Gluten Free Dining

[MCRRBA]

My wife is Gluten intolerant and we are looking at staying at disney in November. WE are looking at the dining plans as there is free dining at that time. Can anyone point out what Gluten options they are familiar with and if they have had experience with the quick service or plus plan as being the better option.
Thanks

 

[Weather_Lady]

I have no experience with it myself, but I do know that at all table service restaurants, if you put the dietary restriction on your reservation and/or remind the server, the chef will work with you to come up with a gluten-free option. You can make similar inquiries at counter service locations and the staff should be well-informed about the items on their menu. (My husband has a nut and shellfish allergy, and all of the CMs at both CS and TS restaurants were great about helping him figure out what he could and couldn't have from each menu.)

http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/eating-gluten-free-at-disney-world/
http://www.allergyfreemouse.com/dining/gluten-free-at-walt-disney-world-parks/

 

[Master Yoda]

This will help a good bit. http://allears.net/din/guestceliac.htm

Any table service restaurant will be able to accommodate you. Simply list the allergy on the reservation, mention it when you get to the restaurant and the chef will come out and talk to you. He/she will let you know what is good to go as is, what they can tweak and some will be able to do custom dishes.

 

[MichWolv]

When my son was younger, he was gluten-free for a few years. At every table-service restaurant, the chef (or assistant) would come out to talk with us about what options there were. He/she would bring a binder with ingredient listings for everything on the menu and talk with us about options. Sometimes there were things on the regular menu that worked, other times a simple substitution was available (e.g., a gluten-free bun, or gluten-free pasta), and other times they just made something off-menu. It took a few minutes each time, but worked out great.

The counter-service restaurants generally have gluten-free options as well, although, as you can imagine, customization is not really an option, so you may be stuck with only one or two choices at each. As I recall, we were able to get a list of the counter-service gluten-free options at guest relations, or simply be asking at the location.

 

[dreamfinder]

Check out here -> http://glutenfreedairyfreewdw.blogspot.com/ as well. WDW Special Diets may be able to provide you with information as well. But basically any TS location will accommodate your needs. Note an allergy on your reservation, and ask to speak with a chef when you arrive. Any CS location will have a binder on the food ingredients. Asking to speak with a manager/see the binder will let you see what exactly you can have. Your food may take longer as it needs to be special made.

My DM is GF, and has no problems finding foods. Last trip, Cape May Cafe breakfast had GF donuts, which apparently she hasn't had in ages. They also had GF Mickey waffles, etc. A CS location may simply have GF buns for a burger, others will have dedicated friers for fries (not all fries can be guaranteed to not be cross contaiminated).

Also, AK now has a kiosk set up specially for allergy/special diet information within the park, including selling GF snacks (and beer!).

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

I had actually emailed Disney's F&B Dept and they emailed me a detailed list with every location and each items that they offer gluten-free. The table service restaurants will allow you to speak with a chef at each location.

 

[SyracuseOrange]

As someone who has been severely gluten intolerant since I was born, I can say that this one thing that Disney has always done really well. Even before many restaurant/supermarkets were stocking gluten free items, Disney was one of the first hospitality brands to have these options. I enjoyed my first hot dog on a bun at Casey's Corner (at age 18 I want to say) and I plan on enjoying my first beignet next time I go down (at POFQ.)

Most food courts/counter service restaurants will have some options, such as a gluten free brownie, gluten free bun alternatives for hamburgers/hot dogs, etc. They will also use a separate frier for anything you get, so there's no need to worry about cross-contamination.

At a table service, they will typically bring out the chef and s/he will walk you through all the options on the menu, and most of them will have things that are not on the menu that you can order as well.

Be prepared to wait an extra 10ish minutes to speak to a manager about your needs, and for your food to be cooked special. Also, Babycakes bakery at Downtown Disney is all gluten free (and very tasty.) They also have the new Garden Kiosk at Animal Kingdom that stocks some gluten free products as well. There are some restaurants that are better than others and will have more options (Sanaa for a table service and Sunshine Seasons for a counter service are the two that come to mind.) But really, you can't go wrong pretty much anywhere - they will have options for your wife.

I'd just steer clear of the pizza - I've never enjoyed their gluten free pizza. In fact, the ONE TIME I enjoyed a pizza on Disney property, I thought "oh my god, this is amazing!" and I thought that they had finally found a supplier with better gluten free pizza. A few hours later, I had to leave my seat at Fantasmic because I was suddenly very sick. Needless to say, they served me a gluten pizza when I was very clear that I had severe allergies. I went to City Hall the next day and they wouldn't even give me a refund on the pizza, let alone anything else. After I got home I called guest services and explained that not only was I really upset that they gave me the wrong pizza, but that they wouldn't even refund me for making me very sick - they usually take food allergies really seriously, but this was a big slip-up. Be very clear that your request is for health reasons, not just because gluten free is suddenly a hot trend. (Some restaurants, not at Disney, claim things are "gluten free" because they are playing into the fad, and are not looking out for people with actual reasons for needing to eat gluten free.)

Enjoy!!!

 

[bsmartin2000]

We were just in there in September. My grandson is 5 and has both a gluten and beef allergy. We had no problem at most places we ate. The best experience was of course Ohana where the chef came out and delivered his food herself! He loved everything she brought. The worst was Rose and Crown where they brought him out 5 ( yes we counted them) french fries!! We asked for more fries and they charged us $6 for a small portion. Chef Mickeys was great as was Wilderness Cafe. He loved the Pizza at Pop Century. Cystal Palace not a great experience, not alot to choose from for a 5 year old. All in all no problems with gluten free dining!

 

[coachwnh]

My wife is Gluten intolerant and we are looking at staying at disney in November. WE are looking at the dining plans as there is free dining at that time. Can anyone point out what Gluten options they are familiar with and if they have had experience with the quick service or plus plan as being the better option.
Thanks

It will be easier then you think. My wife has been gluten free for over 15 years. One of the reasons she feel in love with Disney is how she was able to eat real food again. Many of the dinner entrees at the restaurants are already gluten free (calamari at Narcoossee's for example). The chef will still come to your table, but its amazing how well informed the servers are as well. If you really want to. you can even have gluten free cakes made special for you. We just did this last week. Don't worry about finding things to eat. Your wife will have so many options!