Trip to FL and Disney World

[Kristi]

My mom has an official diagnosis, and we suspect I have it too, so we are both GF and I am also dairy free. We are looking to travel to Walt Disney World (WDW) for a week, and also to Ft. Lauderdale. We have not gone on an overnight vacation, or flown anywhere since her diagnosis, so any travel hints would be appreciated! I know in WDW we can arrange for a mini-fridge in the room for free as a medical necessity as for my meds this has been done in the past, which makes it easier to stop at the supermarket on the way from the airport and get some fruit and soy milk. If anyone has vacationed at WDW and can make any reccomendations on places to dine it would be fantastic. I have spoken with them and pretty much anywhere on property can make you a nice safe GF meal! Dairy free and GF happen to be a little more difficult though. I know they have dedicated friers, and in Epcot they even do GF pizza (american adventure), but I'm having the trouble more than mom is! The Head Chef I spoke to was fantastic, theres so many choices of restaurants, so any suggestions would rock! Also, I was thinking of buying one of those things to vaccum pack some food for myself like DF/GF bread and cookies, do those things actually work? I'm looking forward to going away, but I do not want to get sick on vacation!
Thanks!
Kristi

[aklap]

Hi Kristi,

Here's one Disney tidbit....http://allearsnet.com/din/guestceliac.htm

You might be able to gleen some info from another GF vistor here:http://brain.hastypastry.net/forums/showthread.php?t=58921&highlight=disney

This is from this forum...just a few posts down: http://www.celiacforums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=53
_________________
Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

[mchess]

Just curious Aklap......who is that in the pic? Is that you and your wife. That is a good idea if it is. It gives a face to the words. I like that.

Melissa

[aklap]

Hi Melissa,

Yup, I'm on the left and my girfriend is on the right...just don't tell my wife Peg OK?? hehehehe

Maybe I'll ask the board masters here if we can have avatars (user name pictures). Many boards allow the users to do that.

This board has the abilities, but it looks like they have to enable it.

For my signature, I'm using the "[img] [/img]" command to display that picture I have on my webspace from my internet provider.

Like this - a picture after a snow in January

_________________
Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

[Kristi]

[Kristi]

Some more news on an e-mail I recieved back!

According to the company that provides us with the liquid soap at the theme park restrooms, it is
gluten free, with no wheat proteins.

The cleaning supplies that are used in the resorts, we are also told are also gluten free.

And we USUALLY stay at Carribbean Beach Resort on premise and this is what they had to say about their food:

The Caribbean Beach Food court offers the following gluten free items - waffles, pancakes, macaroni and cheese, and pizza.

The Caribbean Beach Food and Beverage team said that you are welcome and encouraged to call them at
407-934-3179 to talk about any concerns or to make special arrangements ahead of time.

MAC AND CHEESE!!!!!! AND PIZZA!!!!! lol I'm waaay too excited! Also after I weed through the 4 different MS Word documents they sent I'll update on those as well!

[lynda]

kristi
wow thanks for the short cut
im on the brink with these links
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LYNDA

[Kristi]

If I knew how to attach documents on here I would! They e-mailed me the food guides they give the servers and cast members as to what foods at the quick service restaurants contain what allergens! They have gf and DAIRY free ice cream! I am in HEAVEN! lol Plus a lot of quick service have dedicated fryers and all their hot dogs and bugers (minus buns of course) are GF!!! And all of their sit down restaurants WILL cater to ANY dietary needs, some even have GF dessert!!! (yep I like the sweets) they also told me that they do not normally allow food in to the parks, BUT folks with food allergies are encouraged to bring snacks but coolers/picnic basktes are not allowed!

[aklap]

More WDW info:

http://www.robichaux.net/blog/archives/001462.php

June 14, 2005
Disney World: gluten-free dining
June 14, 2005 Mr. Lee Cockerell Executive Vice President of Walt Disney World Operations 1375 Buena Vista Drive Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830-1000 Dear Mr. Cockerell: My family and I just returned from a visit to Walt Disney World, and I wanted to write you a letter to give you our impressions. Last year, my wife was diagnosed with a disease called celiac sprue; in brief, she is allergic to gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, rye, and things made from them. This means that we have to be very careful about what she eats, so it was with some trepidation that I made dining plans for our vacation. I'd read that Disney World was usually able to accommodate requests for gluten-free meals, so we tried to plan ahead to ensure that my wife would be able to eat well. On the first day, we went to the Magic Kingdom. Lunch was turkey legs in Frontierland, which as always were excellent. Dinner was at the Crystal Palace, where our server, Pat, did a good job of keeping us in touch with the chef despite the fact that the restaurant was packed. The food and service were both quite good, and Arlene was easily able to find a variety of dishes. On the second day, we went to EPCOT. We made last-minute priority seating reservations for dinner at the Biergarten, but when I called to ask Chef Jonathan some questions about menu items, he never returned my call. Accordingly, we went to the Garden Grille, where the food and service were both excellent. Jose, our server, even managed to cheer up our sulky three-year-old-something we all appreciated. I particularly appreciated the staff's efforts to provide gluten-free bread for my wife while the rest of us were eating the excellent multi-grain breadsticks. For our third day, we had breakfast at Donald's Restaurantosaurus at Animal Kingdom. This is the real reason I'm writing this letter: Chef Thomas made my wife one of the best meals she's ever eaten, complete with rice-flour Mickey-ear pancakes and a huge (and very tasty) omelet. Her food was actually much better-tasting than what the rest of us had, which was a nice turnabout from the usual situation. Thomas really made her feel like a valued guest; he was extremely attentive and helpful. In short, he exemplified the spirit that Disney World is supposed to embody, and I hope that you will find a way to pass our thanks on to him. At lunch, we ate at MGM's 50s Prime Time Café, where the chef made a gluten-free chicken pot pie for my wife. The rest of us ate like kings too-another successful meal, with great service from Adriana, our "cousin". Dinner, alas, was slightly less successful; we ate at MGM's Sci-Fi Dine-In. The food quality, promptness of service, and service quality have all declined quite a bit since our last visit last year. I think we'll cut this from our must-visit list for our next visit; frankly, I expect better both for the expense and for Disney's reputation. One side note about MGM: we went there on a Friday knowing full well that "Star Wars Weekends" were in progress. My ten-year-old and I went to the Star Wars store next to the "Star Tours" ride. I have never had a worse shopping experience! With all of Disney's expertise in handling large crowds, we were a little surprised that simple measures, like adding cash registers, weren't taken to speed the movement of buyers through the store. Overall, we had a wonderful trip, in large part because my wife was able to enjoy dining with us. Please pass our thanks on to Chef Thomas, Jose, Adriana, and Pat, and the chefs not named. All of them were helpful and attentive, and I commend them for their efforts to help us have a great trip. Respectfully, Paul Robichaux Posted by Paul at June 14, 2005 07:54 PM
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Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa