Gluten Free, R U?: Sanaa Animal Kingdom Lodge Walt Disney World

Friday, June 12, 2020

Sanaa Animal Kingdom Lodge Walt Disney World

I am not an adventurous eater. Well I wasn’t. I have gotten better in the past few years. Sanaa is not a place I would have gone to 5 years ago for sure. But I was willing to try some new things this time in Disney World and it went on the list. We could not make a reservation for the day and time we wanted so we decided to try and just walk-in.

We headed to the lodge well before sunset and checked in at the desk. A wonderful woman helped us and I told her that we would love a window table, that we were gluten free, that it was our first time at Sanaa and also our 20th wedding anniversary, which she could see from our pins. I thought I would lay it all out there and see what happens.

More Disney magic for us!! She told us she could have a window seat ready for us in about 20 minutes. YES!!!

We went to check out the animals from the walk out off the lobby and waited for her to text us. Apparently we were so into the animals that we missed her text and she came to get us. She laughed and said it wasn’t the first time she has had to do this.

She walks us to our table and not only was it a window table, I would gather it is the BEST window table in the place. Smack dab in the middle of everything. And sunset would be coming - mind you we were facing east but we knew the colors could be awesome anyway.

Our server was fantastic and she was training someone new who was also just a joy. They interacted with us over everything from the animals outside, to the gluten free food choices to being from our area in Pennsylvania.

Ok on to the food. We ordered the gluten free Naan bread service with a nine spreads and we forgot to do our sharing meal and we each ordered a meal. In retrospect I would not do that again. One it was too much food and two we had no room for dessert and I really wanted to try their desserts. Oh well, we will just have to go back again. Although I would still get the gluten free Naan bread service and then split a meal... or just skip the meal and just get dessert :)

I found the menu a little confusing so our server had her work cut out for her.

Our server told us that the Butter Chicken with Aloo Masala and Basmati Rice I wanted wasn’t hot at all, in fact it was on the children’s menu. I was happy to hear that as I am not a fan of spicy hot food. Well I don’t know what children eat here but my dinner was spicy hot, NOT terribly so but my tongue was dancing :) But it was also DELICIOUS! I would definitely order this meal again but be better prepared for the spice.

Hubby had the Mozambique Chicken, which is Roast Piri Half Chicken with Sweet Yam and Roasted Vegetable Hash and it was amazing. The flavor from the outside of the chicken somehow soaked all the way through the piece of chicken and it was divine.

We saw tons of animals

and we saw the sunset in the clouds and reflecting in the hotel room windows across from the dining area. It was so amazing that hubby did run outside to try and get photos but he was still not facing the right way to capture it.

So not only did Sanaa have it’s own Disney magic to offer us, the food was incredible, the service impeccable and the view was heavenly. I doubt we could ever match this situation again but we will be back for more Naan and to try dessert.

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My gluten free history

When I turned 30 years old, I started to gain weight that I couldn't lose and I was getting back to back colds. The final straw was I got bronchitis and I had to take an antibiotic to help me get better. The side effect for 4% of people on this antibiotic was gastrointestinal issues. Yes, I was part of that 4%. The medicine basically stripped away whatever had been protecting me through my first 30 years of life. You see I have always had gastrointestinal issues since I can remember. My father also had the same issues and my paternal grandmother too. I was so sick from the medicine (or so I thought) that I had to go back to the doctor and do a series of tests. During this time I was following the BRAT diet (Banana, rice, a, toast). Saltines and toast were my go to comfort, little did I know they were NOT what I should be eating. My co-worker gave me an article about food allergies and there was a quiz. You only needed to answer 4 of the 8 questions with yes to fall under their designation and I had answered 6 of the 8 with yes. I was on my way. My husband and I cleaned out all our cabinets of the 7 allergens… all that was left was rice. After a few weeks, I was feeling somewhat better when I stayed at a home where they told me to eat whatever was in the fridge. I saw the rice and started eating. Within a hour I was violently ill. I couldn't understand. I took the rice with me to work the next day and when I told my other co-worker about my issue she asked to see the rice. It was orzo… pasta… gluten/wheat filled pasta! I had my first allergen to check off the list as being an issue. It turned out at the time dairy and eggs were also triggers but I have since been able to add them back. My husband and I went on a full gluten free diet and within a few months I had lost my weight, stopped living in my bathroom, looked healthy and was not terrified to eat things any more. Now it has been 15 years and while I have gained some weight back (darn those yummy gluten free cookies and pretzels) my issues are still in check and I couldn't be happier to figure out what was wrong with my body and be able to fix it.