Disney Dining for Child With Allergies

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

Hello all! First time poster.

My daughter is 9 and is allergic to wheat (gluten) and to dairy. Last year we used the Deluxe Plan, and only ate at TS restuarants, and things were great for her. Because most kids menu items contain wheat or dairy, she was given a "child" size portion of anything she wanted from the adult menu (and she made good use of the wide options she was given).

This year (for a bunch of reasons) we're probably going to get the regular dining plan instead. So, here's my question:

Will the CS locations be as accomodating for her? Looking at the kids menus, many of the CS locations will not have anything for her. Will she be able to use the CS meals at all? Anyone have experience with this sought of question? Would her dining options be much better if we upgraded her to an adult dining plan?

Thanks

 

[squirrel]

I took my niece to WDW last year and she is lactose intollerant.

I ended up sharing my CS meals as I couldn't eat one all by myself anyway.

I do think your daughter would have more options if you upgrade her to an adult. If you are going during Free Dining then the cost is very little- the price difference between the park tickets (adult and child for the number of days).

Not sure if you are paying for the DDP, but that would add a lot more $ to upgrade her to adult.

If you go over to the DisAbillities Board there is more information there. You can send an e-mail to Special Diets at wdw.special.diets@disney.com they will send you a list of places that have products available for CS meals and snacks for guests with allergies.

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

Thanks for the response.

Right now, we're paying for the dining plan (we got the military rate for the room, and getting the military tickets).

I'm thinking now maybe I should switch to the free dining (I read on a different thread you can get a single day ticket and upgrade to the military 5 day ticket).

Figuring out these different options is making my head hurt. And I was a math major!

 

[livndisney]

I suggest contacting Brenda Bennett (if you go to the Disabilities thread you will find her contact info). She is wonderful in dealing with food allergies at Disney. She will be able to help you plan for safe food for your DD.

 

[squirrel]

Brenda will respond (unless someone else also works with her) when you send an e-mail inquiring info on your daughters allergies to the special diet e-mail address.

I know that there are brownies and jelly beans at the resort your daughter can eat. Someone else told me that the Caramel Popcorn is also there-lactose free.

 

[BeccaGrace]

Our girls are gluten and dairy-free also and I agree about contacting Brenda. She will e-mail you several attachments of safe options in the park. Many of the CS places have GF/DF rolls for the burgers and some can make safe fries without cross-contamination issues. For dessert most places have the GF/DF brownies and the Main Street Bakery and some other locations also have safe chocolate chip cookies and Enjoy Life (free of the top 8 allergens) products.

 

[scojos]

hi- hust wanted to add that ds and i have some wierd allergies (seafood, fish, onions amongst others and always founs something to eat - all the staff were excellent. there is a lot of info on the disabilities thread, and whilst our allergies are fairly easy to avoid (except onions) evryone was great.
the only place i was stuck was pinocchio haus, but i only wanted the figaro fries anyway
good luck, each restaurant has a book for allergies, but its not very user friendly - more like a bible than a book.
i found chicken salad a good "opt out" when we couldnt be bothered to look!
(another tip, on allears.net there are loads of recips for wdw dishes, so you can check out the ingredients before you get there!
hth
tracy

 

[HsvScrapGirl]

I agree about contacting Brenda Bennett. We are going next month and our son is allergic to milk and peanuts. Brenda sent a form to fill out and lot of information on what to find where as far as safe foods. When you fill out the form, with any TS reservations, and return it to them, then they will forward it on to the chefs at all locations.
A family that we do a lot of stuff with went earlier this year and their oldest son is allergic to milk, egg, wheat, barley, rye, peanut and mustard. They ate at both TS and and CS with ZERO reactions! They even at at the Toy Story Pizza Planet. From what I understand the key was to ask for the manager at CS locations. They will work with you and are usually very happy to do so.
Oh and the caramel popcorn and jelly beans that they serve for food allergies is by Divvies. I suggest you contact Divvies and see if they are wheat free or not. For some reason I am thinking that they do contain wheat, but I am not 100% on that.

 

[JLiz]

Disney is such an awesome place for those of us who are gluten free. Every restaurant, whether TS or CS, I've eaten at has been more than accommodating. The staff at the CS don't seem to be as well informed or helpful as the chefs at the TS places, but they still tried their best and I found something tasty to eat everywhere we went.

Overall, I'm so impressed with how much compassion Disney has for those with dietary constraints and allergies.

 

[joannem]

We went at the end of June with my milk, egg, peanut and tree nut allergic son. At each counter service place, a manager or chef came out and talked to us. We were able to order anything off the menu for him that would meet his allergy set. It didn't matter if it was an adult or child item. For example, at Wolfgang Puck express in DTD, he got a rosemary chicken entree (1/2 a chicken!) and fries for his child CS credit. No problems. The chef at Pizza Planet even made a gluten/dairy free pizza for him. It took a little while because we were there at peak lunch time, but he did and my son LOVED it.

Personally, I wouldn't bother upgrading his dining plan to adult. They will take care of you and make sure he (or she) has something to eat.

Enjoy!! As the parent of a food allergic kid, Disney was a huge treat for ME!

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

Thanks you all for the help!

I emailed Brenda Bennett and got a whole bunch of attachments to go through.

You're responses made me feel confident that she'll be fine at the CS

Oh, and the free dining is a better deal than the room discount, so we switched to that.