Eating Gluten Free in Disney World
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Walt Disney World can be an awesome vacation even if you have to eat Gluten free. The key thing to remember is let your server know and a Speciality Chief will come to your table and help you have a truly awesome experience.
Here are some of the notes from our experience at various establishments that we visited. We made reservations far in advance and mention the Gluten allergy, even though it's technically not an allergy.
Click on the establishment name to visit the official restaurant page and make reservations for your next trip.
Riverside Mill Food Court
Port Orleans Resort Riverside
- On our first day at the food court we were a little confused on what to do. There wasn't anyone around to ask questions. We finally ask someone who was stocking mugs. They went in back to get a Chief to help us out.
- It turns out that we need to see the Chief every time to place an allergy free order. We later discovered that its not easy when the food court is very busy
- Some of the people that worked in the kitchen were not aware of what meals were available Gluten Free
- The Chief told us they can pretty much make everything on the menu Gluten free, however you still need to see a Chief for validation.
- If you do ask for something at the counter, the order taker had to ask a Speciality Chief if it was Gluten free safe. At the time, I was ordering a cheese burger and I knew they had Gluten free bun. The Speciality Chief basic gave the thumbs up to the person putting together the order that all that was needed was the bun not toasted. The speciality chief was the only to hand me the order, basically ensuring me that it was safe to eat.
- One evening they had a printed menu of available Gluten Free meals, but we never saw it again. Not having a menu made it hard when we walked into the food court to know what could be made Gluten Free. For example, on pasta day the only Gluten free pasta they had was elbows. Which is fine since my daughter likes Mac & Cheese, but sometimes she wants spaghetti.
Hollywood and Vine
Disney's Hollywood Studios
- We have eaten breakfast here before, but this is the first time eating here Gluten free. We made reservations far in advance and let them know that members of our party had a Gluten Allergy.
- Shortly after we were seated the Chief came to our table.
- The Chief did a walked through on the buffet line to point us out which buffet items were not Gluten free. He also indicated which items could be made Gluten free to order. We did ask for Gluten free waffles.
- They made a special order of Gluten Free Mickey Waffles that were very yummy. He gave us such a large plate of waffles that we didn't need to ask for more.
- The chief returned back and made sure we were satisfied with the order and if we had any questions.
- We were very impress with their service and everything was yummy.
The Crystal Palace
Magic Kingdom
- We love eating at the Crystal Palace and have eaten there plenty of times. Who doesn't like meeting Tigger, Pooh, Piglet and Eeyore.
- We made reservations far in advance, you kind of have to, and let them know of our allergy.
- The chief came to the table with lots of options.
- They went over some of the things at the buffet, he specifically said that he didn't want to insult our intelligence and pointed to some of the things that did contain Gluten.
- They brought a small try of Gluten Free options, which were basically frozen items; such as Katz Gluten Free Donuts and regular Gluten Free waffles. (Nothing like the made to order service we got at Hollywood and Vine)
- Food was yummy and everyone had a good time
Chief Mickey
The Contemporary Resort
- We made reservations far in advance and let them know of our allergy. We have eaten here plenty of times and enjoy seeing Mickey and Friends
- After we got seated the Chief came over and wanted to know if it was really an allergy. (We were a bit surprise by this.)
- He described some of the things in the buffet that we could eat, but left off some things. Basically giving us the brief version of what we could eat.
- They brought out a small tray of food, but it was mostly fruit and Gluten Free pancakes.
- There were a lot of good food in the buffet and we did like their food, but was a bit disappointed with the service and most likely won't be going back on a future visit.
We were a little disappointed with the service at Chief Mickey and felt that 'Hollywood and Vine' were more thoughtful with being Gluten free.
Hope the above information is helpful and you found it useful. If you have any particular questions, please feel free to send me an email.