Gluten Free Epcot World Showcase

[screfsoc]

Can anyone suggest some snacks and counter meal items from Epcot that might be gluten free? I'd like to try a variety of international foods, if possible.

Thanks!

 

[snorris49]

My favorite CS right now for gluten free/dairy free is La Cantina de San Angel. If you like tacos, they have some fantastic ones! Liberty Inn at the American Adventure has the allergy friendly chicken tenders (they rock!), and of course it's not in the World Showcase, but Sunshine Seasons has some great CS offerings. I was able to eat at Tangierine Cafe in Morocco, but because I have a dairy allergy, I had very few options. Just GF you should be fine. And they have terrific hummus! (You can get the Ener-G rolls to use for them). I would make sure you get a hold of Special Diets at WDW too, so you can get the sheets they send that give you suggestions of places to eat and lists of items that are safe. If you are just GF, you will have a lot of options!

 

[honugirl]

9 Dragons and the China counter service are kind of a bust. I wasn't that impressed. 9 Dragons did some sort of grilled chicken with some veggies in what was supposed to be a moo goo gai pan sauce, but truthfully, there wasn't much sauce. It was very bland and boring. They do not have GF soy sauce as special diets told me. COunter service will do a plain stir fry, no sauce on plain white rice.

That knowledge leads me to believe Japan does not have GF soy sauce either but YMMV on that one. Japan counter service seemed to be a bust too. Japan does have great shaved ice!

Mexico counter service rocks! Just GF you can have anything on the menu. They only use corn tortillas there. La Hacienda is better than the one inside the Mexico pavilion, it seems to have more options right off the menu and they have a guava tamale on the desert menu that is to die for!

Norway "counter service" i.e. the bakery has rice pudding? Something like that. That is the only safe food on the menu. Haven't been to table service there GF.

Germany table service rocks! The buffet is at least 75% edible right off the line for GF and they have 2 deserts on the line that are GF, berry compote and vanilla pudding. I highly recommend this. Haven't done the CS there GF yet. The caramel place is off-limits. All the Werthers caramels have wheat/gluten products in them.

Italy you can do the fancier restaurant, but not the pizza place due to cross contamination. The fancier one is pretty good. They had basic pasta and several sauces I believe.

America has the GF chicken tenders, but the manager may try to stiff you on prices. I had to pay for the sides that come with the regular chicken meal plus pay for my chicken tenders. I was not happy.

Morocco didn't seem to have much I was interested in. Marrakesh did have some options.

France is a STAY THE HECK AWAY FROM place. The table service was bland and boring and the staff was kinda rude. The CS bakery place didn't look safe because the things that could be GF (like chocolate mousse) were under the shelf with the crumbly pastries and I saw crumbly pastry in several of the mousses so I didn't eat there.

England CS is a bust because it's fish and chips. Table service has quite a few options.

Haven't done Canada yet.

Sunshine seasons has the rotisserie chicken which rocks and creme brulee that are GF.

Have fun!

 

[snorris49]

9 Dragons and the China counter service are kind of a bust. I wasn't that impressed. 9 Dragons did some sort of grilled chicken with some veggies in what was supposed to be a moo goo gai pan sauce, but truthfully, there wasn't much sauce. It was very bland and boring. They do not have GF soy sauce as special diets told me. COunter service will do a plain stir fry, no sauce on plain white rice.

That knowledge leads me to believe Japan does not have GF soy sauce either but YMMV on that one. Japan counter service seemed to be a bust too. Japan does have great shaved ice!

Mexico counter service rocks! Just GF you can have anything on the menu. They only use corn tortillas there. La Hacienda is better than the one inside the Mexico pavilion, it seems to have more options right off the menu and they have a guava tamale on the desert menu that is to die for!

Norway "counter service" i.e. the bakery has rice pudding? Something like that. That is the only safe food on the menu. Haven't been to table service there GF.

Germany table service rocks! The buffet is at least 75% edible right off the line for GF and they have 2 deserts on the line that are GF, berry compote and vanilla pudding. I highly recommend this. Haven't done the CS there GF yet. The caramel place is off-limits. All the Werthers caramels have wheat/gluten products in them.

Italy you can do the fancier restaurant, but not the pizza place due to cross contamination. The fancier one is pretty good. They had basic pasta and several sauces I believe.

America has the GF chicken tenders, but the manager may try to stiff you on prices. I had to pay for the sides that come with the regular chicken meal plus pay for my chicken tenders. I was not happy.

Morocco didn't seem to have much I was interested in. Marrakesh did have some options.

France is a STAY THE HECK AWAY FROM place. The table service was bland and boring and the staff was kinda rude. The CS bakery place didn't look safe because the things that could be GF (like chocolate mousse) were under the shelf with the crumbly pastries and I saw crumbly pastry in several of the mousses so I didn't eat there.

England CS is a bust because it's fish and chips. Table service has quite a few options.

Haven't done Canada yet.

Sunshine seasons has the rotisserie chicken which rocks and creme brulee that are GF.

Have fun!

I wholeheartedly agree with the statement about Japan! Stay AWAY! They can get La Choy GF soy sauce from next door, but they were really nasty and rude to me when I was there, even though I had contacted the chefs ahead of time to confer that the CS would have options and sauce. Evidently, their white rice has a chance of being contaminated b/c it is made next to the sushi rice, which is made with a mix and is NOT gluten free. Some people really enjoy the table service, but I have been leery of trying it after my attempt at the CS. And yes, the Sushi is NOT GF b/c they use a mix in the rice. If you want sushi, head to Kona Island Sushi Bar (or Kona Cafe) or California Grill. I had amazing Sushi there!

Good luck, and let us know where you end up going

 

[livndisney]

America has the GF chicken tenders, but the manager may try to stiff you on prices. I had to pay for the sides that come with the regular chicken meal plus pay for my chicken tenders. I was not happy.

Have fun!

Per Special Diets (and personal experience) if you are not on the dining plan WDW can (and will) charge more for "safe food". So if you order the allergy safe chicken, it is not the same as ordering a chicken meal off the regular menu. They charge 9.99 for the chicken and then for the fries etc. when a regular chicken meal is 7.99 and includes the fries. They do the same for kids meals. This is at any WDW food service not just Liberty Inn. We have been charged more at Pizza Planet, Liberty Inn, and a couple other places.

 

[AllergyFreeMouse]

Honugirl has a good list with personal experiences. Nothing beats first-hand advice.

If you're looking for a full list, email specialdiets (at) disneyworld (dot) com to get an up-to-date list. Our website, below, has a list of gluten free options listed by theme park, including Epcot. It's current as of January 2011.

You can also get numbers for the individual restaurants at Epcot. Since they are "Operating Participant" restaurants, they don't have to adhere to the standard Disney food handling policy. Special Diets should be able to provide you with numbers for each restaurant you would like to visit. Their number is (407) 824-5967.

Of course, when you arrive, always talk to the chef or manager to make sure they are fully aware of your needs. If you feel uncomfortable with their answers, leave. It's not worth ruining your day, or worse.

 

[3prettyprincesses]

Honugirl has a good list with personal experiences. Nothing beats first-hand advice.

If you're looking for a full list, email specialdiets (at) disneyworld (dot) com to get an up-to-date list. Our website, below, has a list of gluten free options listed by theme park, including Epcot. It's current as of January 2011.

You can also get numbers for the individual restaurants at Epcot. Since they are "Operating Participant" restaurants, they don't have to adhere to the standard Disney food handling policy. Special Diets should be able to provide you with numbers for each restaurant you would like to visit. Their number is (407) 824-5967.

Of course, when you arrive, always talk to the chef or manager to make sure they are fully aware of your needs. If you feel uncomfortable with their answers, leave. It's not worth ruining your day, or worse.

First off, I didn't realize that the Epcot restaurants aren't adhering to the same standard as Disney regarding food allergies. Is that only the World Showcase eateries? I assumed that they were Disney owned.

Second, I love your website! I just clicked on it now and it is very handy. Thanks for sharing it!

 

[honugirl]

Per Special Diets (and personal experience) if you are not on the dining plan WDW can (and will) charge more for "safe food". So if you order the allergy safe chicken, it is not the same as ordering a chicken meal off the regular menu. They charge 9.99 for the chicken and then for the fries etc. when a regular chicken meal is 7.99 and includes the fries. They do the same for kids meals. This is at any WDW food service not just Liberty Inn. We have been charged more at Pizza Planet, Liberty Inn, and a couple other places.

Interesting. I had no idea about that. That was the first time that had happened to me that whole trip. Well, good to know. I know special diets didn't inform me of that before the trip.

 

[snorris49]

Interesting. I had no idea about that. That was the first time that had happened to me that whole trip. Well, good to know. I know special diets didn't inform me of that before the trip.

If you are on the dining plan, they don't worry about the excess cost. I've seen that first hand. And special diets noted this as well.

 

[livndisney]

If you are on the dining plan, they don't worry about the excess cost. I've seen that first hand. And special diets noted this as well.

From my original post "Per Special Diets (and personal experience) if you are not on the dining plan WDW can (and will) charge more for "safe food". "

From email from Special Diets dated March 2011

"Due to the higher cost of dietary products, there may be an increased price. If you purchase the meal plan, it is considered a regular meal and you will not be charged for the difference. "

Special diets did not mention it until I specifically asked.

 

[snorris49]

From my original post "Per Special Diets (and personal experience) if you are not on the dining plan WDW can (and will) charge more for "safe food". "

From email from Special Diets dated March 2011

"Due to the higher cost of dietary products, there may be an increased price. If you purchase the meal plan, it is considered a regular meal and you will not be charged for the difference. "

Special diets did not mention it until I specifically asked.

Sorry, I guess I didn't read your post carefully.

 

[SueM in MN]

9 Dragons and the China counter service are kind of a bust. I wasn't that impressed. 9 Dragons did some sort of grilled chicken with some veggies in what was supposed to be a moo goo gai pan sauce, but truthfully, there wasn't much sauce. It was very bland and boring. They do not have GF soy sauce as special diets told me. COunter service will do a plain stir fry, no sauce on plain white rice.

That knowledge leads me to believe Japan does not have GF soy sauce either but YMMV on that one. Japan counter service seemed to be a bust too. Japan does have great shaved ice!

Mexico counter service rocks! Just GF you can have anything on the menu. They only use corn tortillas there. La Hacienda is better than the one inside the Mexico pavilion, it seems to have more options right off the menu and they have a guava tamale on the desert menu that is to die for!

Norway "counter service" i.e. the bakery has rice pudding? Something like that. That is the only safe food on the menu. Haven't been to table service there GF.

Germany table service rocks! The buffet is at least 75% edible right off the line for GF and they have 2 deserts on the line that are GF, berry compote and vanilla pudding. I highly recommend this. Haven't done the CS there GF yet. The caramel place is off-limits. All the Werthers caramels have wheat/gluten products in them.

Italy you can do the fancier restaurant, but not the pizza place due to cross contamination. The fancier one is pretty good. They had basic pasta and several sauces I believe.

America has the GF chicken tenders, but the manager may try to stiff you on prices. I had to pay for the sides that come with the regular chicken meal plus pay for my chicken tenders. I was not happy.

Morocco didn't seem to have much I was interested in. Marrakesh did have some options.

France is a STAY THE HECK AWAY FROM place. The table service was bland and boring and the staff was kinda rude. The CS bakery place didn't look safe because the things that could be GF (like chocolate mousse) were under the shelf with the crumbly pastries and I saw crumbly pastry in several of the mousses so I didn't eat there.

England CS is a bust because it's fish and chips. Table service has quite a few options.

Haven't done Canada yet.

Sunshine seasons has the rotisserie chicken which rocks and creme brulee that are GF.

Have fun!

The rice stuff is called Rice Cream. I have had it and I thought it was pretty tasty. (I am not gluten free, so am comparing it to non-gluten free dessert, I thought it was pretty good).

My niece is gluten free and she thought the food at Sunshine Seasons in the Land was good, although it did take a while for them to look up some ingredients for her.
She also had some gluten free beer there, called Red Ridge beer.

We at breakfast at Akershus in Norway and she found enough that was safe to eat that she said she would eat there again.

Per Special Diets (and personal experience) if you are not on the dining plan WDW can (and will) charge more for "safe food". So if you order the allergy safe chicken, it is not the same as ordering a chicken meal off the regular menu. They charge 9.99 for the chicken and then for the fries etc. when a regular chicken meal is 7.99 and includes the fries. They do the same for kids meals. This is at any WDW food service not just Liberty Inn. We have been charged more at Pizza Planet, Liberty Inn, and a couple other places.

I just wanted to mention that livndisney is not the only person to have mentioned this.

Also, the phone numbers and contact information for Dietary needs at WDW are listed in post 3 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread near the top of this board or you can follow the link in my signature.

Honugirl has a good list with personal experiences. Nothing beats first-hand advice.

If you're looking for a full list, email specialdiets (at) disneyworld (dot) com to get an up-to-date list. Our website, below, has a list of gluten free options listed by theme park, including Epcot. It's current as of January 2011.

You can also get numbers for the individual restaurants at Epcot. Since they are "Operating Participant" restaurants, they don't have to adhere to the standard Disney food handling policy. Special Diets should be able to provide you with numbers for each restaurant you would like to visit. Their number is (407) 824-5967.

Of course, when you arrive, always talk to the chef or manager to make sure they are fully aware of your needs. If you feel uncomfortable with their answers, leave. It's not worth ruining your day, or worse.

I will add a link to AllergyFreeMouse’s website in the disABILITIES FAQs thread as a resource in post # 3 of that thread.
Sorry, I don’t know if you are a ‘he mouse’ or a ‘she mouse’, but I looked over the website when you posted on a different thread and thought it was a good reference.

 

[honugirl]

I do want to mention though that I did speak to special diets ahead of time. I was never given a list of restaurants with safe food nor was I told what was available at each location. I also was never told about the extra fee or anything like that. All I was given was some forms to fill out an mail back, which I did and never heard anything else. So I guess like everything else at Disney, YMMV when dealing with the CM's at Special Diets.

I never tried the rice cream because I don't like rice pudding. I have texture issues and for some reason that is one food that sets it off. So I can't comment on how good it is or not.

 

[SueM in MN]

I do want to mention though that I did speak to special diets ahead of time. I was never given a list of restaurants with safe food nor was I told what was available at each location. I also was never told about the extra fee or anything like that. All I was given was some forms to fill out an mail back, which I did and never heard anything else. So I guess like everything else at Disney, YMMV when dealing with the CM's at Special Diets.

I never tried the rice cream because I don't like rice pudding. I have texture issues and for some reason that is one food that sets it off. So I can't comment on how good it is or not.

People were reporting much more complete information received from WDW Special Diets in the past, including the lists of foods.
WDW updated their website a while ago to include some FAQs about food allergies and seemed to give out much less information to guests who contacted them after that (and after they changed from emailing Brenda Bennett to a general email address).

We had bought the Rice Cream for my DD - she has some texture issues too (she is a girl who chews her drinks sometimes just to make sure there are no possible lumps in them) so I can understand that some people don’t like the texture of rice pudding.

 

[honugirl]

It makes me wonder if they are going to eventually do away with special diets all together and put more of the responsibility on the chefs and the CM's at the eateries? I guess it's probably hard for them to constantly maintain lists for all the allergies plus they have new foods coming in all the time and other foods going out, so I guess it makes sense for them to defer patrons back to the people at the restaurants who would have the most updated info.

 

[SueM in MN]

It makes me wonder if they are going to eventually do away with special diets all together and put more of the responsibility on the chefs and the CM's at the eateries? I guess it's probably hard for them to constantly maintain lists for all the allergies plus they have new foods coming in all the time and other foods going out, so I guess it makes sense for them to defer patrons back to the people at the restaurants who would have the most updated info.

I think it was very difficult for them to keep emailing current lists to all the people who emailed for information.

It was one thing when there were few people who contacted them, but I’m sure now they get many more emails per day.
Their website also had no information at all at one point, except to say that they could handle special diets. The information on their website now is basic, but it’s at least more than they had before:
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/special-dietary-requests/

At least, they list several counter service restaurants at each site that should be able to handle the “common food allergies” that they list.