Our next vacation is 3 people who are gluten free (with various other restrictions), and one soy-free vegetarian. We are on the dining plan. Disney is the most accommodating to gluten free diets place I've vacationed. The process we follow for planning dining works something like this..
I look at the allears menus and identify restaurants that I want to eat at with a preference for avoiding buffets (due to cross-contamination risks). When I call to make my ADRs, I let them know that I have a special dietary requirement, and both gluten allergy and gluten intolerant (celiac) are in the computer already as standard requirements.
Once my dining is all booked, I email one of my contacts at special diets (usually Brenda Bennett
Brenda.Bennett@disney.com ) and request a list of the gluten free food options available. She emails a list of gluten free foods available at counter services, and a form for me to fill out regarding table service options. I list all my ADRs on the table service form, along with any special requests (I need to avoid potatoes, mom needs a low fat diet, etc). Brenda forward the table service form to the restaurants so that they have advance notice of our needs.
Before we leave, I print out all the dining information that I have from Brenda, and extra copies of the table service information.
For counter service, there's an ingredient book at each CS location. If I have questions about something that is probably gluten free, but isn't mentioned on my dietary lists, I can look at the ingredients and make an educated decision. The CS cashiers frequently have a button on the register that they can push for allergies. I'm usually more comfortable asking for a manager or a chef to keep a special eye on our order, but gluten free is becoming common enough that most CS employees seem to know what precautions need to be taken.
It does take longer to get a CS order with gluten free. We usually allot 30 minutes just to receive our food. That's because they have very specific procedures to avoid cross contamination. Usually everything goes off without a hitch - but do keep an eye on your food as much as you can, since mistakes and misunderstandings do happen.
For table service, we alert the CM when we check in, and there's usually a special allergy ticket that's given to our server to indicate we have special needs. The chef (almost always) comes out to chat with us, and let us know what can be made gluten free for us. We offer him an extra copy of our special diets form so that there are fewer misunderstandings about our needs. If it was just gluten free, we probably wouldn't bother. For buffets, they'll walk you through the buffet and show you what is safe, then sometimes bring out specially adapted options (salmon without the sauce, for example).
The special options for CS gluten free at WDW (subject to change, of course):
Gluten free Pizza (Amy's)
Gluten-free mac and cheese (Amy's)
Rotisserie chicken
Hot dogs, Hamburgers and sandwiches with gluten-free buns (Ener-g)
Turkey legs
gluten free cookies, brownie, ricetreat
ice cream (for scooped they'll get it from a new container with a clean scoop)
gluten free chicken fingers
baked fries
BBQ chicken and ribs
various salads
The downsides to gluten
free dining (also subject to change, fortunately)
It is always very slow
Special meals are often less complete than the regular. For example, gluten free mac and cheese for my 4 year old often can't be gotten in the mickey-head plate, and doesn't come with sides, since it's considered an adult entree. That varies on a location basis, though.
availability of special products can be spotty ("sorry, we're out of that and won't have any more for a few days")
lack of CS desserts, particularly on the dining plan. The desserts available are usually grapes, sugar free jello, and possibly pudding.
lack of TS desserts. The options are usually ice cream, fruit cup and creme brulee. Creme brulee is usually *very* good, but not every day.
All things considered, Disney does a great job with the gluten free diet. For our next trip we're expecting to eat a lot of CS at our home resort (Pop Century), so when we check in, I'll ask if I can get a phone number to call our orders in ahead.
