Personally my little family loves dining in Epcot. We always enjoy meandering around the World Showcase and ending a few of our vacation days with a dinner in one of the countries. While my husband would certainly love to hop between the different cuisines, we usually make our dining decisions based on the gluten free offerings at each restaurant. Although we haven’t dined at nearly all of them, out of those that we have, some are certainly better than others at putting together a tasty and diverse gluten free menu.
A day in Epcot for us usually starts bright and early and begins with ride hopping through Future World. My little girl’s favorite is Nemo and Friends and the amazing aquarium that surrounds the ride, not to mention her meet and greet with Mickey, Minnie, and some of their pals at the Character spot. After a full morning of meeting friends and riding rides, we either grab some lunch in Future World or head straight over to the World Showcase and grab something to eat later on our walk.
Lunch for me is always our hardest meal, mostly because dinners are organized and planned months in advance but lunch is on the go and we’re stopping in to restaurants that haven’t been notified ahead of time of my gluten intolerance. No fear though, Disney has made things so simple for allergy diners these days that all you really have to do is request to speak with a manager at any dining location that you choose and review your options with them. Also, thanks to Disney I put together a Gluten Free Guide To Epcot Dining that shows you what gluten free products they offer in the park and where they can be found.
As far as gluten free dinners go, with our advance dining reservations we’ve enjoyed a couple of meals, that you can check out my reviews on by clicking the restaurant names, at Rose and Crown Restaurant in United Kingdom and La Hacienda de San Angel in Mexico. Each was delicious in their own way and we definitely plan on returning to both in our future vacations. While these dinner’s were fantastic, it makes me wish that I could place advanced notice for quick service locations too. However, even though lunches are more spontaneous, after scouting out great places ahead of time, I’ve never had an issue finding something good and safe to eat in any of Disney’s parks, hence where my guide comes in handy.
For a midday meal, this guide will certainly be even more valuable to the gluten free diner. You can spot where your favorite rolls and sandwich bread, as well as desserts are located in both Future World and the World Showcase. When we traveled to Disney pre-baby, actually baby was in Mommy’s belly at the time, we had our little food allergy nephew with us at the time. We decided to have lunch at Sunshine Seasons in Future World on our Epcot day and I just remember how excited he was to find out that they had his favorite Enjoy Life Chocolate Bar (one of the only sweets this little boy can enjoy). Using this guide, you’ll know exactly where you can snag your favorite gluten free drinks, treats, pastas, breads, and chicken fingers (Note: a lot of these are free of many other allergens as too).
A newer dining location that wasn’t indicated on this guide, but can absolutely accommodate a gluten free diner, is Italy’s Tutto Gusto Wine Cellar. They’re open for lunch and dinner without dining reservations, so anyone can just stop in and get an authentic Italian dish along with a wonderful glass of wine off of their a humongous wine list. Check out my gluten free lunch at Tutto Gusto from our most recent Disney trip! It was a such a refreshing sit down lunch experience, a little different from your standard quick service, and I for one fully intend on stopping in again for a lunch or dinner on our next trip coming up later this summer.
So make sure you pin or print this guide for your next Disney vacation so you’re armed and ready to tackle Disney dining in Epcot. There are so many dining locations to choose from in Epcot, but with a little homework of reading restaurant reviews online and this handy guide by your side you’ll be good to go. My recommendations, go for a quick service lunch at Sunshine Seasons and maybe a dinner at Tutto Gusto Wine Cellar. Enjoy!
Sincerely,
Lindsay