Talking Allergies

In Feb we went to Disney World for a week and stayed at one of the on-site resorts. My 8 year old has a peanut allergy, my 12 year old is allergic to tree nuts. Disney was wonderful. I can't say enough about how great it was. We had booked a couple of restaurants months in advance and mentioned the food allergy. It was noted with the reservation and when we showed up they were well prepared and had special precautions taken for our food. At every other restaurant, the chef showed up at the table and went through the menu to ensure that what the girls ordered was going to be OK. In one instance the chef was prepared to clear a section of the kitchen and prepare whatever the girls wanted. In another, the chef came to our table no less than 5 times to ensure everything was OK. Believe it or not, we even ate at an african buffet!! Again the chef personally took us through everything and was prepared to make a special something else if we weren't convinced of the safety.
The fast food places everywhere on site have binders at the cashiers with ingredient labels for everything they serve. Many foods are pre-packaged and labelled.
The highlight, was that the Mickey Mouse ice cream bars are peanut/nut free.
We've never been treated so well and felt so safe eating out with the girls any where else to date.[/b]

We had the same experience at Disney World - it was safest place we have ever been - rarely felt risk at all. Recommend it highly. You should however make reservations for dinner so that they know you are coming - identify that there are allergy issues.

I think that is a key recommendation. I have also heard that Disney is wonderful for those with food allergies, but it's not fair to anyone to just "show up" and expect to have allergies accommodated. Everyone wins when you do some advance research. I've heard that some restaurants there are safer than others, so it pays to make reservations and tell them about all your family's allergies ahead of time.

I'm so glad you guys had such a positive experience. I never thought our familiy would do such a trip (because of the allergies) but we are actually talking about saving our loonies and toonies and going in a few years.

K.

_________________
Karen, proud Mom of
- DS1 (12 yrs): allergic to cashews, pistachios, Brazil nuts, potatoes, some legumes, some fish, pumpkin seeds; OAS
- DS2 (1o yrs): ana. to dairy, eggs, peanuts; asthma

Did you have to make your reservations through Disney World itself or online? How did you do it? I just talked to my bf who lives across the country from me (yes, crazy I know! But we met while working in Key West, FL after Hurricane Wilma in 2005) and we're both Disney Fanatics. We're trying to decide what to do for my summer break. The choices are NYC (which is right near where he lives, which I love, but will have many, many, many food temptations including fresh mozzarella which I love!) or Disney World. We would fly down there and meet. After reading this I think Disney World would be the best bet because of the food allergy thing.

I need to know what to do in order to make my experience allergy free. Do you need to stay in a certain hotel? Etc. How do I let them know? Once again, this will be my first time undertaking a full vacation with food allergies except for camping in my parents motorhome with a kitchen so I'm a little overwhelmed with the thought of having to do that. Do they have allergens posted on menus?

I haven't seen him in a long, long time (it will be a year since we've seen each other when we meet back up again) and I want this to be really special. He hasn't seen me since my new food allergies so I want him to feel like it's not a big deal or imposition like it might be in NYC.

The only sad thing is I wanted to book us on a Disney Cruise, but I need it to go through Key West (for obvious reasons) and I don't think they sail there in June, July, or August.

Did anyone get the dining package they offer? Would that be easier than just going out and buying food on my own in the park?

I know, so many questions! I'm sorry. I just haven't seen my guy since last June. He's kind of old school when it comes to food allergies so I need this to go smooth and have no problems. On the upside, he is a volunteer firefighter, so if I need CPR, I'm A OK!

You don't need to stay at a Disney resort to take advantage of their food allergy awareness in the park restaurants.

The reservations are either through their restaurant reservation line or via any "city hall". We've also just walked in to places and it wasn't an issue though one wouldn't even serve us water until the Chef gave the ay-ok. In a nutshell (ba-da bump) you just let them know you have allergies what they are and they take it from there. For buffets you get the chef's tour, for menus you get the overview. Not sure with adults, but our kids had their every little whim satisfied: "Don't like what you see on the menu,?No problem come back with Chef in to the kitchen and we'll make something together or I can just run across the park and get you some safe ice cream from the Dole Whips". Man it took weeks to deprogram them

We did the dining package and it worked out fine.

One final word of advice, it's easy to slip into a comfort zone there but we did have a couple of times where well meaning staff were not exactly correct. In the end only trust the chefs or managers and read ingredients yourself.

Have a great trip.

Thanks Jeff. We're going to stay at the resort just because it's the only place we're going. We're not interested in Sea World or Universal, so it's just easier for us to stay there the whole time we're there. We're HUGE Disney fanatics. But that's good to know that you don't have to stay there to get the benefits. That's all good to know.

I am interested in hearing from people who signed up for the Disney Dining plan...in particular I'm concerned about my son who is 9 and has a peanut allergy...I've heard that the sit down restaurants are pretty good but can't seem to get any info from Disney about the table service/take-out lunch places. Any info or advice would be great...

When I asked them about the dining stuff, they told me that at any of the take out places the chefs should be able to tell you what's in whatever you are ordering (not sure I'm going to trust them). We're staying in the el cheapo resort, the All-Star Magic (those of you with kids might not want to get the room next to us... hint, hint! It's only been a year since we've seen each other) I think we're going to end up eating out in the sit down restaurants more. I'm making all the food reservations so my guy doesn't forget my food allergy info (love him to death, but he can't remember it to save his life, maybe it's because it's a LDR and we're apart so much he hasn't had time to get used to it. On the upside, he is a firefighter, so if anything happens, I'm "A OK!") Every time I make a reservation I have them make a note and they've been great about it so far. We'll see though. Only 4.5 more months to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't wait to get there.

We're looking at going back to Key West as a side trip before we go home and I think that scares me more than Disney World. Fortunately after working there for 3 months I pretty much know everyone on the island and have a good relationship with them. The hardest will be not being able to eat my Sloppy Joes at Sloppy Joes with cheese on them anymore.

The table service/take out places typically have a binder with ingredients and allergen information. That being said, ask to speak with a manager just to be sure and/or if a binder isn't available. We've stayed at the Polynesian and the Port Orleans French Quarter and in both cases the managers there brought in special treats and food for our children for the resort restaurant. Only bad experience we had was the bakery on main street where they definitely weren't helpful, everyone else was great.

Final word of warning, while the Itzakadoozies(sp?) are (were?) tree nut and peanut free they aren't in Canada -- big shock to my kids.

have a great trip
j

Just had another great experience at Disney. We ate at The Turf Club at Saratoga Springs. When I informed the waiter about my allergies, he had the chef come out to speak to me. I told him what I wanted which he said was all nut free. I asked if the salad dressing was made from scratch or not, and he said it was packaged and that he would check the label for me. Then he personally came out again to let me know the dressing was safe. Great meal!!

soccermom