Guest Review -- A WDW Vacation Free of Gluten -- Day Five

This series of guest reviews comes from blog reader Jaime. Her enthusiasm, excitement and love for Disney just shine through in her trip report, and I think you'll agree when you read them. Speaking with her before her vacation, I was just so excited to hear her recap when she returned. Jaime provided a thorough trip report, so I have broken it up by days. You'll want to make sure to read them all (I'll link to them in each post)! Thank you again, Jaime, for your awesome reviews! 

 

Read Day One HERE

Read Day Two HERE

Read Day Three HERE

Read Day Four HERE

 

Saturday, November 30, 2013

This morning, we are having breakfast with our friends, Mark and Louise Mullen, at Kona Cafe.

Photo copyright Jaime J.

Photo copyright Jaime J.

I’m the only one of the 4 of us to have eaten here before (it’s one of my favorite breakfast spots!)My sister always, always gets the Tonga Toast and I always, always get the Big Kahuna or the Macadamia Pineapple Pancakes.  But I’ve come across something in all my internet research the last few weeks – I saw a blog somewhere (and cannot figure out where exactly now) that said you could get Tonga Sliders here that are made with GF rolls!  I decided that if I could get those, I’d go with that instead of one of my usuals.Chef Josh comes to the table and there’s some small talk while Ethan orders the Big Kahuna modified to be GF (allergy Mickey waffles instead of the pancakes and French toast).  Chef Josh looks at me and I say “I heard a rumor that there’s something called Tonga Sliders?…” and his mouth fell open!  He asks where I heard it.  I incorrectly credit (blame?) Sarah since that’s where I got most of my GF info on eating at WDW.  He says only he does them and he only started doing it 3 weeks ago and he can’t believe how fast that information traveled! (Sarah's note: I knew they used to be able to make a gluten free version and that they can make a vegan version with advance notice, but I had been told they stopped making these, so it's neat to see that they are starting them back up. Jaime's correct that I hadn't heard this!) -- UPDATE 3/2014 - The Tonga Toast Sliders are NO LONGER available. The restaurant stopped serving them due to cost.Here’s Ethan’s modified Big Kahuna:

Photo copyright Jaime J.

And here’s my GF Tonga Sliders:

Photo copyright Jaime J.

And for comparison – this is what the real Tonga Toast looks like:

Photo copyright Jaime J. (Sarah's note: This is NOT gluten free)

I’m in heaven!  I traded Ethan one Mickey waffle for a Tonga Slider.  Chef Josh comes out during the meal and is checking on us.  I ask about the Macadamia Pineapple Pancakes being modified and they don’t have a dedicated griddle, just the waffle iron.  I asked, for future reference, if they’d do the allergy Mickey waffles with the pineapples and macadamia butter, because I really love them.  He said yes, and then ran into the kitchen to bring me some of each!  It was amazing!  I put it on my waffle and on the Tonga Slider!

Photo copyright Jaime J.

This was an even better breakfast than I’ve had there before!  I can’t say enough about Chef Josh or the Tonga Sliders!Lunch was at EPCOT today before we have to head back on the road to go home – what a fast weekend!  We end up at La Cantina de San Angel since Mexican food is one of the easier ones to work around being GF.  We were extremely hungry by the time we stopped, so I didn’t even bother with the manager, I just made sure the chips were corn, not flour.  And I have no idea what anyone else ordered… (Sarah's note: the corn tortilla chips are not made in a dedicated fryer the last time I checked and were not gluten free. :( Ask a manager on-hand to make sure when you visit, as this may or may not have changed)

Photo copyright Jaime J.

I ordered the Nachos - corn tortilla chips with ground beef, nacho cheese, fresh tomatoes, jalapenos, black beans, and sour cream.

Photo copyright Jaime J.

It was fine, basic nachos… we were also very tired and bummed that we were leaving right afterwards.All in all, I was very impressed with the Disney training for counter service locations: every cast member we encountered was very knowledgeable about handling an allergy situation for a guest.  As for the table services, it seemed hit or miss on whether you got a chef who enjoyed what he did or was just accommodating you.We’re going back in February and will go back to a few of these (Be Our Guest for lunch and dinner, Kona for breakfast, Mara for breakfast) and we’ll add some new places to Ethan’s list (Prime Time, Boma, Chefs de France).  It will be interesting to compare the experiences since we were there over a holiday weekend vs. a slow week of crowds!Thank you so much Jaime for all the awesome reviews!! Do you have a trip report with a special diet that you'd like to share? Let me know by emailing me!