If you have Celiac disease, one Disney World guest says you should avoid using the paper straws at the theme park.
“Fun fact—actually, really sad fact—the straws at Disney World are not gluten-free,” TikToker Sydney Robinson (@sydinboston), 24, begins in a viral video.
She says she has been feeling nauseous on and off during her entire trip to Disney World.
“Yesterday, we found out at Animal Kingdom that the paper straws they have here are not gluten-free because the wax they use in ‘em has gluten in them. So when you put them in a drink, it glutens the entire drink,” she says.
However, she says there’s one place at the park where you can get gluten-free straws. According to her, the straws at Joffrey’s coffee stands are gluten-free because they’re made of agave. That is the only place in the park with gluten-free straws, she notes. She adds that at one establishment, she had to use a spoon to drink her beverage. “They don’t carry other straws anywhere in the parks.”
How did she find out?
In a TikTok direct message exchange with The Mary Sue, Robinson says she discovered the straws have gluten because an Animal Kingdom restaurant worker informed her after she told the restaurant about her Celiac disease.
“After I put a paper straw in my drink, he came over and took the drink and said he would remake me a new drink because the straws contained gluten,” she says.
She is unclear why the staff at the other restaurants didn’t inform her of the gluten in the straws. The park also hasn’t done anything to remedy the fact that she unknowingly ingested gluten several times during her trip.
“I talked to guest relations after speaking to a leader at riviera but other than that, we haven’t heard anything about it,” she writes.
She also says she emailed Disney’s corporate office but has not heard back. She does not intend to pursue legal action.
How to stay gluten-free at Disney World
Regarding tips on how to stay gluten-free on your park trip, she says, “Guest relations at Hollywood studios told me not to use any paper straws, but to use the sugarcane straws from joffreys instead. They also told me to keep checking and reading allergen information on the menus on the Disney experience app (although some restaurants don’t provide the menus on the app).”
She says they also mentioned that you should order gluten-free meals ahead of time when possible. This will allow your food to be ready at the same time as the rest of your party.
To close, she says, “The straw incident is unfortunate because Disney is typically a safe haven for people with allergies and not many people would ever suspect a straw having gluten in it. So I just hope they can get this figured out. Even if they just added signage that they may contain or do contain wheat allergens. I would hate to think about someone who has an anaphylactic allergy to wheat and would use a straw without knowing.”
‘Who on earth would ask if a STRAW had gluten??’
In the comments section, viewers were baffled that paper straws could contain gluten. Many noted that Disney World should make it clearer to people with gluten intolerance that they cannot use most of the straws at the park.
“The fact I didn’t even know straws have gluten,” one viewer said.
“Hey disney should fix that actually,” a second wrote.
A third shared, “I can’t have agave either… note to self bring my own straw.”
One viewer said Robinson had her facts wrong.
Marissa wrote, “This isn’t true. In Epcot or in Disney Springs where there’s more independent restaurants and they may have straws that aren’t safe, but throughout the rest of the parks they use a brand that is gluten-free.”
Robinson responded with a video saying that, while Yak & Yeti at Animal Kingdom is not owned by Disney and can therefore use its own straws, the rest of the restaurants at the park use Aardvark brand, which several workers, including one in leadership, confirmed were not gluten-free.
So what’s the consensus about Disney World?
A post on planDisney confirms that Disney-owned and operated restaurant locations use Aardvark Straws that are 100% paper.
An article on Celiac.com states, “Aardvark straws contain no known allergens, and are used in numerous hospitals. Aardvark straws do not have any gluten in or around them when being made. It is possible that wheat starch could be used to make them, and if so, they would not be safe. To be on the safe side, those with celiac disease or dermatitis herpetiformis may want to avoid using paper straws.”
The planDisney post states that Walt Disney World Company operates and owns most of the Parks and Resorts restaurants. “However, many of the restaurants at Epcot and Disney Springs are Operating Participants, meaning that they may have a different management company, such as Patina Restaurant Group. Although the Operating Participant restaurants uphold Disney’s standards, they may source their straws from other companies, so be sure to ask a Chef or a Manager for information.”
@sydinboston PSA FOR ALL CELIACS/GLUTEN ALLERGIES The straws at Walt Disney world? NOT gluten free. Luckily, Joffreys straws ARE gluten free but the paper straws Disney carries in the parks and resorts are not gluten free. Such a sneaky way to be glutened and to get sick. The frustrating thing about all of this is that it is not posted publically ANYWHERE. I’ve been getting sick on and off this entire trip only to find out that the straws have Gluten in them. @Disney Parks #glutenfree #waltdisneyworld #disneyworld #celiac #celiacdisease #crohns #crohnsdisease #glutenallergy #paperstraw #paperstraws #glutensensitivity #nogluten #crosscontamination #orlando #orlandoflorida #florida #disneyglutenfree ♬ original sound – Syd
The post also notes that when making restaurant reservations online, you can indicate that you are gluten-free. This is under the Special Dietary Restrictions option. “It’s a good idea to mention any food allergies again upon arrival at the restaurant,” it adds. “For Quick-Service meals, ask a Cast Member for an allergy-friendly menu.”
The Mary Sue contacted Walt Disney World via press email and Aardvark Straws via Instagram direct message.
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