A small dietary restrictions rant...

[Honeybee83]

Let me help you out...everything had pineapple in it when we at each there. There was a marinade used on all the meats, and it was a pervasive flavor throughout. One of the many reasons when wont be back.

I appreciate your honesty!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

FWIW, I believe I've read that most Disney restaurants are using latex gloves at this point.

 

[Honeybee83]

And you're at the Poly. They have pineapples carved into wood everywhere, it's going to be in all the kitchens.

At least I know I won't have to eat the woodwork.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

At least I know I won't have to eat the woodwork.

High in fiber!

 

[ShirikiUtundu]

I actually work in the medical field and am allergic to latex. How interesting. Do you have any understanding as to why this is or what causes it?

Immunology is a pretty well outside of my scope of expertise, but I think it's because these things share common antigens which register as allergens to a person's immune system, thus they elicit the same reaction from it. That's a very simplified answer but there are many allergens that are grouped together for this reason. That is why I recognized yours as a pretty common grouping to a latex allergy.

 

[ShirikiUtundu]

FWIW, I believe I've read that most Disney restaurants are using latex gloves at this point.

That is pretty crazy in this day and age!

 

[Honeybee83]

THIS! a thousand times THIS!! I could have written your post (minus the lovely relationship you have with the prickly fruit! Mine is spices and other odd things) and I only want the same basic question answered before i even show up at a restaurant "Will you be able to accommodate me?" I don't want you to read me secret recipes or quote ingredients from labels that might change overnight, a simple "sure we have x or y protein in the kitchen that hasn't been marinated so a meal can be made for you"
It's very easy to deal with the staff once you arrive at a restaurant and i've never worried that I'll have something to eat BUT that's only after i do hours of research, looking at pictures of meals, reading postings by others with dietary restrictions and where they've had great service. HOWEVER, there will be that time when a location is requested by a family member that i might avoid on my own and i'd like to know BEFORE i show up if I should eat first so i don't sit there drooling. This trip it was the Star Wars dessert party for me... cost us $69.00 for me to have 3 buns they snagged from the Brown Derby, a couple of cookies, some cheese cubes, one dessert and a can of pop!

The comment made by someone that because we deal with non-life threatening dietary issues we are making mountains out of molehills is not fair. Will i die if i eat that tomato based sauce or that garlicy goody, or will i really be that much bother if i have something that's been steeped in alcohol? NO, but i will be confined to bed for what can amount to literally days & I will go through a lot of expensive RX medications.

I'm so sorry to hear about that. My issues are nothing compared to yours. I agree wholeheartedly with what you're saying though. It would be nice to get some solid answers, basic guidance, and to know exactly what the kitchen staff has the power to do BEFORE you are there with a hungry family, which also includes small children. I think we can all agree that it is my job to verify with a chef directly before the meal that I can eat the food they serve me and that it is not their job to look into my MDE and read my mind. However, I do think that it could be more accessible SOMEHOW, for someone to be able to get a dietary question answered well in advance so that, as many other posters have added, I won't go to a restaurant where every single thing contains my known allergen. I shouldn't have to avoid a restaurant because I'm not sure of the answer and I also shouldn't have to wait until we're already seated just to find out there's not much I can eat. At that point it's already too late to make other plans. I also shouldn't have to make a reservation just to start the exact process that I'm asking for. We see that it is possible to speak with a chef ahead of time because I was told that someone would contact me 10-14 days prior to my reservation. If this was not a fake reservation, and I decided that we'd like to try Be our Guest or Cinderellas Royal Table etc once we found out that I was not able to eat anything, then 10-14 days is way too close to get a reservation for one of those difficult to secure locations. The bottom line is, the special diets team exists to help people with food allergies deal with their problems, but still have an awesome vacation. All that I'm asking is to be able to email the team, have them reach out to the chef, and to be able to have a discussion with him/her ahead of time so that I know what my options would be if I chose that restaurant. If I don't like what they say, I'll go somewhere else. If what they say sounds great, then I can give my husband a meal he was really looking forward to and still be able to enjoy myself as well. What I think is being missed is that I'm not saying a conversation with the chef months in advance, and the day of your meal are mutually exclusive. Rather, if the dietary team could make conversations with the kitchen staff easier in the first place, then guests could know far in advance if they should avoid a location or go ahead with it.

 

[Honeybee83]

Immunology is a pretty well outside of my scope of expertise, but I think it's because these things share common antigens which register as allergens to a person's immune system, thus they elicit the same reaction from it. That's a very simplified answer but there are many allergens that are grouped together for this reason. That is why I recognized yours as a pretty common grouping to a latex allergy.

I appreciate the info. I've been blessed that just eliminating these foods from my diet allow me to live a completely normal life.

 

[maxiesmom]

You're not rude at all, I should have explained better. My husband is really excited about trying this place, but completely understands that we won't go there if I won't be able to eat anything. Because I want him to be able to have the experience, I'm trying to get these questions answered ahead of time so that, if it's not a viable option, I can find something else entirely or just eat something before we go and explain the situation to the staff so they know that I won't be dining.

You are aware that they will probably still charge you, right? Disney makes no exceptions on charging people at all you can eat or buffets. If you sit you pay. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

 

[Lisa F]

Lol. I love the gruel comment! I definitely understand your point, that a multimillion dollar corporation has to protect themselves from uninformed and sometimes nefarious intents to sue. I guess what frustrates me is I see the vast technological advancement in allowing an RFID chip in a magic band to detect what ride vehicle you are in and automatically load your ride photos to your MDE photo pass. I wonder that something couldn't be done similarly for dietary problems. Perhaps they could create a list of all potential allergens from a checklist in your MDE app, and then import ingredient lists from the recipes of their restaurants, and a guest could be notified to contact special diets when they are sent an email notification of a potential conflict. As long as ingredient lists are updated as soon as recipes are changed, it would be a very efficient way to field allergies while not having to affect the staff. Just a thought.

The problem with that is that many allergens present themselves as things other than what people say they are allergic to... ie a dairy allergy. You have to know what you are looking for, which would not mean a simple updating of a website but the CMs knowing how to interpret changing information and doing it on the fly and putting people's lives at risk. The only one who can be responsible for 100% verifying what is coming out to you in a restaurant is the chef and that's who you need to speak to. Yes, as it has been noted above, it is frustrating for an uber planner... so either skip a place that is likely drenched in an allergen (like GF people need to skip via napoli or vegans would be advised to not expect anything wonderful out of Yachtsman or other steakhouses) or be flexible enough for the sake of the other people in your traveling party to eat what you get. Honestly if my family member really wanted to go, I'd make the best of it. All meals at Disney are pricey and some are better than others. But that's just me!

 

[wellesleyprincess]

I think you have two choices, go to 'Ohana and know they'll accomodate but it may not the best. They can likely pull plain chicken from Kona, etc. And make your family happy that they get to go there.
Or avoid 'Ohana because of the allergy and go somewhere without a lot of pineapple.

I have dairy and treenut allergies. We don't go to the Italian restaurants because the choices would be limited. If it was important that we go there or it was someone else's choice, I wouldn't expect more than a salad, maybe bread, and maybe plain pasta or meat.

Disney is far better than most places. You can request to speak to the chef directly the day befor the meal and if you don't like the options they say are safe, cancel, etc. As others have said the liability of someone saying the wrong thing over the phone or an ap glitch would be huge. I've already seen a few reports where even the existing protocols failed and people have had severe reactions. An ap or cast members taking such decisions in their own hand would only make such accidents more likely.

 

[Honeybee83]

You are aware that they will probably still charge you, right? Disney makes no exceptions on charging people at all you can eat or buffets. If you sit you pay. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

Well poop

 

[wellesleyprincess]

You are aware that they will probably still charge you, right? Disney makes no exceptions on charging people at all you can eat or buffets. If you sit you pay. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

But they will likely be able to accommodate you somehow. It may be a plain hamburger that they bring in from the CS, but there will likely be something. They once brought me safe dairy free ice cream from EPCOT to Hollywood Studios because someone had put their dairy free ice cream in the same freezer as the other ice cream. It might not be the same experience and it might not be what you actually want, but they will provide something and therefore you will be charged.

 

[Honeybee83]

The problem with that is that many allergens present themselves as things other than what people say they are allergic to... ie a dairy allergy. You have to know what you are looking for, which would not mean a simple updating of a website but the CMs knowing how to interpret changing information and doing it on the fly and putting people's lives at risk. The only one who can be responsible for 100% verifying what is coming out to you in a restaurant is the chef and that's who you need to speak to. Yes, as it has been noted above, it is frustrating for an uber planner... so either skip a place that is likely drenched in an allergen (like GF people need to skip via napoli or vegans would be advised to not expect anything wonderful out of Yachtsman or other steakhouses) or be flexible enough for the sake of the other people in your traveling party to eat what you get. Honestly if my family member really wanted to go, I'd make the best of it. All meals at Disney are pricey and some are better than others. But that's just me!

We're planning on doing the dining plan so the cost for me is relative. If the breads, meats, etc are made fresh, then I may have a possibility of having something prepared separately. If not, we'll just have to see. I may eat my body weight in salad and brownies. Lol

 

[Honeybee83]

But they will likely be able to accommodate you somehow. It may be a plain hamburger that they bring in from the CS, but there will likely be something. They once brought me safe dairy free ice cream from EPCOT to Hollywood Studios because someone had put their dairy free ice cream in the same freezer as the other ice cream. It might not be the same experience and it might not be what you actually want, but they will provide something and therefore you will be charged.

That's at least nice.

 

[Lisa F]

We're planning on doing the dining plan so the cost for me is relative. If the breads, meats, etc are made fresh, then I may have a possibility of having something prepared separately. If not, we'll just have to see. I may eat my body weight in salad and brownies. Lol

well my kid loved the brownies. and they also brought him some kid food. Here is hoping that the meat glazes are just simple teriyaki or something... they do not generally have pineapple in them. I can't imagine the potstickers have pineapple in them either. Or the shrimp for that matter. I would GUESS it is just the steak/chicken/wing glazes that have a better chance of pineapple... but of course you need to know for sure. They might have some pre-prepared gluten free teriyaki which for sure would not have pineapple in it because bottled sauces don't have pineapple... that's such a big thing right now I imagine a place like the polynesian would keep something like that on hand.

Also I have a bit of a sensitivity to pineapple myself.. it makes my mouth itch and I puked it up once. I will eat a bit and I'm fine, but when I was pregnant I was majorly paranoid and I reported a pineapple allergy at 'Ohana. The only thing that was affected was the dessert... it was back before the bread pudding when they brought out the pieces of pineapple dipped in caramel sauce (anyone remember that?) and I had no issues at Kona either, it was really just the fresh pineapple garnish they had to keep away from what I had ordered. My sense was that every little thing was NOT bathed in pineapple over there. But it was like 9 years ago.

 

[Honeybee83]

well my kid loved the brownies. and they also brought him some kid food. Here is hoping that the meat glazes are just simple teriyaki or something... they do not generally have pineapple in them. I can't imagine the potstickers have pineapple in them either. Or the shrimp for that matter. I would GUESS it is just the steak/chicken/wing glazes that have a better chance of pineapple... but of course you need to know for sure. They might have some pre-prepared gluten free teriyaki which for sure would not have pineapple in it because bottled sauces don't have pineapple... that's such a big thing right now I imagine a place like the polynesian would keep something like that on hand.

Also I have a bit of a sensitivity to pineapple myself.. it makes my mouth itch and I puked it up once. I will eat a bit and I'm fine, but when I was pregnant I was majorly paranoid and I reported a pineapple allergy at 'Ohana. The only thing that was affected was the dessert... it was back before the bread pudding when they brought out the pieces of pineapple dipped in caramel sauce (anyone remember that?) and I had no issues at Kona either, it was really just the fresh pineapple garnish they had to keep away from what I had ordered. My sense was that every little thing was NOT bathed in pineapple over there. But it was like 9 years ago.

That is good to know. Fortunately, because I have stayed away from it for 5 years, when I first found out it was a problem, I am not as violently ill when I encounter a small amount. I was even able to have a few pieces of sushi with a little avocado with no reaction. Hopefully the meats, dumplings, etc are made fresh and a separate plate could be prepared sans pineapple and brought to the table. Has anyone who has a food problem or allergy gone somewhere in Disney World and had to have a separate meal brought out at a family style restaurant. If so, what were your experiences?

 

[Lisa F]

That is good to know. Fortunately, because I have stayed away from it for 5 years, when I first found out it was a problem, I am not as violently ill when I encounter a small amount. I was even able to have a few pieces of sushi with a little avocado with no reaction. Hopefully the meats, dumplings, etc are made fresh and a separate plate could be prepared sans pineapple and brought to the table. Has anyone who has a food problem or allergy gone somewhere in Disney World and had to have a separate meal brought out at a family style restaurant. If so, what were your experiences?

Of course you will check with the chef but at the time I don't remember it being a big hidden ingredient. It was in the obvious places and that's it, at both 'Ohana and Kona (the welcome bread obviously has it in it, the bread pudding not so much but it is made with the welcome bread so you already know that). I think one of two things happens, they bring out a platter with everything safe for everyone and separate plates of the thing iwth the allergen for the table and an allergen free plate for the rest of the table... or they might make you your own platter. that probably depends a bit on the layout of the table and the restaurant. But they are good at keeping you SAFE from allergies, just no telling how good the safe options will be

 

[Missyrose]

THIS! a thousand times THIS!! I could have written your post (minus the lovely relationship you have with the prickly fruit! Mine is spices and other odd things) and I only want the same basic question answered before i even show up at a restaurant "Will you be able to accommodate me?" I don't want you to read me secret recipes or quote ingredients from labels that might change overnight, a simple "sure we have x or y protein in the kitchen that hasn't been marinated so a meal can be made for you"
It's very easy to deal with the staff once you arrive at a restaurant and i've never worried that I'll have something to eat BUT that's only after i do hours of research, looking at pictures of meals, reading postings by others with dietary restrictions and where they've had great service. HOWEVER, there will be that time when a location is requested by a family member that i might avoid on my own and i'd like to know BEFORE i show up if I should eat first so i don't sit there drooling. This trip it was the Star Wars dessert party for me... cost us $69.00 for me to have 3 buns they snagged from the Brown Derby, a couple of cookies, some cheese cubes, one dessert and a can of pop!

The comment made by someone that because we deal with non-life threatening dietary issues we are making mountains out of molehills is not fair. Will i die if i eat that tomato based sauce or that garlicy goody, or will i really be that much bother if i have something that's been steeped in alcohol? NO, but i will be confined to bed for what can amount to literally days & I will go through a lot of expensive RX medications.

The problem is compiling a comprehensive list up to date so less-trained CMs can answer your questions.

 

[kikidrewbs]

My daughter has a pineapple allergy. My husband and I love Ohana and knew that our adult children would as well....except for our daughter and the whole pineapple allergy situation. We hoped to be able to eat there on our last family trip so I talked with the chef one night when it was just my husband and I and asked what types of food my daughter would be able to eat if we chose to eat there on the family trip. They told me to ask to speak to the chef when we arrived and that they would make substitutes for those dishes that had pineapple. The Chef came out and talked with my daughter explaining each dish that had pineapple and what he could do as a substitute. It seems like one of the meats had a pineapple marinade..probably the chicken. The noodles contained pineapple but they made her a plate of noodles with the pineapple omitted. ONE of the dipping sauces contains pineapple and I believe she just avoided it. Of course the bread and the bread pudding have pineapple. I honestly don't remember what they offered to replace the bread. It seems like they offered ice cream to replace the bread pudding but she was so full by that point that she didn't have room for dessert.