Allergy advice for summer trip

bmwolff40

Earning My Ears
Joined
Sep 24, 2013
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Our family is going on a WDW trip this summer! This will be our first trip to WDW since we have had kids so it is a whole new excitement! We have a DD that will be 5 on the trip and a DS that will be 2. Our ds has 2 severe allergies to peanuts and eggs. He even has skin reactions with contact. We are nervous about this trip and having a reaction. He does have a epi pen...thank goodness we have not had to use. I have been reading a lot of past posts on this issue and soaking up some great info! I was just going see if anyone has some advice for us regarding the plane ride, TS and CS, Port Orleans and wiping down rides. We love Disney and excited to share the magic with our kids!
 
bmwolff40 said:
Our family is going on a WDW trip this summer! This will be our first trip to WDW since we have had kids so it is a whole new excitement! We have a DD that will be 5 on the trip and a DS that will be 2. Our ds has 2 severe allergies to peanuts and eggs. He even has skin reactions with contact. We are nervous about this trip and having a reaction. He does have a epi pen...thank goodness we have not had to use. I have been reading a lot of past posts on this issue and soaking up some great info! I was just going see if anyone has some advice for us regarding the plane ride, TS and CS, Port Orleans and wiping down rides. We love Disney and excited to share the magic with our kids!

Hi. We go every other yr to Disney with severe allergies too. When you book the flight tell them of the allergy. I make my DD and DS wear long sleeves and pants for the plane. I also bring antibacterial wipes and clean the tray and other places they may touch. Jet Blue sets up a perimeter, nobody can have peanuts in the zone. We book our TS reservations 180 days out. Tell the CM booking of the allergies. They will note it on your res.You used to fill out a form before you travel but they no longer do that. All TS are very accommodating. I use the same regiment for TS zip up sweatshirts and sweats or stretch pants. Wipes to wipe down chairs/table/ high chair. CS same. Rides every time they get off we wipe their hands and are extremely careful about handrails in line.
 
I think she covered it.

Since he is 2, how much does he like hanging out in the stroller?
If he is easy to keep in the stroller I would consider trying to get a pass that you can take the stroller everywhere so that he may be less likely to touch everything. (stroller as wheelchair, talk to guest relations)
Even if it doesn't work out in lines, I would have him sit in the stroller when you go to eat. Ask when you arrive at TS and considering his age and how severe it is most will likely not have a problem. Food locations are going to be your most dangerous time. With the egg issue, are you planning to go out to breakfast? If egg causes skin contact reactions I would consider trying to eat in your room some mornings just to ease the stress. Breakfast seems to be the one meal that both at TS and CS we usually notice kids are especially messy. We run into more little smears of food at our "clean" tables and chairs for breakfast than other meals.

As far as the food that you actually order, he shouldn't have trouble getting safe food. Something to consider, I have been told that a damp cloth will work much better than antibacterial wipes for removing proteins and will not create a strong smell that many are sensitive or allergic to. So I might try to think about carrying around a ziplock of little clean cloths (baby wash cloths are little and useful) and one for used cloths at least to use at higher risk locations.

If it helps you feel any better, my son has had contact reactions at local play areas but touches everything like crazy at Disney and has never had a contact reaction there.
 
I would like to share our recent experience with dining at Disney with food allergies.
I hope that you can learn from our experience and do not have to go through what we went through. I am going to just give you the facts about the situation and try my hardest to leave out how I feel Disney handled our situation.
We recently vacationed at Disney World in August with our family. My three year old son is allergic to eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, shellfish, and milk. We eat out at restaurants weekly and have never had a problem with my son's food.
When I made our reservations, I noted my son's allergies with each ADR. Some restaurants had the info when we checked in, others did not. At each restaurant, we told the servers and then the chefs about the allergies.
When we had lunch at the Coral Reef at Epcot, we talked to the waitress about my son's allergies and then the chef came out. After talking through all of the allergies, the chef and I decided that my son would have egg free bread, noodles with the dairy free butter, and broccoli. The waitress brought our rolls out and said that my son's bread would be right out. A few minutes later, a waiter brought a basket with two pieces of bread out and told us that it was the egg free bread. We double checked with him and then gave it to my son. A few minutes later, the chef came running out and grabbed the basket. He said that they gave us the wrong bread and that this bread had egg in it.
A few minutes later, my son said that his throat hurt and began vomiting. This was the first time that he had ever had anything with egg in it, so we weren't sure how severe his reaction would be. After a few minutes, my son's vomiting became more severe and he began to lose consciousness. We had to give him the Epi-pen, called 911 and spent the rest of the day at the ER at Celebration hospital.
Luckily, my son recovered and is fine. However, a month later he still asks why my husband gave him a shot (it was the first time my son ever needed an Epi-pen) and tells us that it hurt.
After I spoke with the manager, I learned that were other customers with food allergies at the restaurant at the same time, and the allergy bread got mixed up.

The one difference that I noticed at the restaurant, was that this was the only time that someone besides the chef that I talked to brought the food to our table. After I returned, I learned about two other similar allergic reactions at Disney this summer. During these incidents, different people brought the food out, as well.
My advice to you is to make sure that the person that brings you the food, is the original chef that you talk to.

Also, it took a long time for 911 to arrive, so make sure that you have your two doses of epinephrine with you at all times.

I don't mean to scare you, but I want to make sure that you do not have the same terrible experience that we had.
 

granted grandson is older than your son, so stroller as wheelchair did not help us, but he reacted to peanut butter on a chain while inline for a ride. people do bring P&J sandwiches for their children and let them eat while inline. the peanut butter was a very small not noticeable, so yes it can happen while in the parks. you can not control what other bring into park or where they eat it. plus kids in line will touch or talk with hands to other children who could have on their hands
 





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