Great Wolf Lodge And Ohio Turnpike Visitor Gift Shops

[momtopa]

We got back from Great Wolf Lodge in Sandusky, OH yesterday. We had made our reservations the day we were to arrive at the park. I called and spoke to Kathy about my gluten free options. She told me there would be plenty of options for me for breakfast, lunch and dinner. She told me to ask for chef Matt when we checked in. Matt wasn't available when we got there, but Greg (director of food services, I believer) came over to talk to us. He told us to call down to the restaurant about 20-30 minutes before we came for dinner so they could put fresh oil in the fryer for french fries. Dinner was at the Gitchigoomie Grill. Chef Matt came out and seemed very knowledgeable about cross contamination and explained the precautions he would take to prevent it. Breakfast was at the Lumberjack the next day. No chef came out, but our waitress went back and forth from our table to the kitchen to speak to the chef to see what was ok to eat and what wasn't. Omelettes were ok,(including the salsa), there was fresh fruit and certified gluten-free yogurt at the buffet. Our waitress explained that the meats and potatoes would be gluten-free. The first pack of tea she brought out for me, they couldn't confirm if it was gluten-free or not, so our waitress brought back an alternative brand of Earl Grey tea and said that it was gluten-free, (Numi Tea). Lunch that day was a little tricky. Our meal voucher was for a combo meal at the Klondike Cafe. That is a little snack shop at the back of the water park and the only options were gluten-laden, but Kathy and Greg told me that we could take our voucher to the Bear Paw and get a gluten free pizza (French Meadow). We placed our order at the Bear Paw and the rest of my family ordered their combos. The cashier at the Bear Paw had to ask what to do, but ended up having Kathy come over and they went down to the Klondike Cafe to get my family's meals and got my gluten-free pizza from whereve it had to be made. Overall, it was a good experience. I was happy that they didn't give me that "goofy" look when I mentioned "gluten-free", however I would highly recommend that you verify and watch when you can when your food is being prepared. I say this because after confirming that the fudge was gluten free, the server picked up a knife that had an ice cream cone sitting on top of it, that had toppled onto the floor when he picked up the knife. I said something to the server and without hesitation, he went and got a clean knife and cut me a piece of fudge.

On a side note, I found out that the visitor centers in Ohio that have a gift shop have gluten free bar and granola options, as well as some beef jerky that I was able to grab on our way to and from the lodge.