On our recent trip to Disney World, way in advance, I made reservations at two princess meet-and-greet restaurants – Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in Epcot, and Cinderella’s Royal Table at the castle in Magic Kingdom.

We chose these two restaurants because, princesses!, but also when I searched the internet for allergy information, I was able to view photos of the allergy menus posted across multiple Disney-dedicated food websites.  This research was very helpful in planning where we were going to eat.

At Akershus, for my dinner entree, I chose the Traditional Kjottkake which were gluten-free meatballs.  They were tasty.  As you can see from the menu, there were several different entree options available for gluten-free guests.

The jam sauce on the meatballs was the best part.

My daughter chose her meal off of the allergy menu for princes and princesses.  She ordered macaroni and cheese, so there were no problems with her peanut/tree nut allergies.  Throughout dinner, various princesses stopped by for photos, which made the whole dinner very fun.

For dessert, my husband and son got a fun looking trio of chocolate mousse, rice cream with strawberry sauce on top, and an apple cake.  I was told my options were the traditional rice cream (kind of like rice pudding) or the raspberry sorbet.  I chose the rice cream, which was delicious and creamy, if a little plain; V tried the raspberry sorbet.  She ate a little, but dessert was kind of a bust for those of us with food allergies.

On July 4th, we headed to Cinderella’s Royal Table for lunch at the castle in Magic Kingdom.  I made lunch reservations for V and I only.

After a fun meet and greet with Cinderella, V and I headed upstairs to the dining area.  We were presented with the allergy menu, and as I had expected from my internet research, I had few gluten-free choices.

V’s menu was a little better.

I chose the charcuterie plate without crackers for an appetizer; V went with the grapes with cheese.  She ate exactly one bite.  My charcuterie plate was actually quite delicious.  Again, I loved the jam.

For lunch, I chose the beef tenderloin salad, which I was told by the server (who was very knowledgeable) that they could make gluten-free by leaving off the fried leeks.  V went for the chicken nuggets.  Dessert for me was a real highlight.  The Clock Strikes Twelve chocolate mousse was gluten-free, delicious and prettily decorated.  This combination is hard to come by with food allergies!

Throughout the entire meal, many princesses –  Jasmine, Aurora, Ariel, and Snow White – came to our table to meet V and take pictures.

On another day of Disney fun, we reserved the Spirit of Aloha dinner show at The Polynesian resort.  I was a little concerned because my usual internet research had not turned up a lot of information for folks with allergies.

The appetizer plate that was presented family style (already on the table when we were seated) was not gluten-free – it contained noodles with gluten, next to a salad with dressing and some pineapple.  To solve this issue, they simply brought me my own side salad and pineapple.  The dressing had hints of sesame and soy sauce in it.  However, I didn’t panic because one of the first things our waiter told us was that the only soy sauce they use in all the food is gluten-free!  I had not come across that information through my internet research so I was glad to hear it.  Along with my salad, V and I were given the same allergy-friendly rolls.  They were gluten-free, and given to V for her peanut/tree nut allergy because the regular rolls were processed in a facility that handles peanuts/tree nuts.  They were sealed in little bags, too.

The family style main course was completely gluten-free!  Like I said, they used only gluten-free soy sauce, so I could eat all of the shredded pork, chicken, rice, ribs, and vegetables.

The kids opted for “kid food” and ordered pizza and mini corn dogs, which were safe for V’s allergies.  For dessert, things fizzled out.  V and I were presented with fruit and gluten free brownies and cookies.  I will say the chocolate brownie was delicious – rich and fudgey – but didn’t look as good as my husband’s dessert.

On our last day at Disney, we reserved dinner at Be Our Guest, the restaurant within Beast’s castle at Magic Kingdom.  V and I were served the same gluten-free, allergy friendly rolls that we received at Spirit of Aloha.  V and I both ordered off of the allergy-friendly menus (mac n cheese for her; strip steak for me).  However, the real highlight was dessert here.  V could have anything on the dessert menu, as long as she didn’t have the garnish.  Unlike most of the Disney restaurants, the waitress informed me that Be Our Guest baked their own desserts at their own facility, and they did not use any nuts.  The only “outside” dessert features were the garnishes they placed on the desserts!  This made V happy as she can rarely have her pick of all of the baked goods on the menu.  Also worth noting, this was information we were only able to receive from our server; the allergy menu for dessert did not mention this fact.  For myself, they made a gluten-free lemon raspberry cream puff!  Mine is the picture on the left with the raspberry, and V’s chocolate filled cream puff is in the picture to the right.

A successful and safe way to end our trip to Disney!