A Gluten Free Guide To Navigating Disney’s Hollywood Studios

During our last few Disney vacations, our Hollywood Studios’ days have typically been cut very short. Usually, we only designate one day and maybe one or two dinners of our trip to Hollywood Studios. While my husband loves the thrill rides, as a family we typically enjoy the Toy Story ride, Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast show, Studio Backlot Tour, and a few other attractions. Sadly we’ve barely touched the iceberg of Hollywood Studios it seems the past few years, thanks to my pregnancy sciatica flareup and little girl’s ear infections on our last trip.

Coming up very soon, we’ll be revisiting Disney for our entire family vacation. I for one am crossing my fingers that this trip is uneventful in the health department and that we get to enjoy an entire day in Hollywood Studios. My little one would just love to see the Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast shows again, not to mention the spectacular Frozen attractions going on this summer. 

As far as our dining plans at Hollywood Studios are considered, well that’s where my guide will definitely come in handy. Using lots of reviews and past experiences, we pre-planned our dinners as always, but now we’re left with the ever so intimidating meals and snacks on the go. I for one am a planner, so even though lunch reservations aren’t made, I still like to have an idea ahead of time of what locations are best able to cater to the gluten free diet. This guide, as well as some reviews online, will help me to pick the best locations for us that offer my favorite gluten free products. 

Gluten Free Guide To Disney's Hollywood Studios. Click to enlarge.
Gluten Free Guide To Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Click to enlarge.

After a long morning of Hollywood Studios fun, it’s time to refuel and find the best lunch spot. In the past, I’ve tasted some amazingly good gluten free chicken strips at the Backlot Express, which according to the guide are offered in a couple of other spots too. They were so crispy and delicious, not to mention the legendary Disney fries that accompany them. Not the healthiest lunch I know, but we’re on vacation and how often can you order some crispy chicken strips at a restaurant at home? For me, never. So why not enjoy Disney’s unbelievable abilities to pamper the dietary restricted guest.

While the chicken strips are pretty darn good, I’ve read some great reviews on gluten free dining at the Studio Catering Co.. According to my research online, it appears that they offer some gluten free salad and sandwich options, a welcomed departure from your typical theme park food. Using Udi’s gluten free bread, as stated on the guide, they should pretty much be able to put together any of the items on their menu, sans some ingredients that may have gluten lurking in them. I for one am very excited to give this one a try for lunch on our upcoming trip!

When it comes to dinners though, there’s no denying one of our favorite dining locations is 50s Prime Time Cafe. From gluten free milkshakes and a scrumptious ice cream brownie dessert to gluten free fried chicken, this restaurant straight from a 50s kitchen had a stellar track record for gluten free diners that was undeniable. Sadly, if you didn’t catch my review from our previous trip, we were sorely disappointed in the entire dining experience resulting in a sad salad and even sadder mommy whose belly was not filled with crispy and delicious fried chicken. Since our encounter a few months back, I’ve heard from some of my readers that many have still successfully enjoyed the gluten free fried chicken at 50s Prime Time Cafe, so it appears that your success depends greatly on which chef is present that night in the kitchen. Despite our last experience, we’ve decided to give it another shot on our next trip, making sure to give ample advance notice, and hopefully the right chef is there that night too because this mommy needs a gluten free fried chicken fix.

While you can tell which places are some of my favorites, just wondering which are yours? We’ve tossed around dining at the Hollywood Brown Derby and Hollywood & Vine, anyone have gluten free success there?

Hollywood Studios offers so many great spots to grab your favorite eats and treats, so make sure you scope out some possibilities ahead of time and pin or print this guide too for on the go choices. 

Sincerely,

Lindsay

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