Current experience with food allergies

[michellej47]

Has anyone been recently with multiple food allergies and can share their experiences/favorites/things to avoid?

My son is allergic to nuts, dairy and eggs. I emailed and received their allergy menus to help me start my planning, but I would love to hear from someone who has been recently and can share their favorite places they tried. We are used to Disney and how great they are with allergies, so this part of the trip is a little nerve wracking. I am planning on having groceries delivered for breakfast and snacks and if it's easier, we can just bring food in most of the time. But a few good meals he can eat would be awesome!

 

[Lisann]

When we travel, my sister has a shellfish allergy. Disney has been over-the-moon wonderful about this, and she has been able to eat great meals everyday. Sometimes, the chef will personally come out, but she has never had any issues at all. I think you will be fine.

 

[GinnyBear's_mom]

We also asked for some allergy info ahead of time via email and Universal replied with very specific info, a total 180 from Disney. Disney special diets used to be very good via email but for the past few years I just got form letters back letting me know that their suppliers change too often to give specific menu items that are safe. I completely stopped emailing them about 2 years ago as it is a waste of time.

Anyway, we had such a good experience at Thunder Falls that we ate there a few times last summer (DD is intolerant to dairy and gluten). Avoid butterbeer as the topping has dairy in it and sadly, they are not allowed to leave the topping off for you.

 

[NJ Goofy]

My son (college age) cannot have dairy, on our last trip Disney was very accommodating. He told the server at each restaurant and they explained what each of the dishes he wanted contained. When they didn't know the answer to his questions they promptly went to the kitchen to find the answer. On two occasions the head chef even came out of the kitchen to speak with my son. We were very happy with the service in that regard.

 

[MonaMN]

We are doing our first trip to Universal in March (also doing days at Disney) and this is one of my biggest concerns - we are only PN/TN so it will likely be fine, but it is hard to adjust and the inability to carry a backpack around (without constantly needing lockers) also makes it harder to bring snacks/safe items.

I am sure it will be fine… but change is hard!

 

[TwoMisfits]

We are doing our first trip to Universal in March (also doing days at Disney) and this is one of my biggest concerns - we are only PN/TN so it will likely be fine, but it is hard to adjust and the inability to carry a backpack around (without constantly needing lockers) also makes it harder to bring snacks/safe items.

I am sure it will be fine… but change is hard!

As someone with food allergies who has been to Universal...bring the backpack and the snacks...sometimes, the wait for allergy food can be long, or you may not be at a CS that can accommodate, so no sense starving when the lockers aren't hard to manage...

 

[michellej47]

When we travel, my sister has a shellfish allergy. Disney has been over-the-moon wonderful about this, and she has been able to eat great meals everyday. Sometimes, the chef will personally come out, but she has never had any issues at all. I think you will be fine.

Yes, I'm fully aware as we got to Disney a lot. I'm asking about Universal.

 

[michellej47]

We are doing our first trip to Universal in March (also doing days at Disney) and this is one of my biggest concerns - we are only PN/TN so it will likely be fine, but it is hard to adjust and the inability to carry a backpack around (without constantly needing lockers) also makes it harder to bring snacks/safe items.

I am sure it will be fine… but change is hard!

Same, but the info I got from Universal doesn't really have a lot of options for my son. We may do the backpack/locker route or take a break and go back to our room.

 

[michellej47]

As someone with food allergies who has been to Universal...bring the backpack and the snacks...sometimes, the wait for allergy food can be long, or you may not be at a CS that can accommodate, so no sense starving when the lockers aren't hard to manage...

Do you have any suggestions for some "centrally located" lockers? I've only been to Universal twice, the last time being 4 years ago, so I'm not well-versed. It sounds like bringing our own is the best bet. We are flying in, though, with no car, so we'll order groceries.

 

[Blondie58]

When we travel, my sister has a shellfish allergy. Disney has been over-the-moon wonderful about this, and she has been able to eat great meals everyday. Sometimes, the chef will personally come out, but she has never had any issues at all. I think you will be fine.

I too have a shellfish allergy. Have spent just over three weeks on property since October. Both our fall and Christmas trips - never an issue. Disney personnel are always polite and go over and above to make sure there is no exposure.

 

[TwoMisfits]

Do you have any suggestions for some "centrally located" lockers? I've only been to Universal twice, the last time being 4 years ago, so I'm not well-versed. It sounds like bringing our own is the best bet. We are flying in, though, with no car, so we'll order groceries.

I didn't bother with centrally located, but just used the ride lockers as we went...since I also brought water (and regular snacks) for my kids, it was handy to have pretty much all the time anyway...(plus it had our replacement surgical masks in a ziploc, so I also didn't have to worry if we lost those on a ride)...

 

[Lisann]

Yes, I'm fully aware as we got to Disney a lot. I'm asking about Universal.

Oh, sorry. I didn't see the word Universal.

 

[Jujumama]

We traveled with a person that was Vegan in October and while there were options and everyone was accommodating, it was a still a bit of a struggle for him. The Lounge at Portofino did not have too much that was Vegan but did get almond milk for him a couple days at breakfast. Cowfish had some lunch options. Mythos at Islands of adventure had some great allergy and vegan options. The Chocolate factory, Big Fire and NBC Sports Bar was a bit more limited. Sals at Portofino had a very little non diary options besides french fries and salad. For the most most part, the servers at all the restaurants seemed pretty knowledgeable about ingredients and were helpful,. We felt well informed either way. I would be prepared with some snacks just in case.

 

[TwoMisfits]

PS - Make a lunch reservation for Cowfish. The only allergies they struggle with are soy and sesame (as they told me), so your son should be able to get a really nice meal there. But, make sure it's lunch, b/c they also said they can get overwhelmed during the dinner rush, so if you want to have a safe and relaxing and no big delay meal, go at lunch...(They handled dairy, tree nuts, and mango combo allergies for me really well)...

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

So my mom is allergic to red wine. While we didn’t have any issues at the parks (including volcano bay) or RPH in terms of the allergy as they were very accommodating. CityWalk we really had to ask/mention it.
as an FYI, bigfire cooks their chili with red wine. (Still loved the meal there but my mom did want the chili and couldn’t).
To play it safe I’d always ask a TM. When it comes to food allergies, much like Disney, they don’t mess around.

 

[eva]

PS - Make a lunch reservation for Cowfish. The only allergies they struggle with are soy and sesame (as they told me), so your son should be able to get a really nice meal there. But, make sure it's lunch, b/c they also said they can get overwhelmed during the dinner rush, so if you want to have a safe and relaxing and no big delay meal, go at lunch...(They handled dairy, tree nuts, and mango combo allergies for me really well)...

So glad to hear this. We are taking our granddaughter to Universal this spring. She has severe allergies to wheat, dairy, and eggs. So much so that she has to carry an epipen. We were hoping to take her to Cowfish. She so loves sushi. Dining out for her is a struggle. She was always such a foodie and up for trying anything. Now it takes hours of planning to go out for dinner. She is 16 and it really embarrasses her to make a big deal of things. Hoping that restaurants at Universal will work with us without making a big production.

 

[princesscinderella]

I have a gluten allergy and we mostly steer clear of the quick service meals as there’s usually only one selection and it’s not always what we want. We like to eat at Mythos and Confisco grille. We had an amazing meal at confisco over New Years and the chef came out to check on us a few times to make sure everything was ok and to our liking. Both restaurants are in islands of adventure. Mythos requires an advance reservation, confisco never seems to be as crowded maybe because it’s at the front of the park?

 

[Callsdodisney]

We also asked for some allergy info ahead of time via email and Universal replied with very specific info, a total 180 from Disney. Disney special diets used to be very good via email but for the past few years I just got form letters back letting me know that their suppliers change too often to give specific menu items that are safe. I completely stopped emailing them about 2 years ago as it is a waste of time.

Anyway, we had such a good experience at Thunder Falls that we ate there a few times last summer (DD is intolerant to dairy and gluten). Avoid butterbeer as the topping has dairy in it and sadly, they are not allowed to leave the topping off for you.

Hey! What information did Universal provide for you? I have the same intolerances and was wondering if there was an easier way than looking at every single menu!

 

[GinnyBear's_mom]

Hey! What information did Universal provide for you? I have the same intolerances and was wondering if there was an easier way than looking at every single menu!

Here's what I sent in March 2021 to
Food.Allergy@universalorlando.com
Can you tell me if there are any gluten/dairy free options at Three Broomsticks or The Leaky Cauldron?

and Universal's response:
My favorite options at the Three Broomsticks is the chicken platter and the Leaky Cauldron can adjust the Chicken sandwich for you

 

[michellej47]

They sent me a document that had allergy free options at each location, but it wasn't very thorough. We are likely going to bring food for him to be safe.