Normally character meals are super fun… but what if they could have an extra twist thrown in that makes them even better?
Cue the Garden grill at Epcot with it’s spinning restaurant.
Not only do you get to eat with your favorite pals, but you also get a glimpse of living with the land as you eat your meal.
This last time we went was our first with kids- and they loved it. My 4 year old was staring at the wall, “Wait. It’s moving” “We’re going on a ride while we eat lunch!” “Oh look, that’s new!”
Kids… 😂
Let’s jump into the delicious food we got to enjoy, all gluten free and safe to eat!
***As Always, please speak to a qualified restaurant employee when ordering food. In order to see the most accurate ingredients and risk assessment, you will need to confirm allergy safety in real-time. This is my personal experience, I am not employed or endorsed by companies or brands mentioned.***
Quick Notes
Location: Land Pavilion in World Nature (second floor)
Price: Currently 55 per adult and 36 for kids plus tax and gratuity
Characters: Farmer Mickey, Pluto, Chip and Dale
Garden Grill Food Allergy Menu options updated for 2022
in early 2020 (actually a few days before the closure) we headed to Garden Grill and was very surprised that they had changed the menu! This change was not good, and left us with almost no options for lunch.
The Menu has been changed again (and this time for the better!) and we went back to check it out! (And I need to update my allergy friendly touring plan to reflect this most welcome change! ) Plus we visited again in April 2022 and the menu is still the same and absolutely wonderful!
The Family Style Meal is now safe for Gluten, Dairy, Soy, Egg, Peanut/Treenut and Fish/Shellfish! woohoo! This makes it a great meal to go to when you have multiple allergy/non allergy needs as a lot of people have a mixed Free-From Family Vacation!
This was our case as we went with our relatives who are not Free From, but they ate the allergy options with us to avoid cross contact with our little kids.
The menu options are:
Allergy Friendly rolls (currently Bloomfield Farms)
Garden Salad
Grilled Beef, Turkey, Rice Pilaf (did not contain gluten), Fresh Veggies
Dessert was a House Made Berry Shortcake! (they also had enjoy life products which we got for the kiddos just to be sure, husband and i ate the house made option with no issue)
Here’s the menu that we received so you can check it over yourself!
Garden Grill in Epcot 2019 Review
The Garden Grill is located in The Land arena (it also houses sunshine seasons quick serve which we really like, Living with the land attraction and soarin)
It is located on the second floor which makes it very easy for those with mobility devices, the place itself was very ADA friendly.
No regular strollers are allowed in The Land though, so take that into consideration when planning your times!
The restaurant itself moves. Literally. In a circle.
We were really tripped out at first but quickly got used to it. It’s a very slow move, in the hour we were there we went around the circuit one time (maybe even slightly less).
Of course you go to the Character meals to see the characters, and they did not disappoint!
Characters we meet were Chip & Dale, Pluto and Mickey. They come around one at a time and we had such a blast!
The total costs for us in the summer season (remember, food and everything else is priced seasonally!) was 51 for adult and 32 for child. infants under 3 are free.
How was the Food? Was it safe?
The food was served family style, similar to ‘Ohana.
For appetizers, we were served drinks and rolls. The same rolls used at Crystal Palace, Mama Melrose and many other places on property.
Next up, we had the main course. It was quite good! The timing was perfect. We got to enjoy the salad and warm rolls, and then dive into the next plate of food!
We were served rice pilaf, a veggie medley, green beans, french fries, braised beef and turkey.
The best part (besides the characters!) was dessert!
It was quite yummy! We had a strawberry shortcake for the adults, and the kids got a plate of enjoy life cookies.
Would I Recommend it?
We were pleasantly surprised at how good the food was considering we didn’t get to choose from a menu!
I would recommend it, especially considering some of the other options at Epcot (we have stayed away from many of them that aren’t owned by Disney based on the inconsistent reviews)
We REALLYYYY liked the characters. I know it can be hit or miss depending on who is working and what is going on. But they way the characters played with the other employees and the managers… woah, it was a blast!
Other Gluten Free Articles to check out