<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
Hi listmates,
My family(5 celiacs and me)just returned from Disney World. I'd like to
thank all of you that helped me in the planning of this trip. It was very
successful.
We stayed at the Coronado Springs. I called about a week in advance and
spoke to the ex. chef of the Pepper Market(one of their two
restaurants)about my family's dietary needs and told him what they would
probably like to eat for breakfast(muffins, waffles, pancakes). We ate
breakfast there each morning. The chefs, managers, and servers were
terrific. My family was able to order GF waffles, pancakes, muffins, bacon,
eggs, potatoes, and loaves of cornbread(more like an italian bread with corn
and peppers added-very good). At the buffet line, they put the bacon on top
of bagels to soak up the oil. We told the chef this and he brought out bacon
that hadn't been touched by bread. One night we ate dinner there and my son
had, according to him, the best pasta ever-I think he liked the sauce. They
said they'd even pack us a lunch for the park, if needed. As everywhere, it
is expensive.
We had burgers in Epcot at the Electric Umbrella-the manager took care of
us, and the ex. chef happened to be there at the time. They didn't have gf
fries there. But you can eat at the Liberty Inn at the American Adventure
and get fries, burgers with buns, pizza. We ate at Tony's Restaurant in the
Magic Kingdom. The chef was great. He brought out rice rolls. The kids had
Amy's Pizza or pasta. They didn't like the pasta sauce. My husband had one
of the chicken with cheese entrees(modified). The menu was very different so
for the nonceliacs in our group that are culinary midgets, the chef made
them chicken alfredo and chicken parmigian that weren't even on the menu. We
ate at McDonalds for lunch at Animal Kingdom. The prep person placed the
box of fries on top of the cheeseburger-so the box stuck to the cheese. I
told the server that for $40, that wasn't acceptable. She completely
understood, threw them out and had the prep people keep the fries separate
from the burgers. We had dinner at Le Cellier in Canada-awesome!! My 9 year
old said it was the best steak he ever ate. They also brought out rice
rolls. The chef said he gets about 20 celiacs a day, so is very familiar
with the diet. My 11 year old ordered a hot dog and a cheeseburger. The
fries were fine. We had Amy's pizzas for lunch in MGM at Toy Story Pizza
Planet. I got in line while my husband tracked down the manager. The
manager got the order going while I was still waiting in line to pay. It
took a few minutes to cook but that was okay. We ate dinner at the Sci-Fi
Dine-In Theatre-what a hoot!! The food was delicious but cold, but I think
we just had a lame server. My son's pasta wasn't cooked enough, so they
took it back and made him more. The chef prepared the cheeseburgers in
three smaller pieces and put them between rice rolls. Some of the kids took
them out of the roll and some ate them like a regular bunned burger. My
husband had the BBQ ribs.
As everyone recommended, we called a week ahead and made priority seating
reservations and let them know about our special diet. The special diet
person contacts all of the restaurants ahead of time to let them know about
your needs. I entered all of the Parks' ex. chef's phone numbers into my
cell phone so that if I needed to call them, I could do so easily. For
example, after deciding to eat at Pizza Planet, I called the MGM chef and
asked if they had gf pizza at that restaurant. He said they had as many as
we needed, so we immediately headed over there for lunch.
Some of the restaurants didn't have the quantity that we needed or the food
we wanted. For example, Tony's restaurant only had 2 GF pizzas available
and Coronado Springs didn't have any. So I would recommend calling ahead to
see if they have available what you want/need, i.e. pasta or pizzas, and if
not, can they get it before you arrive.
I hope this summary helps some of you. Please feel free to email me with
further questions that I may not have answered for you. Juli of NC
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Before we went I had researched places we would be likely to get food while
on the run....what we found out is that all of the fast food/countersetrvice
types of place to eat in the park have a book they keep under the counter,
which lists all the ingredients in everything they serve!!!! So we could
ask for the book, flip thru, and make a safe choice. Some highlights were
the homemade and delicious vegetable soup at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe
(Tomorrowland, magic kingdom), the mexican food at El Pirata y Perico
Adventureland, magic kingdom), fresh corn on the cob from Chakranadi Chicken
Shop ( Asia in the Animal kingdom) fruit smoothies from Tamu Tamu ( Africa
in Animal kingdom) and fresh fruit vendors all over the parks.
Successful experiences at sit-down meals included The Kona Cafe at the
Polynesian, the Coral Reef Restaurant in Epcot, and Bongo's Cuban Cafe in
Downtown disney.
I have heard Liberty Tavern is great, which makes sense given its menu of
things such as steak and turkey - i hear they have gf rolls there.....
We carry a lot of food with us to cut down on costs and time in lines. In
general disney food is pricey, but so much better than anything you usually
get at an amusement park. Even the "fast food" tends to be items which are
freshly prepared and not terribly unhealthy; its easy to find fruit and
salads.
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