Just back! A tri-DISer trip report (with a gluten-free DISer's dining experience)

[FutureMrsC]

Trip time: 07/07/07- 07/14/07

[Disclaimer: this little (well, okay, maybe not so little) trippie will (most likely) be written by three DISers myself, SpankyMcFoosh (my brother), and 3kgtluvr (my brother's friend)... writing styles may change! ]

Anyway... here's our cast of characters.

Me 23, no longer a newlywed (it's been a year now!); recently diagnosed with a gluten/wheat allergy (not Celiac's, but virtually the same thing... no wheat or gluten for me!... as I was only diagnosed 2 weeks ago, this was my very first trip to WDW with special dining needs.

DH 24, a music buff (working on his doctorate in Trombone performance & music theory), this was his 3rd trip (in comparison to my 21st trip).

DF My Dad... a fun-loving, goofy guy that will forever be referred to as "that guy" (think Laugh Floor).

DM My Mom... equally fun loving and super-sweet... very "mommyish"... those maternal instincts will come in quite handy during our trip...

DB My Brother... aka SpankyMcFoosh... 20, fun-loving, and excited to be joined by 2 of his other friends.

Friend1: Brother's friend... aka 3kgtluvr... nearly 21, fun-loving, excited to be going on his first 4-park commando-style WDW trip... and he finds humor in everything... great to be around!

Friend2: I don't know what other smiley to put there... friend 2 is... an interesting character... He'll play an interesting part throughout our trip... (mainly for humor purposes).

Join us (myself, SpankyMcFoosh, and 3kgtluvr) as we re-live (and retell) our trip to WDW!

 

[FutureMrsC]

Before I get started w/ our first day, I thought I'd throw in a few other details...

We stayed at POP on 7/7/7 and then checked in to SSR for the remainder of our stay.

We were taking 2 cars (mini van for parents & the 3 caballeros as well as a MINI Cooper). Speaking of Mini's, you'd be surprised at how comfy they are for 2 people to ride in during a trip from Atlanta to Orlando! It's important to know that our MINI has a GPS system (I'm not saying this to brag, either... it ends up being an important part of our trip).

Also, it's equally important to know that my DF is extremely stubborn when it comes to driving places... he always KNOWS the way... (stereotypical man... won't really ever ask for directions)

 

[FutureMrsC]

12:45am... DH & I finally finish packing everything, take showers, and get to bed by 1:30...

6:00am... we awake to the blaring "BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!" of the alarm clock. It wasn't that difficult to wake up, surprisingly. We bounced out of bed and headed to Ingles Grocery Store to purchase enough dry ice to keep my frozen gluten-free breakfast foods frozen until we checked in at SSR.

6:45-9:30: We pack the cooler w/ the frozen food and dry ice and then start loading up both cars... again, you'd be surprised how much stuff you can pack into a MINI Cooper when the back seats are folded down...

9:45: DM returns home from caring for my DGrandparents (DGF: 91, cranky, sometimes reminds me of Eeyore... DGM: 95, mid-late stage alzheimers, recent Pooh Lover...) everyone piles into the cars and we head off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

Finally, around 5:30, we enter those wonderful gates that we all love! We were finally there!!!

DH & I were happily following DF in the mini van because DF is happier that way. We were headed to check in at POP Century- it was while we were following signs to POP/WWOS that I remembered something important: my DF consistently gets lost while trying to get to the WWOS... we always end up somewhere outside the property. As soon as I remembered that, it was too late. We were already on I4 (I think)... our GPS system was telling us what to do (it auto-corrects) but we were frantically watching DF continually change lanes... luckily, he finally ended up stopping in one of those emergency lanes (the striped area between the highway and the exit lane) and we pulled around and got in front of him and let our GPS system tell us how to get back to POP. (Don't think we rely on our GPS though... DH knew where to go from the beginning... but he didn't want to turn off and leave DF to get lost.)

Finally, around 6, we check in. (ETA: when I'd reserved 2 rooms, the CM that I'd spoken to was incapable of reserving 2 rooms under one name/reservation... she'd wanted to do them separately. We'd requested connecting rooms in the 60's building... we knew that our requests weren't guaranteed, but what I couldn't understand was how 2 separate reservations (in 2 separate names, no less) would be connected by someone @ POP when there was no mention of the other name in any of the paperwork... ) Just as I suspected, the rooms were NOT connecting... they were also in 2 separate areas of the POP "campus"(60's and 90's). Was this doable? Kind of... except that we'd packed all our "first-night/clothes for the next day" into one community suitcase... so having to go across POP to distribute clothes would've been a problem. The CM checking us in understood that and volunteered to see if he could get something else for us.

About 15 minutes later, he came back. He had managed to get us 2 rooms in the 50's building. We quickly brought in everything that needed to be brought in, and then DH, myself, DB, Friend1, and Friend2 piled into the car and left for CR. DH and I had ressies at Concourse Steakhouse with 2 of our friends (that are CM's).... the boys wanted to hang out at the CR Arcade and then ride the monorail.

I became increasingly nervous for my first "special dining considerations" experience. I was soon relieved when Chef Royal came to our table and was really laid-back discussing options with me. He made the BEST prime rib and potatoes and then brought out wonderful tapioca rolls. Absolutely fantastic!!! He came by our table 4 times during our meal... it was great!

After dinner, our CM friends talked to my DB and his friends about the college program... they gave them some wonderful information and we had the best time just sitting around talking. The boys got hungry though (they never ate while we were eating... we'd expected them to eat @ the quick service in CR) so we headed back to POP so they could eat.

After they ate, we went to bed... we were getting up at 5:30 to head over to SSR to check in.

Coming soon: our check-in @ SSR as well as an adventure-packed morning @ EPCOT...

 

[FutureMrsC]

5:30 am: DB & Friends1&2 wake up. My DParents & DH & I were supposed to get up then, too... but the alarm clock was snoozed... or unplugged... something... in other words, we weren't up yet. (Our initial plan was to be completely ready to go when the boys woke up.)

5:50am: DB calls my DF's cell (it's annoyingly loud... a freight train horn). We wake up thinking a train is coming through the room . We frantically run around throwing stuff in suitcases and shove food into our mouths... DH & I run down to the front desk to check out, and then run back to our car to lead the way to SSR (we won't trust DF to lead the way the rest of the trip... almost). We get to SSR and check in to find out that our room was already ready!!! We'd been given a garden view (with a spectacular view of the lake next to DTD & Fulton's Crab House. We drive over to the room and put all our suitcases and coolers in, then get back in the car and drive to EPCOT.

Our main goal at EPCOT was to ride Spaceship Earth a couple of times, as it closed for maintenance after that night. We arrived around 7:15 and headed (like everyone else) to Soarin'. (DH, DB, & I had already "flown" before... it was the first time for DM, DF, and Friends1&2). I was nervous about DM riding it... she has motion sickness problems... however, when we got off, she and DF were exclaiming that it was their new favorite ride! After that, we headed over to do Spaceship Earth... such fun!!! Then, DF, DB, and Friends 1&2 went to go do M:S (orange version). DH decided to sit that one out, as he and DB had already done it in December and he wanted to give DF a chance to do it with all the guys. We (DH, DM, & I) went to TT to get fast passes, then we went to the ride exit (inside where the email-postcard station is) to wait for all of the boys. I have a habit of praying for everyone to come out alive, so that's what I was busy doing... then, I saw him.....................................
......................building suspense...............................
............................................................................
................this is how I felt at that moment.................
........................there aren't really words to describe....
.......................................anticipating it?..................
..............any predictions?.........................................
................................................driving you crazy?....
.............................................................................

My DF came out of the ride exit as white as a sheet... (his skin typically always has a sunburnt/reddish tint... he's definitely nothing like as pale as me...)... but at that moment, he made ME look tan... when DM & I went over to him, he was very cold as well. I felt sure that we'd be leaving for the hospital and that we'd be another causalty to M:S in the news. DF insisted that he'd be okay though (unused barf bag in hand) and we slowly walked back over to the land to ride LWTL and grab some Fastpasses for Soarin'. Everyone enjoyed LWTL, but I wished that it was narrated by an actual person instead of the audio-track.

After LWTL, we walked back over and did TT... DF's coloring had come back, but he was still very clammy.

Everyone enjoyed TT, and then it was time for us to go our separate ways... DParents, DB, & Friends 1&2 headed back to the hotel (as well as to Walmart & Sams to stock up on stuff for the week). DH & I headed back to the Land to eat at Garden Grill.

Lunch at the Garden Grill was fabulous. The Chef (he didn't have a nametag, so I don't know his name) brought out tapioca rolls with the orange blossom honey butter (yum!!!) and a large plate with rotisserie chicken, beans, steamed carrots, andd yummy mashed potatoes. For dessert, he brought out fresh fruits and whipped cream (as well as a gluten-free chocolate chip cookie). The fruits were delicious, but I felt like everything but the strawberries tasted like cantalope... (cantalope is one of the select fruits I don't eat... I don't enjoy the aftertaste).

After lunch, we walked over to Soarin to use our fastpasses. Now, if you've been following along closely, you'll notice that my DParents & "Crew" didn't use their fastpasses... so we were left with 4 fastpasses that they gave us (one person didn't give us theirs... either that or we lost it). As obsessed as I am about Soarin', I'd originally planned on just riding it 3 times in a row... however, it occurred to me that we could do something magical for another family of 4 by giving them fast passes that expired in less than 10 minutes.

We camped out by the fast pass distribution machines in search of an unsuspecting family of 4... suprisingly though, it took several minutes for such a family to arrive. When they walked towards the machines, I asked if they were getting fast passes. The mother looked at me like I was a deranged maniac and eventually said that they were. Then, I told her that I'd like to give her our fast passes... I wish I had a picture of her face... they hadn't ever ridden it before and asked if there was something we didn't like about it. We explained that the rest of our group had left and we wanted to spread some magic of our own. Their kids were bouncing off the walls with thank yous. Both parents were close to tears, and the Mom even gave me a hug while repeatedly thanking us. It was such a wonderful feeling!!!

After our "flight", we rode Spaceship Earth again and then headed back to the hotel for a nap.

Coming up next: Fun times at MK!

 

[OhMari]

Hi,
I am enjoying reading your TR.
You said you were not diagnosed with having Celiac. I'm just curious, what did they diagnose you with. I just had a procedure done and they couldn't get the cells to determine if I had Celiac, and my blood test came back a 20. 25 I guess is the magic number for Celiac. I do feel a lot better when I don't eat wheat, but I can tolerate it, but any kind of fried food, chocolate or caffeine and I'm a hurtin.

 

[FutureMrsC]

OhMari, my Gastroenterologist officially (for insurance purposes) diagnosed me w/ Celiacs (I found that out yesterday when I saw her). My body has ALWAYS responded weird to allergens (my environmental allergies are so horrible that I have to get 2 shots every other week)... anyway... whenever I have an allergy attack, I never get typical symptoms (coughing, sneezing, wheezing, etc.)... my symptoms are really rapid pulse and fever of at least 102... sometimes even nausea. My Allergist says this CAN'T be allergies, but that's the only thing my DM ever narrowed it down to... and so my Gastro thinks that this kind of falls into that same area... it's obvious from my energy level, improvement in my skin (I had horrible dermatitis and some kind of rosacea... all of which has disappeared w/ the removal of gluten), and most importantly my extreme nausea and diarrhea have gone away (TMI, maybe...)... also, my Gastroenterologist did an endoscopy w/ a biopsy, not just the blood test. I don't know what my numbers were... she said that when she was doing the endoscopy, my intestines looked REALLY bad... very inflamed and swollen... however, the lab guys said that they felt that it was more of a stomach acid damage... (which I can see, because eating gluten gives me HORRIBLE acid reflux).

Anyway... that's my latest medical status... I feel so much better completely gluten-free. I think I could probably handle some things w/ cross-contamination or slight bits (like gluten in some soy sauces), but I'm not going to experiment for a while... I slipped up a couple of days ago and ate a normal brownie (they were sitting next to my gluten free ones and looked exactly the same)... and that small little normal brownie had my body all screwed up for about 12 hours.

Feel free to ask anything else... I'm getting more and more informed every day


ETA: I've found (from thinking back and experimenting w/ being gluten free 2 months prior to getting diagnosed) that when I had eaten gluten 4-5 hours beforehand and then ate something that had a high oil content or milk or caffeine (or anything else that could cause others digestive issues... basically anything not bland), I was more sensitive to hurting. From what I've read online, that makes sense because w/ Celiacs (or near celiacs... whatever it is that I am), the gluten causes your body to attack the gluten like it's a virus, which, in turn, really irritates your intestines... so people who aren't really lactose intolerant can have lactose intolerancy symptoms... I'd assume that the same thing would apply with other potential irritants.

Now that I'm gluten free, I can eat dairy again... beforehand, I was convinced that I was lactose intolerant... I was a poster child for lactaid... it would absolutely kill me a couple of hours later...

Also... I'm finding that gluten free food just tastes way better than "normal" food... I don't know if that's psychological (since I know it won't make me sick), but even my DH enjoys the taste (as long as it doesn't have soy protein).

Goodness, I'm sounding like a walking encyclopedia. Hope this is helpful!

 

[OhMari]

OhMari, my Gastroenterologist officially (for insurance purposes) diagnosed me w/ Celiacs (I found that out yesterday when I saw her). My body has ALWAYS responded weird to allergens (my environmental allergies are so horrible that I have to get 2 shots every other week)... anyway... whenever I have an allergy attack, I never get typical symptoms (coughing, sneezing, wheezing, etc.)... my symptoms are really rapid pulse and fever of at least 102... sometimes even nausea. My Allergist says this CAN'T be allergies, but that's the only thing my DM ever narrowed it down to... and so my Gastro thinks that this kind of falls into that same area... it's obvious from my energy level, improvement in my skin (I had horrible dermatitis and some kind of rosacea... all of which has disappeared w/ the removal of gluten), and most importantly my extreme nausea and diarrhea have gone away (TMI, maybe...)... also, my Gastroenterologist did an endoscopy w/ a biopsy, not just the blood test. I don't know what my numbers were... she said that when she was doing the endoscopy, my intestines looked REALLY bad... very inflamed and swollen... however, the lab guys said that they felt that it was more of a stomach acid damage... (which I can see, because eating gluten gives me HORRIBLE acid reflux).

Anyway... that's my latest medical status... I feel so much better completely gluten-free. I think I could probably handle some things w/ cross-contamination or slight bits (like gluten in some soy sauces), but I'm not going to experiment for a while... I slipped up a couple of days ago and ate a normal brownie (they were sitting next to my gluten free ones and looked exactly the same)... and that small little normal brownie had my body all screwed up for about 12 hours.

Feel free to ask anything else... I'm getting more and more informed every day


ETA: I've found (from thinking back and experimenting w/ being gluten free 2 months prior to getting diagnosed) that when I had eaten gluten 4-5 hours beforehand and then ate something that had a high oil content or milk or caffeine (or anything else that could cause others digestive issues... basically anything not bland), I was more sensitive to hurting. From what I've read online, that makes sense because w/ Celiacs (or near celiacs... whatever it is that I am), the gluten causes your body to attack the gluten like it's a virus, which, in turn, really irritates your intestines... so people who aren't really lactose intolerant can have lactose intolerancy symptoms... I'd assume that the same thing would apply with other potential irritants.

Now that I'm gluten free, I can eat dairy again... beforehand, I was convinced that I was lactose intolerant... I was a poster child for lactaid... it would absolutely kill me a couple of hours later...

Also... I'm finding that gluten free food just tastes way better than "normal" food... I don't know if that's psychological (since I know it won't make me sick), but even my DH enjoys the taste (as long as it doesn't have soy protein).

Goodness, I'm sounding like a walking encyclopedia. Hope this is helpful!

Thank you for all this information. I am learning slowly. I am sort of in denial and it makes me sad reading about it, but I hate being sick.
Looking forward to reading how your WDW vacation went. When I went down in April, we ate at a lot of buffets and thinking back, I ate a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables. I did have my share subs though, but I was never sick during my vacation. This all started this past May. But I did have a flare up in February.