Can we really do without a kitchen with a corn-allergic child?

[Terry2]

I've been going over the allergy info e-mailed to me to try to find something safe for my daughter with many food allergies -- mostly corn, wheat, and milk. I've heard such good things about WDW and food allergies, but so far, I'm not coming up with much that's safe for her. Tinkyada pasta, that's about all, but I don't know WHERE it's available.

Has anyone gone to Disney with a corn-allergic child? (Even small amounts of corn derivatives could mean a ruined vacation).

Am I crazy to even consider making do without a full kitchen? We can't afford the places with a full kitchen, so we're currently set for the CBR and have requested a microwave for medical needs. I plan to bring a hot plate as well (I confirmed with CBR that's OK). We're driving, so we'll plan to bring a lot of her food, but there's only so much that can be cooked in a microwave and/or hot plate. Plus, isn't it kinda hard to wash dishes in the bathroom sink?? A lot of her foods from home are perishable, so I guess we could also plan to keep a cooler in the room with ice in addition to the in-room fridge?

I was really hoping to find at least 1 food within the parks that was safe for her, such as french fries, but so far, it doesn't sound promising. I know it says the counter service places have books with ingredient lists, but s there any way to check on specific ingredients at specific CS restaurants within the parks before we go? We don't plan on any ADRs as we don't have park hoppers.

Ugh, I'm beginning to think we should have just planned to stay off-site somewhere with a full kitchen. But, this is the family's first Disney trip, and I really wanted the "full" Disney experience!

Any advice from anyone who's dealt with corn allergy is greatly appreciated!

 

[GoofyFairie]

First . My children do not have a corn allergy, but we are avoiding many other very common foods that are in just about everything. I wish I could give you more specific advice or hints. Your cooler idea is a good one as well as bringing food from home. Good luck. I hope someone jumps in that can help you.

 

[bookwormde]

I know it is about 50% more than CBR but have you considered a cabin at FW.

bookwormde

 

[toi]

We aren't dealing with a corn allergy, and I know that's very different from what we are dealing with. But, I thought I would share our plans for our upcoming trip. Our 4 year old son cannot have wheat, eggs, milk, soy, seafood, tree nuts, peanuts, or sweet potatoes. We rely on him drinking an elemental formula for some of his nourishment, and it has to be cold for him to drink it. So, we'll be carrying a lunchbag into the parks with us.

We are doing the meal plan but are not counting on him being able to each at the counter service restaurants. Instead, dh, dd, and I will use his counter service meals.

I hadn't thought of requesting a microwave in the room for medical purposes, but that's a great suggestion. We will be packing lots of nonperishables for him and just enough perishables to get him through the week (homemade chicken nuggets, safe hotdogs, lunchmeat). Fresh fruit is available in all of the parks, so we are counting on that to supplement. Also, we know he can have the turkey legs and will get a kick out of eating those. He'll have his bfast in the room every morning, we'll pack a snack and lunch for him, and then we will return to the room during the early afternoon. After a little rest and repacking snacks, we'll return to the park and have dinner wherever we've made reservations.

Can your daughter have their hotdogs, fresh hamburgers, or turkey legs? It's too bad the "allergy friendly" chicken tenders contain corn!

 

[disneyandme]

I have a corn-allergic child as well and I think doing Disney without a kitchen is going to be tough. Maybe try booking a 1 BR villa with the new codes that came out yesterday. There are corn derivatives in almost everything. Steak is about the only meat I can think of that might be safe to eat- you'd have to check on preservatives. All the processed foods- hamburgers, chicken, etc would most likely have corn. You could try eggs- just make sure to talk to the chef so that they are prepared without cooking spray in the pan and no spices (salt as corn in it). I don't know how long you are going for, but I won't rely on a cooler to keep food safe for more than a couple of days. Good Luck.

 

[disneyandme]

What does your child eat at home?

 

[disneyandme]

bump!

 

[Terry2]

Thanks, everyone!

DisneyandMe, my daughter eats a lot of food cooked from scratch at home. She's never eaten the gluten-free cereals for me at home, so that's probably not going to work at Disney either, but it sure would be nice if she would! She used to be good about eating fruit, but she seems to be developing new allergies every day, so most of that is out as well. She also really needs to eat, and frequently, or she has metabolic and/or blood sugar problems. I'll figure it all out, I'm sure, but for now it's driving me nuts! CBR rooms all have a mini-fridge, so that will help a little -- don't have to rely on a cooler!

 

[Ctsplaysinrain]

You may want to look into renting DVC points from an owner. Look on the board here. Depending on the season and such, you may be able to get a 1 bedrrom with a FULL kitchen for less than CBR... I am an owner, if you want to PM me your dates, I could give you an idea.

 

[disneyandme]

My daughter is the same way- she's allergic to more than she is not allergic to. She eats about every 3-3 1/2 hours. We do have a cereal she eats that is good when we travel- easy to transport, doesn't need refrigeration. We are trying a villa this time with a kitchen. In the past we have run into trouble with sterilizing dishes and keeping from cross contaminating things in a regular room.

 

[disneyandme]

I also wanted to let you know- in case you hadn't heard yet- that some "plastic wear", straws, utensils, etc are now being made with corn/soy/potatoes. I don't know if Disney has done it yet, but several restuarants have switched.

 

[happymommy]

My DS also has food allergies, but he is luck that he outgrew sesame and peanuts. Still we have to avoid all egg products (he even reacted to his flu shot this year) and he can only have limited dairy (which is a huge improvement over the previous years, when he's had anaphylaxis from just a tiny amount).

One good safe snack for him is plain rice (at Japan's counter service).

They are really good about avoiding cross contamination, from our experience, at counter service (at least the ones owned by Disney). He can't eat chicken nuggets, so at Restaurantasaurus, they substituted (years ago) a plain hot dog for him (no bun). The manager herself went back to the kitchen to oversee his tray, and I even saw "change gloves" on the top of his ticket! I was really impressed. I don't know the hot dog ingredients, so can't comment on whether or not it has corn.

We did stay a couple of times in a villa at the Boardwalk (and are doing so again soon), and having a full kitchen really helped so much when his diet was more limited. We drove the first time, so I had tons of pantry items that were safe for him. I felt so much safer that way. I've also brought a little hot pot when we haven't had a kitchen, and made him noodles in that before. It is hard to wash out in the bathroom sink, plus being extra careful with the hot pot itself (I am so cautious about that!). So a kitchen really is nice.

Even a studio unit will have a small kitchenette, which may be nice. There is a good discount now, and you can get a studio cheapest at SSR. We personally just love the Epcot resorts area...

Good luck! Sounds like you're planning well.

Also, at table service places, they will talk to you (a chef will) so they will do their best to make something safe. My son has had plain grilled chicken or fish made for him, with plain rice or potatoes, and never had any contamination issues at all at Disney. They did give him rice dream or tofutti, which was a treat! I find that although we pay a lot to vacation at Disney, it is worth it for the care they give kids with allergies.

 

[blondietink]

My son is allergic to eggs, wheat, soy and milk. We always get a room with a kitchen to accommodate his allergies. We did the dining plan last summer, because it was free, and tended to stick to buffets where he could eat lots of fresh fruit, peanut butter, sorbets, etc. and he could always find something else he could eat on the buffets for meat and veggies. I don't think we could rely solely on the dining plan to meet his nutritional needs, though. A kitchen is a smart thing, IMO.

 

[abc123mom]

My daughter has several food allergies (dairy, soy, egg, peanut and tree nut) and my husband does as well (corn, peanut and tree nuts). We always bring some food with us, generally nonperishable breakfast/snack items as a backup just in case we run into trouble getting food at restaurants. Our last trip we had a full kitchen and really didn't use it. Everything we "cooked" (mostly oatmeal) was made in the microwave.

We have found most table service restaurants to be VERY accommodating. Some of the most helpful chefs have been found at Boma, Chef Mickey's and Whispering Canyon. All of these restaurants are outside the parks so would not require park hoppers. We found traveling to some of these resorts for either a late lunch or early dinner made a nice break from the parks. My husband was able to have french fries (which seem to always have a form of corn) for the first time in several years on our last trip. The chef cut up fresh potatoes and fried them up separately for him in a pan on the stove top. He was thrilled.

Counter service restaurants can be difficult, especially with the corn allergy. We have found eating at "off" times, such as a really early or late lunch, to be extremely helpful. The less busy the counter is the easier it's going to be for you to get your questions answered and speak with a manager. There are a few counter service restaurants that serve fresh hamburgers. The rest serve frozen. The frozen patties DO have corn in them and the fresh ones DO NOT have corn. You can get a list of which restaurants have fresh patties from the special diets office. My husband found this information the most helpful because he knew he was at least able to get a burger to eat (we brought our own buns from home) when in a pinch.

The special diet office is VERY helpful. I have emailed them asking all kinds of specific dietary questions and always got a response within a day or two. You also want to double check things closer to your trip because suppliers and ingredients change regularly. It sounds crazy but we always go with a plan of where to eat every meal and an idea of what we will be eating. The moments where we planned to "find" something have always turned into meltdowns because someone was hungry and we couldn't find safe food. So now we almost always pack at least a hefty snack that would do in pinch, but planning out all our meals in advance has saved us from anymore food related meltdowns. Good luck with all your planning and I hope you find your dining experiences as relaxing (as much as they can be considering food allergies) as we have.