Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Gluten Free Disney World -- Day 5


Sigh.

Our last day in Disney World. I am always sad to leave and already looking forward to my next vacation there. I already have a list of things to do "next time." One is to see the new Presidential speech at the Hall of Presidents. The current president gets to record a speech for the animatronic version of theme selves at Disney World, and since we didn't get over there this time, I have not yet seen the Obama speech. More importantly, there is a gluten free food creation available at the Magic Kingdom that I have never tasted: The Dole Whip. Alex clued me in about Dole Whips, which you can only get in Hawaii or Disneyland/ Disney World. Just as you enter Adventure Land (coming from the direction of the Crystal Palace) there is a stand (Aloha Isle) selling this non-dairy Pineapple Sorbet. Apparently, it can be served "float style" with pineapple juice, or served alone or twisted with vanilla or orange soft-serve. I am not sure how I missed the existence of this delightful sounding concoction, but I am ready to plan my next trip to Disney World to get one!

Breakfast on our last day consisted of leftovers, as I desperately tried to eat up all the food we bought. Then we were off to Epcot! Alex and Allison had their lunch at the Morocco pavilion, where I had some very strong coffee with an orange liqueur. I needed A LOT of sugar to soften the flavor. I'm afraid that coffee is for stronger folk than me. Mark had Moroccan-style mint tea, which he enjoyed.

Instead of lunch at Morocco, the rest of us opted for a late lunch/ early dinner at the San Angel Inn in the Mexico pavilion. This is probably the best atmosphere of any Disney World restaurant. Inside the pyramid shaped pavilion, you are under the illusion that it is night time in Mexico. There is a market-place selling handmade goods, and past that is the restaurant, which sits on the Rio de Tiempo -- the River of Time. The "river" is part of the Gran Fiesta ride and it winds right past the restaurant, as if you are sitting on a patio by the river. Behind the river, an Aztec pyramid looms, and a volcano erupts in the distance.

This is an excellent restaurant for gluten-free options. The chef came out and went over the menu with me, and there was more that I could eat than there was that I couldn't. I was able to have the chips and salsa. (Mark would like to point out that the salsa was VERY mild and too wimpy for any self-respecting Texan.) I ordered the Tostadas de Tinga -- a fried corn tortilla (tostada) with beans, lettuce, onion, tomato, avocado, sour cream and queso fresca. It was great and I would definitely order it again. I would have liked to try the flan, but we were getting antsy about making it to the airport on time, so we had to skedaddle.

It was a great trip and, as always, I came away thinking that there is no better place for a gluten-free traveler than Walt Disney World.

Sandy

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