Wow Disney Is Great!

[lisaemu]

I've gone to Disneyworld dozens of times (my brother works for them), and am going in 3 weeks. Im nervous because this is my first time going since having to be gluten free. I've heard great reviews of how accomodating they are, and I called them today and wow! The lady was really helpful and knowledable (she even mentioned cross contaimination issues) and she sent me an email with a lot of helpful stuff. If anyone needs the number or is interested in their response, let me know. Ill report back on how the vacation goes in a few weeks!

[Katie O'Rourke]

  lisaemu said:

I've gone to Disneyworld dozens of times (my brother works for them), and am going in 3 weeks. Im nervous because this is my first time going since having to be gluten free. I've heard great reviews of how accomodating they are, and I called them today and wow! The lady was really helpful and knowledable (she even mentioned cross contaimination issues) and she sent me an email with a lot of helpful stuff. If anyone needs the number or is interested in their response, let me know. Ill report back on how the vacation goes in a few weeks!

Hi. I am in England and am plannign to visit the one in Florida nxt year and am having a biit of a panic sorting it out. Would be really great and really helpful if you could send me any info you have. Ive only been diagnosed 2 years and am now 21, so still getting used to it. Am really hoping to go though, but am worried I'll have to book all the restaurants in advance before I leave, which can be expensive if youre calling internationally. Ive heard that the hotels and kiosks are not much good, but that some of the restaurants are great, as long as you book in advance.

Could you possibly forward me the email? Would be ever so grateful, thanks

[mbg98]

We went to disney about a month a go, I ate so well! The resteraunts were FANTASTIC! the chefs came out and sat with me and went over my menu options and if I didn't want anything from that menu they would fix me something. I even had great desserts! The chef at our hotel made me a delicious breakfast every morning, he makes the best gluten-free panckaces. I got a list of all the quick service places in the parks that served gluten-free foods and what I could and couldnt have, let me know if you would have any intrest in those lists. Anyway, you will not have a single problem in Disney the food and ways they accomodate you are amazing! not to mention you can have all the Mcdonalds fries you want bieng they have carts through out the parks that only serve the fries and these are gluten-free! There is even a place in Magic Kingdom that has gluten-free pizza!!

Good luck and let me know if you want those lists.

[dionnek]

How was the vacation? Where did you stay and eat? I'm interested in learning all I can before we go in October (have heard a lot of good things about the restaurants and parks being gluten-free, but not so much about the hotels - now wondering if we should stay at a non-dinsey hotel for cheaper?).

[nothungry]

I'm planning my disney trip right now...I would love to hear more about your dining! We are staying on site.

[astyanax]

i was just there a few weeks ago, my mom and i go every year. when you make reservations at a restaurant include that you are gluten free. we were also able to get gluten free food when we went to a restaurant (the brown derby in MGM) without a reservation (they even had gluten-free rolls!).

i stayed at the grand floridian and their room service was really great about cooking gluten-free. you can also contact disney (i did it through the main website) and get gluten-free lists for each of the parks. things like hot dogs and burgers are gluten-free. at the quick service counters, ask for a manager. i found at the quick service counters it took awhile to get the gluten-free food but they do try and a manager will understand the cross contamination issues. the popcorn carts in all the parks are gluten free and i never had it, but apparently there's a gluten free brownie sold in epcot. a few places will do gluten-free pizza as well (i never did that though cos of the time it takes).

disney will also let you bring in food.

hope this helps! it's a great place for dietary needs. it's one of the reasons my mom and i keep going back.

[2kids4me]

We went to Disneyland (California) last year. It was GREAT! There is a fellow by the name of "Chef Chris", he manages all the chefs on the Disney land site - he can tell you where to eat, what to ask for etc. You can get his number from Disneyland Hotel or a travel agent should be able to find it, if oyuleave message - he gets back to you quickly, have pen ready to write stuff down.

I was advised to call him before we arrived in Disneyland to get current information about the restaurants and to let him know when we would arrive. My first impression of Chef Chris was that this guy was intelligent, funny, and he or any of the Disneyland chefs would be more than capable of handling our dietary needs.

We ate at many restaurants in Disneyland and had no problems at all. At the sit down locations, the chef would come to the table, visit with the children, take their order and then deliver it personally. It was a bit scary at some self serve outlets where you place an order and then pick it up at a window, but my fears were unfounded as the message about "gluten free" was easily conveyed to the kitchen and the request was handled with a knowledgable smile. I am used to a puzzled look and "You don't want a bun??" response I get back home in Calgary! In Tomorrowland, Red Rocket's Pizza Port was very busy with pizza and pasta on the menu ...all I had to say was: "Chef Chris told me you could make rice pasta..." and the chef nodded with a smile and then apologized that it may take 8 to 10 minutes for it to cook. I watched as he used a new spoon and added sauce from a new tub (no contamination possible) and added some carrots on the side. This place was a zoo while he did all this!! Chef Chris says that what looks busy to us is normal for them.

Kathryn is my "canary in the coal mine" when it comes to gluten and I know within hours if she has received hidden gluten; both children remained healthy and happy during our trip. The chefs at Disneyland gave us what we had dreamed about - for 5 days we were just like everybody else. We could walk into any restaurant, simply ask for gluten free; no confused waiters, harried chefs, or added expense for "special food". I have insulin dependent diabetes just like Matthew and we found that diabetes posed no problem; we were provided with a list of carbohydrate values for the various items so that we could follow our diet requirements. The kids LOVED the food and asked for autographs from each chef.