Gluten Free at Disney Aulani Resort

My personal experience of gluten free options at the Disney Aulani Resort in Hawaii and the surrounding area: Gluten Free at Disney Aulani Resort

Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa is a Disney themed hotel in Hawaii on the island of Oahu.  This was my very first visit to Hawaii and I was concerned gluten free options might be limited.  When my family decided to stay at the Aulani I knew I could relax because my previous experience is that Disney is fabulous with gluten free food.


Before my trip I emailed Aulani special diets, unfortunately, they were like Disneyland and not very helpful at answering my questions about gluten free food options. So I scoured the Internet for information and I found a few blog articles that were very helpful. I also asked people in my gluten free community who assured me I would be fine and gave me some tips.

Dining Options Walking Distance from Aulani

On our first day of arrival, we walked down the street from the Aulani to a little shopping center. I had done some research and had a few restaurants on my list that had gluten free options.  We ate an early dinner at Just Tacos. Just Tacos is a Mexican restaurant and in my opinion typically with Mexican food there are often gluten free options.  

Our server was fabulous when I inquired about gluten free options. She was very knowledgeable about what the options were available and which options were possible cross contamination.  I ordered a chicken taco plate and for my son tacos and a kids taco plate.  The food was delicious and I didn’t have any issues.

We also checked out Monkey Pod after several recommendations from the gluten free community. They are a farm to table restaurant with fresh ingredients. They don’t have a gluten free menu but they were able to make a burger without a bun. The burger was really good and filling but I personally would not go here again because the gluten free options were very limited.

Grocery Options

Near the Just Tacos and Monkey pod restaurants  is the ABC Market. The ABC market is a small grocery store with souvenirs and other Knick nacks.  We purchased some breakfast staples like eggs, milk, cheese, juice and cereal.  We also got some Boba tea which is our favorite. A short car ride away is Costco and other bigger chain grocery stores. We went to Costco and got a rotisserie chicken and salad for dinner and a few snack items.


I also brought a few gluten free items from home (peanutbutter, jelly, gf bread, gf pretzels and a few other snacks). Bringing things from home and the grocery store was really helpful in saving money and assuring we had safe gluten free options.

Character Dining at Aulani

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 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. You can read my full review here.

Gluten Free Sweets & Treats

At the Aulani resort we ate dole whip and shave ice multiple times a day. They were perfect snacks that are 100% gluten free without any concerns.  You can find dole whip at Ulu Cafe and Ophelias.  I was even able to get a special off the menu Ulu dole whip down by the beach at Ophelias which is typically served in a cone but they put it in a cup. It had cute sugar cube decorations in it and chocolate pieces.

Shave ice can only be purchased at Paplua, a little stand just past the pool and behind Rainbow Reef. Definitely order your shave ice with sweetened condensed milk and Mickey ears, you won’t regret it!

The chef at the Ulu Cafe offered to make me a gluten free Mickey shaped chocolate. When I picked it up the chocolate was actually a gluten free brownie in a Mickey shape.

Also in the Ulu Cafe there was prepacked gluten free Udis muffins and another gluten free brownie. As well as some prepackaged gluten free Snacks with character, cereal and a few other snacks.

Ulu Cafe / Off the Hook (gluten free flatbread)

We ate gluten free flatbread multiple times throughout our trip. I am usually super picky with pizza crust, but this gluten free flatbread didn't disappoint me.  The gluten free flatbread had the perfect texture and crunchy crust with the right amount of toppings. We ate the flatbread once at Off the hook which is a bar next to the pool. It was a very interesting pizza with goat cheese and other veggies but so good, even my son who is a picky eater loved it. The rest of our trip we ordered margarita pizza from Ulu Cafe.  Every pizza came out with the allergy wooden stick in it and served in a covered a closed cardboard container which I appreciated.

I had an amazing experience at Ulu Cafe. I had inquired about the musubi if it could be made gluten free. Musubi is rice with spam wrapped in seaweed with Japanese seasonings. Unfortunately it is not gluten free but the staff offered to put in a special order to make it gluten free which I could pick up the following day. Basically it was the sauce on the spam that was not gluten free.


Overall I had no problems eating out gluten free at the Aulani Disney Resort. Actually my entire trip I never once got sick, which is really unusual for me on vacation.  I think the Aulani as well as the surrounding area is quite accommodating for those on a gluten free diet.  I appreciate when the staff is willing to go above and beyond for their guests. With some minor advance planning before your trip you can rest easy that you will be taken care on on your vacation.