Hi,
I know there are several posts already on this board for Disney. We're going in September (mom, dad + 4 boys). I'm the one with celiac (dad). We're staying at the Fort Wilderness Cabin's, and did the dining plan (which we got free due to a Disney promotion). We like having the kitchen when we travel, to prepare our own food when we want/need. We'll be doing breakfsat in our room each day, so I'm not worried about that meal. Lunch and dinner will be in the park. I've read in many places, that WDW is very accomodating to your dietary needs. My questions (and I apologize if they've already been answered/addressed on this board), are as follows.

For the "quick service" meals, obviously the walk up counter food. Were you able to get a meal from many of those places? I can't make a meal out of salads and fruit. I'm a burger/fries, sandwhich/chips kind of person. I know how hectic those places are at meal times and how hurried the cashiers/order takers can be, and not really be able to answer my questions adequately. Without doing a ton of research on all of those places, I'd rather know in advance if they are places to be worried about. If that's the case I'll do a little more research and make up a list I can reffer to. But I'd rather not have to think about lunch, as that meal will be much harder to predict for time & location each day.

For the sit-down dinner meals, I feel pretty confident that I'll be able to get something to eat. I've read about the chef's coming to your table, etc. to take care of you. Are there any places that stick out in anyones mind as being particulary good/bad? We're visiting the four parks (minus water parks) over 6 days, so we'll be there awhile. Hopefully we're not to far behind the eight ball on that one, as we plan to try and secure reservations this week or next.

Thanks in advance for your help, suggestions, comments, etc. Like I said, I know this has probably all been said/written before, but I thought I'd start a new thread to try and draw from some more recent visitors.

Daryl

You won't have any problems finding gluten free food at the counter service places in WDW. You'll be able to get a hamburger (on a bun) and fries at some of the places. If you can't find a counter service place to eat lunch, the turkey legs in the parks are gluten free and filling. We never had a problem finding quick lunches though. You may want to center your meals around parade times so that you're eating while everyone else is watching the parade. It makes things much quicker.

If you go to MGM you should definitely try the Prime Time 50's Cafe. They have the BEST gluten free fried chicken ever. I don't recommend the gluten free meatloaf though. The chef will come to your table and go over the entire menu with you. They're great there. That was the place that most impressed me on my two trips. The food takes a little longer, but it's SO worth the wait for that delicious fried chicken. I think they also did french fries for my daughter in fresh oil. Yum! Get one of their fun drinks too, they're REALLY good.

If you need dinner outside of the parks we highly recommend the Portabella Yacht Club in Downtown Disney. They have Tinkyada pasta on hand (call first to confirm this) and will make any of their pasta dishes gluten free. Their food is delicious and they'll even make things that aren't on the menu to accomodate small children. My daughter had buttered noodles every night there. That was our first choice of restaurants outside the parks. Actually, I think that was the only place we went outside the parks (two week stay).

If you get the chance, Dixie Stampede will do a gluten free meal. The show is pretty cool, especially if you have kids. It's funny and entertaining, worth the money if you've never seen it before.

I was just in Disneyworld last month and it was great. You can get a detailed list of all the foods by emailing disney. (I'm out of state right now and can't tell you how to do that, but hopefully someone will come along and give you that info.) My avatar is a picture of me eating a gluten-free hamburger at MGM my first day at Disney.

I had great luck at all the counter service places at lunch time. The Magic Kingdom had several places to get gluten-free pizza and hamburgers or hotdogs. The day we were there we had a turkey leg from one of the carts near Adventureland. I think we got hamburgers from a little counter service restaurant near It's a Small World too. Sorry I can't remember the name.

MGM also had several places to get gluten-free hamburgers. The ABC Backlot and another place near there (kind of by Star Tours) had gluten-free fries and a delicious bean salad to go along with the burger. I got a yummy chicken salad at Epcot (food court by Soarin') and there were a few choices at the Dinosaur restaurant at the Animal Kingdom. There are lots of other places too, but this is where I remember eating.

You can't be shy - just ask to talk to a manager or chef at any place you go and they'll be really helpful. EVERY time I asked about a gluten-free item the person at the register called for the manager or chef and they came out quickly and told me exactly what I could eat. All but one of them brought it out to me through the kitchen door themselves to make sure that it didn't get mixed up or contaminated. I discovered that it was easiest to go stand in the line on the far left - usually that was where the kitchen door was. That way the manager could find me easily and I got my food quickly.

Hi, if anyone knows who to contact to get information on which places serve gluten free food can you post it? We are planning a trip as well and would love to be prepared ahead of time.

Nicole

I'm home now and found the email contact:

brenda.bennett@disney.com

I just emailed and asked about special diets, specifically gluten-free, and was sent a great reply with several attachments that I printed out. They have a list for each park. It was very helpful!

Thanks for all the information. I email the lady at Disney, and I received several pages of information from her. I haven't printed it yet. If anyone wants a copy of it, let me know and I'll forward it to you.

My wife spent two hours on the phone with Disney the other night getting reservations for meals. Something we don't typically do on vacation, but since we have the meal plan, we decided to plan it somewhat. We're exactly two months out, and I don't thnk we got first choice on anything she initially asked for. Everything was booked at the times/days we wanted. They had plenty of available seats at 9:30 pm and later. Unfortunately, it doesn't work good with 4 kids. So, we did get some decent places, but some of the days we're doing the table service meal a little after lunch time, and we'll do the quick service meal for dinner. Oh well. Was probably a little worse now because of the free dinning promotion they ran. Overall, it will probably work out fine. So my advice for those of you with up coming trips, make dinner ereservations early; they can be made up to 180 days in advance. You can always cancel them.

After we go, I'll post back with what I found, where I ate, etc. to benefit others that may go in the future.

Just curious...what reservations did you make?

Just contacted Disney re same - see below:

Dear Lisa,

Thank you for contacting the Walt Disney World Resort.

We appreciate your interest in learning what arrangements might be
possible in our theme park and resort restaurants for guests with
specific dietary restrictions. First, please know that the chefs and
managers in our full-service restaurants are always happy to provide
information regarding not only the ingredients of menu selections, but
also how items are prepared. In many instances, food may be specially
prepared to accommodate particular dietary restrictions.

It is also sometimes possible for our restaurants to prepare food items
using special ingredients (gluten-free flour, for example). For this
reason, we encourage you to make your particular restriction known when
booking advanced reservations arrangements for our full-service
restaurants, so that the appropriate notation may be made. Reservations
may be arranged up to 180 days in advance for selected restaurants by
calling 407-WDW-DINE (407-939-3463).

If you have specific inquiries or would like recommendations regarding
the food served at the park restaurants, you are welcome to call the
special dietary request line for our theme parks, at the telephone
numbers listed below. If no one is immediately available when you call,
please be sure to leave a message and a telephone number or email
address, slowly, where you may be reached. You may also contact our
special dietary assistants at the following email addresses.

Magic Kingdom Park: 407-824-5967: wdwmkspecialdiets@email.disney.com

Epcot: 407-560-6395: wdwecspecialdiets@email.disney.com

Disney-MGM Studios: 407-560-3551: wdwstspecialdiets@email.disney.com

Disney's Animal Kingdom: 407-938-3288: dwakspecialdiets@email.disney.com
(Please note Walt Disney World Company operates no full-service
restaurants in this park.)

We would also like to mention that as an exception to our standard
policy, guests who have specific food allergies are welcome to bring a
cooler smaller than 24" length x 15" width x 18" height (which mirrors
the large locker size) into the park with snacks that require no cooking
or reheating. Coolers will be inspected for glass and alcoholic
beverages which are not permitted. Picnic baskets, ice chests, and
coolers are also not permitted.

If you have questions or need further assistance, feel free to contact
us. Please include your full name, E-Mail address, and reservation
number if applicable on all correspondence.

Thank you!

Sincerely,

Betsy Mayer
WDW Online Communications

PLEASE NOTE: All information is subject to change without notice and
should be confirmed just prior to your visit.


Lisa

Hi Daryl-

Could you please forward me a copy of the information that you received from the lady at Disney? I'd also love to know what you found out too. We are going on a budget but if anything was really worth experiencing I'd love to know. That would be such a huge help.

Thank you so much!
Silly Yak
kheier@comcast.net