celiac and the ft wilderness cabins

[jenjenmouse]

What do you do in the kitchens at the cabins to make sure there is no cross contamination from the guests before you? Like, I know we would need a fresh toaster but what about the pots and pans, etc? Does anyone have any idea?
I like the idea of our kitchen but wonder if I need to bring our own kitchen supplies or something.

Any thoughts?
Thanks,
jen

 

[Chickenlady]

Based on what my friends have said....as long as the pots, pans, utensils are clean there should be no problem. Wouldn't even ask for a "new toaster", the amount of cross contamination would be so small that it shouldn't be an issue, celiac issues are not like an allergy that causes an anaphylactic reaction.

 

[clanmcculloch]

What do you do in the kitchens at the cabins to make sure there is no cross contamination from the guests before you? Like, I know we would need a fresh toaster but what about the pots and pans, etc? Does anyone have any idea?
I like the idea of our kitchen but wonder if I need to bring our own kitchen supplies or something.

Any thoughts?
Thanks,
jen

We'll be staying in a cabin for the first time this August. Among our long list of allergens/intollerances/foods we need to avoid is gluten. Here's my plan.

I wouldn't trust any toaster that's provided by FW. If you're driving and can bring our own then go ahead and do so but my plan is to just plan for not needing a toaster. It's pretty easy to go even a few weeks without a toaster if you're planning your meals.

The dishes, utensils and pots & pans (the ones we'll use anyway; I'm working on a meal plan so I'll know by then what we'll use) all go through the dishwasher. I know my dishwasher at home won't always get everything off so I figure the same is true about the ones in the cabins. I don't see that it'll take a long time to just make myself feel comfortable by washing the dishes myself when we get there. I may just look over everything and decide then if it looks like everything has any residue left over or not. I guess I'll decide on that when I get there.

I definitely won't be cooking anything directly on the oven rack.

No offense to PP who commented that celiac is not like an allergy and small amounts of cross contamination shouldn't be an issue, but you don't know what you're talking about. No, it may not cause anaphylactic reactions but it CAN mean problems as severe as intestinal bleeding, dehydration and all sorts of other nasty things that can lead to hospitalization and yes even death. Some with celiac may not have severe of a reaction but the internal damage is still being done even if the reaction is more minor (my "minor" reactions include up to 2 weeks of a rotation of symptoms including diarrhea, migraines, inability to focus, nausea, skin lesions and other things I'm gratefully blocking out at the moment). I'm glad for your friends who don't have severe reactions but that's now how celiac works. A person with celiac who is using a shared toaster is playing Russain Roulette whether they realize it or not. Long term damage is happening even if symptoms aren't obvious at the moment (and I'm genuinely glad for them that their symptoms aren't obvious at the moment but they ARE don't long term damage).

 

[SDSorority]

We'll be staying in a cabin for the first time this August. Among our long list of allergens/intollerances/foods we need to avoid is gluten. Here's my plan.

I wouldn't trust any toaster that's provided by FW. If you're driving and can bring our own then go ahead and do so but my plan is to just plan for not needing a toaster. It's pretty easy to go even a few weeks without a toaster if you're planning your meals.

The dishes, utensils and pots & pans (the ones we'll use anyway; I'm working on a meal plan so I'll know by then what we'll use) all go through the dishwasher. I know my dishwasher at home won't always get everything off so I figure the same is true about the ones in the cabins. I don't see that it'll take a long time to just make myself feel comfortable by washing the dishes myself when we get there. I may just look over everything and decide then if it looks like everything has any residue left over or not. I guess I'll decide on that when I get there.

I definitely won't be cooking anything directly on the oven rack.

No offense to PP who commented that celiac is not like an allergy and small amounts of cross contamination shouldn't be an issue, but you don't know what you're talking about. No, it may not cause anaphylactic reactions but it CAN mean problems as severe as intestinal bleeding, dehydration and all sorts of other nasty things that can lead to hospitalization and yes even death. Some with celiac may not have severe of a reaction but the internal damage is still being done even if the reaction is more minor (my "minor" reactions include up to 2 weeks of a rotation of symptoms including diarrhea, migraines, inability to focus, nausea, skin lesions and other things I'm gratefully blocking out at the moment). I'm glad for your friends who don't have severe reactions but that's now how celiac works. A person with celiac who is using a shared toaster is playing Russain Roulette whether they realize it or not. Long term damage is happening even if symptoms aren't obvious at the moment (and I'm genuinely glad for them that their symptoms aren't obvious at the moment but they ARE don't long term damage).

Thank you, I was about to say everything you just said.

OP, this is what we do when we visit WDW and stay in a place that has a kitchen or kitchenette.....

I wash (by hand... hubs dries) all of the silverware, plates, cups, pots, pans, microwave turn table, etc. I also wipe the surfaces (counters, inside the cabinets where the dishes touch the shelves, nobs of stoves/microwave buttons/etc.) We always rent a car, so if we use the oven, we always add aluminum foil to our shopping list. So, if I want to make toast or waffles, I either just microwave it on a plate or put it in the oven on a layer of foil. Do what you gotta do . Hubs knows the routine, so he just lets me 'go to town' cleaning everything as SOON as we get there. No crumbs in our kitchen unless they're our own!

 

[Mama Who]

I would not count on Disney providing you a "fresh" toaster. I think if the cross contamination issue is that severe you probably need to provide your own or do without. I don't think I could trust that a toaster was gluten-free.

Oven baked toast requires careful monitoring, but is quite good.

 

[cinderella73]

I stayed in the cabins and didnt use their stuff. You can bring or buy silicon baking pans if there is anything you might want to bake. They squish right down if you are flying and putting stuff in a suitcase. Or you an shp a box wth the silicon pans and safe gluten free flour down to the resort and they will hold it til you arrive.

We drove so I did bring my own pot , pan , and mixing bowl. If you are stying in the 2500 loop you will Ana as a housekeeper and she is awesome. Makes the best towel animals in the whole campground to boot !

If you have the ablity and or need for it here is a list of what I brought. I was there 2 weeks , drove down , and had van to cram it all into. It was a huge help.

Sponges
specialty food needs
pot
pan
mixing bowl
measuring cup and teaspoons
mixing spoon & spatula
can opener
plastic ware , plates , cups , and straws
clorex wipes
huggies baby wipes ( they are THE BEST at removing food residue)
foil cupcake and baking pan

I did use their
dishsoap ( cute little bottles of Pamolive)
paper towels

they do provide dishwasher detergent but I didnt use the dishwasher

We are extreme though and have to avoid nut oils and such , but hopefully that helped give you some idea.

Oh if you are there long enough you might want to pack a pop up trashcan. It folds up flat and it was great. The trashcans there are tiny and we had them full in no time.

 

[cinderella73]

clanmcculloch - I was uploading those pics and working on that Pm to you about the cabins but maybe I will start a post about our cabin stay on here. That way anyone on here who has the food allergies can take and use whatever they want from it . Might be easier to post the pics that way also. I am still sendng u a message about some of the questions also. Darn boards erased my message last night when it went down.

 

[laughinplace199]

Not celiac, but my DD has severe nut allergies. When we arrive, we run everything that we will be using through the dishwasher.

We do not use the toaster since we don't know what kind of bread has been in there. Luckily, DD LOVES bread & butter and she also likes untoasted bagels, so it's not a big deal for her to not use the toaster.

I also bring Clorox wipes so that I can wipe down the counters, inside of microwave, fridge door handles, etc.

 

[jenjenmouse]

Thank you thank you thank you everyone! We are driving and I can bring everything and I think I will. Great idea about the pop up garbage can. Ahhh, everything seems a bit more relaxed now with "experts" who can give me advice. So true about celiac. My daughter can get a trace of it and although she doesn't have to be rushed to the hospital it does knock her entire system out of whack. Not necessarily tummy troubles ( but she has that a plenty!) but as little as mood swings to severe migraines ,etc. If it is total intake of gluten ( on purpose as she is a teen ) then it is weeks for the autoimmune response to die down. Her biggest deterrent to "oh maybe just once" is the acne she gets after having gluten.

My son is also gluten sensitive. He has more immediate reactions to it. He gets a rash and his behavior goes wacky! He has Prader-Willi syndrome. Oh it gets complicated.

Thanks again everyone. I feel much better about attempting to feed my family in the cabin. Looking forward to a different WDW experience. We have been 9 times..We stayed at a value a couple of times, all the mods and AKL once. But this our first cabin stay.

Jennifer

 

[SDSorority]

Thank you thank you thank you everyone! We are driving and I can bring everything and I think I will. Great idea about the pop up garbage can. Ahhh, everything seems a bit more relaxed now with "experts" who can give me advice. So true about celiac. My daughter can get a trace of it and although she doesn't have to be rushed to the hospital it does knock her entire system out of whack. Not necessarily tummy troubles ( but she has that a plenty!) but as little as mood swings to severe migraines ,etc. If it is total intake of gluten ( on purpose as she is a teen ) then it is weeks for the autoimmune response to die down. Her biggest deterrent to "oh maybe just once" is the acne she gets after having gluten.

My son is also gluten sensitive. He has more immediate reactions to it. He gets a rash and his behavior goes wacky! He has Prader-Willi syndrome. Oh it gets complicated.

Thanks again everyone. I feel much better about attempting to feed my family in the cabin. Looking forward to a different WDW experience. We have been 9 times..We stayed at a value a couple of times, all the mods and AKL once. But this our first cabin stay.

Jennifer

Have fun! Let us know what you end up bringing/doing! We're always looking for new tips and reviews!