Just back- 2 weeks of gfree dining

[sug78]

Just spent 2 weeks at Art of Animation with my 8 year old gluten free daughter.Our first trip since going gfree.
We had a wonderful experience everywhere we went & the chefs at AofA were great. At landscape of flavors she had burgers on gni buns, fries, make your own salad, omelettes, pasta with marinara & pesto,(she cold also have a sandwich made on Udis bread but never did) We ate at flame tree, be our guest, abc commissary, liberty inn, baby cakes, raglan road- awesome chicken & risotto and onion rings, cosmic rays, Biergarten, 1900 park fare, and Boma.
Boma was one of the favorites- dd even got the chefs autograph, he was awesome!
Spent 2 days at universal went to Mythos and Margaritaville.
Thanks to everyone on here who posted lots of helpful allergy information- disney really does a great job!

 

[Elisa]

I'm always on here looking for some good gluten free reviews and tips as this August will be my first trip going GF due to newly diagnosed celiac's disease. It's sounds like you guys ate super well and I'm sure that was a huge weight off of your mind knowing how smoothly things were going. Were the chefs really attentive for the most part and willing to bend over backwards for her by making her special meals, or did they just explain what was on the menu or buffet that she could eat? Any special moments along the way, like a fantastic surprise dessert or anything? I'm not expecting anything myself as that sets people up for disappointment but I like to know that the Disney magic is still alive as always! I'm sure she was treated royally! Any details about the food and dining experiences would be appreciated!

 

[Denine]

Sounds like our trip in March. It was our first trip since DD 10 was dx'd with celiac disease. We ended up at Boma for breakfast twice because the chef there was awesome!

 

[primrosea]

So happy your gluten free trip went well! We are also a gluten free family who loves Boma. The food is amazing and the chefs made us feel like VIPs.

 

[DisneyMom5]

I'd love to hear details too if you have time.

 

[hcipi]

Disney is heaven for my 17 year old celiac son
He loves going because as he said " I feel normal and don't have to worry", the food is not just prepackaged GF food or already food naturally GF, they MAKE GF food which is why the chefs are so special and never make you feel like you are being a pain!!

We just bought DVC because honestly, we are all happy there and will always be returning!

I tell my son he needs to get himself a girlfriend/wife who loves disney as much as he does

 

[sug78]

So for starters the first day at the hotel we went and talked to a chef during a slow time- she was great- spent lots of time walking us thru everything . She basically said whatever my daughter wanted they could do- she was even willing to make her meatballs if she ever wanted any because theirs were not gfree. We all really liked AoA food court- lots of options for dd and us. I also realized that staying at a value hotel was great for us with a special diet because they have so many options. We ate at roaring forks at WL one day & there was not much for dd to choose from- however the chef there did make her a pepperoni pizza on Udis crust. We did bring cereal from home which dd ate a few times, but then she discovered the omelette station and ate those most days. There was also Greek yogurt available. We also brought a few bagels from home ( I was worried there would be a lack of bfast options) so she also ate those with butter and jam from the food court. For anyone wondering along with butter there was also smart balance provided.

 

[sug78]

I noticed some places had Udis buns some had GNI. We had never had gni before and dd ended up preferring those over Udis. I know for sure landscape of flavors and abc commissary at DHS used gni.
At flame tree BBQ she got a chicken drumstick and fries- loved the chicken.
Most places had kozy shack chocolate pudding or enjoy life cc cookies. At pecos bill the chef gave dd the enjoy life cookies and a big gni cookie because my daughter had never had the gni one before.
A sunshine seasons the rotisserie area is all gluten free, dd had chicken and mashed potatoes- they also had cookies brownies and a few other goodies available.
Had steak at BOG - it was ok. They brought out warmed rolls that were really good & she really liked the lemon cream puff. Went for dinner at the quick service at the Mexico pavilion- food was good but out of our whole trip this was the only place I was uneasy about. The chef was just in a big hurry and did not make me feel very comfortable. Chef at cosmic rays was awesome dd just wanted a piece of grilled chicken- made it for her and told cashier to just charge us for a kids meal. Another thing to note is we were never upcharged for gluten free items.

 

[sug78]

Raglan road had great onion rings! Impossible to find gfree- total treat! We went to baby cakes but were not impressed- lemon cupcake was ok other stuff was blah...however I am a baker by trade and specialize in allergen items so my family is quite picky about their baked goods
Chef at Biergarten was helpful-walked us thru the buffet- there was a lot she could eat. But limited with dessert. Berry compote, vanilla sauce and custard I believe. She was stuffed after dinner so it was all good.
1900 park fare breakfast , the chef walked us thru the buffet she could eat almost everything but the obvious. The chef then brought her out a huge plate of fresh Mickey waffles and real maple syrup. Tasted very similar to the regular waffles.
Wilderness canyon cafe skillet was good- we couldn't have the steak because they said they were trying out new seasonings and couldn't guarantee it being gfree. We ate chicken, pulled pork and ribs, beans, corn and potatoes. Brought dd out her own cornbread that was super. She could not have any of the desserts so the chef made her a brownie sundae. Like I said Boma was the favorite. Chef Arol walked us thru the buffet- she could eat almost everything and the food was great!! He also took extra time to talk to her about cooking ( she wants to be a chef- so she was in awe of meeting all these "famous" chefs
He brought her out her own plate of desserts that included Mickey domes instead of zebra domes. She had him sign her autograph shirt right on the front next to Ariel!
I'm sure I'm leaving something out so if y'all have any questions just ask and I will do my best to answer.

 

[Sagginit]

We went to baby cakes but were not impressed- lemon cupcake was ok other stuff was blah...however I am a baker by trade and specialize in allergen items so my family is quite picky about their baked goods

finally someone else who thinks that babycakes leaves much to be desired. i have been to the one downtown in NYC and always recommend other GF bakeries. because the stuff is vegan and GF it has this heavy, thick, consistency. i also bake some of my own GF stuff which is why i could be a snob about it. afterall being GF is bad enough, don't take the eggs and dairy out of my baked goods either!

i cant wait for a cream puff from BOG. on my last trip i ended up bringing home some brownies and cookies b/c i couldn't stand them anymore. i actually wish they opened up their own small allergy bakery on site. the best desert i had there was chocolate creme brulee at cali grill.

 

[hcipi]

We went to baby cakes but were not impressed- lemon cupcake was ok other stuff was blah...however I am a baker by trade and specialize in allergen items so my family is quite picky about their baked goods

finally someone else who thinks that babycakes leaves much to be desired. i have been to the one downtown in NYC and always recommend other GF bakeries. because the stuff is vegan and GF it has this heavy, thick, consistency. i also bake some of my own GF stuff which is why i could be a snob about it. afterall being GF is bad enough, don't take the eggs and dairy out of my baked goods either!

i cant wait for a cream puff from BOG. on my last trip i ended up bringing home some brownies and cookies b/c i couldn't stand them anymore. i actually wish they opened up their own small allergy bakery on site. the best desert i had there was chocolate creme brulee at cali grill.

I am not a fan of BabyCakes in Disney either...as for GF cream puffs....

1 cup water
1 stick butter
bring to boil-then turn off and add and stir:
1 1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill Flour Blend (works best so far!)
4 eggs-one at a time

The mixture should be slightly tacky but stretchy. Add more flour if necessary.
Drop on ungreased baking sheet or parchment paper. 375 degrees about 45 min.

Cool puffs then fill with this mixture:
2 boxes Jello instant vanilla pudding (GF now!)
1 large Cool whip container
add enough milk till drops off a spoon-put in fridge for at least 1 hour.( you can adjust milk to the consistancy you like.

Cut in half add filling. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar! Enjoy!
Firm puff= serve immediatly Soft puff=refridgerate for a bit before serving.

 

[shelby101301]

I am not a fan of BabyCakes in Disney either...as for GF cream puffs....

1 cup water
1 stick butter
bring to boil-then turn off and add and stir:
1 1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill Flour Blend (works best so far!)
4 eggs-one at a time

The mixture should be slightly tacky but stretchy. Add more flour if necessary.
Drop on ungreased baking sheet or parchment paper. 375 degrees about 45 min.

Cool puffs then fill with this mixture:
2 boxes Jello instant vanilla pudding (GF now!)
1 large Cool whip container
add enough milk till drops off a spoon-put in fridge for at least 1 hour.( you can adjust milk to the consistancy you like.

Cut in half add filling. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar! Enjoy!
Firm puff= serve immediatly Soft puff=refridgerate for a bit before serving.

Thx! Can't wait to try!

 

[DVCAngela]

So glad to hear you had a great GF experience at Disney!

 

[clanmcculloch]

Thanks for sharing your reviews. It's very helpful to others to hear about people's first hand experiences.

It frustrates me a bit that the chef at Biergarten didn't offer to bring out some EL cookies and/or chocolate bars. They have them in the kitchen. While there are LOTS of good GF foods on the buffet, it would be nice if they at least mentioned the dessert options that are available in the kitchen. I had to ask for soy ice cream as well. One of my kids can't even eat the berries and neither can eat the vanilla sauce or custard so if I didn't ask one would have gotten nothing and the other only berries.

That corn bread at WCC is the BEST, isn't it? I'm sorry to hear about the steak. I'd better keep them off my list until I hear they've changed that since I can't eat pork products or gluten (among other things) so that doesn't leave many options for proteins since my kids would want the ribs.

For those of us who are so much more limited in what treats we can have, we deal with the texture of Babycakes products. The only baked goods my 15yo can eat at WDW are the Enjoy Life cookies and Babycakes products because everything else has something she's allergic to. Even so, I agree the texture is a bit off in the cupcakes though IMO it's more the icing that's weird. I'm really not a fan of icing made with coconut oil as much because of the texture as the taste (I've done it at home too and feel the same way about it when I make it too). We all LOVE the donuts and enjoy the cookies as well. The novelty of the fact that the birthday cakes are the only professional cakes my kids have ever gotten I think made them a lot better in our minds than they would have seemed otherwise.