[CeliacMom2008]

We just returned from Disney World. I know I posted about our positive experience with Disney the last time we were there, but I just had to reiterate that they are amazing! It is so fun, relaxing, and wonderful to dine there.

We tried a walk up restaurant this time in addition to the sit down places, and it was just as great of an experience. The variety of foods available to my son were terrific (he usually eats off the adult menu). They even had gluten free brownies and chocolate chip cookies available at the Main Street Bakery in the Magic Kingdom.

Also, we discovered this time that if you visit the information desk and ask for their gluten free food list they will give you a list of many options by restaurant location for all of the parks and some resort info. It is not all inclusive, as we found some places had gluten free items that weren't listed, but it is a good list and can get you started. It is also a great thing to pull out when you are unexpectedly in need of food quickly. You can quickly scan through and find something to eat.

We even had one chef say, "Oh gluten is an easy one. We have lots we can do for a Celiac!" And another said, "Just gluten? Nothing else he needs to be concerned about?" Guess we weren't enough of a challenge for him!!

Anyway, if you're looking for a great vacation spot, I recommend Disney. You don't even have to go for the parks - you can stay at a resort the whole time and just eat at all the great restaurants! Or you could even stay off property and just come to the restaurants to be pampered!

[taweavmo3]

That is great news. I think we are going to try and go this coming spring...we haven't had a vacation since child #3 came along, which has been almost 5 years, lol. I figured it would be a vacay for everyone but me, since I would still have to spend the majority of the time cooking or packing meals. So an entire week of someone else cooking for us and not having to step foot in a kitchen? HEAVEN!

[CeliacMom2008]

taweavmo3, on Nov 11 2008, 05:02 PM, said:

That is great news. I think we are going to try and go this coming spring...we haven't had a vacation since child #3 came along, which has been almost 5 years, lol. I figured it would be a vacay for everyone but me, since I would still have to spend the majority of the time cooking or packing meals. So an entire week of someone else cooking for us and not having to step foot in a kitchen? HEAVEN!

When we went in the spring I thought I'd still have to do some cooking. Not so. We ate all but one breakfast in the room, but that's just easier for us because there are 5 of us and no one seems to get rolling at the same time. We were talking about how next time we go we may leave Disney and go to some other places. I plan to ask the chef to make some gluten-free pancakes at breakfast to turn into PB&J for that day so we can pack a lunch.

The whole experience is terrific, and an added bonus is that the meals are very well rounded. My son had a meat, veggie, and usually fruit plus a dessert for every meal. Even the walk up was chicken, oven baked french fries and green beans. Not the usual garbage that gets eaten on vacations. And you can get carrots, grapes, and apple sauce almost anywhere in the parks or resorts at any time.

Again, I can't say enough about their service. They treated my son like royalty - even on the night he was overly tired, overly hungry, and overly poopy in attitude!

[msmini14]

I know this post is old but I had to say the same thing. Disney World is amazing when it comes to eating gluten free, just make sure you make reservations for dinner or you will not eat.
For the first time I was able to eat out and order a chicken sandwich and yup I had another sandwich lol. I was only there for 1 day so I wasnt able to eat at a lot of places.
The Rain Tree Forest Cafe at the Wild Kingdom was awesome, the chef and manager were great.

[twe0708]

That good to know. I wasn't sure if I had to bring my own food in. Hoping to go around Christmas time to to see all of the decorations.

[msmini14]

Almost every sit down place can make you a gluten free meal and they do take a lot of care when cooking for us. Any guest relations booth can help you, they will give you a list of the places that have gluten-free food but again the Rain Tree Cafe wasnt even on the list I just decided to stop by there.

A phone number to reserve a table (you must do this, the place is so packed you have to make a reservation. I had to leave early because my dh and I were starving and couldnt get anything to eat)
407-824-5967

[kmille1]

I am possibly going on spring vacation to Disneyland...My mom and I are both celiac and were wondering if Disneyland is just as good as Disneyworld...any advice?

[CeliacMom2008]

We just returned from another trip to Disney World. Yep, it was just as wonderful as the other times!

Here are some restaurants we tried this time:

The Coral Reef Restaurant at EPCOT - OUT OF THIS WORLD!! Their signature dessert is already gluten free. It's a flourless chocolate cake with molten chocolate center served over raspberry puree with fresh rasperries, whipped cream, AND Mickey shaped sprinkles and big Mickey head candy (that my son said looked awesome but didn't taste so hot, but he thought it was so fantastic that his dessert looked so fancy!). We all had the grilled the Mahi Mahi served over a bed of Jasmine rice with hearts of palm and a cream sauce made out of coconut milk. Truly this was an incredible meal. My 10 year old said it was the best meal EVER!

The Wave at the Contemporary - Great service, excellent meal. For dessert they had flavored sorbets or ice cream.

T-Rex Cafe at Downtown Disney - My son had the boneyard buffet (1/2 BBQ chicken, 1/2 rack ribs, garlic mashed potatoes, and cinnamon apples). He said the meat was incredibly tender and amazing in taste. I had the chicken and it was really tender and very yummy. The atmosphere is very fun and they even let us sit in the ice room (looks like a giant ice age area). We just had to ask and then wait a little longer for the first available seat in that area.

Sci-Fi Dinner Theater at Hollywood Studios - OK food. The spinach artichoke dip was gluten-free. My son also had the ribs (which he had about 2 bites of and said they weren't very good). They had a more limited menu and the chef was OK. Some, like at the Coral Reef, Spoodles, and The Turf Club are AMAZING and we have grown very fond of them. The chefs at Spoodles remember my son from previous visits and one even apologized last visit for not being able to remember his exact food issue!

The Crystal Palace at Magic Kingdom - Buffet with good variety. They had excellent mixed veggies that my son LOVED! They also have a gluten free brownie and coconut flan for dessert. The brownie isn't the standard prepackaged one from French Meadows. It was a chef made triangular chunk. My son loved the flan but thought the brownie was a little rich. Chef was very nice here as well. He was great about taking us through the line and telling us what was OK to eat and then getting fresh food from the kitchen so my son wouldn't have to eat from the buffet line.

Counter service at All Star Music - we tried this for breakfast one time. They were VERY friendly and tried to make something good but...they started off with Mickey waffles (dedicated waffle machine in back), but they were 1/2 raw. So then they tried pancakes. They tasted awful and were soaked in grease. We ended up with cereal back in the room. They get an A+ for effort, but the food wasn't edible (but we are self proclaimed food snobs )!

Cosmic Rays at Magic Kingdom - rotisserie chicken with green beans and potatoes here. Very good and great service!

Flame Tree BBQ at Animal Kingdom - Pulled pork (they have gluten-free buns, but my son prefers just the meat) and grapes. Prepackaged brownies for dessert. Very good.

Hope this helps future travellers!!

[Chell]

Disney does do a great job for anyone with food allergies or sensitivities. You don't always have to have a reservation like Msmini14 said, but it is a good idea. It sounds like she went during one free dining which did fill up all of the restaurants and pretty much require everyone to have a dining reservation. I think a lot of planning goes into a WDW trip, especially for the food if you have Celiac. You can go to AllEars to check out the menu for each of the restaurants on property. Once you make your reservations or if you have specific questions about a restaurant or any food on-site send an email to WDW.Special.Diets@disney.com. They have about 8 documents they send out to Celiacs. This includes a form for you to send back to them once you make your reservations. When making your reservations make sure you note that you have Celiac and note any allergies. When you send this form back to the Special Diet Department they will contact each restaurant for you to make sure you get a safe meal. Within 15 minutes of sending my form in I started receiving emails from the restaurants about my upcoming trip.

[ChickensDon'tClap]

Disney really is the best! I went in October and I'm headed back this May. I can't wait to try new restaurants and my new favorite - Narcoosee's. I'd really like to try the Wave as well.

Chell, do you post on Disboards on the gluten-free threads? Your name sounds familiar!

[minniejack]

For those of you who did go, was it worth adding the dining plan considering the gluten-free issue?

What kind of gluten-free appetizer or desserts do they have? 7 nights of sorbet and ice cream and a brownie would be over kill. Would it just be better off to pay as we go?

[ChickensDon'tClap]

I think you can still do the dining plan even if you are gluten-free. The key with the dining plan is being prepared. You have to have a plan so that you don’t end up with a bunch of unused credits at the end of your trip. Also, if you don't plan where you were going to eat in one of the parks, you might end up eating at a counter service restaurant that doesn't have gluten-free desserts or doesn't have an entree that you are in the mood to eat.

We did not choose the dining plan because we didn't feel that it would be worth it when eating at the signature restaurants like Narcoosee's and California Grill. We would have to get the most expensive entrees on the menu in order to get our money's worth. If you look at recent menus on Allears.net, you can get a feel for what the prices are like.

The second reason we didn't choose the DP will answer your second question. I didn't think Disney's gluten-free dessert options were all that great at the places we chose to dine. It seems like crème brulee (different variations on crème brulee at each place though), sorbets, ice cream and brownies are the norm. We also didn't want to be forced to eat dessert at table service restaurants all the time. If the dining plan included appetizers, I probably would have paid for it. The dessert part of the plan probably would have worked for me at counter service restaurants where I could have just gotten a French Meadow brownie to take home with me.

[minniejack]

ChickensDon, on 06 January 2010 - 08:38 AM, said:

I think you can still do the dining plan even if you are gluten-free. The key with the dining plan is being prepared. You have to have a plan so that you don’t end up with a bunch of unused credits at the end of your trip. Also, if you don't plan where you were going to eat in one of the parks, you might end up eating at a counter service restaurant that doesn't have gluten-free desserts or doesn't have an entree that you are in the mood to eat.

We did not choose the dining plan because we didn't feel that it would be worth it when eating at the signature restaurants like Narcoosee's and California Grill. We would have to get the most expensive entrees on the menu in order to get our money's worth. If you look at recent menus on Allears.net, you can get a feel for what the prices are like.

The second reason we didn't choose the DP will answer your second question. I didn't think Disney's gluten-free dessert options were all that great at the places we chose to dine. It seems like crème brulee (different variations on crème brulee at each place though), sorbets, ice cream and brownies are the norm. We also didn't want to be forced to eat dessert at table service restaurants all the time. If the dining plan included appetizers, I probably would have paid for it. The dessert part of the plan probably would have worked for me at counter service restaurants where I could have just gotten a French Meadow brownie to take home with me.

just saw your reply--thanks--we just ended up with a pin code for 40% off so we will be staying club level in August--I'll let you all know about the gluten-free at club level for an entire gluten-free family. Looking back over old receipts, I don't think we would possibly eat enough food to justify the DDP.

[minniejack]

minniejack, on 28 January 2010 - 09:45 AM, said:

just saw your reply--thanks--we just ended up with a pin code for 40% off so we will be staying club level in August--I'll let you all know about the gluten-free at club level for an entire gluten-free family. Looking back over old receipts, I don't think we would possibly eat enough food to justify the DDP.

Still not there, BUT!!! Just got a phone call from the club level at the Yacht club and they directed me to their chef. Drum Roll please....The Chef said that when I checked in either he or a member of his staff would walk me through what is safe in the lounge and because the majority of the items are not safe, then we would go over what food items we would want and it would be delivered to our rooms without charge. WOW!! Including waffles in the morning, pick what we want for the other times...can you believe that? We would still need to go for drinks or if they did deliver they would charge us regular room service, but for gluten-free food--no charge.

WOW!

I love,love the rides at Universal, but now this--this is gets to my heart. Food.... Especially when it was Portofino at Uni last year that we think royally make me and DS viciously ill.

My daughter met a friend at the beach last year that plans on becoming a chef and both she and I said to always remain friends just because of the food aspect.

We love food and Disney is really making me want to vaca there every year!!

[minniejack]

just returned last week and for the most part--wonderful!!

You can read my experience on the disboards http://www.disboards...d.php?t=2533441