ABD and peanut allergies

[ACmom]

Does anyone have experience traveling on ABD with children with peanut or tree nut allergies? We are looking to take the London/Paris trip with our peanut/tree nut allergic son. Our specific concern is that lupine, which cross reacts with peanut allergies often, is now being used in the flour in France but doesn't have to be listed as an allergen in the ingredients. Were the guides helpful in keeping food allergic children safe? How was meal safety (preparation and ingredients) determined? Disney has always been very knowledgable about food allergies in this country, but how about abroad? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[KLondon]

ACMom.... We did the London/Paris tour this past Summer. My wife has a peanut allergy and she had no problems. I seem to recall *maybe* one desert option in Paris that had peanuts, but there were many other desert choices that worked fine for her that night. We didn't check with Disney beforehand on this issue because we're is pretty adept at keeping an eye out for problems when we travel. I do know that we really did not encounter nearly as many 'peanut allerts' in Europe as we would expect when travelling in North America.

All that said, I really can't comment on general nut allergy risks during the London/Paris tour.

Hope that helps a little.

 

[cydlei]

Hi ACmom. We are traveling to Italy with our two "nuts". Our son (age 10) is moderately allergic to all nuts. Our daughter (age 19) is extrememly allergic to peanut products and doesn't leave home without her epipens and benadryl. Just the smell of peanuts can send her into shock, so we are very worried about the long flights. The airlines have been alerted, but can't stop passengers from bringing peanuts on board. We thought we'd bring extra snacks on board and offer to trade them out with anyone who might have brought peanuts. Disney has been alerted and will advise their guides not to offer peanut products to the group during snack breaks. We, of course, will reiterate this when we get there. It's a drag being such a pain in the neck to peanut lovers, but it truly can be a life or death issue. Hope everyone is understanding.

 

[eva]

Hi ACmom. We are traveling to Italy with our two "nuts". Our son (age 10) is moderately allergic to all nuts. Our daughter (age 19) is extrememly allergic to peanut products and doesn't leave home without her epipens and benadryl. Just the smell of peanuts can send her into shock, so we are very worried about the long flights. The airlines have been alerted, but can't stop passengers from bringing peanuts on board. We thought we'd bring extra snacks on board and offer to trade them out with anyone who might have brought peanuts. Disney has been alerted and will advise their guides not to offer peanut products to the group during snack breaks. We, of course, will reiterate this when we get there. It's a drag being such a pain in the neck to peanut lovers, but it truly can be a life or death issue. Hope everyone is understanding.

That is such a tough situation. I feel for both your children. I don't usually take peanuts on planes for that very reason. But I do take almonds and pistachios. Has anyone ever heard of airborne allergies to those types of nuts? I do not eat processed food or foods high in carbs much. It's bad for my blood sugars. So I would be loss without those to snack on. But I sure don't want to risk someone's life either.

 

[Skylarr29]

Hi, I am a travel agent and have had a client go on the same tour with no problems. What I was told by Disney is that they can accommodate a peanut allergy on most tours, the exception being China because they use so many peanut products.

Hope that helps!

 

[Kris10luvsDisney]

This is a great question! My DD is 5 and is also severly allergic to peanuts. My DH and I are doing Viva Italia in September w/o the kids, but I'd like to take her on an ABD trip sometime in the future, and it definitely is a scary thought to be in a foreign land where the food labeling/ingredients aren't what we are used to here in the U.S.
Good luck, have fun and most importantly...Have a SAFE trip!

 

[cydlei]

Hi! Just wanted you all to know that I spoke with a Customer Service Rep from Southwest Airlines re: their peanut policy. He said that the best course of action is to book the earliest flight of the day. These are the only time the planes can be guaranteed to have been completely wiped down and disinfected. If notified at the time of reservation, an alert will be placed in their system and the flight crew will not serve peanuts. However, the customer is also urged to talk to the gate agent upon check-in and receive paper allergy notices to hand to the flight crew upon entering the plane. These will then be posted in both galleys so that there aren't any slip ups. You can also ask the flight attendant to make an announcement to the passengers re: the severity of the peanut allergy and respectfully asking them not to consume peanut products during the flight. Additionally, if you weren't able to get the first flight of the day, you can ask the gate agent if you can preboard to "wipe down" your area with Lysol wipes, etc.
Hope this helps....
Cindy

 

[SCFamily4]

My son (now age 9) is severely allergic to peanuts and tree nuts. He (or we) carries an epi pen and Benadryl everywhere we go.

We (the 4 of us) are scheduled for the 12/20/08 Knights and Lights trip - and are VERY excited about it! Fortunately, my son and I were able to go to Europe (France & Germany) with my parents in April so we were able to work out some of the "traveling with an allergy" issues before our big trip in December.

Some thoughts to share (if it isn't too late!) ...
- We flew on Delta ... I called ahead, and they added a "medical alert" to our profile. I also told everyone along they way - and made friends with the "on board leader" for the flight attendants. They were very kind, and watched out for my son. They still served peanuts, but did not serve nuts in the 4 rows ahead and behind us. We also boarded early so I was able to do a "quick clean" before my son got situated.
- We brought A LOT of snacks with us - both in our carry on and checked luggage. Obviously all were "peanut free", and were a huge help since we were often hungry at odd times and weren't always able to find "safe" food items.
- I had our local pharmacist make up a prescription label for the Benadryl liquid and also got a RX bottle. This way I could carry on more than 2 oz. since it is "medicine". We didn't have any problems with the EpiPens - but I still carried a note from our doctor, just in case. Plus, everything was labeled (with an RX label).
- I ordered some handy wallet cards from selectwisely.com. They have translations for food allergies and other health conditions. These were helpful to hand over at restaurants.

I am so looking forward to the ABD tour, since it looks like they are supportive in finding "safe" foods. To be honest - we didn't see many peanuts in France and Germany -- but LOTS of almonds and other tree nuts. Thankfully, just about every restaurant had pizza and pasta. Plus - we even found a Subway Sandwich place.

Sorry for the long post ... but hope this was helpful. We look forward to hearing about everyone's experiences!! Bon voyage!!