Gluten Free Dining Plan Reviews

[snorris49]

I wonder if they are Kinnikinnick donuts? Now you've got me craving a donut!

When I was at Boma last August, they offered me Kinnikinnick donuts for breakfast.

 

[honugirl]

I was just there and wasn't offered any donuts at Tusker House. That stinks. I'm going to whole foods now to get some to make up for the ones I didn't have while there.

 

[MagicMomma]

Thanks for all of the great information. We have an appt with a pediatric GI next week for DD, and are anticipating a Celiac diagnosis. Since I'm new to a gluten-free diet, I was really worried about our upcoming trip. Just hearing about the way most CM's handled food allergies makes me feel a lot better! I pictured myself having to pack food for her and cancelling our ADR's!

 

[Minnie]

This is a great thread!

I'm gluten, dairy, fructose intolerant so eating out is a challenge

I can't wait to try the allergy free chicken fingers and baked fries at the CHH!

Only a few weeks to go

 

[valree]

I just found a recent entry on the Disney Food Blog about GF items at F&W. Here is the link http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/

I'm very curious about the Warm Chocolate Lava Cake with Baileys at the Ireland booth, but I will definitely check the ingredient book first.

 

[3prettyprincesses]

I just found a recent entry on the Disney Food Blog about GF items at F&W. Here is the link http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/

I'm very curious about the Warm Chocolate Lava Cake with Baileys at the Ireland booth, but I will definitely check the ingredient book first.

Ooooh, I just saw that too! I am so excited. When the F&W Festival foods list came out I was so curiuos if any were gluten free. Now I know for sure and that dessert is the only one I wanted to try anyway. I too will check the ingredient book, just to be safe.

 

[ratlenhum]

Disney World is THE BEST PLACE to go if you have food allergies. They are fantastic about it. Just make sure you have it noted on any reservations.

My son is GF/CF/SF (gluten/casein/soy free) and had no problems eating at Disney, and getting a good variety of foods too

 

[chell]

Are you ever tempted to be "bad" on vacation and eat everything you shouldn't? I know this is a huge NO-NO for Celiac's. Lately I've been craving everything I can't have. The cravings are so intense.

 

[chell]

Hopefully this doesn't cross any guidelines here on the DIS.

What do you think of a travel agent who specializes in assisting guests with food allergies/intolerance/issues/etc? Would you be more willing to use them?

 

[Caropooh]

Hopefully this doesn't cross any guidelines here on the DIS.

What do you think of a travel agent who specializes in assisting guests with food allergies/intolerance/issues/etc? Would you be more willing to use them?

I think that would be an interesting concept. I think it would really depend on their background and expertise in allergies/intolerance/etc.

 

[chell]

I think that would be an interesting concept. I think it would really depend on their background and expertise in allergies/intolerance/etc.

Thanks!

 

[freepixie]

WOW! This thread is amazing!!! My mom is currently going thru this, eliminating things to see what she is allergic to - and we think its narrowed down to dairy and gluten. So reading thru this gives us hope for next summer!!

Thank you so much to everyone who has posted!!!

 

[chell]

WOW! This thread is amazing!!! My mom is currently going thru this, eliminating things to see what she is allergic to - and we think its narrowed down to dairy and gluten. So reading thru this gives us hope for next summer!!

Thank you so much to everyone who has posted!!!

Good luck to your mom! Somehow my food allergies got worse during the past few years and I am now very limited on the foods I should eat. It is frustrating at times. Hope she starts feeling better very quickly.

 

[clanmcculloch]

Hopefully this doesn't cross any guidelines here on the DIS.

What do you think of a travel agent who specializes in assisting guests with food allergies/intolerance/issues/etc? Would you be more willing to use them?

I'll be honest; it wouldn't make a difference to me. Before our first trip with allergies our TA sent me a copy of Passporters for Special Needs (the predecessor to Open Mouse) because of our discussions about food allergies as well as autism and really that was all I needed. For me, it's more important that my TA have quick response time and is on the ball for getting specials applied quickly when them become available. I chose to vacation at Disney because I had read about how accomodating Disney is for special needs as opposed to wanting to go to Disney then having to research if it's do-able.

For your average guest who isn't as obsessive compulsive as I am, it would likely be helpful. You would want to advertise with various celiac and food allergy organizations if that really is a specialty. For a newbie it would be nice to have a TA who knows things like the difference between Disney owned and non-Disney owned restaurants as well as what to expect from Special Diets and so on.

 

[chell]

I'll be honest; it wouldn't make a difference to me. Before our first trip with allergies our TA sent me a copy of Passporters for Special Needs (the predecessor to Open Mouse) because of our discussions about food allergies as well as autism and really that was all I needed. For me, it's more important that my TA have quick response time and is on the ball for getting specials applied quickly when them become available. I chose to vacation at Disney because I had read about how accomodating Disney is for special needs as opposed to wanting to go to Disney then having to research if it's do-able.

For your average guest who isn't as obsessive compulsive as I am, it would likely be helpful. You would want to advertise with various celiac and food allergy organizations if that really is a specialty. For a newbie it would be nice to have a TA who knows things like the difference between Disney owned and non-Disney owned restaurants as well as what to expect from Special Diets and so on.

Thanks for the feedback. It would be more geared towards newbies, but then it would be great if they would keep coming back and growing the business.

 

[ambertides]

I have a couple reviews/pictures to post, but I'm still sorting. For now, I wanted to note that at Crystal Palace I had oatmeal on the list of things I could have, and at Whispering Canyon there was granola on my fruit plate. Not sure if Disney is not considering oats as a gluten containing item or if they are using gluten free oats, but I skipped the oatmeal and only ate a couple pieces of fruit from the fruit plate, just in case.

 

[davebon23]

I have a couple reviews/pictures to post, but I'm still sorting. For now, I wanted to note that at Crystal Palace I had oatmeal on the list of things I could have, and at Whispering Canyon there was granola on my fruit plate. Not sure if Disney is not considering oats as a gluten containing item or if they are using gluten free oats, but I skipped the oatmeal and only ate a couple pieces of fruit from the fruit plate, just in case.

This thread is great. Looking forward to your info and any other current reviews anyone has. Thanks everyone!

 

[clanmcculloch]

I have a couple reviews/pictures to post, but I'm still sorting. For now, I wanted to note that at Crystal Palace I had oatmeal on the list of things I could have, and at Whispering Canyon there was granola on my fruit plate. Not sure if Disney is not considering oats as a gluten containing item or if they are using gluten free oats, but I skipped the oatmeal and only ate a couple pieces of fruit from the fruit plate, just in case.

I had a couple chefs make mistakes in August, telling me that Divvies and Fruit Loops were both gluten free. NOT!!! These were at different restaurants. I can't imagine Disney investing in gluten free oats so I'm betting that oatmeal and granola were not gluten free. I also had a chef insist that pineapple is a citrus fruit (my girls are both intollerant to all fruits in the citrus family) when it's not (many people who say they can't have citrus really can't handle acidic foods but in our case it's actually citrus fruit; DD12 loves white vinegar; I'm raising a good half Canadian). I also had a chef bring out strawberries and oranges for dessert (again, they can't have citrus fruit). Not all chefs are paying enough attention.

I really need to get my dining report written too. I know I promised it a while ago. Most of our experience was wonderful but if I hadn't been on the ball we would have had a few problems.

Note to everybody: Know your products. Read through the attachments that Special Diets sends and know which of the packaged products are actually safe for you. Don't hesitate to question the chefs. This is your health and safety we're talking about. Be pro-active with it.

 

[ambertides]

Crystal Palace Breakfast:

Chef Andrew walked me through the buffet line, then I requested a separate plate be brought to me to minimize cross contamination risk. He was very friendly and reassuring. I requested eggs with cheese, bacon, waffles, and the chocolate chip muffins. I had orange juice (I asked to confirm that was okay) & skim milk for drinks, and picked up a banana from the buffet line.

Like I said before -the oatmeal was listed as gluten free - I did not confirm that they used gluten free oats, and skipped it. I would believe they had GF oats on hand to make for special diets, but no way do I think they are using these for everyone. It's just too expensive.

The eggs and muffins were awesome. The bacon is a little thin for my tastes (our favorite is Boar’s Head), but plentiful -- it seemed like a whole package was on the plate! The waffles were Van’s frozen.

I was iffy on the margarine/butter spread stuff they had, so instead of buttering my waffles, I just made a waffle sandwich with my eggs and bacon.

Next time I would double check on the chocolate milk and the butter stuff, and probably ask for some other fruit, too. Oh, and more muffins. I loved those.

 

[ambertides]

Before 'Ohana, I thought I'd mention, I did the Ruffino wine seminar. I forgot to bring my own crackers. There were crackers on the table, but I just made sure they were away from me, then ignored them. I really enjoyed the seminar, FWIW.

We had 9:50 reservations at 'Ohana. We got there early and were seated early (around 9:30). After about 20 minutes it got very quiet, which was really nice. The dim lighting and castle view was pretty romantic. But awful for pictures, so sorry in advance for the two I have being awful.

Our chef's name, I believe, was Chef Brian.

I wasn't brought any bread at all. I'm not sure if that was an oversight or if there's just no GF option for bread here. I sulked about it a bit to DH as I'd skipped lunch and was pretty hungry at this point (Crystal Palace was at 8:30 that morning).

I did get my wings before DH, though, so I wasn't waiting for too long.

The wings were great. It was a dry rub of spices on them, not a sauce. I was brought gluten free teriyaki and gluten free sweet & sour sauces. No peanut sauce. I just had them plain since I wasn't a big fan of the sauces (I'd not ever had teriyaki or sweet & sour before, so I can't really compare them to other sauces).

For an entree - I couldn't get a picture, but I think similar ones have been posted. I had four chicken skewers on a bed of rice with veggies. It was all cooked perfectly, and I thought it was great for being chicken, rice, and broccoli, more or less. Probably the best chicken and rice I've had in a very, very long time. I could've had any of the meats, but I just am not a fan of much for meat besides chicken and the occasional burger.

DH (not GF) said the steak was the best he's ever had, but that the shrimp was a little overdone and that everything else was also very good, except the bread at the beginning.

I did get a picture, albeit very blurry, of my dessert:

This was a chocolate cake, with chocolate ganache in the center, similar to a lava cake, but not warm. The cream at the base was supposed to be a mango? something - I don't know, but it didn't taste particularly fruity. It was yummy, but the cake would've been better a little warmer.

'Ohana was our favorite meal of the three, by far.