We’ve been visiting Disney World in Orlando, Florida for over 12 years now. Both pre and post Celiac diagnosis for both boys and my husband. We know both sides of the coin here as far as options, taste, and tricks to navigating the food allergy world. Disney was the most convenient vacation destination to make the gluten-free transition at. We had options for every meal, snacks and desserts/treats. My husband even started looking forward to our trips because of the variety of safe food options we did have.
As the only one in the family who doesn’t have celiac disease, I order gluten free at Disney with my guys. I do this because if I do not my non-allergy friendly food comes out first and is either cold, or I am eating alone as my family stares at me, which is just uncomfortable. Food is social to me. I enjoy eating with my family. I have found some incredibly good food at Disney that is gluten free.
The delay in receiving the food is because Disney takes extra caution in preparing allergy-friendly/gluten-free food items with different utensils, pots, pans, with clean hands, marked with colored allergy toothpicks, and packaged or plated in separate areas. Items are even placed on separate special-colored trays for extra caution when delivering food at quick service restaurants. So, let’s get started in what we do eat and where.
Breakfast
We almost always eat breakfast at our resort. It is too important of a meal to skip being that your day will be heavy on activity therefore you need a full meal to fuel your body for the day. Grabbing a pastry doesn’t do the trick for our family. We order on the Disney app (MDE app)before we leave the room and choose the “we are here, prepare our food” option before we leave our room. Why, you ask, because “allergy” food takes additional time to prepare, because Disney does take such care to make sure you are not cross contaminated. In Return they also take quite a while to prepare the food. Thats’ ok, better to be safe than “glutened.”
One of the most popular breakfast items at every quick service restaurant at the resorts on Disney properties is the bounty platter. The gluten-free version comes with scrambled eggs, either mickey waffles or pancakes, bacon or sausage links and breakfast potatoes. There are also normally egg and cheese bagels, omelets, gluten-free Oatmeal, and a variety of other options. We most recently stayed at, Art of Animation where each morning we ate breakfast at Lanscape of Flavors, the link to the menu follows: Landscape of Flavors Breakfast Menu | Walt Disney World Resort
We found that 2 Bounty Platters and an Avocado Breakfast bowl, minus the beans were our choice each day. If I am being 100% honest, as I try to be here, the eggs at Disney aren’t my favorite. So, the addition of the different textures in the Avocado breakfast bowl makes the eggs more palatable. I personally need 2 eggs every morning for breakfast, or I can’t function! The boys do prefer the waffles here over the pancakes in gluten-free form and the sausage links are heaven to my youngest. Apparently, they are perfect to dip in syrup!
We also find ourselves at Baylake/Contemporary Resorts as well. There quick service restaurant is Contempo Cafe. Their gluten/wheat allergy menu varies slightly and is linked here: Contempo Café Breakfast Menu | Walt Disney World Resort
If you do decide to have breakfast day in Magic Kingdom, make a reservation at Crystal Palace Character Breakfast. You do need to make a notation of your allergy when booking the reservation in the My Disney Experience App. You will have a variety of allergy friendly items such as eggs, breakfast meats, yogurt, fruit, and gluten-free waffles. Along with your choice of beverages. Of course, your little princesses will love the experience alone.
Lunch/ Dinner in Magic Kingdom:
For lunch and dinner there is a plethora of gluten-free options in my opinion. You have 2 categories to choose from. Sit-down dinning where you really need a reservation ahead of time, especially at busy times in the season. Then there is quick service dining aka fast food. Some quick service meals are very good as are the sit-down dining options.
Examples of sit down dinning in Magic Kingdom with gluten-free options are Cinderella’s Royal table, Be Our Guest, Liberty Tree Tavern, Jungle Navigation Co. LTD Skipper Canteen, Diamond Horseshoe, and The Plaza Restaurant.
Our favorite sit-down dining experience is Liberty Tree Tavern. Everyone has an opinion, but this just happens to our favorite. It is a Thanksgiving type meal served family style. You have turkey, roast pork, and pot roast served along with gluten-free gravy, stuffing, green beans, mashed potatoes and gluten-free mac & cheese. This is preceded salad and gluten free rolls covered in butter.
If you only have one person with a gluten allergy in your party, they will bring out a plate for them with the purple allergy marker in the plate to ensure food safety. For our party they will serve it family style and if I want the “Glutenous” version I have my own single plate.
We used to be picky eaters before we had to overhaul our diets, and we loved this meal then and love it now as well.
Gluten free dessert options are an apple cake, sorbet, and chocolate chip cookies. We love the sorbet and the apple cake. The Diamond Horseshoe is basically the exact same menu in a different setting. The kitchens are actually connected.
Other sit-down options are Be our Guest where they have only one gluten-free appetizer, but gluten-free entrees are available, such as dry-aged duroc pork chop, grilled filet mignon, roasted poulet rouge chicken (my favorite), and Trout Amandine. Dessert option is limited to dark chocolate truffle and a lemon jam macron.
For kids’ gluten-free options you do have pan seared chicken, grilled steak, and pan-seared shrimp with an appetizer choice, a drink and choice of 2 sides sauteed squash, green beans, brown rice or sweet potatoes. These are very healthy options in my opinion.
We have only eaten here once and the food was good, but not for the price. There are other Disney sit down dining experiences that are better for the price.
In fairness we haven’t eaten here in about 3 years now, and opinions differ on taste. It is a beautiful place to sit and eat. You have to do it once!
Cinderella’s Royal Table is another option, and the little princesses love it! It is currently $88 per adult and $52 per child, but it is an experience. Here again you have multiple options. You start with appetizers such a gluten-free castle salad, slow braised beef, or chilled jumbo shrimp. Then your gluten-free entree choices are roasted lamb chops, grilled filet mignon, marinated grilled chicken, crab topped Catch of the day, and pan-roasted cauliflower.
For desserts we only have 2 gluten-free options, the Floating Island a raspberry meringue or the Jaq and Gus cheesecake. We picked cheesecake.
Kids gluten-free options are cheese and grapes, sliced apples, and a garden salad for appetizers. For entrees the seared fish and grilled steak. They do get a choice of 2 sides seasonal veggies, rice pilaf, mashed potatoes, and corn on the cob. Seasonal sorbet and Jaq and Gus cheesecake. The meal also comes with a drink of choice.
Again, this is an experience. If you are bringing a princess, do it! It is described as “spectacular” getting to meet Cinderella, photos, the spiral staircase.
Jungle Navigation Co. LTD Skipper Canteen Is a great themed restaurant with a more relaxed theme, more Asian, Latin and African expired. You have 3 gluten-free appetizer options here including Tiradito da Tuna, Falls Family Falafel, and a Jungle green salad.
Gluten-free entrees include Dr. Falls Signature Grilled Steak, “Hardy Har char” siu pork, “Tastes like Chicken” Because it is!, Mess Hall Duck Fried Rice, Not Piranha sustainable fish, Nile Nellie’s noodle bowl. Very cleaver names for you!
Gluten-free desserts are limited to Panna-Connie’s Congo Lime Delight. It’s Lime panna cotta served with mango-lime sorbet and fresh fruit. This is literally a lime delight!
This restaurant didn’t impress me, but to be honest it isn’t my favorite type of food.
There are kids’ gluten-free options for appetizers options are salad or cucumbers & carrots. For entrees you have Congo Connie’s Coconut-curry concoction(tofu) with jasmine rice, Sizzling Savanna Grilled Steak with choice of 2 sides. Last, is grilled chicken with 2 sides as well. Sides include jasmine rice, seasonal veggies, mashed potatoes, and seasonal fruit. For dessert Chocolate-covered banana pieces or seasonal fruit.
Our children didn’t eat children’s meals, that hasn’t happened in a while! So, I can’t give any specifics on taste or quality.
The Plaza Restaurant is a little more budget friend for a sit-down meal.
It’s relaxed and is right on Main Street. It gives you good Disney vibes to eat here. The outdoor seating with the best views is usually just for those getting ice cream at the parlor, but inside seating is still a great Disney vibe!
We have always enjoyed the loaded pizza fries as an appetizer, and it’s a gluten-free option. You also have a salad as a gluten free option as well.
The entrees for lunch and dinner are the same. Gluten-free options are Shrimp salad, Chef salad, Waldorf salad, and Turkey Club.
For children there are no gluten-free entree options. So, if you have littles with a gluten allergy this isn’t a great place to eat. You can request a bun-less cheeseburger with the kids’ side options grapes, apples, yogurt, veggies, or mashed potatoes if you do decide to eat here.
For dessert, well we all scream ice cream! You can choose from the Plaza Restaurant Sundae, or an Original Banana Split. Both are just delightful!
Quick Service Dining
Quick service offers a multitude of options. The most gluten-friendly options we have found are Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe, Cosmic Rays Starlight Cafe, and Columbia Harbour House. This is again where you want to order using your My Disney Experience app and hit “I’m here prepare my order” as soon as the app lets you. You do normally have to be within a certain radius of the restaurant for it to allow this, but we do it to take a few minutes off the extended time the allergy friendly food takes to prepare.
Columbia Harbour House here you can find a ton of great options. One of the healthier menus in Magic Kingdom. You can choose from gluten-free salmon dishes with rice and green beans, shrimp skewers with rice and beans, a shrimp salad and even gluten-free chicken strips! My kids were elated, no matter the options it seems one will choose chicken strips.
The kid’s menu offers grilled salmon, shrimp skewers, and gluten-free chicken strips as well. It is nice to have healthy options and a chicken strip or two as well! Highly recommend!
Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn & Cafe this is my favorite quick service meal in Magic Kingdom. I love Tex Mex and the menu has a few items that I default to. My favorite is the steamed Tamale with green chili-cheese comes with pinto beans, queso fresco and pico de gallo. It is a very tasty meal and filling since you can add meat such as chicken to the bowl. You also have a rice bowl option with cowboy caviar and can add meat. Then the typical cheeseburger with a gluten-free bun, or bacon cheeseburger option, both with fries. Side items include cilantro lime rice, charro beans and BBQ cheddar seasoned fries, which are surprisingly tasty! The BBQ fries are french fries with a BBQ cheddar flavor dusted on them. I ordered them and was confused when I got them. So, know there is no BBQ, just flavoring. Still tasty!
Kids have the option of a gluten -free chicken rice bowl. We had allowed snacks before eating dinner #parentfail, so our two actually shared the double bacon cheeseburger and fries.
Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe my kids insist on eating here every single trip. It is nothing more than habit and tradition. The menu has changed over the years and now for me there is nothing. They will claim the burgers here are better, I will not testify to this, but I will say there is something about sitting in Cosmic Ray’s watching a fireworks show. So we do it! Here you have burger options, patty melt, and a grilled chicken sandwich with fries as a side option.
Kids can have gluten-free mac & cheese or grilled chicken sandwich or burger with kids side options and a drink.
Pinocchio Village Haus was somewhere we frequented before the celiac diagnosis. We don’t now because honestly there is just a negative association with the restaurant. We would eat here and inevitably my husband would just feel horrible, now we know why. I remember enjoying the pizza myself.
They offer gluten-free meat and cheese pizza options along with adult and kid portion chicken strip meals.
The seating is neat if you can get to the far left in the restaurant and watch the Small World boats launch on their cruise. Also, in the best of weather there is a small upper deck seating area that is occasionally open. It has a great view of Fantasyland if you are lucky enough to snag a seat.
We have always had options to eat when at Disney World, but we didn’t know what we would have after everyone’s celiac diagnosis. It was a valid concern, and thankfully Disney is worry-free when it comes to food allergies and safety. We maintained a variety of options and some are incredibly tasty, and some leave a lot to be desired, but we have options! We love the food at Pecos Bill’s, yet the “ambience” of Cosmic Ray’s on a late night in Magic Kingdom, and I can guarantee we are not leaving Disney World without one meal at Liberty Tree Tavern. I encourage you to follow your preferences and know that you have a many safe choices to consider.
