A gluten free Sea World

After a long, hard week, I wanted some quality penguin time, and in Orlando, that means a day at Sea World. Aaron and I decided to get the meal wrist band, which have us unlimited access to 7 different restaurants in the park. With unlimited access to food, the only question was what could I eat. I asked guest services if they had a comprehensive allergen list, which they did not (btw, Disney does). So, I had to ask the chef at each restaurant what I could eat. We tried three different locations. Here's how it went...

The first place we went was called Voyager's Smokehouse, which had BBQ and salads. The chef there was quite knowledgeable, and was able to clearly tell me exactly what I could and could not eat. She even said that I couldn't have the fries yet, because they were fried with the chicken tenders, but after noon, they cooked them in an adjacent snack place, so the fryer was safe. I meant to go back for some fries, but I forgot. I will definitely get some in the future, though. She told me to avoid the deserts except for the fruit. I could have the salads, but they had to make new ones, because the two salads that they serve come with croutons or fried tortilla shell. I couldn't have sandwiches, macaroni and cheese, or chicen tenders. I could however, have all of the BBQ meat, corn, and baked beans, which excited me, because that's rare when eating out. While it's nice that I could have the BBQ, I eat a vegetarian diet most of the time. So, I did the best I could and got a BBQ chicken salad without the shell points and baked beans. The beans were disappointing. They tasted overwhelmingly like black pepper. The salad was nice, though, and was the best food I had all day. I ate some of the chicken, but mostly picked around it and ate the salad. Being the first stop of the day, I was impressed and hopeful at what else we might find.

Knowledge - 5 stars
Accommodation - 3.5 stars
Taste - 3.5 stars


After a few exhibits, we decided to get lunch at the Seafire Inn. This restaurant was mostly Italian food, but also had some stir fry. We went mostly for Aaron, but I decided that since I blog, I should at least ask what they could do. I was told that the only thing I could have was the chicken stirfry without the sauce. The chef offered to make it special for me, so I accepted, though I wasn't that hungry. The food took a LONG time. Finally, I man brought the food and said he only used olive oil, and didn't use any seasonings. After I got it, I asked if the watermelon was cut on a GF surface, just to make sure. He was happy to check, but a woman working at the buffet line gave me some strange attitude about it. She told me that watermelon was GF because it was a fruit. I told her that I knew that, but I was inquiring about the utensils and the cutting surface, because if watermelon touches something that is not GF, then it is no longer safe for me to eat. She started to make a snide comment, but trailed off, said "Whatever" and walked away. After a bit, the original chef came out and assured me that the watermelon was fine, and got some for me, because the line had grown significantly during my wait. I was impressed by the kitchen staff's knowledge and willingness to make different food for me, but the food took a while, and that one woman was quite rude. After this whole ordeal, I finally sat down with Aaron to eat. The stir fry looked good with nicely cooked chicken and a colorful assortment of veggies, but with no seasoning and no sauce, it was pretty bland. I ate more than I particularly cared to, mostly because the chef made it specially for me. After a few bites, though, I focused more on the watermelon.

Knowledge - 5 stars
Accommodation - 4 stars (would be 5 except for Miss Attitude)
Taste - 2.5 stars


The last place we visited was Mango Joe's Cafe. I was excited about this, because I remember really enjoying food there in the past. I was a bit disappointed when we talked to the chef, though. The most exciting thing on their menu is this fajita hoagie thing, which was obviously off-limits, but has given me a ridiculous craving for a steak sandwich. They have other sandwiches and wraps, but again, those are off-limits, though the chef tried to tell me that I could eat the vegetable wrap because it had a spinach wrap... Spinach wraps still have flour last time I checked. I thought that was a bit odd. All of their fajita meat it a no go, too, because it is marinated in soy sauce. The only option left after all of that was the salad. They had a chicken house salad that I could get without the chicken, or a fajita salad without the chicken. The house salad had a vinaigrette, and the fajita salad had ranch dressing. I asked if the dressings were safe, and they didn't know, so they told me to avoid them to be safe. I pressed the issue asking them to check, and he brought out the bottles so I could look at the ingredients. Both dressings seemed safe to me, so I chose the ranch dressing with the meatless fajita salad and watermelon. The salad was fine, but not as good as the BBQ one from Voyagers.

Knowledge - 1.5
Accommodation - 1.5
Taste - 3

I understand that Sea World is not Disney (which has won awards for its leadership in food allergy awareness), but even still, I was disappointed. If I have to ask the chefs at the various locations, the chefs should know what gluten is and what items I can eat. I was also surprised that none of the locations we visited had alternative food of any kind. The best food I had was mediocre. I do have to say, though, that throughout the whole day, I think I managed to leave unscathed, which, given the fact that I was flat out told I could eat something with gluten in it, is pretty impressive.

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