Disney/Universal – Gluten Free On the Fly …
Categories: Gluten Free Restaurants, News, Travel
Tags: , Disney, Orlando, Universal Studios
Fresh off my too-short trip to the Magical Kingdoms down south, I thought I’d share some tidbits of information that will hopefully help you in planning your next vacation there. I’ve heard from many of you who are trying to decide which parks to go to, which hotels, which restaurants … and first let me say, you won’t be disappointed by going to Disney if any in your family eat gluten-free. The organization has long been known for catering to its food allergic patrons, and I would heartily agree, based upon my recent experience. Even their snacks can be accommodating: their “Chip and Dale” Trail Mixes (photo at top) are made in facilities that don’t share equipment with wheat – yay!
Although nearly every food counter at Disney is prepared to accommodate with things like gluten-free rolls, brownies and the like, Disney encourages early planning if you’re traveling with dietary restrictions, even supplying guests with phone numbers and emails to reach out before your trip to let them know you’re coming.
This is standard Disney language regarding their policies:
The Walt Disney World Food and Beverage Team is committed to offering a wide range of choices to accommodate Guests with food allergies or intolerances. Your desired dining requests will be addressed, but please note in many cases, advance notice is required—usually at the time of your reservation, which can be up to 180 days in advance. Please call the Disney’s Dining Reservation Center at (407) WDW-DINE or (407) 939-3463 to speak with a Cast Member. Guests under age 18 must have parent or guardian permission to call.
Websites abound with information on great Disney dining — a good one is Orlando Gluten Free , since it lists all the Special Diet hotline numbers for the Disney World Park, as well as links to some other favorite Disney review pages like AllEars.net (note: this website doesn’t look like it’s been updated in awhile, but the links and numbers are still current). If you don’t mind getting really hungry, take a photographic tour of every conceivable gluten-free dish served at Disney on GlutenandDairyFree’s visual review of their vacation there. You won’t any have trouble finding accolades for Disney’s food allergy policies — heck, Disney even gave a McDonald’s outlet the boot from its Downtown Disney Marketplace and replaced it with Babycakes from NYC – a wheat-free (some gluten-free), vegan bakery. If that change wasn’t food allergy-friendly, I don’t know what is!I also found eating at Disney properties to be fairly easy, and I did not call in advance. Nor did I pack my usual travel necessities — for me: a store of homemade muffins; trail mix; Lara Bars or Bora Bora Bars; and fruit. I wanted to know just how accommodating Disney and Universal could be on-the-fly … so here goes!
My first night’s dinner was at Bongos Cuban Café in Downtown Disney. While the menu was not labeled gluten free, several options looked like possibilities. I asked to speak to the chef, just to be sure. The man who came out to speak with me though, was not the chef at Bongos. He was THE chef for all of their chain of restaurants, and as it turns out, his child also eats gluten-free! He was extremely knowledgeable on the diet and on avoiding cross-contamination. We went over the menu and I ultimately chose stuffed green plantain cups with shrimp creole, black beans and rice, and sweet plantains — my kind of meal! Everyone else enjoyed their dinners as well, and there was much dancing and Congo-lining with the kids before the night was over!
The next day was at Universal Studios — a place I was less sure could accommodate my dietary needs. Before leaving, I had researched Universal, called several different numbers and left messages … all to no avail. Unlike Disney, which encourages you to call and give them an opportunity to serve your special diet, Universal never mentioned it in any of their literature or websites I could find. One website (not affiliated with Universal Studios) offered a partial listing of restaurants at Universal that were gluten-free … but had no gluten-free menus … not sure about all that.
So, I came to the park prepared with trail mix I had purchased at the airport, just in case, and my bottle of water (I just couldn’t let go entirely of my “be prepared” mentality, I guess!). I’m so glad I brought both with me to the park, as there was quite literally nothing I could eat at any of the quick food restaurants (there were watermelon slices at one stand we found though). To be honest, the rest of our 12-person party didn’t find anything quick about their food either, but at least they could eat! One good thing — there were lots of water fountains, and the fast food counters also all agreed to fill my water bottle, so I highly recommend bringing in your own snacks and bottles of water!
In all fairness, I only had one day at Universal, and though we were there for over 8 hours, we weren’t dedicating any of that limited time to stand in long restaurant lines and then to sit for a full-on restaurant meal. Thus, I cannot promise that accommodations could not have been made for me at one of those restaurants, but it would have been nice to have had an option otherwise. I have heard wonderful things about Margaritaville’s special gluten-free menu, so if I went back with any extra time for a sit-down meal, that’s definitely where I would go.
One more note on Universal: Tiffany Janes over at Celiac-Disease.com just published one family’s account of their bad gluten-free experience at Harry Potter in Universal. Apparently, the “Butterbeer” served on the carts all over Harry Potter-land is not gluten-free (despite the widely-held belief, previously perpetuated by Universal, that it is gluten-free) due to the topping used in the drink. Universal is apparently bound under contract with J.K. Rowling to not alter the recipe, so they are refusing to make the drink for anyone — medically-necessitated diet or not — without the topping. Fair warning.
Now, back to Disney. We were staying at the Disney property, The Swan & Dolphin – highly recommended! We spent one day just poolside with the kids, on their white sand beach (next to a man-made lake, of course), playground, giant checkers set, water slide and lap pool.
Their poolside restaurant, Cabana Bar and Beach Club, brought our lunches to the pool so the kids didn’t have to take a break until they were all ready, and we got to eat and watch them frolic at the same time! I enjoyed an appetizer of summer rolls that was skimpy but tasty enough, and already gluten free!
Dinner was at the hotel’s sushi restaurant, Kimonos, and was deliciously gluten-free (I skipped any tempura, marinated eel or soy sauce). I’ll spare you any stories of the karaoke after dinner! Exploring other restaurants at the resort and on the Disney Boardwalk only a short walk from there, I found tons of options. The resort’s Picabu “buffeteria” prepared gluten-free French fries for me by using new oil and pan-frying my fries — quite a treat! The Fountain restaurant was also willing to make some menu changes.
Chatting with Chef Sayles about their gluten-free menu options.
My favorite dinner find there though, was Kouzzina, where the Sous Chef, Robert Sayles, spoke to me at length about their already gluten-free menu offerings, and the changes they could make to regular dishes by substituting breads for Ener-G rolls. Chef Sayles, whose child also eats gluten-free, was particularly enthusiastic about Kouzzina’s gluten-free breakfast options like gluten-free pancakes (something most Disney restaurants also offer, by the way, so don’t hesitate to ask!). He proudly recounted all the happy kid faces he sees there each morning as they make breakfasts to suit every dietary need.
All in all, we had a wonderful time and I found eating in and around Orlando to be refreshingly easy. I would definitely recommend packing your own lunch and snacks if you go to Universal Studios, though, and be sure to let them know that they could take a lesson out of Disney’s playbook. We’d all benefit, and wouldn’t that be magical?
Note: Busch Gardens/Sea World just announced they would also introduce some gluten-free options at their parks, including GF Pizza.
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21. Mar, 2011
[...] from Jules Gluten Free also had a bit of a disappointing experience at Universal in Orlando as well. Several years ago I enjoyed a wonderful meal at Margaritaville at [...]
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02. May, 2011
[...] For a first-hand account of the awesomeness exhibited by Disney’s chefs, take a look at Jules Shepard’s report on her family’s experience earlier this [...]
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24. Jan, 2013
[...] Jules Speaks Gluten Free Blog: Disney/Universal — GF on the fly [...]
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anne said: on January 21, 2011
Thank you for the post! We are actually staying at the Swan in March, and I can’t wait. I have already made reservations for our meals and warmed them of my gluten status
I also called Babycakes, and learned that their Disney location is 100% gluten-free!
Jules said: on January 21, 2011
Yes, I had read that the Disney outlet of Babycakes was 100% gluten-free, but since her NYC store is not, and I didn’t get to check it out myself while I was there, I didn’t want to make that statement unless I was totally sure. Thanks for sharing your information and have a fantastic trip!
kathy said: on January 21, 2011
Glad that you had a good trip. Ive been to Disney twice since knowing that I have Celiac and the trips were FABULOUS. Never sick, plenty of choices. (I joked that I want to live there because I had no worries, and never got ill (and I am QUITE sensitive to cross contamination)). Not been to Universal tho … want to see Harry Potter…guess I will be bringing my own stash).
Casherie Bright said: on January 22, 2011
Just wanted to shout out a track back:
http://brightapproach.blogspot.com/2011/01/g-free-disney.html
I love how much info you have here! (I also love your flour, too!)
Helen Harris said: on January 31, 2011
I’m new to gluten free baking and experimenting with your flour mixture recipe. Using it, I find that my baked goods have a little more corn flour taste and smell than I would like, although the texture is good. Is this typical and something I need to get used to or is there a certain type of corn flour that works better than others? I was also wondering if you’ve used guar gum in place of xanthum gum to cut down on the corn-based items. Thank you!
Jules said: on January 31, 2011
Hi Helen, when making a gluten-free all purpose mix from scratch, the quality of individual ingredients make all the difference. If you are tasting corn flour in your recipe, you are using a brand that isn’t ideal. It is unfortunately difficult for consumers to find a certified gluten-free corn flour that is as fine as I would like in a great all purpose blend. In my pre-made blend, we use a certified GF, very fine corn flour that leaves no aftertaste and has no grainy texture. If you want to make a blend from scratch and cannot locate a certified GF corn flour, use a certified corn meal, but grind it further in your blender or food processor, until it becomes a fine powder. It is not used in my recipes in such quantities that it should ever leave any noticable corn taste or texture, but does provide added nutrition and structure in recipes. As for xanthan v. guar, I have written on this issue in my books and in answer to questions via email and on Facebook. I have experimented with both and have found guar to work better in cakes than it does in cookies, for example; whereas, xanthan seems to work well across the board. Also, I have heard from far more guar-sensitive folks than from folks who are reacting negatively to xanthan, so I prefer to use xanthan as a more widely-acceptable, better performing gluten substitute. If you are making a blend from home and prefer to use guar instead, they should be used in roughly the same proportion. Best of luck to you!!
Dana said: on February 1, 2011
Thanks for the Disney info Jules!
Sharon said: on February 7, 2011
Hi,
I just came back from a 10 day trip to Disney/Universal. We had the free quick service dining plan. I had no problems with the counter service restaurants there. I just informed the cashier I had a food allergy and either the chef or manager would come out and tell me my options, or just ask what I wanted and then personally prepared my meals. We stayed at the All Stars Movies Resort and the food court was also very helpful. Each meal I would ask for the Chef, we would talk about what I wanted and they would either prepare the menu item or suggest something not on the menu. I was very pleased. We spent 1 day at Universal and ate at Mythos. They had many gluten free options on the menu and I ended up with Pad Thai and the Flourless Chocolate Cake for Dessert!
Hope this helps!
Jules said: on February 7, 2011
That’s great news! Thanks for sharing specific restaurants!
Linda Townsend said: on May 13, 2013
Jules – I can affirm that Mythos (Islands of Adventure at Universal) is VERY good with GF. I love their menu… it’s actually marked with GF (and vegetarian) choices – and there are a lot of them. If you see something on their menu that’s not marked as being available GF, Mythos will try to work with you to make it GF. (They have done that on more than one occasion with my son.) Definitely check it out next time you go to Universal!
Jules Shepard said: on May 13, 2013
Thanks for the information, Linda! Sounds like a great find!
Michele Burnard said: on February 8, 2011
Thanks for the great article. I can vouch that Margaritaville at Universal is a fabulous GF place to eat. We were told that the chef takes great pride in his GF menu (I had only been GF for about 3 months at this time and the bun on my burger was fabulous). I am now looking forward to taking our two young ones to Disney next year and not having to worry about my dining experiences there.
On a side note, my hubby and I just came back from a 7 day Carnival cruise, and were very impressed with how they dealt with my GF issues…I even got their famous chocolate melting cake made for me twice on the trip…Yummy! So no fears with cruising for this gal anymore.
Thanks again for the great article! Cheers!
Rita Bean said: on February 9, 2011
My husband and I were at Disney this past summer and I had no problems at all. But I must say that Margaritaville was the best meal and good time I’ve had in ages. They were wonderful. The food was fantastic. We ordered nachos. I haven’t had any in 5 years, since my diagnosis. The nachos were humungous and delicious. Then I ordered the ribs. To die for. Falling off the bones mmmmmmmmmm. Had lots for the next days lunch. Don’t remember what the hubby ordered but I know he was extremely pleased and our friend, Eileen was very impressed. It was really fun too. Great music that makes you feel like your at a concert. Pirates dong magic tricks and baloons for the kids. Great time.
Jeri said: on February 13, 2011
I’m on the west coast and frequent Disneyland regularly as a year-round passholder. I was diagnosed with celiac about 6 months ago and was pleased to find out that Disney is very celiac friendly when researching it on the internet. Guest services has a several page printout labeled ‘celiac offerings’ that you can get for Disneyland and California Adventure. I’ve not gone hungry. They have dedicated fryers for french fries, gf hot dog and hamburger buns, etc, gf shells for pizza, rice pasta, etc. Even baked potatoes. The restaurants at Downtown Disney are very accomodating as well. I’ve heard great things about the hotel restaurants as well. Just thought I’d share about the original Disney:)
Charlene said: on March 21, 2011
Thank you Jules, and everyone for all the fabulous info! Planning a trip to Disneyland this summer for my birthday and this helps alleviate my fear about eating in the park!
Kimberly said: on March 23, 2011
I wish I had know read this a few hours ago, as I just returned from Universal Studios. I would have never guessed Butterbeer was not gluten free. I had some! Didn’t really have a problem, thank goodness…
Samantha said: on March 25, 2011
They told us Butterbeer ingredients are gluten free, it’s that it is prepared in an area that is a high risk for cross contamination. I asked if there was a chance I could see the area and was told no (hey, asking is free, right?
but that he (the manager I was speaking with) has seen where it is prepared and that it is very high risk and very likely to be CC with wheat flour products being made from scratch.
If you any anyone else interested can write a letter–he said the more requests they get, the better the odds they can change their practices in the future.
Gluten Free Traveller said: on May 10, 2012
Interesting. I’ve been to Disney a few times when I was a kid but that was pre-celiac days so it’s nice to hear you found a bunch of places which cater for the gluten free of us!