Glutin free/meal plan

[Dian-er]

I just listened to the 10-21 podcast about the fast food glutin free experience. I have a good friend who is a DVC owner & comes frequently. She has celiac disease. She was just here last week & did the fast food meal plan. I know that they honored her plan for the glutin free diet & they didn't charge her more for the food.
I do know that she said they did a good job at the food court in Saratoga Springs. She wasn't upset about the quality of the food either. I, also, had a taste of the glutin free pizza there & it was pretty good.

 

[safetymom]

I guess you have to get used to the different texture.

 

[UrsulasShadow]

I guess if you have a disease like celiac disease, since you really don't have a choice, you learn not to complain about things like texture. You are just pretty grateful that you have options, and I'm very glad that Disney does offer options. I really do hope they decide NOT to charge extra for them, however.

 

[safetymom]

I guess I am seeing it differently. My late husband was very very allergic to several things. I made things from scratch and they needed to taste good or he would not eat it. If we went out and they had things that we knew he couldn't have he just didn't eat much and came home and had something safe. There were many times I had to make separate meals so he didn't have a reaction while the kids and I ate something else.

 

[UrsulasShadow]

As Leah was saying, sometimes you get sick of eating salads. You want bread. Gluten is what gives bread (and many other food products) its "texture". Even if you did go home and make it from scratch, it would still have an altered texture.

It's all about choices. Maybe someone with experience in consuming gluten free products might have some input as to the quality of the food Disney is offering...like Diana's friend. It's good to hear of her experience with the gluten-free products she tried...more like comparing apples and apples.

 

[safetymom]

I understand that it is nice to have choices. We just learned that there were certain things he couldn't eat or if it didn't taste good he wouldn't eat it. That was fine with him.

I can't imagine with all the complaints about the quality of the counter service food that the Pizza is delicious compared to other companies. I am glad that Disney offers choices.

I am sure that there are newly diagnosed people that when they ate the pizza wondered if someone could make a better pizza.

 

[UrsulasShadow]

There IS no real pizza in Florida.

 

[Dian-er]

There IS some good pizza in Fl, you just have to find it- NYPD Pizza, in various locations around Orlando, is pretty good (not perfect). My point was, that they are not charging extra for the glutin free stuff if you are on the meal plan. The comment about her pizza was an aside. Also, she has been dealing with this condition for a long time & she said that the food court at Saratoga Springs was producing decent food for her.
A few other places: Earl of Sandwich in Downtown disney- she got a very good sald there. The Galley at beach Club (I know, kevin & John had a BAD TIME ther), but I have eaten there with my friend & the chef came out & went over the whole menu with her indicating what she could & couldn't order what he could modify for her. Deserts, every where, are difficult.
Diana

 

[Mike2023]

As Leah was saying, sometimes you get sick of eating salads. You want bread. Gluten is what gives bread (and many other food products) its "texture". Even if you did go home and make it from scratch, it would still have an altered texture.

It's all about choices. Maybe someone with experience in consuming gluten free products might have some input as to the quality of the food Disney is offering...like Diana's friend. It's good to hear of her experience with the gluten-free products she tried...more like comparing apples and apples.

I have a friend who can not eat Gluten and I will tell you that I have never had a meal with her that was "gluten free" that I would consider good. I would not consider this Disneys fault. There are a lot of options out there, but when you start to add gluten free bread to the mix it just goes down hill.

At least stake and potatoes are still a great option.

 

[safetymom]

I agree that NYPD pizza is very good.

 

[WDWAurora]

A grad student assigned to me this year has Celiac Disease, and she told me Friday (I was telling her about the podcast) that ALL pizza at Mellow Mushroom (a common NC chain, not sure how common elsewhere) is gluten free. She said that was what had convinced her and her boyfriend to stop eating crap-if MM could make good pizza without gluten, other stuff could be made to taste good as well. I would agree their pizza is good-I had no idea it was gluten free.

 

[ericafny]

Gluten free pizza is so common here in NY, most of the pizza places offer it and they DO charge extra for it...

Since NY does make the BEST pizza I bet the gluten free pizza isn't so bad here

 

[EDuke98080]

My daughter and I both have celiac disease and the awareness that this forum provides has been wonderful. That being said, having options is key and being able to travel and not worry about safe food to eat is one of the reasons why going to Disney is such a treat for us. It has always been our yearly favorite but after the diagnosis Magical took on a new meaning! CS is tough. I can honestly say that we prefer to eat sit down meals. Most foods (except bread) can be modified and tastes wonderful. The modifications usually are not that costly - substituting rice flour for wheat or leaving off crutons or gravy and cannot cost Disney more to produce. The counter service quick stuff is not always tasty as with any prepackaged frozen foods. Ron at SSR made us hand breaded - yes breaded with rice flour - chicken fingers that were to die for. We went back 3 times. The service is much slower because of the special handling but worth the wait. Most people who do not have to eat gluten free shy away from GF foods because it does taste different and have different consistancy but it is all in what you get used to. I have been GF for almost a year and my daughter for a year and a half and although it was an adjustment, Disney has made it easy and we are thankful for that. We are lucky and thankful to have options and be able to travel and have wonderful chefs to help us enjoy. As for cost, I think that it is a small percentage of the big picture and they must consider the average when pricing meals. It has always been included in our dining plan. Also be aware that in many places we do not have a dessert option and are not offered any discount for that omission. I think it evens out in the long run and I see it really as a non issue.

Thanks for the review on GF food. Try a sit down at Kona Kafe next time you'll never know it's GF!

 

[DavidandLeahZ]

Once, when my family visited Chicago (and the surrounding area) we went to Lou Malnati's Pizza and they made a gluten-free pizza where the crust was made of sausage....that's right....sausage.

 

[briandancer]

I really hope they find a way to beat that allergy, since the way the food was described on the podcast makes the Gluten-Free food, it sounds horrible. =(

 

[Bornteach]

BTW- Diane-er, it is nice to see you!!

 

[LeahZ]

I really didn't think the pizza and brownie were that bad! I'm glad this topic is being brought to light and that people are taking notice of the issue of trying to eat with dietary restrictions. I only was "gluten-free" for a short time and it was so hard to think about all the things I couldn't eat.

 

[Halbleib1]

Gluten free pizza is so common here in NY, most of the pizza places offer it and they DO charge extra for it...

Since NY does make the BEST pizza I bet the gluten free pizza isn't so bad here

I miss my sheet pizza's from back home. Down here if you ask for a sheet pizza they look at you like you are crazy. LOL