Allergy protocol in wdw restraunts

[mommieto3]

We just got back from a week at wdw. We had a fabulous trip. Our two year old is allergic to peanut and dairy. At every single restaurant the chef or manager came and personally took our order and I was given a pager or delivered the food directly from the chef/manager... Except for Sunshine Seasons. I told the cast member at the station about ds allergies and she plated his meal. Very confused. He later broke out in hives after two doses of Benadryl it cleared. Did the cast member drop the ball or does every restaurant not have that policy? Pop food court gave me a pager and the chef spoke with me directly as well so I don't think it was just bc it was a food court. Confused.

 

[jmartinez1895]

I am not sure if different places have different rules when it comes to this or not, but my husband has pork allergies and the only time we had an issues was at the Garden Grill ( different restaurant, but same building). In our case our server never got the chef. From this we learned to ALWAYS speak to the chef. I think maybe the CM thought that they knew what was and was not in the food, or maybe they did not understand the seriousness of allergies. Of course it is to late for you now, but we learned to insist on seeing the chef, even if it makes the server angry.

 

[mommieto3]

I should've questioned her. ill know better next time. We are still new to eating out w allergies

 

[stackyallred]

I have a VERY long list of allergies and on our last trip (Sept 2012) we had great experiences, too... except at Sunshine Seasons! I was sort of given the run around there but I told the CM that I needed to speak with a chef. The first time we dined there he just plated my meal. I didn't feel great afterwards (just sluggish and some anxiety which is typical if I have had a bit of an allergen) so I handled things differently the second time we went. The chef (a different one) again tried to plate my meal and I said I would prefer to have it made fresh if possible. He acted a bit put off but he did it and this time I felt good after. Not sure if it was just a coincidence or not. What is odd to me is that out of all the counter service places, it would seem Sunshine Season would be the best at handling allergies considering they have some many fresh items and such a large space. Even Flame Tree BBQ was able to give me great meals which was no small feat with my allergies! So sorry that happened to your DS!

 

[mistysue]

They should always make your food off to the side.
The pager we've only gotten at resort food courts, but they have always made DS's food separate in the back. This doesn't necessarily mean the chef you get isn't an idiot, but it seems to up the chances that it comes out right.

 

[clanmcculloch]

At Sunshine Seasons I always just ask to speak to a chef regarding allergies. I don't place our order. I have had CMs ask what are allergies are and I whip out my handy dandy card with our laundry lists of allergies to which they respond that they'll get a chef. But, even if we only had 1 allergy I'd still ask to speak to a chef.

In my experience, the chef will initially go to grab our food from the regular serving area. I look at what else is nearby with the potential for cross contamination and/or server using the same serving utensil resulting in cross contamination. Most things aren't close enough to others with my allergens for me to worry about but there are some things I'll ask the chef to grab fresh from the kitchen. I don't generally get a hard time about it. None of us has every had problems after eating at Sunshine Seasons. We eat there at least once per trip. We do tend to stick to the same foods time and time again because we really like those items.