Gluten Free Walt Disney World, Boma - Animal Kingdom Lodge Resort
June 20th, 2008Besides our PopCultureSpot.com Store News, we like to provide off-topic blogs. Our owner looks at going on a vacation gluten-free in our ongoing series! We continue with our Gluten Free at Walt Disney World topic.
In May 2008, we visited Walt Disney World and on one evening had dinner at the Animal Kingdom Lodge’s Boma. I can’t keep track of how many times we ate their when we lived in Orlando, but it was a substantial amount. This was the first time going since being Celiac and I heard many good things about one of the Chefs online.
My wife and I did a walk-up without a reservation and waited about 45 minutes to be seated. Unfortunately, Disney has this relatively new Disney Dining Plan where they have people make reservations months away from the date with many never showing up for their meal, and it becomes virtually impossible to get a seat at many of their sit-down restaurants. We went at 4:45 to ensure that we could snag a table. I informed the host that I had a food allergy and I was told that a Chef would be coming to the table after we were seated.
So, after the wait, we were seated and the Chef came out to tell me all about what I could and could not have. On duty at that time was the Disney Animal Kingdom Lodge’s Boma Chef Donna. Donna’s husband is a Celiac and has been so for more than 20 years. The mere fact that she knew firsthand about the issue made me feel very excited as I knew that there had been a conscience decision to have food that we could eat at Boma. So, I got up and we toured the the various food stations.
The turkey, beef, etc. had a seasoning on it, so Donna had a piece of Prime Rib cooked for me without whatever gluten product was on it. As we moved through the various stations, if I remember correctly, the ends are safe. I believe that each area had the items at the end of each side being gluten free. The selection was excellent from various fruit to cornbread that was gluten free. Additionally, all of their salad dressing is gluten free and they had a carrot soup that was gluten free. Over on the desert area, they had a flourless chocolate cake. Donna then told me that they had even more for desert. I’m not big into deserts, but as you know, you’ll take what you can get!
After I was done with the meal, Donna brought out a slice of cheesecake and a brownie. The brownie was a French Meadow brownie, which are excellent. You can get them throughout Walt Disney World, through their website, and many natural food stores. Locally we can get them at Return to Eden in Atlanta. The food was excellent along with the service.
Two things were very clear to me before we left. First of all, since this was the first time eating there since being officially gluten free and Celiac, it was amazing to not feel lousy after eating the meal. I ate what was substantially more than I used to eat there and I simply felt as though I ate enough, not overly full and sick. Secondly, it’s people like Chef Donna that make going on trips to Walt Disney World so special. It’s not easy having to be gluten free, your choices are limited, and let alone trying to explain it to people at many restaurants. At Disney World, you don’t have to question whether they understand what Celiac is all about and being gluten free, it’s what they have available to make your trip more enjoyable. It’s those little things that keep us returning year after year.