Guest Review -- Studio Catering Co. -- Lunch/Dinner -- Quick Service -- Hollywood Studios
This guest post comes to us from Lindsay, blogger over at Gluten Free Mom To Be. She writes about her recent trip to Disney as a gluten free diner. Lindsay's site has many gluten free resources including tips and information about gluten free pregnancy. If you're looking for Disney content, she also shares trip reviews as well as Gluten Free Guides to Disney Parks on her blog. In this guest post, Lindsay is reviewing Studio Catering Co. at Disney's Hollywood Studios!
Almost midway into our summer Disney vacation, the infamous Hollywood Studios Day came around. For anyone that knows my family's history with Disney vacations, we are well known for having any ailments peak on the Hollywood Studios day causing little to no time being spent in that particular park. Well, I'm happy to report that we did indeed thoroughly enjoy Hollywood Studios this trip, however we didn't quite get off Scott free when it came to our vacation sickness. For the time being though I can't wait to regale you on our adventures through Hollywood Studios.We were up nice and early to take advantage of the extra magic hours and ready for the mad dash to the Toy Story ride that ensues at park opening. With a short wait though we made it onto the Toy Story ride, which just so happens to have been in a broken car. So needless to say we were unlucky or lucky enough to be able to ride the Toy Story ride twice in a row first thing in the morning, the first time just for the ride itself and the second for the carnival game fun too.As soon as our Toy Story adventure had ended, we headed over for the group of Tower of Terror riders to use their fastpasses. Although the system for Fastpass+ is a bit chaotic since it's all bright, shiny, and new, I have to say it is quite nice to pre-plan a few of your desired attractions before you even arrive for your vacation.
After a short wait with their fastpasses, our family members were out and ready to join us for some more Hollywood Studios fun. We stopped in for a few character meet and greets and then made our way over to snag some passes for the Frozen sing-a-long that afternoon. And finally it was time for us to head over and catch the Disney Junior show, you know the infamous show that we missed last vacation due to my little one's impromptu trip to the Urgent Care center.And let me just say, it was definitely worth the wait, she just loved each and every part of the show including her favorite stars on the stage, the interactive bubbles and streamers coming down from the ceiling, and the live music and dancing all around her, all of which is right up my little one's alley.By the time we had finished with the Disney Junior show it was nearing lunch time and we decided to pop over to the Studio Catering Co. for an early lunch to avoid a little bit of the craziness that never fails to appear at the peak lunch hour. I was third in line at my register and first to place an allergy order with the manager.I knew that the Studio Catering Co. was home to Udi's white sandwich bread, hence making their sandwiches, wraps, and salads all available to the gluten free diner. With a little confirmation from the manager that this was the case, I was so excited that I could choose any sandwich off of their menu. They offer a Sloppy Joe, a Spicy Buffalo Chicken Sandwich, a Chicken Caesar Wrap, a Toasted Tuscan Deli sandwich, Grilled Vegetable Sandwich, Greek Salad, and a Pressed Turkey Club.
For me, the Toasted Tuscan Deli sandwich caught my eye which has smoked ham, salami, pepperoni, provolone, pesto-marinated vine ripened tomatoes, and caesar dressing. The manager assured me that everything on here was completely gluten free so I ordered the sandwich as is but without the caesar dressing, which can be a little too fishy for me at times.After ordering my little one's kids meal and my husband's sandwich, my ticket went through and the wait began. It's not completely unusual to wait a bit longer for allergy orders at Disney's quick service locations so I wasn't surprised when the manager forewarned me that the wait could be about 15 minutes.While our little girl slept, my husband switched places up at the counter with me while I stood watch with the stroller and sleeping baby. True to the manager's word, the wait definitely was around 15 minutes or so but completely worth it. As the people began to trickle into the Studio Catering Co. and the lines began to grow, my husband came around the corner with the manager beside him carrying my allergy free tray of food.
The sandwich looked DELICIOUS! It was held perfectly intact, thanks to the Udi's gluten free bread, and had layers of Italian yumminess inside, oh yeah and it was accompanied by a generous side of Disney's signature fries. The gluten free bread was lightly toasted with warmed meats, tomatoes, and melted cheese layered inside.The flavors were perfectly combined and would probably have been accented excellently with the caesar dressing, I just like to steer away from caesar dressings. After the first bite, I knew I had found my new favorite Hollywood Studios lunch location. I literally devoured this sandwich, partially because my little one was sleeping and I actually was able to enjoy my hot sandwich hot but mainly because it was just that good.The fries on the side were of course delicious but by far the star of the plate was the sandwich. To go along with my meal, the manager gave me some Enjoy Life Chocolate Chip Cookies which I tossed in our bag for later since there was no room left for any more food after that sandwich.As we finished our lunches, our little girl woke up to enjoy hers. A short while later, with full bellies and some of us being freshly rested, we were off to enjoy the rest of our day in Hollywood Studios.First up was our last fastpass for another round on the Toy Story ride. Next, our show time had rolled around for the Frozen sing-a-long which our little girl LOVED! With some live performers, appearances by Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff, and some scenes and songs from the movie, not to mention some much needed air conditioning for an extended period of time, it was the perfect early afternoon treat for our whole group.Finally, we stopped into the Frozen wonderland where we got to play in a little snow and make our very own Olaf, watch some ice skating, and even get a Mickey pretzel and a bonus Elsa and Anna cookie for our little princess (neither of which were gluten free, tear). Good thing we snagged some treats because while we were enjoying the winter wonderland inside, outside was the signature Orlando downpour. Soon enough the storm had let up and after donning ponchos we trudged through the puddles, grabbed the stroller, and were on our way to see what our third night in Disney World would bring.All together we had a great lunch at Hollywood Studios' Studio Catering Co.. I've already added this location to my itinerary for our next vacation, whenever that may be, and cannot wait to either indulge in the sandwich which I enjoyed this time or maybe try something new. One thing I'd like to recommend though would be to arrange an early lunch here to avoid the crowds and get first dibs on the manager for your allergy order.Have A Magical Day, Lindsay