Gluten Free Dinners - Please help! About This Page:

[vin816]

Hello all fellow passporters. It’s been a very long time since I have been to Disney (well
Over 5 years) and I will be taking my Mother this May as a surprise for Mothers Day. She has just been diagnosed with Celiac Disease and I have heard that Disney does an excellent job at accomodating. I am looking for suggestions where to have a nice relaxing sit down dinner in each park where Mom can have a great dining experience. We plan on doing a day for each park; maybe 2 for Epcot as that is her/our favorite. She doesn’t like fish/seafood at all. I have already chose Biergarten for one night. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Have a magical day!

[Her Dotness]

Anywhere you like for a great Table Service g-f dinner. It’s actually easier to get a good g-f meal at TS than Quick Serve oftentimes because a chef will come to your table to discuss which menu items can be easily modified.

Here’s how that works. If you book your ressies online, there’s a section that asks if any special requests are needed. That’s where you flag for gluten-free. Be sure to do that on each one or simply call the dining line to make your ADRs, saying they need to be g-f.

When you check in at the restaurant, tell the receptionist that your mom needs g-f. Also, tell your server who will summon the chef. Some chefs will offer to make a special dish if nothing on the menu appeals or can be altered.

At buffets, the chef will walk your mom around the buffet, indicating which dishes are safe. She can also ask for something like g-f waffles to be made. If she’s concerned about potential cross-contamination at buffets, she can simply ask to have all her food prepared in the kitchen.

If you eat at any Quick Serves, ask to speak to the manager who can guide you as to what is gluten-free. Generally, I find TS offers much more variety, especially the upscale restaurants because they use fewer processed foods.

Disney does a wonderful job of meeting such dietary needs and does understand the importance of a dedicated food prep area. Your mom will get fabulous food!

[Her Dotness]

Meant to add that since you’ve already made a Biergarten ADR, you’ll need to call the dining line to ask for it to be flagged gluten-free. Btw, if your mom’s a beer drinker, there are quite a few pretty decent g-f beers available now. She’ll be able to lift a brew with everyone else if so inclined.

Or you could simply cancel that one and make another, flagging in the Special Needs section mentioned above, if the time you have isn’t a must-lock-in.

[DMA]

I've eaten at WDW 4 times now since I have gone GF. Each time I have noted on the ADR that I had a Gluten/wheat allergy. The first few times, when we checked in, the CM would confirm that we had a allergy request, stamp our ticket with a red ALLERGY stamp, and then the person who seated us would bring an allergy menu. Last time, no mention of it was made when we checked in. So, when we were seated, I asked for an allergy menu and one was brought to me. They also asked if that was sufficient, or if I wanted to speak with the chef. So, a little different procedure, but still very accommodating.

The buffet restaurants now have a allergy guide that they give you. This is so much better than the chef taking you to the buffet and pointing out things you can and can't have. There are just so many choices that I always got back to my seat, and promptly forgot! They will also offer to have a chef come out if you prefer. And if you are worried about cross contamination from the buffet, they will happily make your plate in the kitchen.

In addition to the allergy menu (which also lists dairy free, nut free...) Many TS restaurants will offer to make anything on the regular menu gluten free.

It's hard to name a favorite, as we've eaten at so many Disney restaurants and they all seem to have wonderful choices for GF dining! I do like Sci Fi at DHS, Spice Road Table at Epcot, Yak and Yeti at AK and The Plaza at MK.
One you may want to stay away from is Via Napoli. They have an open kitchen and by their own admission, there is flour everywhere.

[Her Dotness]

Thanks for the updated info, DMA.

My sensitivity isn’t as big a deal as celiac disease. I can tolerate small amounts of gluten such as in soy sauce. Just can’t handle a steady diet of baked goods. As a result, it’s been a while since I felt I needed guidance in what was g-f and what wasn’t.

I’d forgotten about the new allergy caution menus and didn’t know about the buffet guide sheet, a great idea. Like you, I often had difficulty recalling which dishes contained gluten when not obvious like baked goods or battered fried foods.

ETA: Incidentally, when I looked at some of the allergy menu samples online, I found that most dishes I could have didn’t appeal much. Should that prove so for your mom, she can simply ask to speak with the chef who will come up with a meal she can enjoy, not just a make-do with a menu item that doesn’t appeal.