How to Eat Gluten-Free at Disney World

On my family’s first trip to Disney World.  I was a bit nervous about finding good food options for gluten-free at Disney World.  You know, delicious food—not food that leaves you feeling left out of the fun. 

To say I was floored by the dietary accommodations they provided is an understatement.  We were wined, dined, and treated so well!

Keep reading to learn more about how Disney World accommodates gluten-free and other allergies.

The gluten-free guide below is based on personal experience and research.  Always be sure to discuss any medical changes with your doctor for your personal medical needs. Additionally, this post contains affiliate links.  As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. My full disclosure isn’t that interesting, but you can find it here. 

Eating at Disney World: Types of Dining + Dining Plans

For the Disney newbies—there are 3 levels of food options when it comes to eating both at Disney World parks and resorts:

• Disney World Restaurants (table service restaurants--this includes buffets and traditional restaurant service),
• Quick Service (counter service),
• and Snacks.

Currently, Walt Disney World offers two different dining plans: 1) Disney Quick-Service Dining Plan and 2) Disney Dining Plan.

Here's a quick breakdown of the differences in these two plans:

Disney Quick-Service Dining Plan

• 2 quick-service meals per day, no table-service meals
• 2 snack credits per day
• Refillable mug
• Less expensive

Dining Plan

• 1 quick-service meal + 1 table-service meal
• 2 snack credits per day
• Refillable mug
• More expensive

No matter which plan you choose, you can definitely enjoy dining at Disney World gluten free! 

Keep reading for my experience in navigating gluten-free and allergy accommodations at all three types of dining experiences!

Navigating the Options for Gluten Free at Disney World

Disney truly makes navigating options easy, and I'll get into some of the tips for each type of restaurant below.  But first, let's talk about general tips for ensuring you get the best gluten free options throughout the parks.

1. Book your trip using a Disney Concierge.  It doesn't cost you extra, and a Disney Concierge who is experienced in dietary restrictions will book your reservations for you and make recommendations about what to eat where throughout the park so you don't have to do the research yourself. For our Disney trip, I used Jessica. She was great and I highly recommend her services.

2. Visit the Guest Experience tents throughout each of the parks.  Cast members here have binders and will show you the gluten free options currently available! See an example of the binders below.

3. Use mobile ordering to both see and request gluten-free food options.

4. Email special.diets@disneyworld.com with any specific questions.

Eating Gluten-Free at Disney World Restaurants

Each Disney World Restaurant operates a little bit differently in how they treat gluten-free and allergies. 

Some will have an official “Disney World Allergy Menu” they will give you, others will bring out a chef or someone trained in special diets to go over your options. 

For example, when we ate at Be Our Guest in Magic Kingdom, we ordered our food with a cashier instead of at the kiosk so the cashier could discuss our options and tag specific meals as needing gluten-free accommodation.

They always serve pastries at breakfast, and we were surprised that in addition to the gluten-free breakfast platter, they brought up a couple different slices of gluten-free tea breads such as banana bread.

By contrast, at 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian Resort, they did have a Disney World Allergy Menu detailing which options were gluten-free. 

Furthermore, the servers working the buffet gave us further guidance on which options were acceptable. They even prepared a special dessert not on the buffet of a delicious brownie with berry sorbet and served it to our table.

Whether or not the Disney World Restaurant had a specific Disney World Allergy Menu, at each restaurant, the table servers always had a receipt detailing who in our party had the allergy and which allergy it was.  

All of our restaurant reservations were made by Jessica, our Disney concierge. 

Gluten-Free Quick Service at Disney World

Throughout the parks and resorts there are lots of quick service options! 

For example, at the quick service counter at the Art of Animation Resort, someone specifically trained in allergies would come forward to the counter and prepare our meals. 

Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo at Galaxy's Edge in Hollywood Studios is a quick service restaurant that serves many gluten-free dishes such as this delicious Gluten Free Batuuan Beef and Crispy Topato Stir-Fry.

While all the quick service counters we went to had gluten-free options, some may not.  However, we had a great experience with gluten-free quick service at Disney World.

Each quick service counter we visited either brought out a manager or special cashier to discuss options or pull up options and flag them as “gluten allergy” on the computer. 

Disney World Mobile Ordering with Allergies and Restrictions

Currently, many of the quick service places are utilizing mobile ordering. While some quick service dining with mobile ordering have top 8 allergens listed, some do not.

You may request to skip that option to see ingredients lists and menus. Not every place makes it clear that you have the option to get food without mobile ordering, but at most you can if you go and ask.

Plus—did you know that you can bring a reusable water bottle into the parks and the quick service restaurants will fill it up for you with ice water? 

Snacks at Disney World

There are a number of gluten-free snack options throughout Disney!  In general, the same rules apply to getting a gluten-free or allergy friendly snack as ordering quick service.

For example, at the ice cream shop we visited at Magic Kingdom, a manager came out to the cashier to specifically ensure that what I was ordering was gluten-free. 

Furthermore, the manager scooped the ice cream with a clean scoop from a brand-new ice cream tub to further protect against cross contamination.  The manager then personally served our ice cream to us from a different section. 

At kiosks, the server will be able to look up the gluten-free options available at their specific stand. Many snacks are already naturally gluten free!

What's more, many of the Disney favorites are gluten-free such as Mickey Ice Cream Bars and Dole Whip (even some of the fancy Dole Whip options like the the I Lava You Float made from Orange Dole Whip w/ Fanta, Strawberry and Passion Fruit Syrups, and Pop Rocks. 

Depending on where you are in the park, you can find EXCLUSIVE gluten-free snacks and treats! For example, at Port Orleans they have gluten-free beignets, at Animal Kingdom they have gluten-free churros, and even the exclusive blue and green milk at the Milk Stand at Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge are gluten free as well!

Finally, if you’re looking for a pre-packaged gluten-free treat that's labeled gluten free, step into a Starbucks (located throughout the parks) and look for easy grab and go treat labeled gluten-free (like Marshmallow Dream Bars or Kind Bars).

No matter where you are in the park, if you're hungry, just ask what gluten-free options they have. 🙂

Don’t want to spend money on snacks?  You can bring your own into the park!  Stash some Lara Bars or other favorite in your string backpack.

If you’re planning a trip to Disney, start getting excited about the gluten-free and allergy friendly options available to you!  There are so many, and you will be treated like a royalty. 

Did you love these Disney Travel tips?

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• Looking for other grab and go snack suggestions?  Check out this post for some more suggestions.
• Are you interested in reading my general tips to eating out gluten-free at restaurants?  Read my tips for eating gluten-free at restaurants here.
• Visiting a non-Disney all-inclusive resort? Read my top recommendations and tips here!

...And don’t forget to contact Jessica and tell her I referred you.  She made our whole trip totally easy.

She plans Universal Studios trips too, so while in Orlando be sure to check out the best rides in Universal Orlando and some great gluten free food at WWoHP.

Thanks for reading this article on gluten free Disney World!

Here are some other posts you may love on traveling gluten-free:

• Best Gluten-Free Travel Tips
• Traveling Gluten-free at All Inclusive Resorts: top tips!
• Eating Gluten-Free at Disney Springs
• Eating Gluten-Free at Universal Studios
• Gluten-Free Restaurant Guide Palm Beach, Florida

Ultimate Guide to Eating Gluten-Free at Disney World Resort, Orlando