*This gluten free and food allergy dining experience took place in July 2022. It includes information about dairy free options, as well as fish/shellfish, peanut, hazelnut, cabbage, and chicken & turkey allergies

Dinner at Skipper Canteen

Skipper Canteen, located in Adventureland at the Magic Kingdom, is a table service restaurant inspired by the classic Disney attraction — The Jungle Cruise. It’s been one of our favorite table service restaurants in the Magic Kingdom since it opened. The special dietary needs options are extensive and taste great, and we love the theme. On this visit, we decided to eat here for a late afternoon/early evening meal after a busy day in the park.

Atmosphere

Because Skipper Canteen is inspired by the Jungle Cruise, the theme and overall atmosphere is some of the best of any Disney table service restaurant. We love how the theme starts from the moment you see it in Adventureland.

Skipper Canteen Sign / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW

The restaurant is located near the Jungle Cruise attraction — that’s because your friendly Jungle Cruise skippers are also your servers at the restaurant!

From the moment you enter the restaurant’s waiting area, you’ll be treated to vintage music and see lots of memorabilia and decor about the origin of the Skipper Canteen and the world famous Jungle Cruise. We definitely recommend taking a look at some of these artifacts while you’re at the restaurant.

Skipper Canteen Interior / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW

There are three dining rooms at Skipper Canteen: The crew’s mess hall (the first room you’ll see when you enter the restaurant), the Falls Family parlor, the S.E.A. Room (dedicated to the Society of Explorers and Adventurers).

Our personal favorite dining room is the S.E.A. Room — and we love that you enter that room through a secret bookshelf! Be sure to stop and take a look at some of the books or ask your skipper what their favorite book is.

On this visit, we were excited to hear that we were seated in the S.E.A. Room. It’s has some great theming, and we love taking a look at all the decor throughout the room.

Since this room is themed to the S.E.A., you’ll see lots of nods to the society, which is so fun.

The Food

In addition to the amazing theme in this restaurant, we also love the special dietary needs options — especially since a lot of the menu is naturally gluten free and dairy free. Like most restaurants owned and operated by Disney, Skipper Canteen does have an allergy-friendly menu. You can also speak to a chef at any time if you have questions or want to discuss options. On this visit, we did speak directly to a chef, who went over the menu and ingredients with us.

Skipper Canteen - Veranda Fried Rice / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW

For a starter, I opted for what ended up being a huge portion of the Fried Rice with Spicy Chili-Garlic Shrimp served over Pork Fried Rice with Eggs and Peas. This dish was not marked on an allergy-friendly menu — at the time we dined there, it was listed on their “not so secret menu” that you are given along with your main menu. The chef confirmed that this was gluten free and dairy free at the time of our visit and made with GF tamari.

I absolutely loved this dish and could see just ordering this along with another appetizer on a future visit. It was so filling! The flavors were incredible with the savory pork and perfectly cooked shrimp topping the rice. It did have a strong taste of sesame oil, so if you’re not a big fan of sesame or allergic to sesame, you’ll want to avoid this dish. It’s definitely one of my favorite dishes at Skipper Canteen now, and I would recommend it highly.

Skipper Canteen - Cheese Bread / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW

Brandon ended up ordering another “not so secret” menu option — the Brazilian cheese bread with a chimichurri cream cheese sauce. We confirmed that these were gluten free, fish/shellfish, peanut/tree, chicken/turkey free & cabbage free. They do contain dairy.

I did try one of these and thought they were pretty good (though tastier when dipped in the chimichurri sauce). Brandon loved these and said that he would definitely order them again. In terms of portion, we both agreed that these are a shareable appetizer and could for a whole table.

Skipper Canteen - GF Fried Chicken / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW

For my entree, I got my favorite entree at Skipper Canteen — "Tastes like Chicken" Because it is!. This dish includes Crispy-fried Chicken with Sweet Chili Glaze, Stir-fried Vegetables, and Jasmine Rice. This was marked gluten free and safe for fish/shellfish, milk, and peanut allergies.

I love that this dish is naturally gluten free and dairy free — with no modifications! It’s made using cornstarch as the batter, so it’s super crispy. I do recommend getting the sauce on the side to avoid soggy chicken (which I forgot to do on this visit). I always love the flavors in this dish, and everything on this visit was super flavorful and well-cooked.

Skipper Cantee - Perkins Thai Noodles (No longer on the menu) / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW

Brandon ordered the now retired Perkins Thai Noodles dish with tofu and steak. Sadly, this dish was removed just a few weeks after we dined at Skipper Canteen. This was such a great allergy-friendly dish that was gluten free, dairy free, and even vegan (if ordered with tofu only).

Brandon was in love with this dish (despite it being quite spicy) and was super sad to hear it was no longer available. The new noodle dish, “Skipper Dan’s Dan Dan Noodles,” also look good but not currently listed as gluten free, so we’ll need to see if it can be modified to be GF when we visit next.

Skipper Canteen - Panna Cotta / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW

For dessert, I decided to try Panna-Connie's Congo Lime Delight. I’m not really a panna cotta fan, but I really wanted to try it because it was so allergy-friendly. It was marked gluten free and safe for egg, fish/shellfish, milk, peanut, sesame, and soy allergies.

I have to say that while this was an interesting dish and I applaud the restaurant for their creativity and desire to try something so allergy-friendly, this was not a dessert I really liked. I loved the mango-lime sorbet on top — but the panna cotta itself had a very unpleasant texture. I would not order this again and probably just skip dessert on a future visit.

Overall

We always love eating at Skipper Canteen. Not only is it a fun restaurant theme, but the food is delicious and very friendly for our special dietary needs. We both also find that getting Asian food out gluten free and with Brandon’s allergies can be tricky, so this is a menu that really appeals to us both a lot. We definitely need to go back there again soon! If you’re looking for a table service restaurant in the Magic Kingdom, we would highly recommend Skipper Canteen.

Have you been to Skipper Canteen? What was your experience dining there?

Skipper Canteen Dinner Review

Dinner at Skipper Canteen

Atmosphere

The Food

Overall

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