Gluten Free Question

[Eliserose]

I am in the process of testing, but looks like my daughters have Celiac Disease. We have a trip scheduled at the end of September. How are Disney restaurants with accommodating gluten free diets? Does anyone have any experience or tips? We deal with food allergies also and I have contacted special diets, but now this is a bit more overwhelming. I'd love advice from anyone. Thanks!

Not sure if it matters, but some of our ADR's are at Akershus, Chef Mickeys, Teppan Ido, CRT, Mamma Melrose, California Grill and Rainforest Cafe.

 

[pad406]

Can't speak for gluten but my son has a nut allergy and they were all great. We let them know when we booked and again at checkin. The chef came to our table and either explained the menu or when a buffet, brought us around and showed us what was ok. Chef mickeys, cal grill, o'hanas and boma were particularily good. There was a mistake made in t-Rex about the volcano dessert but they rectified it very quickly and were very apologetic. Thankfully I had noticed the nuts before ds had tasted. In short let them know ASAP and remind them when you checkin.

 

[SamMac]

Disney is great with gluten allergies! My 4 year old son is allergic to gluten, dairy, peanuts, and eggs and it is wonderful eating at Disney. Just make sure before you go to email special diets so they are prepared for his meals.

 

[clanmcculloch]

It's the best place in the world to travel with food allergies. A few posts below this is the dining report I'm writing of our most recent trip. It's a report for multiple allergies but one of the many allergies is gluten. If you read it, realize that there are actually many MORE options for people who are only gluten free. Look through other dining reports as well. It'll definitely put your mind at ease.

 

[jmkrat]

I have Celiac and have always been able to eat plenty. If you e-mail special diets they will send you park foods ( from the stands) that are gluten free. When you make your ADR's just inform them that one of you will be eating gluten free. When you get to the restaurant tell the host/hostess and then tell your server. They usually have it marked on your reservation. A Chef will come out and speak to you about your choices. I have eaten at Mama Melrose, Chef Mickeys and California Grill. Had great experiences at all. I have not tried the others ( I have heard that Teppen Edo does a great job with gluten free). I don't know for sure though. I have never had a problem eating at Disney World. In fact I would say it is one of the best places to eat with an allergy. I felt like a queen. Make sure you call and have them note that you need gluten free on all your reservations.

 

[frank430316]

Just in case you missed the trend here WDW is great for food allergies in general, but fantastic for Celiacs! Many restaurants think that gluten intolerance is like a mild allergy & assume that a little won't hurt. But unfortunately Celiac is much more serious, and even a microscopic amount will cause damage. The current argument in the FDA right now, is whether 20 parts per million is sufficient for the term "gluten-free" (and there are plenty of doctors who think it should be less). But all of the Disney restaurants, both TS and CS, really get how serious it is and will take care of you. It really makes for a wonderful vacation

About your ADR's, you should be fine, except for Teppan Ido. The restaurants in the World part of EPCOT are not owned by Disney - some do a good job with allergies & some do not. China and Japan have probably the worst reputation, particularly with gluten. You might want to change for LeCellier Steakhouse in Canada, La Hacienda in Mexico, Biergarten in Germany, or Akerhaus in Norway (and of course any of the restaurants in the Future World area which are all Disney).

 

[chell]

Teppan Edo was wonderful for me! I felt bad because they made my meal before anyone else's. But thankfully no one seemed to mind.

 

[Eliserose]

Thanks so much everyone! It definitely puts my mind at ease and I really appreciate all the helpful replies!

 

[KristenFNJ]

Another Celiac family here, DH and DS1&2. If you haven't heard from special diets yet, you will soon, and I know they'll instruct you to do this, but be sure and return your dining reservations form with your reservation numbers. It's always a joy/relief to go up to the hostess and tell them our party is here, and have them say, "and 3 of your are dining gluten free today?" Music to my ears!

Since it seems you're new to celiacs, {{{hugs}}} I've never been so overwhelmed than those first 3 months after DS1 was diagnosed. I totally feel your pain. It IS overwhelming, people in general have NO idea where gluten hides! The not knowing, and mixed-message information about ingredients like flavorings and colorings just makes you want to run screaming! There are a lot of great resources out there now, and the food (though pricey, so prepare your budget) is of SUCH better quality than it was 4 years ago! And it's only getting better. I recommend starting off at celiac dot com, they have a message board and some good basic info. You'll find tons of blogs and lots of information online... almost too much! So just take what you can absorb and don't put too much pressure on yourself. At first I carried a notebook so I could jot down what I learned was g/f and what was not, so I didn't have to rely on my memory.

It will get easier, I promise! And fortunately your Disney vacation will be a pleasure!!! I don't know if you're staying on property or not, but if you check out urbanspoon or otherwise google "gluten free Orlando" you'll find restaurants in the area you can visit, including Uno Chigaco Grill, Outback and PF Changs.

Also, I had a tough time finding info online for Ghirardelli at DownTown Disney, but at the restaurant they have an allergy binder at the register that is pretty detailed. We have been able to enjoy gluten free ice cream sundaes safely there, so don't be afraid to go in a check it out! (everything else is pretty easy to find online)

I have noticed lots of g/f folks here even though Im pretty new, so if you have other questions about celiac or g/f in general-not just Disney- I'm sure if you started a thread in the disABILITITIES Community forum you'd get lots of great info!

Best of luck, hope your girl is feeling better soon, and have a great trip!!!

 

[KristenFNJ]

Another Celiac family here, DH and DS1&2. If you haven't heard from special diets yet, you will soon, and I know they'll instruct you to do this, but be sure and return your dining reservations form with your reservation numbers.

Geez, I'm SO behind the times! I just read on another thread that in the absence of metabolic disorders or persons with 4+ allergies, the form return is not necessary! I'm now going to go with "follow whatever instructions you get from Special Diets!" I'm sure they know what they're doing! :lol:

 

[Eliserose]

Thank you so much for your kind words. I will check out that site. Glad to know Disney is accommodating with this!

 

[SDSorority]

I am in the process of testing, but looks like my daughters have Celiac Disease. We have a trip scheduled at the end of September. How are Disney restaurants with accommodating gluten free diets? Does anyone have any experience or tips? We deal with food allergies also and I have contacted special diets, but now this is a bit more overwhelming. I'd love advice from anyone. Thanks!

Not sure if it matters, but some of our ADR's are at Akershus, Chef Mickeys, Teppan Ido, CRT, Mamma Melrose, California Grill and Rainforest Cafe.

I have had chefs CALL ME banana and tell me that they'll absolutely be able to work with us. I emailed Special Diets with all of my requests and the guy from the Grand Floridian Cafe said "oh, we won't have to do any extra preparations- just tell the person at the front that you have allergies and the chef will come out to speak with you". I am going to make cards with our allergies listed to give to the chef just so there's no question about what we can and can't have.

 

[DisneyNoob13]

Not sure if it matters, but some of our ADR's are at Akershus, Chef Mickeys, Teppan Ido, CRT, Mamma Melrose, California Grill and Rainforest Cafe.

Only one I have tried was CG. Chef didn't come to the table (the only TS where that happened for me), but the server seemed very knowledgeable and explained where the problems would lie with certain dishes. The meal and overall experience was great!

 

[jcano]

WDW has been the only vacation that we have taken since the Celiac dx that I haven't been thoroughly pre-occupied with the question of "Where are we going to eat?" As others have said, they are awesome!

Sorry for the dx!

 

[clanmcculloch]

I have had chefs CALL ME banana and tell me that they'll absolutely be able to work with us. I emailed Special Diets with all of my requests and the guy from the Grand Floridian Cafe said "oh, we won't have to do any extra preparations- just tell the person at the front that you have allergies and the chef will come out to speak with you". I am going to make cards with our allergies listed to give to the chef just so there's no question about what we can and can't have.

The phone calls from chefs really only happen with complicated lists like you've got. Special Diets won't even send the forms to fill out any longer for those who are just gluten free since the chefs have become quite adepts and handling the more common allergies/dietary issues.

I just want to mention that chefs LOVE cards with typed out lists. It sure does make it easier for them and for us. I was always forgetting to mention one or two things from all of our lists and now I don't have to worry about that and chefs have it there right in front of them in black and white. At one restaurant where we had a few ADRs I was pleasantly surprised to see that the chef already had the card I had given to the chef the first time we had eaten there. They made a point of giving it to the next chef. Little touches like that are really nice.