Skipper's Canteen Walt Disney World

Another place that is mentioned many times for gluten free eating is Skipper's Canteen in Magic Kingdom. 

I'll be honest I would never choose here without hearing all the rave reviews from others. Nothing against the place, it is just not a well known place to me and it is pretty nondescript even walking past it. But it was walking past it and seeing no one waiting that made us decide to definitely try it out this trip. Our wait was 5 minutes! And we got a window table.

Our server was awesome. She basically said "whatever you want, we can do, what do you want?"

We started with two non-alcoholic drinks:
Punch Line Punch and Schweitzer Slush
I loved the punch and was just ok on the slush. The slush was too bitter for me but the punch was nice and sweet. They were both cold and it was a warmer day, so they hit the spot.

Then hubby got the soup of the day and I will be darned that I can not remember the name or ingredients. I do know it was too spicy for me but he really enjoyed it.

Then we took awhile to decide on our main course. It was something we would split so it had to appeal to both of us. We went with the easy "Hardy Har Char" Siu Pork. Yummy!! Basically it is pork chops flavored like Chinese food with Jasmine rice and a vegetable that I can't remember even with the photo. It was delicious. The pork was tender and we received three pieces so we had a piece and a half each. It looks less on the plate but it was a lot of food.

Then the real reason we stopped in... dessert. I had heard so many things about these two desserts that I had those picked before we even entered the place.
Monkey Bites
Quick Sand!!!

Monkey Bites are chocolate covered bananas with candied chocolate sunflower seeds, pistachio cake and fresh whipped cream. I have decided I really like pistachio. This was a dessert I would come back for every trip. I loved it. Different and so very tasty.
And the Quick Sand is a jasmine rice pudding with mango sauce, lemon curd, hibiscus meringue and pineapple. So refreshing and delicious. I have never had anything like this before and I would definitely have it again... but Monkey Bites first :)

Overall I am really happy we stopped in here and it is now on my list of places to check out for our next trip to see if there will be any new items on the gluten free menu.

Pinocchio Village Haus Walt Disney World

Alexis of Alexis Gluten Free Adventures raved so often about the chicken nuggets and fries at Pinocchio Village Haus at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World that it was my mission to be sure I tried them on our trip this time.

As we were riding the carousel, I saw the Haus off to the one side. I watched the crowd to see how it might be and then I told the hubby that we were going to have lunch there. He was all in.

We walked up to the ordering area and mentioned needing a gluten free menu and food and we were directed to a specific line and order taker/cashier. We waited a little longer due to the change in lines but it was going to be worth it.

We ordered just one order of chicken nuggets and fries to share because we did have a big breakfast and we would have a big dinner. We found a great table and waited for our food.

What seemed liked hours but was only 10 minutes, we had our food.

It looked crunchy, warm and good and oh my goodness they were. No idea why these nuggets and fries are so extra special but they are. The flavoring of the nuggets is perfect and the ratio of coating to chicken is just right and the fries, oh my goodness the fries... crunchy outside and potatoey goodness inside.

I would eat these every day of our trip if I could and if there wasn't so many other foods for us to try for the rest of the trip. But this definitely goes on the list of foods to get when we come back again on another trip.

The Crystal Palace Character Breakfast Walt Disney World

Our only breakfast not at Port Orleans French Quarter was the character breakfast at The Crystal Palace in Magic Kingdom.  The characters are: Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and Eeyore. One of my best friends swears by this breakfast and neither my hubby nor I had ever done it before.

Upon check in we restated we were gluten free and we were given an allergen handout. It was very helpful and does reduce the need to see the chef ... which I didn’t realize until after we had seen the chef.

We ordered a full plate of the gluten free baked goods and then checked out the buffet. At first I thought it was s HUGE buffet until I realized it was two sides of the same. I found some things to have but overall the buffet was not worth the price for me. The baked goods were great and the buffet foods were good but there just was not enough for the price ... which was very steep.

But we did get all four characters and even Tigger twice, so that more than covered us.

It is also a beautiful place and we had a glorious sunshiny blue sky day for sitting under one of the glass domes. And I thoroughly enjoyed watching all the children react and interact with the characters. It was a highlight of our trip for sure.

Port Orleans French Quarter Walt Disney World Orlando FL

In February, we travelled to Walt Disney World to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. We stayed at the same hotel we stayed in for our honeymoon and 10th anniversary, Port Orleans French Quarter.

This time we got a top floor, corner room overlooking the river. It was splendid.

Even more splendid was the food court at Port Orleans French Quarter, specifically Chef Paul. He treated us like royalty and made us anything we wanted in a gluten free variety.

Our first meal and our last meal there were like nothing else I have ever had before and everything in between was also amazing.

Our first meal was dinner our first night in Disney. We met Chef Paul and asked what was available for dinner that night. He mentioned most of the menu but then added that he had two plates only of fried chicken he was testing out for the gluten free menu. We were SOLD!

Gluten Free Fried Chicken, mashed potatoes, carrots and broccoli. The best words I can use to describe it are... "are you sure it was gluten free?" It tasted better than any gluten filled fried chicken I have had in my life pre-going gluten free. Oh my goodness good. It was so juicy and sweet and perfectly seasoned. It seriously was so good and now I wish I were there so I could have more.

We ate all but one breakfast in the food court and they were all delicious. My favorite being the Gluten Free Beignets that I have never had before. Oh my goodness, yum!!

And of course Mickey waffles. And the crispiest bacon ever!!

I also loved that we could get baked tater tots for a side for breakfast!

Then our finale!
We needed food for our plane ride home.
I had a special request for Chef Paul. Could we get the beignet burger but with a piece of grilled chicken instead of the hamburger? He seemed taken aback at first but then said "I don't see why not". We asked for baked tater tots and Chef Paul didn't let us down.
The beignet chicken sandwich may be the best thing I have ever eaten of any gluten filled or gluten free sandwich.

The photo doesn't do it justice as it had to travel from the resort to the airport, where we decided to eat it in the airport and not on the plane. Yum, yum, yum.

Thank you Chef Paul and all the amazing people at Port Orleans French Quarter in Walt Disney World for feeding us the best gluten free food for our vacation.