Friday, July 10, 2009

Love Disney


Good Friday morning. Mine is a bit hectic so far as I try to get my Friday work done as well as tie up any loose ends from the week. I've got a nice, relaxing weekend in my view, and working hard to get there. This is the first weekend in 4 weeks that I won't be going out of town! I'm hoping to have some lazy time in or by some body of water this weekend ;)

Today I wanted to mention something that I keep meaning to mention. As many of you know, I have a gluten allergy and had a really rough time for 3-4 years, health wise, before someone finally caught it. Any of you who have celiac/gluten sensitivities (or know of anyone who does) knows that eating out can be near to impossible unless you are going somewhere that you absolutely trust (who not only has a gluten free menu but also a gluten free awareness when it comes to food prep and such). Locally, one of my favorite restaurants even before I knew I was allergic to gluten was Five Loaves. I have since found that they have a great awareness for gluten, and most of their soups are made gluten free. Needless to say I eat there often!

In preparing for out of town trips, I typically make a Whole Foods run to stock up on GF meals and snacks. I have two main reasons for this: 1) I need to have back up in case there are no GF options/restaurants/resources, and 2) I don't want my GF needs to dictate every place we go and every thing we do (so as to not inconvenience others terribly).

So, in my recent trip to Disney World (Fla), I was more than prepared with my Whole FoodsGF baggie. I traveled with my best friend who is so precious because she was determined to find at least one GF place to eat while we were there. However, she had mentioned at one point that she really wanted to go to House of Blues one night. I was determined to go, and had intended on eating a can of GF soup in the hotel before we left.

When I mentioned to our hotel that I had a gluten allergy, they went above and beyond by helping me to search out GF options (we were on the Disney resort). They gave me a phone number to call to inquire about various restaurants. I found that most any restaurant on Disney not only is very familiar with all the various
allergies, but they can cater to them by providing safe options.

That first night, I was able to eat a regular meal at the House of Blues! We even had a chef assigned especially to me (my best friend thought this was the grandest thing!).
The next night we ate at a restaurant in Magic Kingdom called The Crystal Palace. Again, I was assigned a chef, and he came out and personally showed me everything that I could eat (and there were so many options!). He also brought me soft warm tapioca rolls with my meal, and a delicious GF brownie for dessert.

I wanted to share this with all of you who are gluten sensitive, have a child with gluten sensitivities, and/or travel with persons with a gluten sensitivities. DISNEY IS AMAZING!!!
Jessica

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