be contacted.

Good luck and have a great trip!