Busch Gardens Williamsburg

I went to the Smokehouse in France based on others recommendations and this was definitely my best experience so far with food at Busch Gardens. I notified the people working up front that I need gluten free options and they got the manager who handed me an allergen book and based on this I had fries and brisket which was prepared separately from the main line and brought out to me. It was better than the pizza they have there and I felt fine afterward. They also had the chicken and ribs listed as okay but I have not tried those.

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Somewhat

Safety Feature Ratings

• Dedicated gluten-free fryer

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Some

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Excellent

Not really a lot of gluten free options. The pizza takes over 20 minutes to make so if you don’t have time to wait for that then you’re really out of luck. I would pack food if you’re visiting the park.

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Not at all

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Not Much/None

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Poor

In Germany, a self contained, certified gluten free cheese pizza with its own cutter that came wrapped in plastic. Pizza is good, most importantly, it was safe!

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Very

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— No gluten-free information on the menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Some

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Good

For as much traction as BG gets, they are absolutely terrible with gluten free listings and options. I know I’ll leave their park hungry, every time. And I have a year round membership here and Water Country. They are fumbling the bag, as I’m sure this is a missed opportunity to make money off Celiac and gluten free customers. Instead, we bring breakfast bars and other snacks in with us.

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Very

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— No gluten-free information on the menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Not Much/None

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Poor

Sadly park does not accommodate people with gluten allergies/celiac. I was told all I could get was a gf pizza...it takes 30 mins and is horrible! Saw a post on here Trappers Smokehouse had gf. Yes they were amazing...helpful and food was delicious!!!

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Somewhat

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— No gluten-free information on the menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Some

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Excellent

We went to the Trapper Smokehouse to grab some lunch; they have an allergy binder and showed us what was safe for my celiac. We ordered smokehouse chicken, fries, and fresh fruit (they had strawberries, tangerines and Mellon cups). Then supervisor went to the back to get uncross-contaminated food. They also have a dedicated fryer for the french fries.

Overall, a much better experience than the 25 minute wait for the gluten-free cheese pizza we got at FestHaus on a previous trip!

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Somewhat

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— Separate gluten-free menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Some

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Excellent

Was very disappointed with the gf options they had.

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Not at all

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Not Much/None

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Poor

Pizza was terrible. Don’t waste your money.

I’m going to rate the overall Busch Gardens experience and do separate ones for specific locations we utilized so folks can find decent options. Overall I give Busch Gardens a 3. We were able to have 2 very good meals that we were comfortable eating over our 2 days in the park. However finding staff to assist or finding snack options was not always easy. When staff were located that could assist they were fantastically helpful. I would advise to bring some snacks along with you into the park to prevent any last second scrambling to find something quick. Snack options boiled down to ice cream or popcorn that I could locate, but the festhaus in Germany has the David’s GF cookies and Brownies so you can always grab a couple of those as well to take throughout the park. Best of all through 2 meals and 2 snacks my daughter had no reaction.

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— No gluten-free information on the menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Some

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Good

Marco Polo’s marketplace was said to be the most allergen friendly restaurant, we get there and no markings on menu besides for things that were healthy options like salads. Order a gf pizza that took 25 minutes compared to non gf pizzas that came out instantly. Pizza was literally cooked in a bag and that made it pretty bad and mushy.

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Somewhat

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— No gluten-free information on the menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Not Much/None

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Poor

BGW/WC does not post allergy information online. Instead, they suggest yiu go to a specified dining location and ask a cashier to speak to the supervisor who will bring out a binder and review it with you. For Water Country, at the time of my visit, that location was the Boardwalk Southwest Grill. Other locations may have some menu items, but this was the one listed as most likely to accommodate allergies. The staff was very eager to assist. However, the reality was that the options for gluten were very limited. Protein is all cooked in soy sauce so the remaining choices where salad or nachos. I had the veggie nachos with rice (wasn’t listed in the binder but it looked safe to me and I didn’t get sick), black beans, salsa, sour cream, cheese and guac. They had side salad and fruit. Another guest was able to get a chocolate pudding without the cookie crumble from the back. At Busch Gardens, the designated location was Marco Polo’s Marketplace. However, my party wanted to eat at Germany’s Festhaus. There, I was able toneat the smoked sausage and bratwurst (no knockwurst as it is cooked in beer), the potato salad, cabbage and sauerkraut. They also had a gluten free pizza but that takes 18 minutes to prepare so it is suggested you request a supervisor put in that order while the rest of your party stands in line. They also had a chef salad, side salad, fruit cup and pudding (plain upon request). Overall, I was pleased with Busch Gardens options but very disappointed with Water Country as a simple elimination of soy sauce from their recipe would have made a protein option available versus veggies only.

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Somewhat

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— Separate gluten-free menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Some

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Excellent

Unimpressed to say the least. Staff has no idea what gluten is. I had some young manager tell me that gluten was above her paid grade! What?! Clearly Busch Gardens fails at accommodating allergies. I wouldn’t trust any of the food here especially if you are celiac. Bring your own food or you’ll be hungry. Such a bummer.

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— No gluten-free information on the menu

Disappointed. Asked about gluten free options and the firsts person didn’t even know what I was talking about. One woman did and knew to have them make a GF pizza for us in the back. It took almost 25mins and was pretty bad.

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Not at all

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— No gluten-free information on the menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Not Much

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Poor

Other Characteristics

• Offers outdoor seating

They have gotten rid of all of their options. The website references O’Tators and San Marcos as having gluten free options, and park representatives will tell you the same. Not only is O’Tators closed, but San Marcos idea of “accommodating” is salad and pizza. However, when I asked about GF options, none of the staff had any idea what I was even talking about. If I could give 0 stars, then I would. Completely ruined my park experience.

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Not at all

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— No gluten-free information on the menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Not Much

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Poor

Went to 2021 Christmas Town. Das Festhaus was the only restaurant open. Other than Cheetos and Lays potato chips, only dedicated GF item available was a GF cheese pizza cooked separately in its own bag. Very safe, but the pizza was literally tasteless and not filling. Had to talk to chef to get the pizza prepared (~15 mins). Also had Signature Hot Chocolate and bagged cotton candy, each of which we were told was GF. Had no reaction to either. By end of night, we were hungry and went to Five Guys in Williamsburg, which fortunately was open until 10:00!

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Very

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— No gluten-free information on the menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Not Much

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Below Average

The trapper smokehouse went above and beyond for my celiac. The supervisor went in the back to get me fresh food and had a dedicated fryer for my french fries.

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Some

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Excellent

I have gone to the smokehouse multiple times and have not gotten sick. Just tell them you can’t have gluten, and they will go to the back and get fresh meat and waffle fries to prevent cross contamination. Fries are made in a dedicated fryer.

Josephine’s Creamery:

I had the root beer float and had no issues. There is a allergen menu at the register you can look through. 4 Stars because the staff isn’t knowledgeable and things could be labeled better. Plus I couldn’t see how they had their ice cream scoops so I was taking a risk with this one.

We went to Marco Polo’s Marketplace and found a staff person to ask about the GF pizza. It takes 20 mins to prepare and costs $12.95 for a personal pie, which isn’t terrible. It comes sealed in its own safe bag, with a packaged plastic cutter. 100% safe! It’s good to have something GF at the park. Was it the best pizza ever? No. Merely ok. But it was sustenance and ok and convenient and SAFE. Got us through the day at the park. I posted pictures here of the pizza add its label.

Celiac friendly?

Yes

We ate at the Trappers Smokehouse which is in the "New France" section. I would definitely recommend this spot, the cook came right out to show us the menu and ALL of the ingredients in EVERYTHING! They have a dedicated fryer and the chef prepared ours completely separate as we watched. Well done Busch Gardens!👏

Celiac friendly?

Yes

Not a lot of options and the staff isn’t knowledgeable. The website suggests going to the guest relations dept. to get a necklace - they knew nothing about this when I asked. The only safe thing I could get was a turkey leg and chips.

Celiac friendly?

No

Some GF options, though staff act like it's a hardship. Just as expensive as everything else.

Celiac friendly?

No

Disappointing. The GF food options are limited and expensive. The staff at the restaurants are not Knowledge or friendly. At the first restaurant we went to in the Germany section the manager showed us a binder of the foods they serve and we quickly realized that the cheese pizza was the safest thing. So we let the manager know our selection and she said great get in line and the food attendants will help you. So after waiting in line for 10 minutes we asked for the gluten free pizza and none of the attendants knew what we were talking about. They had to call a supervisor. It turned out to be the same supervised that helped us at the beginning. That supervisor then made our pizza the same pizza we had basically ordered from her 15 minutes ago. Then it was a 15 minute wait for the gluten free pizza. Each pizza was $10.95 for a personal size pizza that was cooked in a paper and plastic wrap. It was still cold and I actually decided not to allow my child to eat it since it was cooked in plastic. We then went to O’Taters that we had previously researched and knew it was safe because they don’t offer any fried foods at the eating establishment. Well it was closed. So at that point we decided to leave the park.

Celiac friendly?

No

So they've gotten a little better from previous trips. They have you go stand in line at guest relations, they give you a card to show ppl that you have a life threatening illness (it really says that). However you have to go to each place and ask if they have any gluten free options. I find that to be a total pita, however he couple of places I did ask had some good options. Basically I confirmed you can have a turkey leg, popcorn, and kettle corn. We went to the place in new France that only sells fries, the fries are gf and only fries cooked in their fryer. I know you can ha e he smokehouse (so good) or the Italian. Unfortunately at Christmas town the fest house only has gf pizza, salad, and a sausage platter with a couple of substitutions. Pleasantly surprised.

Celiac friendly?

Yes

We ate in Italy. My kids had the GF pizza, my celiac son had other options like rotisserie chixjem, lamb or beef. Options at Daus Festhaus were pizza kr the chicken and sausage platter with potatos and red cabbage. The sasauge does not contain beer. However, the kielbasi is cooked in beer, as is the saurkraut and that is not an option. We did not go to other restaurants. Always ask for a manager when entering the restaurant, both we spoke to were well versed on celiac and cross contamination, dont hesitate to eat here.

Celiac friendly?

Yes

Very disappointed in food options, basically there are none. We go to many different amusement parks and this is the only one that had no real choices for my daughter. We had to leave for meals in order to ensure she could have a decent meal without getting sick.

Celiac friendly?

No

Nothing available anymore. They used to have pizza buffet with gf pizza sep now no buffet. Pizza very over priced

No safe options for celiac. Bring your own food.

Celiac friendly?

No

I ended up getting a rib platter with fries(done in own fryer) from Trappers Smokehouse. The meal was good, but I was so worried about getting sick because the protocol they have in place is not good. After waiting in line for about 45 minutes I had to go to a cashier and ask for a manager. The manager didn't really know what was gluten free and what was not. I ended up getting the ribs because a lady in front of me in line also had the allergen card and she said she was "allergic to bread." So I think Busch Gardens needs a new protocol dealing with allergens of all types.

Celiac friendly?

Yes

Do not consider grogans grill gf friendly. All they had available when we were there this weekend was salad and French fries. The fries are done in their own fryer so no cross contamination there. Supposedly, there is a packaged gf pizza at festhaus and Marco Polo marketplace might have options. We just did not make it there to see.

Celiac friendly?

No

Not much in the way of options, but if you go tonDas Festhaus they do offer a GF pizza. It is in a sealed bag (they cook it in the sealed bag) and comes with its own packed (throw away) pizza cutter. If you have ever eaten Chuck E Cheese GF pizza it is the same one. Pizza isn't great, but it is at least a meal. You have to ask for the GF pizza as it is not on their big menu. Also got a cup of mixed fruit.

Celiac friendly?

Yes

I found nothing about this place "friendly". Grogan's Grill was closed. We went to Trapper's Smokehouse. Had to wait in line to speak with manager. I told her gluten free. She mentioned items that had gluten. I said I can't eat these. She rolled her eyes. When asked to have just chicken and corn they said they couldn't do corn as a side. Finally they allowed it for me. Very difficult

Mixed experiences here. I had the chicken platter at Festhaus, which was okay (not great). They also say some of the sausages are gf, BUT they are put on the same grill as the beer sausages. I do have to say that, once I located a manager and identified myself as a Celiac, the process of getting my food was painless and efficient, other than the difficulty over the sausages. All the German food at Festhaus is in a cafeteria-style line, so there is risk for cross contamination. The pizza there is probably safer. Apparently there are also gf options at the smokehouse, which I'm looking forward to trying. Other than managers at those two locations, don't bother asking any of the staff at the park, including food service staff at any of the other restaurants - you'll get a blank stare, then they'll take 10 minutes to produce a binder with allergy info sheets that don't list gluten (only wheat) and are only ingredients, not accounting for CC.

I was nearly in tears searching for lunch for myself and my two daughters. The website made it seem as if there would be lots of choices. We were repeatedly told Marco Polo's in Italy would be the best place to go but the staff there said only the salads were GF and sent me to Ireland where Grogan's was closed. I wasn't willing to waste more time walking to Germany to find out Das Festhaus was closed or no longer had options. We got pub nachos at a pub in Ireland. The chili contained beer and they could not charge us differently so I paid $8 for potato chips and cheese. :( I should have packed lunch.

Very few options anywhere

Very few options anywhere, esp considering the amount of time you spend in the park. There were fruit chunks at Fes House I considered safe. I couldn't even find plain potato chips anywhere. As one person noted on another review, they were told the sausage was GF but were soaked in beer, so I can't say that gave me any trust in what anyone said here. I drank a lot of water!

I liked the pizza at Das Festhaus. Spectacular gourmet pizza? No. It reminded me in taste and texture of school cafeteria pizza, which I never found to be bad at all. I also felt secure in knowing it came sealed in its own bag and with its on pizza cutter. It does take some time to get, as it has to run through the machine several times, but if you're there to catch the show, the wait is not bad and well worth it. I recommend. Other gluten free options include the chicken, German potatoes and red cabbage. Kitchen supervisor informed me all other meats have risk of cross-contamination as they are prepared on the same grill top as one of the sausages cooked in beer.

We ate at Trapper's Smokehouse in New France. It's BBQ and they showed us a book listing ingredients. There were several safe options but just to be sure, the manager prepared my daughter's meal herself. They even had David's GF cookies and brownies at the register. The manager was so accommodating! She was just lovely to my daughter who has celiac. Other venues did not have many options. The website is not helpful at all.

Celiac friendly?

Yes

We ate at the Festhaus in Octoberfest. If you ask for a supervisor (dressed in red), they will tell you what is safe for Celiac. I got the sausage, potatoes salad and red cabbage...and Angry Orchard Apple Cider. It was goid, but my son got the gf pizza...took 20 minutes to prepare and he said it tasted awful. At least they didn't charge us extra for it (could have been a fluke though). We also got Gelato in Italy. it was really good!

Celiac friendly?

Yes

Sealed gf pizza with separate cutter at the German place. As of 9/2015 the German sampler and roast chicken without bun are gf. Salads and fruit available. One gf hard cider. There are various icy machines and dip n dots scattered around.

Celiac friendly?

Yes

we ate at the German October fest hall for dinner. I had the chicken, German potato salad and red cabbage. it was great! my husband had the ribs and sausage. the supervisor came out to help with our order and made sure the server changed her gloves and utensils. it was really good especially for park food.

Celiac friendly?

Yes