Recently we returned from a trip to Disneyland in Anaheim,
California that was different than any trip we had taken before. This was the first trip we had taken since I became intolerant to gluten.
I had read some information on the Internet about gluten-free
and Disneyland. There was information,
but not tons of it. I hope to give more
personal information about my experience at the resort and staying gluten-free.
Info:
I had read conflicting reports online about where to get a
complete list of gluten-free options at the Disneyland Resort. Many said that City Hall would have the
information while others said it no longer did.
Some said you had to ask at every single restaurant for what their
gluten-free options were. I never went
to City Hall to even see if they had a list because I found going to the
restaurants gave the information I needed.
Talk to the Chef:
This was a new experience for me. I'd walk into a restaurant and ask about
gluten-free options only to have them call out the head chef. I actually really liked this approach as it
let me know that I was talking to the person in charge.
The chefs I spoke to were informative and friendly. They let me know my options and described how
my food would be prepared. Some asked if
I needed my food prepared in an isolated location because of possible
cross-contamination. Luckily I'm not
sensitive enough that cross-contamination is an issue for me, but it was good
to know that it was an option.
One thing I found interesting is that it really up to each
restaurant how they handled GF. The
Village Haus in Fantasyland had a gluten-free menu at each cash register that
could be viewed (this is the only place I saw this), while at others the people
at the cash register didn't know much about what options they had.
The amazing food I ate:
Every meal was delicious and lived up to my expectations of
yummy food at the resort. Here's a recap
of where and what I ate:
River Belle Terrace – BBQ Pulled Pork sandwich on gluten-free bun.
This was the first meal of the trip
and it was amazing! I was blown away by
the texture of the bun (I've tried many) and how great it was to be eating a
pulled pork sandwich on buns and not just from a fork. I never asked about the sides (Baked beans,
coleslaw) as they might have had gluten in them, but it wasn't enough for me to
notice.
Rancho de Zocalo – 3 Cheese Enchiladas w/ refried beans and
rice
This is somewhere I knew I'd be
able to eat but actually had to eat here earlier than I had expected. Others in my group got sourdough soup bowls
in New Orleans Square and understandably there weren't any GF options. I then proceeded to check at the Stage Door
Café and the Golden Horseshoe for GF options (the Golden Horseshoe did have
flourless cake, but I needed dinner, not cake).
That led me on over to Rancho.
The chef was very nice here and described my options. The saddest part was when I learned that the
Tortilla salad bowls where flour tortillas, I loved those.
Paradise Garden Grill – Lemon-Oregano Chicken with Moroccan
Chili with rice substituting the pilaf and no pita bread
This was a new restaurant for me
and it was very delicious. They weren't
sure if the Moroccan Chili was gluten-free but I assume since they gave it to
me that it was (they did put it on the side, but I ate it with no
problems).
Redd Rocket's Pizza
Port – Gluten-free Pepperoni Pizza
I had heard that they had GF
options here and I was very interested in trying it out. The chef spoke to me and took my order and
had it ready several minutes later. It
was a small flat personal pizza that was pretty good. The chef mentioned that it was rice based as
well. This one didn't really win me
over, it was good but I'm addicted to Chebe pizza mix and
I'm finding that it's really hard for anything else to win me over. But it was decent and helped my pizza
craving.
Hungry Bear Restaurant – Cheeseburger with gluten-free buns
This was kind of a let down I'm not
going to lie. It was good having a
burger on buns and not wrapped in lettuce but it wasn't great. I think part of the reason is that they had a
turkey sandwich on the menu that they said wasn't gluten-free (perhaps the
meat?) as I suspect they could have substituted the buns. I think the other hard part is they didn't
really have toppings for my burger like they do at Taste Pilot's Grill.
French Market – French Quarter Chicken w/ sauce on the side
This was a really tasty meal. The chicken and potatoes were great even
without the sauce. I tried the sauce on
two bites and it was good but I was told that it wasn't gluten-free so I stayed
away from it as much as possible. The
meal comes with a roll that I tried to substitute with a side salad, but they
wouldn't let me.
Taste Pilots Grill – Grilled Chicken sandwich on gluten-free
buns
I used to love Taste Pilots crispy
chicken sandwiches and criss-cross fries.
Sadly both of those are gone, but funnily enough I wouldn't have been
able to have the crispy chicken sandwich.
The grilled sandwich that they now serve was very delicious and on the
GF buns was a pleasant surprise.
Summary:
Overall it was an amazing experience getting to eat more
yummy food at the Disneyland Resort than I ever had thought possible. It makes me excited to make another trip to
the resort in the future. What are some
of the experiences you had at Disneyland with gluten-free? Were they good or bad?
PS:
I once was addicted to churros but obviously can't eat them anymore. I found a great GF alternative at Rancho de Zocalo in Frontierland. They have sugar and cinnamon covered tortilla chips. They are great to snack on and really taste almost as good as a churro.
The couple of pictures from Disneyland were taken by me, I hope to have more up soon.
