Our gluten free/dairy free trip

[Shadow02]

We are currently in Disney now and I posted on another thread too but thought it might be useful to share our dining experiences in one location. So far:

The good:

Babycakes- Gluten free, dairy free, and egg free- what else could we ask for? We don't eat many baked items like this often at home but have tried their cookies, donuts, and breads. All very good.

Cookes of Dublin- Gluten free fried fish and chips. By far the easiest to order and tasty too. Portion could've been a little larger, but we were also starving after having not eaten much all day after a long car drive.

Plaza Restaurant at MK: Chef Ken came out and did a great job with me and the kids, who all have the gluten and dairy allergy. I knew going in I would want the grilled chicken tenders for the kids. He did fries with them and a large fruit salad as their "appetizer". It had grapes, strawberries, and sliced apples. We were celebrating my son's birthday and I think he wanted to make the dessert a bit more special than just ice cream but the OMG brownie had milk in it and we don't do artificial coloring so sprinkles were out. He ended up doing a scoop of toffuti on an OMG chocolate chip cookie. It was nice and they sang. My son did not like the cookie however, and I have to agree that I've had better. Overall an A+ though for the chef being friendly and willing to find something the kids would enjoy.

Kouzzinas: Breakfast- had allergy free waffles (gluten, dairy, egg, corn free) Mickey shaped and chicken sausage. The kids got 2 waffles each. My 8 year old could've eaten more but I think 2 is the standard for kids meals. I had stopped the night before and talked to Chef Dee who was amazingly friendly. Chef Brad was there in the morning and he was also nice- although as I noted in a previous post he stated the bread (Udis) has milk in it but I know it does not. I had gluten free, dairy free eggs (made in olive oil), sweet potato/regular potato hash, and chicken sausage. All very good- we are going back Saturday morning!

Cosmic Rays CS, MK: We split 2 rotisserie chickens with 2 sides of green beans done in olive oil instead of the mashed potatoes. They also gave the kids an extra bag of carrots, apples, and grapes. The supervisor there was super friendly and did not seem bothered by us at all. Another A+.

Carolina Harbor House, CS, MK: We just had fries here as a snack. Service was slow, waiting for a supervisor. But once we got the order in it did not take too long. I've heard they do great allergy chicken fingers here but wanted the rotisserie at Cosmic Rays later just to be a bit healthier.

Beaches and Cream:
After the disappointment at ESPN (see below) we were ready to eat anything. The manager at Beaches and Cream was super nice. We had burgers with gluten free Udis buns, fries (made in the fryer at Hurricane Hannahs) and toffuti ice cream. Overall good.

The BAD:
ESPN: Went in, sat down, chef came out. Sorry, the buns have milk (not sure of the brand and he was so unfriendly I did not even ask), the fries are fried in same fryer as chicken tenders, and they have no oven to bake separate. The kids could have grapes. Yeah, no thanks. We left and went to Beaches and Cream.

2 days left and I am sick of fries and toffuti ice cream. I feel very limited by snack options and meal options as well but knew we would and I have not been impressed with the OMG brand at all.

 

[dclfun]

We are currently in Disney now and I posted on another thread too but thought it might be useful to share our dining experiences in one location. So far:

The good:

Babycakes- Gluten free, dairy free, and egg free- what else could we ask for? We don't eat many baked items like this often at home but have tried their cookies, donuts, and breads. All very good.

Cookes of Dublin- Gluten free fried fish and chips. By far the easiest to order and tasty too. Portion could've been a little larger, but we were also starving after having not eaten much all day after a long car drive.

Plaza Restaurant at MK: Chef Ken came out and did a great job with me and the kids, who all have the gluten and dairy allergy. I knew going in I would want the grilled chicken tenders for the kids. He did fries with them and a large fruit salad as their "appetizer". It had grapes, strawberries, and sliced apples. We were celebrating my son's birthday and I think he wanted to make the dessert a bit more special than just ice cream but the OMG brownie had milk in it and we don't do artificial coloring so sprinkles were out. He ended up doing a scoop of toffuti on an OMG chocolate chip cookie. It was nice and they sang. My son did not like the cookie however, and I have to agree that I've had better. Overall an A+ though for the chef being friendly and willing to find something the kids would enjoy.

Kouzzinas: Breakfast- had allergy free waffles (gluten, dairy, egg, corn free) Mickey shaped and chicken sausage. The kids got 2 waffles each. My 8 year old could've eaten more but I think 2 is the standard for kids meals. I had stopped the night before and talked to Chef Dee who was amazingly friendly. Chef Brad was there in the morning and he was also nice- although as I noted in a previous post he stated the bread (Udis) has milk in it but I know it does not. I had gluten free, dairy free eggs (made in olive oil), sweet potato/regular potato hash, and chicken sausage. All very good- we are going back Saturday morning!

Cosmic Rays CS, MK: We split 2 rotisserie chickens with 2 sides of green beans done in olive oil instead of the mashed potatoes. They also gave the kids an extra bag of carrots, apples, and grapes. The supervisor there was super friendly and did not seem bothered by us at all. Another A+.

Carolina Harbor House, CS, MK: We just had fries here as a snack. Service was slow, waiting for a supervisor. But once we got the order in it did not take too long. I've heard they do great allergy chicken fingers here but wanted the rotisserie at Cosmic Rays later just to be a bit healthier.

Beaches and Cream:
After the disappointment at ESPN (see below) we were ready to eat anything. The manager at Beaches and Cream was super nice. We had burgers with gluten free Udis buns, fries (made in the fryer at Hurricane Hannahs) and toffuti ice cream. Overall good.

The BAD:
ESPN: Went in, sat down, chef came out. Sorry, the buns have milk (not sure of the brand and he was so unfriendly I did not even ask), the fries are fried in same fryer as chicken tenders, and they have no oven to bake separate. The kids could have grapes. Yeah, no thanks. We left and went to Beaches and Cream.

2 days left and I am sick of fries and toffuti ice cream. I feel very limited by snack options and meal options as well but knew we would and I have not been impressed with the OMG brand at all.

Is this your first visit or have you been before the changes in allergy-safe foods has been made? Just wondering if there was any comparison to previous trips and foods available for you and the kids. By now I'd be sick of tofutti ice cream and fries also- have you been offered sorbet or any other dessert?

 

[jmkrat]

I never knew there was a fried fish version that was gluten free. That is wonderful to hear. I will have to try it For my trip in May. Thank you for sharing.

 

[Shadow02]

Today we went to Epcot. We ate at the Sunshine Seasons food court for lunch. One of the chefs there was really nice and made both my boys toasted turkey sandwiches on gluten free bread. They had an area where you could pick up sides like carrots, grapes, applesauce.etc. There was also an allergy diet area that had Enjoy Life rice krisp candy bars, the OMG brownies and chocolate chip cookies, Surf Sweet gummy bears, a sugar free brownie of some sort, and maybe another one or two items, but nothing that jumped out for someone eating dairy free, gluten free. Obviously not all of those were safe for us to eat but it was nice to see.

We also ate at Hurricane Hannahs at the boardwalk- basically the same food as Beaches and Cream and the supervisor on duty was super friendly and made it very easy.

 

[Shadow02]

Is this your first visit or have you been before the changes in allergy-safe foods has been made? Just wondering if there was any comparison to previous trips and foods available for you and the kids. By now I'd be sick of tofutti ice cream and fries also- have you been offered sorbet or any other dessert?

We were here about 4 years ago but were just in the beginning stage of realizing our son had allergies and I had no idea I did at the time. We have not been offered sorbet but we also have not done a lot of table service where maybe that is more common?

 

[wendow]

I am really enjoying your reports. Thank you!!

I have a ds who is dairy allergic and a dd who is ana to peanuts. What sort of options are you seeing that would be safe for a peanut allergic kid. I have been more worried about my DF boy and have just assumed we wouldn't have to worry too much about the peanut allergy. So, just curious what you think?

 

[Forevryoung]

I am really enjoying your reports. Thank you!!

I have a ds who is dairy allergic and a dd who is ana to peanuts. What sort of options are you seeing that would be safe for a peanut allergic kid. I have been more worried about my DF boy and have just assumed we wouldn't have to worry too much about the peanut allergy. So, just curious what you think?

My cousin is allergic to peanuts (and sesame, fish, tree nuts...). Last summer was my first time being responsible for her meals (6 days in Disney! She was 7).

She ate really whatever she wanted. The few "nos" were any baked goods (no ts bread, no pastries...). I always had her pick what she wanted and then talk to the chef- it became a "this is what I would like from the menu, can you make it safe" conversation which we found easier. She ate a varied diet over the week and it was far from "all junk".

It was hot, we stuck to ice cream anyway. Nobody else in our group was eating the cake/cookies so it was less missed. It will be more of an issue in August when we go back and have free dining (dessert included with meals).

 

[wendow]

My cousin is allergic to peanuts (and sesame, fish, tree nuts...). Last summer was my first time being responsible for her meals (6 days in Disney! She was 7).

She ate really whatever she wanted. The few "nos" were any baked goods (no ts bread, no pastries...). I always had her pick what she wanted and then talk to the chef- it became a "this is what I would like from the menu, can you make it safe" conversation which we found easier. She ate a varied diet over the week and it was far from "all junk".

It was hot, we stuck to ice cream anyway. Nobody else in our group was eating the cake/cookies so it was less missed. It will be more of an issue in August when we go back and have free dining (dessert included with meals).

Thank you for the reply! That was kind of my thinking as well. My dd avoids very few foods in general so I figured eating at Disney wouldn't be too different. I *used* to think dealing with a peanut allergy was SO hard...and then I got a child with a milk allergy. It's so much worse. Yes, the peanut allergy is deadly and the milk one isn't (for us) but it's just very easy to avoid peanuts. Milk is in EV.E.RY.THING.

 

[Shadow02]

I hate to respond to questions about peanut allergies because we don't have it and have not really looked that much at the ingredients with that in mind. We ate again at the Columbia Harbour House, quick service, at MK.They were SLOW. Just had the gluten free, dairy free chicken tenders with fries. They were tasty, again though I am sick of fried food. We were supposed to go to Sanaa tonight and I was looking forward to some different food but I got overruled as everyone else wanted to stay at the pool for a bit. So I cancelled our reservation and am now sitting here thinking about where we can eat at the last minute. I think that's the worst part of the allergies, not being able to be spontaneous. I know I could have tried more making TS reservations but we also didn't want to run up the bill when even most TS is not great around here (I know I may get some flack for saying that).

My advice to anyone gluten free, dairy free who can tolerate the ingredients in Babycakes items is to go there and get snacks and/or breakfast items for 2-3 days. It's been a lifesaver for us since we are staying at the Dolphin and don't have a kitchen, which we normally have to have when traveling.

 

[Shadow02]

I will add that I understand why the CS is slow with allergies. My biggest frustration is not in waiting for the food to be made, it's waiting for the supervisor to come out when I know exactly what we want. At CHH today we waited a good 10 minutes at the register for the supervisor. I do appreciate that they've never made us feel bad about holding up the line and have always answered any questions that we've had about different items.

 

[wendow]

I hate to respond to questions about peanut allergies because we don't have it and have not really looked that much at the ingredients with that in mind.

No problem, just thought I'd ask since you are there right now. I'm really thinking it won't be near as big of a headache as the milk.

 

[aggordon2]

Hi,

My sons are both on special diets, one is gluten free/dairy free, and the other is allergic to dairy and eggs. This August will be our fourth time going to disney as a family. We have always found the table service to be the best bet for the kids, as they can make up things special for them. When it comes to deserts they love Rice Dream ice cream. It is dairy/gluten/egg free. I can not say the same for Toffuti. Eventhough it is dairy free, the company cannot guarantee that it is gluten free. My wife always calls ahead of time to talk to the chefs at each restaurant to make sure that they have what we are looking for. There is a good website for gfcf diets, they list alot of different brand that are gluten free, http://www.gfcfdiet.com .

I know it can be crazy with the diet. Good Luck

 

[clanmcculloch]

Hi,

My sons are both on special diets, one is gluten free/dairy free, and the other is allergic to dairy and eggs. This August will be our fourth time going to disney as a family. We have always found the table service to be the best bet for the kids, as they can make up things special for them. When it comes to deserts they love Rice Dream ice cream. It is dairy/gluten/egg free. I can not say the same for Toffuti. Eventhough it is dairy free, the company cannot guarantee that it is gluten free. My wife always calls ahead of time to talk to the chefs at each restaurant to make sure that they have what we are looking for. There is a good website for gfcf diets, they list alot of different brand that are gluten free, http://www.gfcfdiet.com .

I know it can be crazy with the diet. Good Luck

You know, it's kind of funny to me how you and I have completely opposite stances on the dairy free ice creams. I don't trust Rice Dream when it comes to gluten because I know they're milk they claim to be gluten free yet use barley malt. I know they don't list the barley in the ice cream but I just don't trust the company. Tofutti on the other hand, while they state they don't guarantee gluten free, they are very forthcoming with their practices and clearly understand the concept of gluten issues and cross contamination and take steps to ensure safety within their factory. Their inability to guarantee gluten free has to do with their suppliers having the potential to change their practices at any time. We've never had problems with any Tofutti products. Just as I'm sure you've never had problems with Rice Dream ice cream I'm sure. It sure is interesting though. Please understand I'm not saying your position is wrong because it's not; it's just interesting to me how we have such different positions and really we're both right in our positions yet so different. I think it was gfcfdiet.com where I first heard about Tofutti.

 

[aggordon2]

You know, it's kind of funny to me how you and I have completely opposite stances on the dairy free ice creams. I don't trust Rice Dream when it comes to gluten because I know they're milk they claim to be gluten free yet use barley malt. I know they don't list the barley in the ice cream but I just don't trust the company. Tofutti on the other hand, while they state they don't guarantee gluten free, they are very forthcoming with their practices and clearly understand the concept of gluten issues and cross contamination and take steps to ensure safety within their factory. Their inability to guarantee gluten free has to do with their suppliers having the potential to change their practices at any time. We've never had problems with any Tofutti products. Just as I'm sure you've never had problems with Rice Dream ice cream I'm sure. It sure is interesting though. Please understand I'm not saying your position is wrong because it's not; it's just interesting to me how we have such different positions and really we're both right in our positions yet so different. I think it was gfcfdiet.com where I first heard about Tofutti.

I completely understand your position on this matter. And like you pointed out we are different, but right, in the way that we look at it. When we started the diet with the kids about 8 years ago, there wasn't alot of selction when it came gf foods. We had to be very careful and we called every company to find out if there products were gluten/dairy/egg free. Since then, we have become stuck in our ways (for the good and the bad). But if what you do works for you then I am 100% in favor of it. Personally we do not use Rice Dream on a regular basis at home, we use So Delicious, but we can not get that brand at Disney. The Rice Dream is stamped on the package as gluten free (I hope they are not misrepresenting themselves), because of that we feel safer with them eating it. If they are really not gluten free when they say they are, I think that they would be in for a big lawsuit.
Again if what you are doing works for you, then I say: Don't Stop!!

 

[Shadow02]

We also use So Delicious coconut milk ice cream at home. How nice would it be if they had that!?! Not a huge fan on tuffuti and rice dream ice cream but the kids did fine with both while we were there.

 

[marypopfan]

We also use So Delicious coconut milk ice cream at home. How nice would it be if they had that!?!.

I would love it also if they would start having that brand of ice cream !!!