Disneyland

[beatthewheat]

My best friend invited me to go with her and her family on an RV trip to Disneyland for her sixteenth birthday... Her family believes that being gluten free is a fad and doesn't recognize that it is serious.. My mom doesn't want to let me go because she is worried about how im going to eat.. I have only been gluten free for 5 months and i don't want my intolerance keeping me from going places and having fun especially missing out on my best friend's 16th birthday!! Can anyone share their experiences with Disneyland or give me any tips? I would have to pack a weeks worth of food... also any advice about dealing with her parents disbelief? thanks!

[kareng]

At Disneyland, it is easy to eat gluten-free. They do a very good job with that.

If this family you are going with will not take your illness seriously, you should not go. You and your mom could talk with them. Offer some solutions like bringing your own food and pans. & then making your own stuff to eat. Money for food at Disney. Even if they take the gluten-free thing seriously, you can't expect them to understand or not forget.

If they still think it's silly, you have to realize that this isn't a safe place for you or me. If you had an allergy to peanuts but they wouldn't give up on having PB in the RV, you couldn't go.

I am hoping if your mom talks to them, they will take it seriously. But you have to realize that there are a lot of people in the world who only worry about themselves.

[GlutenFreeManna]

My best friend invited me to go with her and her family on an RV trip to Disneyland for her sixteenth birthday... Her family believes that being gluten free is a fad and doesn't recognize that it is serious.. My mom doesn't want to let me go because she is worried about how im going to eat.. I have only been gluten free for 5 months and i don't want my intolerance keeping me from going places and having fun especially missing out on my best friend's 16th birthday!! Can anyone share their experiences with Disneyland or give me any tips? I would have to pack a weeks worth of food... also any advice about dealing with her parents disbelief? thanks!

I don't have any experience there, but there are many threads here about eating gltuen free at Disney. Disney does great with gluten-free, but I think you do need to call ahead to get the gluten-free options. The problem will be your friend's parents. Can your mom talk to them and explain that this is a serious medical condition? Or perhaps you could get a drs note explaining your need to be gluten-free? Would they be paying for your food on this trip or would you be buying your own meals? What would you do if they took you someplace to eat where there is nothing safe? Are you outspoken enough to ask for safe food in places and speak up when somethign is not right (like if the salad you order comes out with coupons or something?) Because it sounds like these adults will not support you if you do. Will you have your own cell phone to call your parents or someone else to ask for help if something major happens (like all your gluten-free food is ruined/lost/not enough)? What is your emergency plan if these people sabotage your food (seriously it has happened to people here by other that thought this was all in their heads) or just refuse to take you to the Disney restaurants that have gluten-free options? Your mom has good reasons to be concerned about these people not taking your diet seriously. I think you will need to convince her that you can stand up for yourself and you have a back-up plan if things go wrong.

[Looking for answers]

I have an annual pass and visit/eat there regularly. They are very accomodating and knowledgable - I've never had a problem. No need to call ahead, you just need to pick up the gluten free list from City Hall on your way in.

[Coleslawcat]

We went last month and it was a breeze to eat gluten-free there. Just pick up the gluten-free listing of foods at City Hall when you get there. It gives you a list for all of Disneyland and California Adventure, including the carts. I went into the pizza restaurants in Tomorrowland (sorry can't remember the name) with my list in my hand. The employee saw it and told me to go to the front of the restaurant and the chef came out and talked to me about what I wanted. He assured me it would be made safely. I felt like I was in very good hands there.