Gluten free - first hand experiences?

DisneyMom5

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Can you tell me what you have gotten specially made for you that is GF and what restaurant that was at?

And CS GF specific choices -- were they a lot of trouble, take a lot of time, etc.?
(Thinking specifically of the Gf pizza at Pizza Planet, but anything would be helpful)

We did get GF pancakes at Donald's Restaurantasauras, but that's my only experience.
 
Last year I asked about getting GF chicken nuggets for my daughter. The procedure was to stop at the main street bakery in the morning and ask to speak with a chef. Then once the chef came out, I was supposed to let them know when and where (which restaurant and time of day) I wanted to order the chicken nuggets so that the chef could be at that restaurant at that time. Once we arrived at the restaurant we would have requested to see the chef again, and ordered the chicken nuggets.

Really - that seemed like a waste of perfectly good park touring time to me, so we never did it.

We did occassionally have Pop century make us a special gluten free meal. The lunch/dinner option was plain chicken with stir-fried vegetables. No one ever knew how to ring it up, so once I knew how they rang it up the first time I could just tell them what to ring it as.

I don't know if CS locations would have more or less trouble with specially gluten free options (GF buns for burgers for example) because I've never tried it. I have had enough difficulty getting them to simply leave the gluten off (we had to try 3-4 times at Pecos Bills to get 2 gluten free bunless bacon cheeseburgers. We finally settled for 1 bacon burger and one cheese burger. The first several times they came with buns. Once we only got one of the burgers we ordered.)

TS wasn't a lot better - we had several incidents where a special item (salad with no cheese, no croutons, for example) were forgotten completely. That was more than a year ago though and I think that they had a lot of problems making sure everything the chef told you they would make made it into the computer.

I know that WDW is considered paradise for gluten free food. Mostly I've found it inconvenient, spotty, not very tasty and generally time consuming. Fortunately I don't go to WDW to eat.
 
I had a gf pizza at pizza planet in December. I just went up to the cashier and said I wanted a gf pizza (I'd heard they cook them fresh to order at Mama Melrose), she called a manager over and 10 minutes later I had a wonderful gf pizza - it was soooo good :)

I also had a gf bun at Pecos Bill. I had pre-ordered this through Brenda (disney special diets) so I'm not sure if you can just walk up and get one, but went up to the cashier (again) who called the Manager over and he cooked my burger & fries separately, probably took about 5 minutes.
 
Thankfully my ds and dd are not Celiac (negative testing so far), and do not seem to react to trace, they just can't tolerate eating wheat all the time. So we stick with GF for them, and they do much better.

Their dining options are complicated by the fact that we will be on the dining plan. So just ordering a bunless burger or hotdog will not work at most places that don't have that option for kids.

I'm trying to make a list of CS places that have wheat free options for their kid's meals, or at least a wheat free meal we could share with them off the adult options.

Really thinking the Pizza Planet GF pizza will be a big hit. Thanks!

Any others?
 

I eat neither gluten nor dairy so your daughters could eat some stuff that I couldn't, but here is part of the letter I sent WDW on my return (it details what I ate and is easier/faster than my retyping everything).

My first pleasant surprise was a phone call I received from the chef at the Kona Café (I am not sure how to spell his name, but it sounded like Dilan) about three days before my arrival. He took the time to discuss the menu with me and determined my best food choices. He also arranged to make a special dessert (a special apple brown betty) since none of the available desserts fit within my dietary needs.

My first meal was dinner at the Seasons in EPCOT where the chef was able to combine items from a number of different stations into a plate that was both tasty and fit within my needs.

The next morning (18-Nov) at the Crystal Palace, the chef prepared special items (waffles, eggs, and a roll), which I could combine with safe food from the buffet (bacon and fruit) for a complete brunch though, sadly, I couldn't get Mickey waffles (they used to be my favourite, along with the Mickey shaped pasta, which is also now a no-no).

We had an early dinner reservation at Le Cellier, so planned to go from a late breakfast at the Crystal Palace until dinner. Luckily, I was able to find "Mecca" at the Main Street Bakery and have my fill of snacks (the brownies were particularly yummy). Dinner at Le Cellier was excellent as the chef was able to adapt the menu items slightly for me.

Breakfast the next morning at the ABC Commissary again involved the chef preparing me a special plate of bacon, eggs, and potatoes, which was much appreciated.

My traveling partner wanted to eat lunch at Mama Melrose, which I was somewhat nervous about, since Italian food does not generally go well for someone who can eat neither gluten nor dairy. However, my worries proved to be unfounded. The chef was able to prepare the tomato stacks without cheese, cheese-free pizza on a gluten-free crust, and rice ice-cream with fresh fruit. I definitely left the restaurant very full!

Dinner that night was the much anticipated Kona dinner. I was on my own for the Kona dinner since my travel companion left that afternoon. Matt, the chef on that night (19-November) came out to my table to discuss my order, and he had obviously been prepared by Dilan. With his advice, I ordered the Kona Salad (minus the cheese), the Asian noodle dish (with wheat-free soy sauce) and my pre-arranged apple brown betty. He also provided me with tapioca rolls so that I could enjoy the olive oil and balsamic vinegar that other tables were enjoying. While waiting for my appetizer, Matt came out to apologetically tell me that my apple brown-betty had accidentally been served to someone else and could he prepare something else for my dessert. He offered to make me grilled pineapple with toffuti and a caramel sauce. Both my appetizer and entrée were very good. The dessert was truly excellent; I'd suggest adapting it (maybe using fresh pineapple) and adding it as a regular option.

My morning at the Animal Kingdom (20-Nov) was my only disappointment of the trip as I was unable to find any breakfast that I could eat and the chef at Tusker's was unable (or unwilling) to prepare lunch food early (it was about 10:15am when I tried). When lunch food was available, I did get food at the Tusker House, and the chicken, vegetables, and French fries were very good - though the kitchen seemed less organized and able to deal with special requests than the other places I ate at. Perhaps I caught them at a bad
time (it was very busy). Having said that, WDW set a very high standard and Tusker's House would still be better than 95% of restaurants I've eaten at outside of WDW.

My final meal was from Hurricane Hanna's at the YC which was a perfect pre-departure meal.

Hope that helps!
 
I eat neither gluten nor dairy so your daughters could eat some stuff that I couldn't, but here is part of the letter I sent WDW on my return (it details what I ate and is easier/faster than my retyping everything).



Hope that helps!

Yes, thank you! I have to hear how things are done to help me figure out what to do. LOL

We are thankful that dairy is not an issue right now. Ds was off dairy for a long time as an infant, then off just cheese for a while longer. He seems to tolerate both well now.

We also avoid treenuts and peanuts. Thankfully most restaurants understand about that one. :)
 
I forgot to mention that I was on DDP - definitely got my moneysworth even with the adaptions!
 
My son is on a GF diet and I am planning our first trip to Disneyland next month. A friend just mentioned to me that Disney is very friendly to kids with food allergies. Does anyone have suggestions for DL? Is the Pizza Planet at DL or WDW?
Thanks for your help.
 
My son is on a GF diet and I am planning our first trip to Disneyland next month. A friend just mentioned to me that Disney is very friendly to kids with food allergies. Does anyone have suggestions for DL? Is the Pizza Planet at DL or WDW?
Thanks for your help.


I know at Goofy's Kitchen at DL the chef made my mom a HUGE platter of pasta and gave her GF chocolate chip cookies for dessert. Basically my mom would explain every place we ate about her restrictions and they would somehow accomidate her.

As far as WDW is concerned always ask at the CS places to see the book of ingredients...there should be one at EVERY CS location. That will help to identify what can be eaten and what can't be. Also make sure to find out if each place has a dedicated fryer to only French fries (I think Disney's pretty good about this one).

Good luck and enjoy! :)
 














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