Allerigies at DW question

[Jesusfreak]

We have gluten, dairy, soy and dye allergies in our family. I know there are alternatives offered but I was wondering about a few specifics if anyone can give me any insight.

For butter we have to use earth balance soy free. Does DW have an alternative like this or should we bring our own? Also we need to use the canola oil mayo? Need to bring our own? Anyone know what types or oils are used there for cooking?

 

[clanmcculloch]

I believe most places use an Earth Balance that does have soy. Sorry.

I don't believe you'll find a canola oil mayo. It's something you'll want to bring.

I believe that most places use canola oil for cooking though some chefs may use olive oil as well.

Special Diets can give you the most up to date and accurate answers to these questions.

 

[mistysue]

I think the specific items you mentioned you would be on your own for. How planned out are your meals? I ask because while I'm thinking about it I don't know if my son actually had anything involving butter our entire 2 week trip last year. We mostly ate at table service, but mainly his foods were steamed or lightly pan fried usually with olive oil. He mainly ate veggies, meat and rice with oil and seasonings. The "regular" oil probably varies by chef, but I recall olive oil being offered to us a lot. The only bread like thing he ate was waffles and those got syrup.

If you are doing a lot of counter service and are big on sandwiches than you may need them I suppose. I do not know what they fry things in and special diets may or may not know, but I would expect them to be reluctant with answering that in case you go on the day they use something else.

 

[hematite153]

I would recommend bringing some foods with you and planning to eat at least some of your meals either in your room or from a packed meal that you carry with you.

After that, you'll most likely have the greatest success at the resort TS restaurants that are menu-based. Many people have had great service in other places, but, it's more hit and miss.

When you make reservations, indicate the allergies. Then, send email to Special Diets. Then, follow-up, repeatedly sometimes. Then, when you check-in remind them that you have allergies. When the server comes, remind them that you have allergies and need to speak with a chef. Then, talk to the chef. I have had some terrific chefs and some that needed to be constantly reminded about my allergies. (I.e. they would say, "oh, well why don't you have the falafel, that's vegetarian" and I would say, "many people make falafel with bread crumbs, are you sure that yours is gluten-free" and he would say, "oh, yeah." Then, "we can make you the chicken wrap with a gluten-free wrap" to which I would respond, "but, I can't eat chicken" and "oh, yeah", etc.)

Always ask and trust your gut.

 

[Jesusfreak]

Thanks for all the suggestions. We have our meals pretty well planned out with our alleregies and I think we've done all the right things to notify Disney of them. My YDS is actually the one with the soy and dairy allergy, but we have all kept ourselves off of it as a family since we've felt so much better without that as well as gluten which my ODS has an allergy to.

If I accidentally had it, no big deal, but for YDS it would be a problem, so I am just trying to plan ahead! Since he's under 3 we'll more than likely be bringing his food with us, but I know that when he sees our food he's going to want to share. I'll just grab the things we're used to and put them in our cooler since we'll have to carry it around anyway with his milk and such!

 

[disfan07]

The last time we went to Disney in December my list of allergies was:

Peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, shellfish, wheat, oats, coconut, sesame, sunflower seeds, soy, broccoli, raw fruits, raw vegetables, and ginger.

We ate at: POP century food court, 50s prime time, 1900 park fare, crystal palace, the plaza, Sci Fi, Columbia harbor house, cosmic rays, sunshine seasons, studio catering company.

All of the chefs were wonderful. I don't know if we just had good luck or what but we had no problems at all. Honestly, last time, we did not email special diets. We just marked things on the reservations and mentioned it at QS places. This time I am going to email special diets because I have a few special requests for specific products (like namaste mix at our resort instead of Bobs red mill)

We are going back in June. I am still allergic to everything from last time but in addition I am now allergic to dairy. I am also limited on the amount of fish I can have and I might be allergic to chicken....waiting to get tested.

We are eating at: POR food court, 50s prime time, Sci Fi, the wave, crystal palace, liberty tree tavern, the plaza, yachtsman steakhouse, 1900 park fare, sunshine seasons, Columbia harbor house, and cosmic rays

The allergy chicken tenders at the CS places are amazing! Same with the allergy waffles. Those were two main staples for me. I had allergy safe waffles every morning and got allergy safe chicken tenders every afternoon for a snack at the hotel.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

just remember that any food brought with you can not be heated for you. will have to be eaten as it comes from the cooler. that could cause problems. no outside food can be heated in the kitchens.

 

[mistysue]

Thanks for all the suggestions. We have our meals pretty well planned out with our alleregies and I think we've done all the right things to notify Disney of them. My YDS is actually the one with the soy and dairy allergy, but we have all kept ourselves off of it as a family since we've felt so much better without that as well as gluten which my ODS has an allergy to.

If I accidentally had it, no big deal, but for YDS it would be a problem, so I am just trying to plan ahead! Since he's under 3 we'll more than likely be bringing his food with us, but I know that when he sees our food he's going to want to share. I'll just grab the things we're used to and put them in our cooler since we'll have to carry it around anyway with his milk and such!

If you are eating at table service locations, I don't know if they let you bring your own food in. That is generally a no-no. I know allergies can change that, but knowing that they can make food for him may create an issue. I would only expect to bring outside food in if they can't make anything. They will sell you a kid's meal for him at the normal kid's meal price and make something safe for him. That can be nice because it will include a drink and dessert, plus be hot/cold. If you are doing any buffets they will cook for him there even though he's free too. Counter service obviously you can bring all you want.
It costs us less to buy our son meals than it would for us to get him pre-packaged foods he could have that travel well.

 

[Fuhnuh]

I can't remember back to DD12's (egg, dairy, tree nuts, peanuts) visit back when she was DD4, but since then we always order her something and supplement that with whatever snacks we are carrying. We have never had any comments or sideways glances for doing so. I imagine with an under 3, especially considering his allergies, they would be okay with that.

 

[WheeledTraveler]

At WDW you can bring food into restaurants, however they cannot bring it into their kitchens to heat it up or blend it or do anything like that. I don't think they'd have a problem with your bringing in condiments to put on things they've already made (such as mayonnaise for a sandwich), but they won't use things you bring in anything they make. I have no idea if they could give you a plate (but I don't see why not as long as you aren't asking them to bring any food back into the kitchen).

In general, I would expect for a sit-down restaurant at WDW (one that is actually WDW owned) to be able to accommodate with safe food for your son with the allergies you've listed. At buffets he would be free and they would still be able to make food for him that is safe. For other restaurants, he'd be charged probably based on the closest equivalent child's meal, unless he were to eat off another family member's plate (that would just mean knowing that person cannot order things that are unsafe for him and make that clear to the chef). WDW restaurants in general do work hard to prevent cross-contamination and provide safe food for everyone, regardless of allergies.