Peanut allergy concerns

[mom7011]

We will be going to Disney in May, first time with two of our 3 sons (leaving 16 mos with Grandma ) - our 4 year-old is allergic to peanuts. Has anyone encountered any problems dealing with the allergy or do you have any suggestions as to where to eat and what to avoid? I know there is alot of expertise on these boards!

 

[CamColt]

Our DS is allergic to peanuts and we just mention it to our servers. They are always more than accomodating. Sometimes they have brought out the chef to talk to us, and other times, they talk to the chef themselves. We basically just want to notify them of the allergy so that we are sure there are no hidden ingredients in the food and they are aware to watch for cross contamination, but weve found they always seem to go above and beyond the call of duty for us. They really do take allergies seriously.
Our DS has been to WDW 5 times since we discovered this allergy and weve never had any problem whatsoever.
Good luck!

 

[lwilliam]

but not peanuts, and we told our waiter the first night and every night after he told me if something had nuts or not. They could also prepare something, if it had nuts, without them.

 

[redbirdgrad]

My 7 year old has the peanut/nut allergy and we haven't had any problems on our trips - now last week we find out he's allergic to soy (after testing negative 4 years ago), so we now have to check the soy stuff too.

 

[ducklite]

I'm allergic to nuts and peanuts, and always speak to a chef, never had a problem. The one place I won't go back to is Boma, pretty much everything on the buffet is something I'm allergic to.


Anne

 

[Tink n Poohbear]

My son also has food allergies, so I asked a similar question awhile back. A fellow DIS-er suggested that I advise them ahead of time when making PS. The CM was able to note most of his allergies on a form to send to the restaurant. He also gave me a number (407-560-3361) to call 48 hours before our trip so we could ensure none of his food contained any ingredients he can't have.

Also check out allearsnet.com and they have menus for about every restaurant listed there. I was able to narrow down many of the places to eat by looking at the menus ahead of time.

Hope that helps!

 

[lenshanem]

My six year old is allergic to peanuts and tree nuts and she has been to WDW many times. On all my PSs I have them make note and then I call and speak to the chef with the number they give me. Usually they say 7 days prior to the meal. I then mention it again at the podium and typically a chef comes out and talks to us. I find WDW restaurants to be the most knowledgeable anywhere we've ever been regarding food allergies.

Chef Mickey's is a fav for us. They are really good there and have made my daughter her own pizzas since in the morning they have a PB pizza. I've noticed the rolls they always tell us to avoid at all the restaurants. Worst restaurant? The princess breakfast in Norway. Asked for a chef about a million times, never came out. She was being very picky anyway and I didn't let her eat any of the breads.

BOMA at AKL! AVOID!!! We had breakfast there and the chef walked us around, brought several items to the table for us special, but alas she broke out in hives around her mouth. Benadryl did the trick, no need for Epi, but I won't go back there again to eat.

We've also been more adventurous last couple trips. She eats the Mickey Ears ice cream. I called food cart services and they told me they were safe and I know some others here on the board have eaten them, too. To be honest, I'm a little weary of Nestle, feel much more comfortable with Hershey's. I'd go with your gut on that. She has also eaten the Dole Whips fine and loves them.

Oh, and she loves 50's Prime Time. We always ask about the smores and so far they have been safe. They use Hershey's chocolate bars, but ask to be safe. A real treat for her since she misses out on so many desserts!

Tomorrow I'm making tea party ressies for her and my other daughter. I'm nervous about this. I'll get the number from them and go ahead and call now to see if they will accommodate her. Someone from the boards told me they were great with their daughter who was allergic to milk so we'll see...

I also have in a call to Cape May Cafe. I haven't heard back. I wanted to know what they used to cook in for the clambake. I know many seafood restaurants use peanut oil. Anyone eaten there lately?

Also, made Poly luau ressies. Now that I'm thinking about it I should probably call now. I know this is a fixed meal.

 

[momof2inPA]

The counter restaurants all have ingredients lists, just ask the cashier. My peanut, nut, egg, soy allergic son did get hives from a mickey ear ice cream bar last time, even though he had eaten them safely in the past. We will avoid them from now on.

redbirdgrad: I find the soy allergy to be as much of a pain as the peanut allergy at Disney. Pretty much all the buns and bread contain soy, and the chefs are not used to dealing with the soy questions quite so much.

 

[lenshanem]

My peanut, nut, egg, soy allergic son did get hives from a mickey ear ice cream bar last time, even though he had eaten them safely in the past. We will avoid them from now on.

Oh, bummer.... Did you follow up and call on this?

This will be very disappointing to my daughter. She is already talking about getting one on our next trip!

 

[momof2inPA]

No, I didn't follow up, but I did see one posting on another website that said the main Disney number said there was a risk of cross contamination. When I asked the cart CM's manager, who just happened to be there the first time my son had a bar, he said they were ok for peanut allergies. So, I had some conflicting information. He probably ate five with no problems, then the last one did give him a reaction. He has many allergies, so maybe it was not the peanut but something else. It would be worth e-mailling Disney, so I will follow-up. Thanks for the kick in the pants, as I would hate for someone else to have a worse reaction.

 

[lenshanem]

Thanks momof2inPA. I will call before our next trip, too and get them to give the list again of the frozen treats that were safe. I had called food cart services before. Gosh, where now is that number...............

 

[Annie&Hallie'sMom]

I cannot stress enough how helpful MOST CMs at WDW are when it comes to all sorts of allergies and dietary restrictions. WDW is the only place where I feel comfortable eating out due to my multitude of food allergies.

The chef is the one who can make or break the experience. I have had very positive experience at places people have said they had bad experiences at and vice versa. For example, one of my BEST experiences was at Boma for dinner. Chef came to my table and talked to me about what I could eat. Although I did have to wait quite a long time (probably 30-40 minutes) and I thought that they forgot about me, when the chef came back with 2 plates piled high with food I couldnt' believe it. It was delicious and enough to feed the whole table. Plus the chef made sure that I had a special dessert (which was yummy). Can't say enough about Chef Freddie.

On the other had I had an excellent experience with Chef Stephan at the WCC for breakfast in 2001. He has moved to Olivias since then and we specificially went there for lunch to meet him. Unfortunately the day we went, he had car trouble and wasn't there. The chef that was there was not too cooperative and seemed reluctant to start up a fryer specifically to make me fries. Well, I was ornery that day and asked him to do it any way. I had a decent meal, but his attitude was a real bummer.

Again this not so positive experience was the exception to the rule. This past December we dined at the following places with great results: Kona Cafe (ask for Chef Bubba), Akershus, Le Cellier (Chef Karen), Sci Fi (Chef Aearon), Tony's Town Square, Prime Time (Chef Ricardo -- the nicest guy around), and Boma.

 

[CM'sMom]

My son also has peanut and tree nut allergies. We have been to Disney twice with no problems. Besides mentioning it when reservations are made I always tell the person seating us. Usually within minutes the chef is there to go over all the foods on the buffet or menu. I think that this allergy is so common that they are very used to dealing with it. I have had very nice, helpful people at each and every restaurant we tried.

 

[mom7011]

Thanks for all the peanut-related info - my husband and I are trying to decide where to make reservations to eat when we're there early May. I do have another question - we're interested in O'hana for dinner one night but I noticed on their menu that one of their dipping sauces is peanut. I usually stay away from stuff like that in the event someone has spilled any or it's still on the table, etc. Do you think it's possible to eat there or should I steer towards a restaurant? I'd also love to know what treats are safe in the park.

Thank you so much - this helps me with my comfort level before we travel. I've already thought about the "what if he's separated from us?" possibility but he's old enough to say "no peanuts for me" and he wears a medic-alert bracelet. The thought of someone giving him a treat to comfort him if he got lost scares me! I plan to tag my kids inside their clothes and to put our cell phone number on it and keep the cell phone on (we're leaving their younger brother with the grandparents so we'll have it on anyway). Any other ideas?

 

[lenshanem]

I just did a search on here typing peanut allergy. WOW! Pages and pages, didn't know where to begin.

Did find what I as looking for, here's the link to a thread I started regarding ice creams in the food carts. The first person to respond lists the number I called to check on the ice creams. I will call them again before I leave cause it sounds as if they might not guarantee the same items they did last time I called.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=464090&highlight=+peanut++allergy

Also... check out -
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=522317&highlight=+peanut++allergy

Interesting...

 

[laughinplace199]

lenshanem and momof2inPA, as far as the Mickey bars go, maybe it depends on who you talk to? My DD is allergic to peanuts and tree nuts. Before our Oct. 2002 trip, I called and was told to stay away from all of the ice cream cart treats since Nestle can't guarantee that there would have been no cross-contamination. From posts I had read after our trip, I had hope that she would be able to have the Mickey bars, but now I think we will not take that chance. I would imagine that soft serve ice cream would be ok since there's no scoop or anything. Has anyone done this with no problems? This is one of the biggest bummers for us at home, not being able to go out for ice cream.

mom7011, I never even thought of the getting lost and being offered a treat scenario! Thanks for mentioning it. My DD is also 4 and knows to ask if food being offered is "safe" for her, but if she were lost and upset, who knows what she'd do. I'm definitely going to have to go over this with her.

I don't know the answer to your 'Ohana question, but I'm sure someone else does. We have avoided that restaurant because of the peanut sauce, but maybe I'm being overly cautious.

Also, the Coral Reef restaurant in Epcot has some kind of peanut butter play dough item on the kids' dessert menu. I've read posts that state that the kids can play with this item and I imagine the stuff could get everywhere and anywhere. Just something to think about if you were considering that restaurant. I've never been there, so maybe someone else would know if it's really that much of an issue.

Disney really is a wonderful place for people with food allergies. You and your family will have a great time!

 

[lenshanem]

laughinplace199,
We eat soft serve any where we go that has it! Never had any problems with it. Since we can't go get ice cream, we go to McDonald's and get soft serve there for a special treat. I just watch them like hawks as they are fixing them cause I know they have those Blizzards.

We've eaten at O'Hana for breakfast and at Coral Reef for dinner. I didn't even know about the peanut sauce or play-do. She didn't have a problem at either place.

I called two chefs last week, one for the Wonderland Tea Party I have her signed up for and the other for Cape May Cafe. (I want to make sure they don't use peanut oil for their seafood clambake at night.)
I am surprised that neither place has called me back yet.

 

[laughinplace199]

lenshanem,
thanks for sharing your experiences with soft serve ice cream. My DD will be so happy if she can go out for ice cream this summer!

I'm surprised you haven't heard from the chefs yet. When are you going?

 

[mom7011]

I have made PS reservations for several places (Crystal Palace, Whispering Canyon Cafe)

and had them note my son's peanut allergy. They gave me a number to call to discuss a week before our trip. I feel very good about that. However, I called the Disney dining # a few days ago about counter service food and got the real runaround. The first CM put me on hold forever after being rude and I finally gave up and called again. Both told me they had no idea what was sold at the counter service restaurants in the park and that I should just ask when I got up to them. I told them I didn't want to stand in line with a 4 year-old only to find out that something is not safe for him or rely on someone just manning the booth for a few hours (no offense to anyone). After the second CM couldn't help me, she transferred me to someone in dining (where was I to begin with?) and he was very friendly. He told me to just check at the entrance of the park and they could call the chefs at those counter service places.

I like to be prepared ahead of time so I know what's okay. I've read about some number you've called to check counter service food or ice cream carts. Can anyone share? I'd really like to know about ice cream and chicken fingers Anyone know about those Mickey bars? Thanks!

 

[laughinplace199]

Magic Kingdom: 407-824-5967
Epcot: 407-560-7292
Disney-MGM Studios: 407-560-7830
Disney's Animal Kingdom: Head Chef Ralph 407-938-2441