Beaches and Cream Soda Shop: Allergies and Accessibility

Out first EPCOT day wrapped up with dinner at Beaches and Cream Soda Shop after my daughter and I watched Harmonious. We headed out the International Gateway entrance of EPCOT and the big kids and I hopped one of the Friendship Boats (the boats that run between Disney’s Hollywood Studios and EPCOT) while my wife walked the walkway over with our youngest sleeping in the stroller. To be honest, it probably would have taken less time for all of us to have walked over. The boat docks at the lighthouse on the Yacht Club side, and the entrance to the main building at Beach Club (where Beaches and Cream is located) was about halfway between International Gateway and the Friendship Boats’ dock. Still it was really nice to sit on the boat with the kids for a few minutes and take in Crescent Lake and the lights at Disney’s Boardwalk Resort at night.

This was a meal years in the making. For those of you in the know, Beaches and Cream is known for an absolutely over-the-top dessert called The Kitchen Sink. (The $36 sundae is pretty wild – the description on the menu there says it serves four, with “scoops of Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry, Cookies ‘n Cream, and Mint Chocolate Chip topped with, Hot Fudge, Peanut Butter, SNICKERS pieces, Fresh-baked Brownie, and smothered in every additional topping we have.” and it’s served complete with flashing lights and a loud spiel by the servers, right down to announcing the “whole can of whipped cream”.) In 2012, I heard about this massive dessert… and while I was never much of an ice-cream person, I thought the experience would be fun to do with the family. It was on my bucket list since, but on subsequent trips something always got in the way of reservations.

And then my immune system went haywire. The full story of my allergy diagnosis process is for another time, but The Kitchen Sink was off the table for me. I was BUMMED. But as I started doing research into what I could eat, I learned that Beaches and Cream still had safe options for guests with multiple allergies, even if they weren’t explicitly listed on the menu.

We decided to give it a shot with a late night reservation. The plan was just to stop in for ice cream for the kids after the fireworks. If they could do something for me, I’d eat whatever they came up with. If not, I’d just enjoy the smiles on the kids faces. We weren’t even planning on dinner there. We had talked about snagging something on the way through World Showcase or at Connections Eatery, but by the time everyone made it off of Cosmic Rewind, we had to book it to get to Harmonious. (Remember, this was a rollator-only day. I hadn’t tried an ECV at this point, and I walk SLOW.)

So when we arrived at Beaches and Cream, we were pretty glad there was more than just dessert. That solved the first problem. We knew the kids and my wife could eat dinner there. The kids have no known food allergies, and they eat off the regular menu. My wife only has to worry about gluten, and there were options for her on the restaurant’s allergy menu.

The second problem was that the allergy menu didn’t have anything at all that was fully Top-8 Allergen Safe. The server got the chef to run through options with me. When Chef TJ came out I knew I was in good hands. Remember that research I had been doing? Chef TJ is well-known in the Disney Food Allergy Community as someone who creates safe meals and fun desserts for guests with harder-to-navigate food allergies every day.

I ran through my list with him, and his response was “Is that all? What do you want to eat?” Honestly, I’m not used to having choices if we eat anywhere that’s not our house. I told him, I’m usually the person who tells the chef what they can’t eat and they either can make one or two things or they can’t accommodate me at all. He offered me two options for a meal: a hamburger or chicken. I do a lot of chicken most of the time, but safe burgers are harder for me to find, so I went with the burger option. And I was able to eat french fries! My wife also asked if they would be able to make her Cheddar-Bacon-Ranch Chicken Sandwich as a lettuce wrap version instead of using the gluten-free bun, and that was no problem.

He asked if we were doing dessert and I explained how disappointed I was that I wasn’t able to do The Kitchen Sink, like I had been hoping to do for a decade before my allergies became an issue. I wanted something big and dramatic and fun. He asked if I liked fruit and chocolate (absolutely, I do!) He told me he had it covered.

We tried to see if they would be able to make The Kitchen Sink as a gluten-free version (or at least put the gluten-containing toppings on another plate) so my wife could share with the kids, but we were told that because of how the prep the Kitchen Sink they were unable to modify it at all. That was a bummer, too… BUT at this point, the younger kids had both fallen asleep, so there was no chance just my wife and daughter were going to be able to finish off that monster of an ice cream sundae anyway. So the three of us who were still awake each got our own dessert.

My burger was so good. I was never a big hamburger fan, and at home I top burgers with Violife “cheese”, ketchup, and the Hellman’s Vegan Spread. But this one was SO juicy and flavorfuI didn’t need to add ANYTHING. The bun was awesome too. (If you’re gluten-free, you know how hit or miss buns and breads can be, and working with the other allergies makes it even trickier to find something with a decent taste and texture.) This one didn’t taste gritty or chewy or anything. It was the best burger I’d had since my diagnosis.

My allergy-friendly dessert was stacked high with pineapple, blueberries, strawberries, popsicles, allergy-safe cookies, and a chocolate frozen dessert, with Mickey sprinkles. And part of the fun is Chef TJ himself brings it out and poured chocolate syrup over it for what felt like forever. It was so delicious, a bit messy, and every bit as fun as I’d hoped. My wife got the Gluten-Free Brownie a la Mode, and she said it was great. The highlight for me though, was seeing my daughter’s face when they brought out her “No Way Jose” sundae. She was so shocked her jaw literally dropped at the size of her sundae, which was HUGE… and also totally gluten-free! She gave it her best shot, but couldn’t finish the whole thing.

Notes on Seating, Accessibility, and Noise: There are some booth seats and some armless chair seats. The tables did not look like they could move, so I sat in the chair. I was able to bring my rollator in, and we just parked it at the end of the table. We were right by the door, and it was one of the last reservations available for the day, so I’m not sure if this is the norm or if it was just because they were clearing out. The restaurant is kind of small, and we were also right next to the jukebox, which made for a pretty loud meal. We let the middle kid wear blockers because it was a bit much for him, and he ended up falling asleep before food came out. Because this was not a buffet, we were able to pack up his food and take it with us, and he finished it after we left the restaurant.