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Gluten Free Character Dining at Disney Aulani (Makahiki)

This post is about my personal experience dining at the Makahiki: Gluten Free Character Dining at Disney Aulani 




To start off our Hawaii vacation on our first morning we had dining breakfast reservations at the Aulani at the Aunties Breakfast Celebration at the Makahiki. This is a character dining experience with a variety of food on a buffet. I noted my gluten allergy in my reservation and they had that information written down on a card with our last name when I checked in for our 7am reservation. You don’t have to be a guest of the Aulani to make this dining reservation either.

This buffet character dining experience is $43 for adults and $23 for kids ages 3-9 (before tax & tip). This is a standard price for many character dining within the Disney Resorts. I am not typically a huge breakfast eater but I wanted to have this special experience with my family while on this extra special vacation.





After you check in you stand in a pretty long line for a photo opportunity with Mickey Mouse. This photo line moves rather quickly I’d say we waited less than 10 minutes. Meeting Mickey Mouse was such a fun experience. He greets each person in your group with a hug, handshake or fist bump. The photo pass photographer takes several photos with their camera and with yours too. You can purchase these photos or get all on digital download afterwards in the gift shop upstairs for $35.







Shortly after meeting Mickey you are seated in a waiting area for your table. It wasn’t long before our host seated us at our table. Almost immediately after we were seated the chef came to our table. The chef took me around the buffet to point out what is gluten free, what isn’t and what he could make separate from the buffet.



I had the chef make us out Mickey waffles and eggs Benedict. I played it safe and only got fruit off the buffet. My goodness, I have never had eggs Benedict before and it was delicious. The eggs were cooked perfectly with a delicious yummy egg yolk and hollandaise sauce.





I loved the waffles too and everything is even better Mickey shaped. The waffles are covered in powdered sugar. I actually preferred to eat them without syrup because they were already sweet. I know sometimes gluten free waffles can be tricky to cook, but these were cooked perfectly. They had the right taste, texture and crunch full cooked inside and out. My son wasn’t a huge fan of the powdered sugar on his waffles but he can be a picky eater quite often.







While you are eating you get a special visit from the characters. It isn’t a long visit but it is extra special to get a personal hug and photo with the characters. On our trip we had special visit from Minnie Mouse, Goofy and Pluto. If you are at the buffet while the character comes by don’t worry let your server know and they will make a second round. You are also serenaded by Auntie with her beautiful voice and ukulele playing.




I made a couple of extra special Disney character hats for this trip. I made sure to wear them for my different meet ups. Goofy just loved my handy work. And Minnie just loved my cute Stitch dress. And Pluto, well he is just a fun pup happy to see everyone and try to eat your food. The cast members were absolutely fabulous. I had a little souvenir surf board cutting board that I forgot to have the characters sign and they let me come back after my reservation and get Mickey’s signature. The other characters were on break but I was able to get their signature later in my trip.



Overall, I was very happy with this dining experience. The service was fabulous, pleasant staff and very accommodating. I definitely would recommend starting off your Hawaii vacation with a Aunties Breakfast Celebration at Makahiki it really sets the mood to having a fabulous trip.