Multi-Allergy Dining Review incl. BC/YC dining + ASD notes

[clanmcculloch]

I'm going to get started on the dining review but you'll have to be patient as it'll take some time to get this all written up. I'll also include some notes that are relevant to DD13's autism, where there was anything relevant.

Here are our allergies/intollerances:

DD11: milk, hazelnuts, brazil nuts, citrus (citric acid is ok),peanuts (minor - cross contamination not a concern), sesame, blueberry, cranberry, lima beans, raw carrots, raw fruit skins besides grapes, soy products other than Tofutti and Follow Your Heart (soy’s not the problem but we haven’t identified what ingredient in Silk and other soy products cause Oral Allergy Syndrome)

DD13: gluten, milk, eggs, citrus (citric acid is ok), yeast, msg, peanuts (minor - cross contamination not a concern)

Me: gluten, milk, peanuts (minor - cross contamination not a concern)

With each meal I'll repost who it was for.

Here's where we ate. I'll try to remember to come back to this first post to update what post number has the review for each restaurant.
Captain's Grille (lunch) post 1
Coral Reef (dinner) post 2
Sunshine Seasons (lunch) post 4
Captain's Grille (dinner) ** includes Babycakes cake ** post 5
Sci-Fi Dine-In Theatre (lunch) post 6
Plaza Restaurant (lunch) post 17
Cape May Cafe (dinner) post 21
Cape May Cafe (breakfast) post 22
Columbia Harbour House (lunch) post 23
Sunshine Seasons (lunch) post 24
Hollywood Brown Derby (dinner - Fantasmic Dining Package) post 29
Biergarten (lunch) post 33
Beaches & Cream (snack) post 34

I'll start the first review in this main post just because I totally forgot to take pictures since I had checked our carryons with Bell Services and my camera was in the carryon. Sorry about that.

Captain's Grille - lunch

We didn't have an ADR for lunch but we had just checked in at YC, Beaches & Cream had a long wait and we didn't feel like heading to Epcot yet and there aren't any decent allergy options at BC/YC so we hoped we could get a walkup ADR. Success! I can spoken with a chef at BC but this wasn't an ADR. Anyway, the chef did fine. I had printed of little laminated cards listing our individual allergens which the chef seemed to appreciate. The girls just wanted chicken tenders with fries so the chef heated up a fresh pot of oil to prepare them. They were happy with this. I wanted something different since I knew I'd be eating those several times during our trip so I asked about the roast beef sandwich which the chef said he could do on an Ener-G bun. He actually did it on 2 buns since they're small and the sandwich is big. It was ok but somehow the bread didn't seem to work all that great with that thick onion and the sauce. It was nice getting a sandwich and it was well made but I suspect the problem was that as a single thick sandwich the proportion of beef to onion to sandwich would have worked but this bun is thicker and dryer than regular bread (even with grilling with olive oil) and not as much beef could fit on the bun as could fit on a regular sandwich and he put a large onion on each sandwich while I suspect normally there's only one for the whole thing. I would recommend Captain's Grille for lunch if you're staying at BC or YC but I wouldn't recommend travelling just to eat here. Since there aren't CS options, this works well.

From an autism perspective, it was nice and quiet without much going on. The place was pretty empty. It was perfect.

 

[clanmcculloch]

Coral Reef - dinner

DD13 loves steaks and mushrooms so her choice was easy. It was all cooked perfectly.

DD11 is much fussier. The only seafood she liked as of this dinner was cold shrimp, shrimp tempura so she opted for chicken. She loves spinach so that was her favourite part of this dinner. She wasn't overly fond of the chicken. The chef offered to prepare something eles but she really wanted room for dessert so we declined. She loved the spinach.

The only other time we ate here I quite enjoyed the catch of the day so I decided to get that again. The rice pilaf wasn't safe so the chef offered me the rice with sauce from the mahi mahi which sounded fine. I didn't realize it was just white rice with a sauce but it tasted good. When it was originally delivered there wasn't any scallops even though the menu says there'd be scallops so when I asked the chef about it he apologized and brought out a good sized dish of yummy scallops. That was the best part of the meal. The white salmon was cooked perfectly and beautifully seasoned even though the dish looks very boring. Taste is more important than presentation and taste was great.

DD13 LOVED her Tofutti ice cream with Enjoy Life chocolate shaved over it. Chef Kim has a small grater just for this purpose.

DD11 also enjoyed her sundae. The French Meadow brownie was heated a bit for her before building the sundae.

One more note. The service was it's typical slow inattentive service from the waiter. The chef totally took great care of us and was very attentive; the waiter, not so much.

ETA: From an autism perspective, it was very loud. The view of the tank from the half circle booths isn't the greatest (we were second level) so that wasn't really distracting her. Until her food came out, she was really struggling to keep herself composed. It was difficult to talk without half yelling which was just making it worse. She knew we'd be heading over to the Seas after dinner to see the marine life so that helped a lot. Even just riding Nemo after dinner helped a lot. It really was loud and chaotic feeling even with being in a large high backed booth.

 

[MinnieVanMom]

And this is just one of many reasons we love Disney. The chef comes out, speaks to us about DS food issues and then brings out good food that DS will eat.

They have a special dining line to call and they can set up your restrictions in the computer for your ADR's. But the chef still comes out to speak to you.

Glad you were able to get food for you and your family.

 

[clanmcculloch]

Sunshine Seasons - lunch

This is one of those CS meals that we do every single trip. We love it and allergies are so easy here.

DD11 pretty much always gets chicken legs with rice. 1 leg isn't enough but she only wants legs. Typically they'll give you 3 legs as an alternative to a half chicken. No, it's not equivalent but it's what they do. The yellow rice is safe but she prefers white.

DD13 usually gets the half chicken with white rice. Like DD11, DD13 prefers the white rice over the yellow. She said it wasn't as tasty as it's been in the past but I don't know if anything has actually changed since previous trips of if her tastes have just become a bit more sophisticated and now she expects more seasoning/flavour. That little black container is a cup of gluten free tamari (soy sauce). It doesn't get offered automatically with the rice but the chef is always glad to get it when we ask.

I always loved the seared tuna. I couldn't get a straight answer from Special Diets about whether or not it was safe, but the chef checked for me and it was. For allergies it's served with a salad but without the bread. Normally it's seved over noodles but I prefer the salad so I'm happy with it. It's got a bit of a kick to it but it's as tasty as ever.

DD11 got her typical French Meadow brownie for dessert and DD13 got her typical Enjoy Life chocolate bar. I wasn't hungry for dessert because I ate one of DD11's drumsticks which was decent.

 

[clanmcculloch]

Captain's Grille - dinner - includes Babycakes cake

When we ate here the previous day, we had given the chef one of our laminated allergy cards. Well, out came the chef and he had the card. YAY!!! He was prepared for us. He was extremely helpful.

DD11 was her usual non-adventurous self and just wanted chicken tenders with fries. The first batch came out kind of dark so he made a new batch for her.

DD13 wasn't sure what she wanted so we got talking with the chef. He offered to cook up some rice spaghetti and add in whatever she wanted. All she wanted in it was some sauteed mushrooms and garlic so that's what he made for her with plenty of mushrooms. It was quite tasty. The bowl it was served in was huge for the sake of presentation; it was more food that it appears though he offered more since he had cooked up more pasta than necessary.

I thought the pasta sounded like a great idea as well but I just ordered it with whatever vegetables he'd normally use and I chose the shrimp (the other option was chicken). Yummy!! Like DD13's, it doesn't look like a lot but it was filling. The chef offered me more as well but I was saving room for dessert.

I had arranged for a cake to be delivered for DD11 from Babycakes at DTD. I had gotten a call earlier in the day letting me know they had picked it up. DD11 told me later that she had no idea despite the fact that we were doing a HORRIBLE job of keeping it a secret. She LOVED it. It really was delicious. The cake was chocolate with pink "buttercream" icing and purple "buttercream" flowers. Because they're not using artificials, the colours don't come out as vibrant as traditional bakeries but this is so much better for you. I couldn't seem to get the colours to show up well though. It did look better in person.

There was lots of leftover cake so they boxed it back up for us to bring back to our room. I purposely ordered it at a restaurant in our resort knowing we'd want to bring it back to our room. It was a tight fit in the fridge. I had to squeeze the box over the top of the half gallon milk (soy and rice) cartons in our fridge.

 

[clanmcculloch]

Sci-Fi Dine-In Theatre - lunch

This was the ony restaurant the whole trip where the chef actually had a clue that there had been a phone conversation before our trip. I was quite impressed by this. Unfortunately, my kids changed their interests in the 1.5 months since I had spoken with him. I was sure they'd want chicken tenders but they had in the previous month discovered a love of ribs so ribs is what they wanted. They're not big on sauce so he served theirs without sauce and mine with sauce. There were a few options for sides but we just wanted fries so he heated up a pot of oil so he could safely make them. We were all excited that they actually have a dedicated milk free milkshake machine here so we all ordered milkshakes.

DD11 thought the milkshakes were too sweet but DD13 and I enjoyed them. He even added some extra vanilla syrup and brought me a cup with the extras. I would have preferred thicker but I think that's more personal preference.

DD11 found the ribs to be too spicy (they were unbelievably mild so I think she was just filling up on other stuff) but DD13 and I really enjoyed them. DD13 did get some sauce on the side but wasn't too fond of it. I usually cook most of the ribs with just a rub since neither of them are fond of sauce so it's more just that this is what they're used to. The meat was falling off the bone and I can definitely see coming back here. It was SOOOOOO good.

I forgot to take pictures until part way through the meal. Sorry.

We were all too stuffed for dessert.

ETA: I was worried about how my kids would react to the movies and the darkness since DD13 is autistic and DD11 is a huge chicken. They were mesmerized the whole time. DH and I actually got to talk to each other. It was wonderful! Waiting for the table on the other hand was very difficult. Our ADR was 12:30 and they were running half an hour behind and everybody was crowded at the entrance. DD13's been having a lot of touch issues so this was very difficult. Her struggle was obvious enough that somebody asked if she has OCD. She wasn't criticizing; she said her sister's child has OCD and she recognized the signs and felt for me. She told me I'm a good mom. That felt really good right then since I was struggling to keep myself composed at that point since she was having a really rough day up until then after having been physically pushed by other guests heading towards TSM and at that moment she was shaking and fighting tears and I was feeling pretty helpless. A kind word from a stranger really can be wonderful.

 

[clanmcculloch]

And this is just one of many reasons we love Disney. The chef comes out, speaks to us about DS food issues and then brings out good food that DS will eat.

They have a special dining line to call and they can set up your restrictions in the computer for your ADR's. But the chef still comes out to speak to you.

Glad you were able to get food for you and your family.

They really are the best. We can't vacation anywhere else without having to have a kitchen where I can cook most of the meals. We LOVE WDW for how well they handle food allergies, not to mention how accomodating they are of allergies.

 

[brown1442]

This is AWESOME! Thank so much for taking the time to do it! We have a lot of the same ressies on our list so I am pumped!!

 

[Minnie]

We recently returned from WDW and found the chefs at the YC Grille to be excellent with allergies

Both chefs made dairy free mashed potatoes and since I had a wisdom tooth pulled just a couple days before our trip I was thrilled with this option

The pasta looks good but I've never had it made outside of my kitchen. I'll have to check on that during our next trip - great idea

I have an odd combination of allergies and intolerances so I'll be reading your posts with high interest - thanks for posting

 

[HsvScrapGirl]

I had been wondering how your trip went. That cake looks awesome! We are going to WDW in about a year, so I am planning and watching all the food allergy trip/dining reports. I can't wait to take my DS5 into Babycakes and tell him that he can order anything he wants. He has milk and peanut allergies. Can't wait to hear about Cape May. That is on my list of places that we are considering. My DH is adament that we limit the character meals, but I think that is one that we can all agree on, assuming they are good with allergies.

 

[clanmcculloch]

CMC did a great job with both breakfast and dinner though we don't have any shellfish issues so if that's a problem for you then you might want to think twice about it. I'll get there but I don't know if I'll get to do any more tonight since tonight will be very much focussed on dealing with the aftermath of the first day of school (gotta love autism).

I didn't even think to ask for dairy free mashed anywhere and I had intended to. I typically like fries more than mashed anyway but if a chef had have mentioned them I might have ordered them. Hmmmm...... I'll have to try to remember that for next trip (and we all know there will be a next trip; the only question is whether it'll be February or August).

I'm glad to have you all following along!

 

[dzorn]

I had been wondering how your trip went. That cake looks awesome! We are going to WDW in about a year, so I am planning and watching all the food allergy trip/dining reports. I can't wait to take my DS5 into Babycakes and tell him that he can order anything he wants. He has milk and peanut allergies. Can't wait to hear about Cape May. That is on my list of places that we are considering. My DH is adament that we limit the character meals, but I think that is one that we can all agree on, assuming they are good with allergies.

DD is only gluten free but she loves Cape May and getting the Mickey waffles.

Denise in MI

 

[HsvScrapGirl]

CMC did a great job with both breakfast and dinner though we don't have any shellfish issues so if that's a problem for you then you might want to think twice about it. I'll get there but I don't know if I'll get to do any more tonight since tonight will be very much focussed on dealing with the aftermath of the first day of school (gotta love autism).

Oh, I understand. No hurry. You will get to it when you get to it. Family first! Hope the first day wasn't too rough for your girls.
We don't have any shellfish issues, so we should be good to go. BTW, you have sold me on trying Sunshine Seasons. That food looks so good and we love chicken, so that will be an easy sell to my crew.

 

[clanmcculloch]

Oh, I understand. No hurry. You will get to it when you get to it. Family first! Hope the first day wasn't too rough for your girls.
We don't have any shellfish issues, so we should be good to go. BTW, you have sold me on trying Sunshine Seasons. That food looks so good and we love chicken, so that will be an easy sell to my crew.

You'll love Sunshine Seasons. The chicken is pretty good. There are other gluten free options for sides besides just the rice but my kids love white rice and they have it on hand all the time at another station so that's what they ask for. The single drumstick kids meal is the same drumstick that they'll give you for the adult meal if you're ordering 3 of them.

First day of school was pretty good for DD11. DD13 is a whole other story and it's going to be a long night of working out expactations and strategies for functioning in school tomorrow. Tonight will be filled with a lot of tough love and tears. UGH!!!

 

[HsvScrapGirl]

First day of school was pretty good for DD11. DD13 is a whole other story and it's going to be a long night of working out expactations and strategies for functioning in school tomorrow. Tonight will be filled with a lot of tough love and tears. UGH!!!

 

[clanmcculloch]

Thanks!! It went better than I expected though there were definitely tears involved. I think she desperately needed me to lay down the law. Hopefully tomorrow will go a lot better. Thank goodness DD11 had a good day.

 

[clanmcculloch]

Plaza restaurant - lunch

I was REALLY nervous about this one. I had asked Special Diets specific questions about this place but nobody ever contacted me. I know that DD13 can't eat any of the allergy bread so I wasn't sure what she'd be able to eat.

We only had to wait maybe 5 minutes before our table was ready which was nice. There was a parade starting as we were heading over so the crowd getting to the restaurant was stressful for DD13 (we rarely go to parades for this reason) but once we got over to the restaurant it was fine. The atmosphere is very pretty and delicate and she did great.

The chef came out to see us and he was wonderful. Cousin Ken (by the end of the meal he said we're now family; he really was sweet the whole time) was terrific. Cousin Ken was supposed to be on vacation but they ended up short staffed in the kitchen and then the chef who was supposed to be working ended up I think with a broken ankle so he was alone in the kitchen when he was supposed to actually be on vacation. Clearly we talked for a while. He was definitely VERY busy though.

I asked if they had a dedicated milkshake mixer and he said no but that he would personally sterilize every nook and crany of that machine to make it safe. DD13 ordered a milkshake and loved it. It tasted a bit different than the one at Sci-Fi but it was still very good. She certainly polished it off quickly. He gave her enough for 2 full glasses and offered more but I wanted her to actually eat food so I declined. Sorry, the only picture I got had an empty glass already. She loved it!!

I ordered a rootbeer float. I haven't had one of these in ages. Yummy!!! He offered me more but I didn't want to fill up on that so he asked if he could at least add more rootbeer which sounded good to me so I said yes to that.

When we were discussing bread, I mentioned that Special Diets had sent info about a "Gourmet Hot Dog bun" somewhere that had no milk or nuts. He said he'd check to see if Casey's across the street had it and he asked if she wanted a hot dog, which she did, so he got that from across the street as well. For the bun he actually ended up using a sub bun which was free of her allergens. It's not a gluten free bun; it's a regular white flour bun that just doesn't have her allergens. Remember she's the one who CAN have gluten so this was great. The kid ate totally off menu and he had a manager bring the hot dog over and she was unbelievably happy.

I was right that there wouldn't be any bread that DD13 could eat. She had trouble deciding for sure what to order (it's an autism thing when there's no obvious choice) so I chose a bunless burger for her. It was supposed to be a mushroom bacon cheeseburger so I asked if she could get a dish of sauteed mushrooms and some bacon on the side with the burger which was no problem at all. She loved it even without a bun. She's used to eating burgers using a large leaf of lettuce as a wrap to hold the bun so that didn't bother her at all.

I wanted something different and something that didn't seem too heavy so I got a tuna salad sandwich. He custom made the tuna for me since I think there was something in the already made tuna salad that I couldn't eat and he put it on an Ener-G bun. The bun worked better here than the roast beef at Captain's Grille. I suspect the sandwich would have been much bigger for a regular sandwich but I was very satisfied by my portion so if I had have gotten a bigger sandwich I would have been stuffed to the point of uncomfortable (heaven forbid I leave a morsel of this yumminess behind).

We were all fairly stuffed for dessert but DD11 wanted something anyway. The chef took some Divvies cookes and made her a couple ice cream sandwiches using Tofutti. This was quite the treat.

We'll definitely be back.

 

[HsvScrapGirl]

Thanks!! It went better than I expected though there were definitely tears involved. I think she desperately needed me to lay down the law. Hopefully tomorrow will go a lot better. Thank goodness DD11 had a good day.

I have been meaning to ask you, do you think it is the carrageenan in Silk products that your DD can't handle? I have a friend who's son can't handle it, so that is why I even thought it might be that.

 

[clanmcculloch]

I have been meaning to ask you, do you think it is the carrageenan in Silk products that your DD can't handle? I have a friend who's son can't handle it, so that is why I even thought it might be that.

I wish I knew. I just checked the Tofutti cheese slices that I have in the fridge and there is carrageenan in them and she can handle all Tofutti products so that can't be it. One of these days I need to really sit down and look through ingredients to find what's common in Silk and a few other products that we have around which DD11 can't eat (they're for DD13) yet aren't found in Tofutti or Follow Your Heart.

 

[EvangelineG]

Thank you so much for taking the time to do this dining report! With multiple anaphylactic allergies and ASD for both our sons, it is so helpful and encouraging to read about positive experiences from someone with similar challenges.