Hollywood Studios gluten free and dairy free dining reviews

Sci Fi Diner November 2014

 We all love this place! When we came in, they gave us new allergen free menus. One was for gluten free options and the other was for dairy free options. Because I needed both, it was a bit odd and confusing, but the chef came out and apologized and helped us figure out what to order, safely. Also, I noticed some items on the dairy free menu that are gluten free, but they were not listed on the gluten free menu, and that is how we came about the dessert.
Starting with dessert, we asked if the chef could do a warmed gluten free dairy free donut topped with toffutti ice cream. My daughter loved it, and she ate every bite!
For her meal, she had the steak, veggies, and safe gluten free fries.  She said the steak was delicious, as were the veggies. So, that was a hit!
I ordered the Salmon BLT again. This time, the gluten free pita was very good and not hard, as it was the last time I ordered it. The sauce was great, the cucumber salad was tasty.  It was a very good meal and we all ate too much! The shell they used this time had a sweet type of flavor to it, which made me suspect it to be a Kinnikinnik product, but I didn't ask.
For dessert, they only offer us plain ice cream (Rice Dream or Toffuti), but when we asked for the warmed donut, they happily obliged. For mine, I asked for a chocolate sauce, which is different than their fudge.  Still, it was a treat. I couldn't eat it all, however.  Too much food!

The Writer's Stop November 2014
I ducked in to grab my husband a coffee while he rode Star Tours for the 3rd time, with the kids. I asked if they had anything gluten free this time, and they did. They had a Mickey Mouse shaped macaroon in bright green or bright red. I didn't get it, because the intense food coloring did not appeal to me, but it was nice to know that there is an option other than EnjoyLifeFood cookies. I would assume that cross contamination is an issue, however, as they share the case with all the other baked goods.

Sci Fi Diner November 2012

This was the kids favorite restaurant of the trip.  They loved it!  I had the gluten free dairy free version of the Salmon BLT with cucumbers and rice dream ice cream for dessert.  The result? Yum!  The chef doesn't quite seem to understand the gluten free flat bread in this dish.  What they served was almost too tough to eat...literally!  It seemed like a pizza crust folded in half, but it lacked any moisture or give. Still, the salmon BLT was delightful, and with a little extra chewing for the "flat bread", it was a pleasure to eat.  I loved the pickled cucumbers (love all pickled veggies) and the

vanilla rice dream tasted like a salted caramel, which could have been what it was, or it could have been my imagination.  Either way, I loved it!  A side note, this restaurant was the absolute winner for silent dining in Disney World.  It was eerie how quiet it was.  Give the world a TV and some food and watch them zone out.  The true Sci - Fi of that dining experience was the silence. Ahh...

ABC Comissary November 2011

We stopped here for a counter service lunch at noon. This is not an ideal time for an allergy request, but we wrapped up Indiana Jones Stunt show and went straight there. While the line was not long, it was a time consuming event to order and it was stressful in that I held up two lines of hungry people in the process of waiting on the manager and cashier to complete the order. What we got: gluten free bun, burger, sides. Gluten free fries. Also, I ordered the rice from the curry and the grilled chicken from a sandwich and I had those put together in place of their chicken curry meal. Sorry, no photos from this trip. I did get the Enjoy Life Food Cookies, which I enjoyed with espresso found at the Writer's Shop around the corner.
I can recommend this as a quick service option, but I still advise you to go early or late and avoid the crowd. Expect an additional 10 minute wait.



2010 We did a quick service of Backlot Express at Hollywood Studio, which was good for unplanned quick service food. See more below.
We tried the Coke Slushies on a hot day.

Backlot Express Counter service lunch in the Hollywood Studios park

After watching the Jedi Training Academy, we found ourselves next door to the Backlot Express. I had not read about this place, but I decided to try it. Even at 12:30 on a Saturday, they were not very busy and we had no trouble finding seating.
The girls settled with their toys at the table with dad while I waited. The counter service waits do take a while with the special allergy requests.
The longest I have waited for a meal has been an hour. The quickest has been 15 minutes. Because of the long waits, I prefer table service dining, but we were taking advantage of the dining plan this trip, and doing both.
Here they had a gluten free dairy free chicken tender/nugget, baked fries, and EnjoyLifeFood cookies. Not a health food meal, but quite a rarity in our dietary selections. In fact, this may have been Bean's first chicken nugget?
She liked it. She didn't eat them all, but she did enjoy her lunch.

Rosies Cafe for Lunch at HollyWood Studio 2008 DDQ1QS

We ate a quick lunch here, hitting the stand at 11:15am to avoid the rush. They had a gluten free bun option, but it would have taken longer (wasn't at location) so we opted to skip it. This was not very good, but it was food, and it was safe. That is about all I can say for it, however. I would not recommend this stop. In addition, I found it stressful to order a special request diet at the stand when there was a line forming behind me and I was holding up the show for everyone while we waited for a manager. There was only one cash register operating at the time, which added to my stress over the meal. Again, it was food, but that is all I can say about it!

Brown Derby for Snack at Hollywood Studios 2008

We were able to stop in without a reservation for dessert. Perhaps my favorite dessert of Walt Disney World for our allergy requirements is found here. It's the Mango Sorbet with berries. It's delightful! I asked for a specialty coffee drink, but they did not have any rice milk or soy milk. This surprised me! Eventually they discovered they had rice dream and they used a bit of that to make a nice drink. It was a good snack.

Hollywood and Vine Fantasmic Dinner Package for Supper at Hollywood Studios 2008 DDP1TS

This was a buffet diner. Because of the condition of the buffet, I opted to ask for our food to be prepared in the back (there was way too much obvious cross contamination here, globs of food dropped in the wrong places throughout). The chef made me a delicious salmon, although it took a very very long time. The group was done eating and ready to go and we were still waiting on steamed greens and salmon.
If you are not in a hurry, though, the chef can prepare some wonderful food for you here.

Brown Derby dinner at Hollywood Stuidos Park 2007 DDP2TS

The chef here was just great. He brought my daughter veggies, which she loved, as a perfect starter.

He brought us the EngerG rolls, warmed, and served with fennel infused olive oil to dip our bread in! YUM!!! What a great idea, by the way!

The chicken was disappointing. It was very dry. The potatoes and sweet dressing on them were very good, though!

My daughter had a hot dog and french fries. The bun is gluten free, dairy free.

Brown Derby served my favorite dessert of the trip...a cup of berries with homemade dairy free mango sorbet! Delicious!
My daughter also loved this sorbet.

Hollywood and Vine: character lunch Hollywood Studios Jan 2007 DDP1TS

Hollywood and Vine at MGM was fantastic. They had so many great veggie choices and the chef grilled salmon and steak for us too!
We enjoyed homemade gluten free brownies (made that day). They were so wonderful. This was another character meal with singing and dancing for
the kids. The food surprised us. It was wonderful! They also had gluten free rolls, which they brought out promptly.