Disneyworld Florida And Disney Cruises

[amber]

Hi,

We are thinking of travelling to the U.S. next year and visiting Disneyworld and going on a Disney cruise. My 11 year old daugther is a celiac and as we are travelling half way around the world we would like to be confident that we will be able to easily find gluten free food for her so she can really enjoy the experience.

I have heard that Disneyland is great for providing visitors with gluten free options. I would like to know whether Disneyworld also has the same gluten free options for visitors.

Also has anyone been on a Disney cruise and if so, how did you manage eating gluten free?

Thank you.

[Guhlia]

Disney World in Orlando FL is the only place that we vacation anymore. I have NEVER been glutened there, eating out daily while there (I am relatively sensitive), and we try to get there once a year. If you stay at a Disney resort there will be gluten free food on site. Call ahead of time to make reservations and they'll be able to guide you as to where to stay to have the best gluten free options. Magic Kingdom is amazing. There's gluten free food at almost every stop along the way. They even have gluten free brownies and cookies!!! If you call ahead they will send you an e-mail that you can print out with lists of all gluten free food at each Disney park. I highly recommend Disney Orlando.

I have heard that the Disney cruises are extremely accomodating as well, but I don't have first hand experience with them.

[Donna F]

I have no experience with the cruises, but I've been to Disney World parks twice now since being gluten-free. I suppose the experiences amongst people here will vary. In my own experience I would say Disney has gotten better at accomodating celiacs - you probably won't go hungry (unless you're a pick eater - like me ) And that is an improvement from the last time I went - 3 years ago - where I literally did go hungry - to the point of low blood sugar attacks every day. Some restaurants couldn't provide any carbs at all for their gluten-free customers - no potatos, rice, nothing... Anyway, they are better now, although some restaurants are much better than others - and that is probably true for their "normal" meals too. Best places I ate were Prime Time in MGM (awesome fried chicken!!!), Cape May at the Beach Club resort (they've got an incredible buffet, but the chef made mine to order and just about everything there is gluten-free), Enland at Epcot (can't remember the name of the restaurant, but it's really the only main sit-down restaurant there, and the sit down restaurant (the candle-lit one) in Mexico at Epcot. This time around, the turkey legs (which are sold abundantly in the parks) were undercooked (I think they were last time we went too), Japan at Epcot undercooked my chicken, and Tony's at Magic Kingdom gave me cold meatballs and moldy EnerG brand bread. Oh, we had an incredible breakfast buffet at Crystal Palace at Magic Kingdom and again, the chef made mine to order.

You can read plenty more reviews like this, with specific restaurant recommendations and warnings. I consulted a site called intercot.com and found many gluten-free recommends as well as other info about special needs etc..

Many of these restaurants require reservations, and many of them fill up months ahead, so do call to make reservations well ahead of time if possible. While reserving, tell them you have gluten-intolerance so they will have a heads-up about it. When you get there, remind them of your need and ask to speak to the chef to get recommendations on what to order. I don't think any of my orders were ever taken from a waiter or waitress - they were all taken by the chef who actually logs the order into a special record with your name so they can keep track for liability purposes probably. And everywhere I went (this time, anyway) everyone I spoke to was knowlegeable about gluten and knew what to do. I didn't encounter any glutening problems.

One other recommendation: try to get a room with a kitchen. Aside from one character breakfast, we ate all our breakfasts in the room. I also had a doctor note and packed an entire suitcase with gluten-free dry-goods like crackers, bread, pb, jelly, cereal, etc.. Some of the resorts have a convenience store, but it is very pricey and you won't find many gluten-free items there, but they do have eggs, milk, oj, oscar meyer lunchmeat, mayo, chips and many other staples you can use - except that everything costs twice as much as a normal grocer. The only other option there for perishables is to pay a cab or limo to take you to a grocer, but the only ones w/in a reasonable distance are also very overpriced. But even if you buy a few things from the resort, you will still save compared to eating all your meals at a restaurant. I also made pb&j sandwiches and oscar meyer meat sandwiches for many of my lunches (in a cooler - the parks allow those) and brought in yogurt cheese, v8 and crackers for my snacks. And again, check out intercot.com for more ideas. There are many, many places to eat and there are meal plans too which you might find economical.

Anyway, that's my 2cents on it! I'm sure you'll enjoy it and don't need to worry about having a problem.

[amber]

Thanks very much Guhlia and Donna F for your very helpful and informative replies. It does sound like Disney is doing a good job in providing gluten free food to its guests.

We always get accommodation with a kitchen whenever we travel within Australia and cook breakfast in our rooms and sometimes lunch also. I realise that the convenience stores would be over-priced near the park as they always are in holiday resorts. I think we would go to a store first and stock up as much as we can and eat out the rest of the time.

Thanks for the tip re. making reservations way ahead. I probably wouldn't have thought of doing that.

Are the restaurants/cafes generally more expensive than usual because they are in Disneyworld? Prices for eating out in the U.S. seem reasonably cheap until you realise that you still have to tip. We don't have to tip here so have to remember to add on 15%. Is that the standard tip these days?

Again, thanks both of you for your advice.

[jayhawkmom]

My Celiac daughter and I went to Disneyworld in February of this year. We had NO problems at all finding "safe food." In fact, I was seriously prepared for the worst.... and it totally ended up being so easy to dine in "the world."

We were thrilled and will absolutely go back. They made my daughter and I feel totally welcome, allergies and all.

Of course, it did require extra planning... but we are used to that. =)

[dionnek]

I have been on both the Disney Cruise and to DisneyWorld gluten free, and can't say enough great things about Disney! They treat you like a queen (usually I"m used to be treateed like a lepor when I go out!). If going to Disney World, do what the first poster said and contact them now about gluten free options - they will send you a list of all the options in all the parks and resorts (oh, and BTW, I think 18% is now the standard tip in America - I tip 20% or more for great gluten free service). If you are looking to rent a house, there is someone on this site that owns a home right outside of Disney (just a mile or 2) and she rent is out - we stayed there last year and it was so incredible! 4 bedrooms with it's own pool and game room, etc.. There is a Whole Foods in Winter Park (I think that's the town) not too far away, so you could drive there to stock up on gluten-free food (since you are flying and won't be able to pack a lot). Let me know if you want more info on the house and i can dig it up. We also stayed at the Pop Century once, but the rooms are very small (we only stayed there for 3 nights). They did have a fast food type food court though where I got many great gluten free meals! It takes a little longer for them to make (since they use clean grill, etc.), and you have to ask for the manager on duty so they can take your order, but I had wonderful gluten-free pizza, hamburger (with bun), pancakes, and even french fries in a dedicated frier (wow, I never eat this unhealthy, but when you have the choice.....)

On the cruise, you should tell them when you make reservations that you need gluten free, and they will note it. Also, go online and fill out the "disability" form to note gluten free, and then again when you board the ship go to the help desk and make sure they have you down for gluten free. I brougth a whole bag full of gluten-free food for myself (b/c I didn't completely trust that they would get it right), and NEVER ate any of it! Every night at the sit down dinners I had a wonderful gluten-free meal (with gluten-free bread)and dessert, and for breakfast I had pancakes, etc. They really know their stuff. I stayed away from the buffetts as much as I could, but if you have to eat at the buffett just ask for the food manager to come out and they will walk you through the line and let you know what is safe to eat. Your daughter will love it!

I have decided (after just coming back from a week long trip to Hilton Head, where NO ONE understands gluten free) that all our vacations (for the next several years anyway) will be Disney

No, I don't work for Disney (after reading my post I know it sounds like it!) - just love being able to eat safely and not feel like an outcast.

[amber]

I have been on both the Disney Cruise and to DisneyWorld gluten free, and can't say enough great things about Disney! They treat you like a queen (usually I"m used to be treateed like a lepor when I go out!). If going to Disney World, do what the first poster said and contact them now about gluten free options - they will send you a list of all the options in all the parks and resorts (oh, and BTW, I think 18% is now the standard tip in America - I tip 20% or more for great gluten free service). If you are looking to rent a house, there is someone on this site that owns a home right outside of Disney (just a mile or 2) and she rent is out - we stayed there last year and it was so incredible! 4 bedrooms with it's own pool and game room, etc.. There is a Whole Foods in Winter Park (I think that's the town) not too far away, so you could drive there to stock up on gluten-free food (since you are flying and won't be able to pack a lot). Let me know if you want more info on the house and i can dig it up. We also stayed at the Pop Century once, but the rooms are very small (we only stayed there for 3 nights). They did have a fast food type food court though where I got many great gluten free meals! It takes a little longer for them to make (since they use clean grill, etc.), and you have to ask for the manager on duty so they can take your order, but I had wonderful gluten-free pizza, hamburger (with bun), pancakes, and even french fries in a dedicated frier (wow, I never eat this unhealthy, but when you have the choice.....)

On the cruise, you should tell them when you make reservations that you need gluten free, and they will note it. Also, go online and fill out the "disability" form to note gluten free, and then again when you board the ship go to the help desk and make sure they have you down for gluten free. I brougth a whole bag full of gluten-free food for myself (b/c I didn't completely trust that they would get it right), and NEVER ate any of it! Every night at the sit down dinners I had a wonderful gluten-free meal (with gluten-free bread)and dessert, and for breakfast I had pancakes, etc. They really know their stuff. I stayed away from the buffetts as much as I could, but if you have to eat at the buffett just ask for the food manager to come out and they will walk you through the line and let you know what is safe to eat. Your daughter will love it!

I have decided (after just coming back from a week long trip to Hilton Head, where NO ONE understands gluten free) that all our vacations (for the next several years anyway) will be Disney

No, I don't work for Disney (after reading my post I know it sounds like it!) - just love being able to eat safely and not feel like an outcast.

Thanks you Dionnek for all your really helpful advice. It sounds like you had a great experience at Disneyworld and on the Disney cruise. It is great that Disney is trying to make the experience a good one for everyone who visits. The house sounds good though my daughter is quite keen on a few of the disney resorts after having had a look at their website. Friends of ours lived in Orlando (Lake Mary) for 6 months but they are back in Australia now otherwise we would have stayed with them as they were only 20 minutes drive from Disneyworld. I might trouble you though for the address of the house once I have had a good think about our options.

It is so good to be able to go somewhere and know that you can eat gluten free easily and safely. It makes the whole experience that much more enjoyable. We have had many vacations within Australia and have managed very well gluten-free but this would be our first trip overseas so we want to make sure that food won't be too much of an issue.

Thanks again.

[dinali63]

I just saw your posting and wanted to add that my family and I travel to Disneyworld at least twice a year. Both my son and I have celiac disease and Disney is wonderful! Any restaurant on any Disney property will work with you (even on Disney's Boardwalk property). I would suggest telling the server that you would like to speak with the chef because your daughter has a severe food allergy (that gets their attention). The chef will then explain what can be done with the dish your daughter wants in order to make it gluten free. In the Animal Kingdom Lodge, I went to BOMA, and the head chef took me for a tour of the buffet to point out what I could have and then cooked me a steak to order (that wasn't in the buffet). They even had gluten free brownies for dessert and gluten free pizza in the parks.

Other than that, there are chains in Orlando that have gluten free menus. Outback steakhouse, Carrabba's Italian Grill, Bonefish Grill are a few. There's a book called Triumph Dining that lists restaurants: B-Line Diner, Buca di Beppo, The Capital Grille, PF Chang's, Roy's, Ruth Chris Steakhouse, Seasons 52, Uno Chicago Grill.

I have eaten at all of these (they have them in other cities in the US too), and have had good experiences. I just make sure that I speak with the manager before I order.

Hope you have a wonderful trip!