Fresh off my too-short trip to the Magical Kingdoms down south, I thought I'd share some tidbits of information that will hopefully help you in planning your next vacation there. I've heard from many of you who are trying to decide which parks to go to, which hotels, which restaurants … and first let me say, you won't be disappointed by going to Disney if any in your family eat gluten-free. The organization has long been known for catering to its food allergic patrons, and I would heartily agree, based upon my recent experience. Even their snacks can be accommodating: their "Chip and Dale" Trail Mixes (photo at top) are made in facilities that don't share equipment with wheat – yay!
Although nearly every food counter at Disney is prepared to accommodate with things like gluten-free rolls, brownies and the like, Disney encourages early planning if you're traveling with dietary restrictions, even supplying guests with phone numbers and emails to reach out before your trip to let them know you're coming.
This is standard Disney language regarding their policies:
The Walt Disney World Food and Beverage Team is committed to offering a wide range of choices to accommodate Guests with food allergies or intolerances. Your desired dining requests will be addressed, but please note in many cases, advance notice is required—usually at the time of your reservation, which can be up to 180 days in advance. Please call the Disney's Dining Reservation Center at (407) WDW-DINE or (407) 939-3463 to speak with a Cast Member. Guests under age 18 must have parent or guardian permission to call.
Websites abound with information on great Disney dining — a good one is Orlando Gluten Free , since it lists all the Special Diet hotline numbers for the Disney World Park, as well as links to some other favorite Disney review pages like AllEars.net (note: this website doesn't look like it's been updated in awhile, but the links and numbers are still current). If you don't mind getting really hungry, take a photographic tour of every conceivable gluten-free dish served at Disney on GlutenandDairyFree's visual review of their vacation there. You won't any have trouble finding accolades for Disney's food allergy policies — heck, Disney even gave a McDonald's outlet the boot from its Downtown Disney Marketplace and replaced it with Babycakes from NYC – a wheat-free (some gluten-free), vegan bakery. If that change wasn't food allergy-friendly, I don't know what is!I also found eating at Disney properties to be fairly easy, and I did not call in advance. Nor did I pack my usual travel necessities — for me: a store of homemade muffins; trail mix; Lara Bars or Bora Bora Bars; and fruit. I wanted to know just how accommodating Disney and Universal could be on-the-fly … so here goes!
My first night's dinner was at Bongos Cuban Café in Downtown Disney. While the menu was not labeled gluten free, several options looked like possibilities. I asked to speak to the chef, just to be sure. The man who came out to speak with me though, was not the chef at Bongos. He was THE chef for all of their chain of restaurants, and as it turns out, his child also eats gluten-free! He was extremely knowledgeable on the diet and on avoiding cross-contamination. We went over the menu and I ultimately chose stuffed green plantain cups with shrimp creole, black beans and rice, and sweet plantains — my kind of meal! Everyone else enjoyed their dinners as well, and there was much dancing and Congo-lining with the kids before the night was over!
The next day was at Universal Studios — a place I was less sure could accommodate my dietary needs. Before leaving, I had researched Universal, called several different numbers and left messages … all to no avail. Unlike Disney, which encourages you to call and give them an opportunity to serve your special diet, Universal never mentioned it in any of their literature or websites I could find. One website (not affiliated with Universal Studios) offered a partial listing of restaurants at Universal that were gluten-free … but had no gluten-free menus … not sure about all that.
So, I came to the park prepared with trail mix I had purchased at the airport, just in case, and my bottle of water (I just couldn't let go entirely of my "be prepared" mentality, I guess!). I'm so glad I brought both with me to the park, as there was quite literally nothing I could eat at any of the quick food restaurants (there were watermelon slices at one stand we found though). To be honest, the rest of our 12-person party didn't find anything quick about their food either, but at least they could eat! One good thing — there were lots of water fountains, and the fast food counters also all agreed to fill my water bottle, so I highly recommend bringing in your own snacks and bottles of water!
In all fairness, I only had one day at Universal, and though we were there for over 8 hours, we weren't dedicating any of that limited time to stand in long restaurant lines and then to sit for a full-on restaurant meal. Thus, I cannot promise that accommodations could not have been made for me at one of those restaurants, but it would have been nice to have had an option otherwise. I have heard wonderful things about Margaritaville's special gluten-free menu, so if I went back with any extra time for a sit-down meal, that's definitely where I would go.
One more note on Universal: Tiffany Janes over at Celiac-Disease.com just published one family's account of their bad gluten-free experience at Harry Potter in Universal. Apparently, the "Butterbeer" served on the carts all over Harry Potter-land is not gluten-free (despite the widely-held belief, previously perpetuated by Universal, that it is gluten-free) due to the topping used in the drink. Universal is apparently bound under contract with J.K. Rowling to not alter the recipe, so they are refusing to make the drink for anyone — medically-necessitated diet or not — without the topping. Fair warning.
Now, back to Disney. We were staying at the Disney property, The Swan & Dolphin — highly recommended! We spent one day just poolside with the kids, on their white sand beach (next to a man-made lake, of course), playground, giant checkers set, water slide and lap pool.
Their poolside restaurant, Cabana Bar and Beach Club, brought our lunches to the pool so the kids didn't have to take a break until they were all ready, and we got to eat and watch them frolic at the same time! I enjoyed an appetizer of summer rolls that was skimpy but tasty enough, and already gluten free!
Dinner was at the hotel's sushi restaurant, Kimonos, and was deliciously gluten-free (I skipped any tempura, marinated eel or soy sauce). I'll spare you any stories of the karaoke after dinner! Exploring other restaurants at the resort and on the Disney Boardwalk only a short walk from there, I found tons of options. The resort's Picabu "buffeteria" prepared gluten-free French fries for me by using new oil and pan-frying my fries — quite a treat! The Fountain restaurant was also willing to make some menu changes.
My favorite dinner find there though, was Kouzzina, where the Sous Chef, Robert Sayles, spoke to me at length about their already gluten-free menu offerings, and the changes they could make to regular dishes by substituting breads for Ener-G rolls. Chef Sayles, whose child also eats gluten-free, was particularly enthusiastic about Kouzzina's gluten-free breakfast options like gluten-free pancakes (something most Disney restaurants also offer, by the way, so don't hesitate to ask!). He proudly recounted all the happy kid faces he sees there each morning as they make breakfasts to suit every dietary need.
All in all, we had a wonderful time and I found eating in and around Orlando to be refreshingly easy. I would definitely recommend packing your own lunch and snacks if you go to Universal Studios, though, and be sure to let them know that they could take a lesson out of Disney's playbook. We'd all benefit, and wouldn't that be magical?
Note: Busch Gardens/Sea World just announced they would also introduce some gluten-free options at their parks, including GF Pizza.
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Each reservation the host confirmed there was a food allergy and would send someone over or ask questions if the special menu was unclear. On the Special Menu, each item is marked below the description, “For Gluten, Nut, Soy… allergies”. If free of other allergens, they were also listed. Not everything that is GF is also DF, vice versa. I still confirmed each time I ordered that I wanted the GF/DF version of what I was ordering.
Here’s our experiences:
Bongos Cuban Café: Downtown Disney (aka Disney Springs). We shared the (GF/DF) Paella (huge!), filled with seafood (mussels, clams, calamari, lobster, white fish), and sausage. It was very good and had enough left over to feed 3 ppl the next day. DF Desert was not an option, so my family shared the flan and Mexican rice pudding, which looked delicious!
Kona Café: Polynesian Resort. Kona provided a special menu and the chef came out to verify what the allergies were and took our order separately. My DD had GF/DF Mickey Waffles, and I had the GF/DF pancakes (3 large), which were very good.
1900 Park Fare: Grand Floridian. Buffet style with quite a few options. Also comes with character sightings! The Chef came out and went through each item and let me know what was safe. He offered to make Mickey waffles as well for my DD and me. I was instructed to request ‘fresh eggs’ from the Omelet station so the Chef would change pans and prepare them without butter or milk.
Columbia Harbour House / Pecos Bill Cafe: Magic Kingdom. Most quick service restaurants offer the same Special Allergen menus. At most QS restaurants, you can’t get to the Special Menu until you arrive to the Order taker, which slows the process quite a bit as a special Food Coordinator comes out and takes your order separately. We had the GF Chicken Tenders in a dedicated fryer, which were good, and the GF hamburger with GF/DF bun. Other options include a GF Chicken Club Sandwich, Salads (w/ modifications).
Boatwrights: Port Orleans Resort. I had their jambalaya, which was good, maybe a little over-spiced. We moved onto to the French Quarter for GF/DF beignets. They were okay – I think they needed cooked longer (kind of doughy). They use applesauce and cinnamon so try not to think ‘traditional’.
50’s Prime Time Café: Hollywood Studios. It may take a while to get your order, but they serve GF/DF Fried Chicken if that sounds good in a dedicated fryer.
Biergarten: Epcot. German buffet style restaurant. The chef came out and explained what was safe. A little more limited and I stuck to the Cutting station instead of bratwurst/sausages, because you just never know. No DF desserts available, but they do have a GF Berry Compote with a vanilla sauce (I was told to take that off to make it DF – I didn’t). There are no GF bread options at this restaurant.
Overall, a few things that would make the trip easier next time.
– Travel between resorts can be difficult. Disney transportation only goes between parks, so you have to cab it to another resort or go to the Park and transfer from there.
– DF Butter / Milk is not available everywhere.
– Allow more time than normal if you have kids – the prep time for Allergy meals takes a bit longer.
– Stash protein bars! Breakfast can be difficult to find, unless your resort includes a full restaurant. Most only serve light Continental (pastries, fruit).
– Eat outside normal meal times to avoid contamination, oversight, etc., and so you can speak to someone who isn’t rushed.
I just wanted to share with you that my family just returned from a cruise vacation on Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas. My four-year old daughter has a gluten-sensitivity and we were worried about this trip. Having heard that the ship had gluten-free options we were cautiously optimistic, but as you know, some people say that having grilled chicken means they have “gluten-free options” so we weren’t sure.
As it turned out, they did a fabulous job! They had gluten-free pasta, pizza, bread, and cupcakes. All you had to do was go to the dining room the first evening and speak to the head waiter. He set everything up for us so they had my daughter’s bread ready when we arrived (she was often served before us) and they were preparing her meal without us even ordering. (My daughter loves pasta and she wanted pasta and grilled chicken every night!)
I will say that it takes a little time if you just pop in to one of the places, i.e. the pizza place, because they have to prepare it right then for you. But it is available and quite tasty. I tried everything she ate and it was all pretty good, especially the pizza.
So if you are looking for a place that is very accommodating to people with gluten allergies or sensitivities, I highly recommend cruising on the Allure of the Seas!
Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us, Kerry! Great tip!
Interesting. I’ve been to Disney a few times when I was a kid but that was pre-celiac days so it’s nice to hear you found a bunch of places which cater for the gluten free of us!
I wish I had know read this a few hours ago, as I just returned from Universal Studios. I would have never guessed Butterbeer was not gluten free. I had some! Didn’t really have a problem, thank goodness…
They told us Butterbeer ingredients are gluten free, it’s that it is prepared in an area that is a high risk for cross contamination. I asked if there was a chance I could see the area and was told no (hey, asking is free, right?
but that he (the manager I was speaking with) has seen where it is prepared and that it is very high risk and very likely to be CC with wheat flour products being made from scratch.
If you any anyone else interested can write a letter–he said the more requests they get, the better the odds they can change their practices in the future.
Thank you Jules, and everyone for all the fabulous info! Planning a trip to Disneyland this summer for my birthday and this helps alleviate my fear about eating in the park!
I’m on the west coast and frequent Disneyland regularly as a year-round passholder. I was diagnosed with celiac about 6 months ago and was pleased to find out that Disney is very celiac friendly when researching it on the internet. Guest services has a several page printout labeled ‘celiac offerings’ that you can get for Disneyland and California Adventure. I’ve not gone hungry. They have dedicated fryers for french fries, gf hot dog and hamburger buns, etc, gf shells for pizza, rice pasta, etc. Even baked potatoes. The restaurants at Downtown Disney are very accomodating as well. I’ve heard great things about the hotel restaurants as well. Just thought I’d share about the original Disney:)
My husband and I were at Disney this past summer and I had no problems at all. But I must say that Margaritaville was the best meal and good time I’ve had in ages. They were wonderful. The food was fantastic. We ordered nachos. I haven’t had any in 5 years, since my diagnosis. The nachos were humungous and delicious. Then I ordered the ribs. To die for. Falling off the bones mmmmmmmmmm. Had lots for the next days lunch. Don’t remember what the hubby ordered but I know he was extremely pleased and our friend, Eileen was very impressed. It was really fun too. Great music that makes you feel like your at a concert. Pirates dong magic tricks and baloons for the kids. Great time.
Thanks for the great article. I can vouch that Margaritaville at Universal is a fabulous GF place to eat. We were told that the chef takes great pride in his GF menu (I had only been GF for about 3 months at this time and the bun on my burger was fabulous). I am now looking forward to taking our two young ones to Disney next year and not having to worry about my dining experiences there.
On a side note, my hubby and I just came back from a 7 day Carnival cruise, and were very impressed with how they dealt with my GF issues…I even got their famous chocolate melting cake made for me twice on the trip…Yummy! So no fears with cruising for this gal anymore.
Thanks again for the great article! Cheers!
Hi,
I just came back from a 10 day trip to Disney/Universal. We had the free quick service dining plan. I had no problems with the counter service restaurants there. I just informed the cashier I had a food allergy and either the chef or manager would come out and tell me my options, or just ask what I wanted and then personally prepared my meals. We stayed at the All Stars Movies Resort and the food court was also very helpful. Each meal I would ask for the Chef, we would talk about what I wanted and they would either prepare the menu item or suggest something not on the menu. I was very pleased. We spent 1 day at Universal and ate at Mythos. They had many gluten free options on the menu and I ended up with Pad Thai and the Flourless Chocolate Cake for Dessert!
Hope this helps!
That’s great news! Thanks for sharing specific restaurants!
Jules – I can affirm that Mythos (Islands of Adventure at Universal) is VERY good with GF. I love their menu… it’s actually marked with GF (and vegetarian) choices – and there are a lot of them. If you see something on their menu that’s not marked as being available GF, Mythos will try to work with you to make it GF. (They have done that on more than one occasion with my son.) Definitely check it out next time you go to Universal!
Thanks for the information, Linda! Sounds like a great find!
Thanks for the Disney info Jules!
I’m new to gluten free baking and experimenting with your flour mixture recipe. Using it, I find that my baked goods have a little more corn flour taste and smell than I would like, although the texture is good. Is this typical and something I need to get used to or is there a certain type of corn flour that works better than others? I was also wondering if you’ve used guar gum in place of xanthum gum to cut down on the corn-based items. Thank you!
Hi Helen, when making a gluten-free all purpose mix from scratch, the quality of individual ingredients make all the difference. If you are tasting corn flour in your recipe, you are using a brand that isn’t ideal. It is unfortunately difficult for consumers to find a certified gluten-free corn flour that is as fine as I would like in a great all purpose blend. In my pre-made blend, we use a certified GF, very fine corn flour that leaves no aftertaste and has no grainy texture. If you want to make a blend from scratch and cannot locate a certified GF corn flour, use a certified corn meal, but grind it further in your blender or food processor, until it becomes a fine powder. It is not used in my recipes in such quantities that it should ever leave any noticable corn taste or texture, but does provide added nutrition and structure in recipes. As for xanthan v. guar, I have written on this issue in my books and in answer to questions via email and on Facebook. I have experimented with both and have found guar to work better in cakes than it does in cookies, for example; whereas, xanthan seems to work well across the board. Also, I have heard from far more guar-sensitive folks than from folks who are reacting negatively to xanthan, so I prefer to use xanthan as a more widely-acceptable, better performing gluten substitute. If you are making a blend from home and prefer to use guar instead, they should be used in roughly the same proportion. Best of luck to you!!
Just wanted to shout out a track back:
http://brightapproach.blogspot.com/2011/01/g-free-disney.html
I love how much info you have here! (I also love your flour, too!)
Glad that you had a good trip. Ive been to Disney twice since knowing that I have Celiac and the trips were FABULOUS. Never sick, plenty of choices. (I joked that I want to live there because I had no worries, and never got ill (and I am QUITE sensitive to cross contamination)). Not been to Universal tho … want to see Harry Potter…guess I will be bringing my own stash).
Thank you for the post! We are actually staying at the Swan in March, and I can’t wait. I have already made reservations for our meals and warmed them of my gluten status
I also called Babycakes, and learned that their Disney location is 100% gluten-free!
Yes, I had read that the Disney outlet of Babycakes was 100% gluten-free, but since her NYC store is not, and I didn’t get to check it out myself while I was there, I didn’t want to make that statement unless I was totally sure. Thanks for sharing your information and have a fantastic trip!