Dairy allergy

[WheeledTraveler]

No I heard they weren't ok for kids.

You might want to ask her doctor about whether it's worth trying the OTC tablets. I know that at one point there was a tablet out there which kids can have because I remember friends taking them when I was a kid (at least 20 years ago). Those may have been prescription so it may be that the kid-safe versions are prescription only.

 

[wendow]

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My oldest DD has a dairy allergy. These are the dining reservations I have made, what would be some desserts she would be able to have; CRT lunch, Akshers dinner. We are also having breakfast at 1900 and Ohana. Will they have pancakes etc she can have? It has been noted on out reservations, but I feel like I am going in blind.

My ODS has a milk allergy and we had breakfast at 1900 PF back in September. Chef Renee was who took care of us and she was great. Made him Mickey waffles, eggs (their eggs at the buffet have milk), fried potatoes, bacon, df/gf muffins & donuts. He was definitely well-fed

I just want to also give a couple of CS places that we have been to on both of our trips and both times have been taken care of fabulously...Captain Cook's (worked with two managers and both are great) and Contempo Cafe (same manager each time). Not a great experience at The Plaza so I cannot recommend them.

 

[monorailsilver]

My 10 yo son is dairy, tree nut, egg whirte and peanut allergic although he is going for a peanut food challenge on Thursday so he might be ok to have peanut soon...yay!

Anyways, he has gone to Disney 3 times plus last April we made a pit stop in DtD for dinner on our drive back to CT.

We mainly do counter service and there has never been a problem. We ate at chef mickeys and they had the Oreo desserts. I did ask if they had any Oreos not on the dessert and they said no but he had his ice cream and was content.

We stayed at the poly and let's just say the chef that helped us most days (I wish I got her name) was wonderful. We were there for 10 days. He was thrilled because he got chicken nuggets there and I sampled a piece and they were yummy!

I did ask earlier in the week if they could get him his ice cream but the chef said that the pineapple dole whip was dairy free and she got the bag of ingredients for me to read and would he like to try it. I expected a spoon not half a cup full! I had heard it on the dis about it being dairy free but there were some saying it wasn't. Well it was. As long as he filled from the dedicated pineapple only side he was good. I never got it in the MK because we were staying at the poly and they have it.

Also, that same chef felt bad that he couldn't have the cookies that were offered. I said he eats Oreos and she said hold on a minute. SHE went to the back and opened a brand new package in front do me and gave him a handful. She said "just ask". That was after I just asked at chef mickeys.

A few years back he had the waffles when we did a breakfast at Ohana, well he was given them and since he doesn't like pancakes/waffles he wouldn't eat them there.

I can tell you the bread for the burgers was gluten free and he didn't like it. I did bring hamburger buns from home and a small Tupperware container to hold it. THEy were Udis. I tried them and I wouldn't eat them since it was something I wasn't used to.

He had pizza from pizza planet as well as pizzafari and he like that. He also had a cheese less but with pepperoni from Wolfgang pucks. If his numbers were still above 100 he would not of been able to have it at Wolfgang since they cook it all in the same oven- yes he was that severely allergic that I could t cook a dairy cheese pizza with his pizza in the same oven or on the same grill.

He had the popcorn, turkey leg, fruit bar, chicken legs from the lands food court with the potatoes, a candy apple and a pretzel from Germany. And other food that I can't remember.

I also brought stuff for breakfast because he can't eat eggs, muffins and Danishes that are offered plus it saves us time and money in the am. I asked for a microwave for our room and made him oatmeal quite a few mornings.

Disney is great with food allergies!

 

[clanmcculloch]

I am sever lactose intolerant and use the Dairy Ease or similar chewables just fine. There are too many special treats to enjoy if you can tolerate using them. I love my Dole Whip, but I am not going to have dairy earlier that day; then using the chews works fine.

You don't need any kind of enzyme for lactose intolerance with Dole Whips. They are lactose free.

 

[nfceagles]

My 10 yo son is dairy, tree nut, egg whirte and peanut allergic although he is going for a peanut food challenge on Thursday so he might be ok to have peanut soon...yay!

Anyways, he has gone to Disney 3 times plus last April we made a pit stop in DtD for dinner on our drive back to CT.

We mainly do counter service and there has never been a problem. We ate at chef mickeys and they had the Oreo desserts. I did ask if they had any Oreos not on the dessert and they said no but he had his ice cream and was content.

We stayed at the poly and let's just say the chef that helped us most days (I wish I got her name) was wonderful. We were there for 10 days. He was thrilled because he got chicken nuggets there and I sampled a piece and they were yummy!

I did ask earlier in the week if they could get him his ice cream but the chef said that the pineapple dole whip was dairy free and she got the bag of ingredients for me to read and would he like to try it. I expected a spoon not half a cup full! I had heard it on the dis about it being dairy free but there were some saying it wasn't. Well it was. As long as he filled from the dedicated pineapple only side he was good. I never got it in the MK because we were staying at the poly and they have it.

Also, that same chef felt bad that he couldn't have the cookies that were offered. I said he eats Oreos and she said hold on a minute. SHE went to the back and opened a brand new package in front do me and gave him a handful. She said "just ask". That was after I just asked at chef mickeys.

A few years back he had the waffles when we did a breakfast at Ohana, well he was given them and since he doesn't like pancakes/waffles he wouldn't eat them there.

I can tell you the bread for the burgers was gluten free and he didn't like it. I did bring hamburger buns from home and a small Tupperware container to hold it. THEy were Udis. I tried them and I wouldn't eat them since it was something I wasn't used to.

He had pizza from pizza planet as well as pizzafari and he like that. He also had a cheese less but with pepperoni from Wolfgang pucks. If his numbers were still above 100 he would not of been able to have it at Wolfgang since they cook it all in the same oven- yes he was that severely allergic that I could t cook a dairy cheese pizza with his pizza in the same oven or on the same grill.

He had the popcorn, turkey leg, fruit bar, chicken legs from the lands food court with the potatoes, a candy apple and a pretzel from Germany. And other food that I can't remember.

I also brought stuff for breakfast because he can't eat eggs, muffins and Danishes that are offered plus it saves us time and money in the am. I asked for a microwave for our room and made him oatmeal quite a few mornings.

Disney is great with food allergies!

Sounds a lot like my DS! He's 8 and has the same allergies. We've been to Disney 3 times and he's always been fed very well. The biggest trick for us is finding the restaurants that have things he will like. Nearly any place at Disney will feed him something safely, but by looking at the menu and knowing his personal preferences we're able to find a lot of things he loves. He's a real meat eater, so I make sure there's a nice steak or salmon or ribs on the menu and we're good to go. Burgers and hot dogs are usually bunless as the regular buns usually contain dairy and the gluten free ones are tough if you aren't used to gluten free food.

I once asked at Chef Mickey's if they could use the waffle batter to make pancakes instead as my DS prefers pancakes. The chef said he could if we really wanted him to, but that he finds they come out a little flat. We chose to go ahead and get Mickey waffles and DS has loved those ever since.

MonorailSilver- Did the chef at Chef Mickey's offer a cupcake for dessert? We've been there every trip and they always have allergy cupcakes available that are pretty good, despite being also gluten free. We only eat there for breakfast, but the chefs have given them to us when we asked about them. Good luck at the peanut challenge!

 

[wendow]

We stayed at the poly and let's just say the chef that helped us most days (I wish I got her name) was wonderful. We were there for 10 days. He was thrilled because he got chicken nuggets there and I sampled a piece and they were yummy!

I did ask earlier in the week if they could get him his ice cream but the chef said that the pineapple dole whip was dairy free and she got the bag of ingredients for me to read and would he like to try it. I expected a spoon not half a cup full! I had heard it on the dis about it being dairy free but there were some saying it wasn't. Well it was. As long as he filled from the dedicated pineapple only side he was good. I never got it in the MK because we were staying at the poly and they have it.

Also, that same chef felt bad that he couldn't have the cookies that were offered. I said he eats Oreos and she said hold on a minute. SHE went to the back and opened a brand new package in front do me and gave him a handful. She said "just ask". That was after I just asked at chef mickeys.

I wonder if this is our same chef from Captain Cook's?? If so, her name is M.J. and she is just so, so great. Just like your post described. This woman has bent over backwards for our ds. She was there when we went in Sept 2012 and Sept 2013.

 

[Ladygoldenhair]

You don't need any kind of enzyme for lactose intolerance with Dole Whips. They are lactose free.

Maybe I am thinking of something else, this was a float with pineapple juice. Dear family just gets me "the float with pineapple juice.". I would hate to try it and find out there is dairy becausè of the cream part.

I had two questions.
1. Does anyone think that the dairy farm use of chemicals to make cows produce more mile aids in sensitivities.
2. Do they use antibiotics as in cattle, would that have an affect?

 

[WheeledTraveler]

I had two questions.
1. Does anyone think that the dairy farm use of chemicals to make cows produce more mile aids in sensitivities.
2. Do they use antibiotics as in cattle, would that have an affect?

I'm not even going to try to claim I'm not bias on this. I don't drink milk from cows treated with bovine growth hormone and have cut it out from as much of my food as possible. If I could afford it, I'd stick to organic (or even stricter) dairy products. Although, I've recently discovered that organic milk probably has a longer shelf-life so I may change (I'm one person so a gallon of milk usually lasts me longer than I feel safe having it open in the fridge; if I can start buying organic gallons and not have them go bad, it might save me money). Anything that says it's USDA certified organic has been through an approval process, but I'm not sure that there's something stopping non-organic farmers from claiming to be organic as long as they don't claim to be USDA certified. I know in many food products there's no way to know for sure if what's labeled organic actually is. The other thing worth noting is that organic milk is not the same as grass-fed (organic cows do have to be in a pasture to graze for at least 160 days in a year, but organic feed is also allowable as a food source).

Answer to question 1: I don't know how easy it is to find outside the northeast, but you can get milk that is growth hormone free (it could also be labeled as BGH-free, BST free, rBGH-free, or rBST-free). In New England, I can't find any milk that isn't BGH free when it comes to regular milk for drinking (I don't know about lactaid milk products). Milk products (butter, cheese) vary based on where they were made, but there is at least one BGH-free option everywhere I shop. I can't remember if I ever saw milk with BGH when I lived in NYC (I buy BGH-free and never had a problem finding it either as the cheapest brand or almost cheapest brand). Most of my family keeps to brands where we know for sure that they're BGH free. From looking, though, Walmart's brand of milk is BGH free and so are many other companies. I don't know that I think that BGH makes a difference when it comes to milk allergies and lactose intolerance. I know plenty of folks in my area who are lactose intolerant or allergic to milk.

For Question 2: I think it really probably depends on the antibiotics and the levels of antibiotics. It's also something that you can avoid, although it's harder. I do know that the FDA was going to be looking into the effects of antibiotics in milk because of consistently finding that in slaughtered dairy cows every year a very small percentage had higher percentages of antibiotics in their meat than is allowable (and some had antibiotics not approved for use in cows). Since not all antibiotics are tested for and it's been consistently found, the FDA decided to do some research on how much may be passed into the milk and what the effects on people are (dairy cows are tracked enough that the FDA can also step up testing in cows from farms that have had consistent problems). That was in 2012 and I don't think there are any results out (I wouldn't expect any for another couple years, to be honest). I suspect that antibiotics in milk are more likely to be a problem for someone who is already allergic to antibiotics.


Even with my bias, I will put in the caveat that the FDA has approved BGH use in cows so it has shown to be safe in several studies. As well, the over antibiotic use that's prompted that FDA study showed up in less than 1% of the dairy cows slaughtered in 2008 (in 2011, that was the most recent data available, according to the New York Times article about the situation). It's obviously up to every person what they/their family chooses to use.

 

[geek+nerd]

Maybe I am thinking of something else, this was a float with pineapple juice. Dear family just gets me "the float with pineapple juice.". I would hate to try it and find out there is dairy becausè of the cream part. I had two questions. 1. Does anyone think that the dairy farm use of chemicals to make cows produce more mile aids in sensitivities. 2. Do they use antibiotics as in cattle, would that have an affect?

The pineapple and orange Dole whip flavors are lactose, casein and whey free. They are totally non-dairy, so they are fine for vegans or folks with dairy allergies. The vanilla flavor, however, is not. That does contain dairy. So, if you are eating pineapple and vanilla swirled or orange and vanilla swirled, you would need to take your enzyme or whatever.

 

[mistysue]

Maybe I am thinking of something else, this was a float with pineapple juice. Dear family just gets me "the float with pineapple juice.". I would hate to try it and find out there is dairy becausè of the cream part.

I had two questions.
1. Does anyone think that the dairy farm use of chemicals to make cows produce more mile aids in sensitivities.
2. Do they use antibiotics as in cattle, would that have an affect?

As geek+nerd said, the pineapple and orange are safe. If you want to be extra careful, try to get it from a machine that does not also serve dairy so you don't get residue from when people get the other flavor or a swirl.

People ask that question about the chemicals and antibiotics in food all the time. Honestly, it may be a factor for some people. Many of the foods that are your top allergens are the same ingredients in half of what you find in a store- I think that constantly ingesting the same things may be a bigger factor. I have heard of people being warned to diversify their diet as much as they can because when you have an allergy and start taking things out, the items you rely on more then have a higher chance of becoming a future allergen. Then you have the factor that the abundance of food availability gives us the ability to care if we have a minor allergy or intolerance- if we were starving I'm sure I would be much less worried about dairy giving DD a tummy ache. With fewer food options, most of the people who identify as having an allergy or intolerance would just eat the offending food and deal with minor discomfort as just a part of life.
For people with strong reactions, I really do believe that there are more people with bad allergies because they live through reactions at a higher rate. If there were not epi pens, many of the people who live to tell the tale would have just not gotten through that first bad reaction. They wouldn't live to be hospitalized a dozen times.
Chemicals and drugs are easy to point a finger at. Everybody feels like they are more common, but have to question if we have any way to tell if allergies are more common or not. 200 years ago if I fed DS a peanut butter sandwich and he died, would he be recorded as choking? randomly passing out? would they decide one of us poisoned him? Depending on where/when we lived there may be no record or the "official" reason could be completely different so it's hard to even say how common allergies used to be. I have an uncle who was always just sickly and had a rash. I have a son that is the same way... my son has allergies... my uncle is of the age nobody would have even thought to test something like that. His entire life it could have been a wheat problem but we will never know.

 

[nfceagles]

Maybe I am thinking of something else, this was a float with pineapple juice. Dear family just gets me "the float with pineapple juice.". I would hate to try it and find out there is dairy becausè of the cream part.

I had two questions.
1. Does anyone think that the dairy farm use of chemicals to make cows produce more mile aids in sensitivities.
2. Do they use antibiotics as in cattle, would that have an affect?

If you are sure you are only lactose intolerant, all flavors are lactose free. If you are allergic, the vanilla is not safe as it contains casein, a milk protein. What you described is a Dole Whip Float and it can be made with any of the flavors in pineapple juice. Any Dole Whip float should be lactose free, but one containing vanilla would not be dairy free.

 

[clanmcculloch]

Maybe I am thinking of something else, this was a float with pineapple juice. Dear family just gets me "the float with pineapple juice.". I would hate to try it and find out there is dairy becausè of the cream part.

The pineapple and orange Dole whip flavors are lactose, casein and whey free. They are totally non-dairy, so they are fine for vegans or folks with dairy allergies. The vanilla flavor, however, is not. That does contain dairy. So, if you are eating pineapple and vanilla swirled or orange and vanilla swirled, you would need to take your enzyme or whatever.

ALL flavours of Dole Whip are lactose free. No enzymes required. The pineapple and orange are also vegan while the vanilla contains milk protein (casein) so it is not safe for those who allergic to milk. This is a very important distinction.

The float with pineapple juice is a Dole Whip float. You can choose any flavour of Dole Whip to go with the juice. Some people love pineapple Dole Whip with the pineapple juice while others find that to be pineapple overload and prefer it with vanilla and then there are those who love the combination of orange with pineapple juice though I would bet that's more of an acquired taste. All of these are lactose free.

People who are lactose intolerant are lacking in the enzyme that breaks down lactose (milk sugar). The enzymes are a replacement for that enzyme which they do not have enough of so people who are lactose intolerant can consume milk products (within reason) by taking enzymes. If there is no lactose in a product then no enzyme is required since there's nothing in the product that the person's body can't digest.

People who are allergic to milk have an allergic reaction (body produced antibodies which result in an allergic reaction) to casein (milk protein). Nothing breaks down casein including enzymes.

 

[geek+nerd]

ALL flavours of Dole Whip are lactose free. No enzymes required. The pineapple and orange are also vegan while the vanilla contains milk protein (casein) so it is not safe for those who allergic to milk. This is a very important distinction. The float with pineapple juice is a Dole Whip float. You can choose any flavour of Dole Whip to go with the juice. Some people love pineapple Dole Whip with the pineapple juice while others find that to be pineapple overload and prefer it with vanilla and then there are those who love the combination of orange with pineapple juice though I would bet that's more of an acquired taste. All of these are lactose free. People who are lactose intolerant are lacking in the enzyme that breaks down lactose (milk sugar). The enzymes are a replacement for that enzyme which they do not have enough of so people who are lactose intolerant can consume milk products (within reason) by taking enzymes. If there is no lactose in a product then no enzyme is required since there's nothing in the product that the person's body can't digest. People who are allergic to milk have an allergic reaction (body produced antibodies which result in an allergic reaction) to casein (milk protein). Nothing breaks down casein including enzymes.

I was unaware that the vanilla was lactose free. I just knew I was unable to have it. Thanks for the correction.

 

[monorailsilver]

Sounds a lot like my DS! He's 8 and has the same allergies. We've been to Disney 3 times and he's always been fed very well. The biggest trick for us is finding the restaurants that have things he will like. Nearly any place at Disney will feed him something safely, but by looking at the menu and knowing his personal preferences we're able to find a lot of things he loves. He's a real meat eater, so I make sure there's a nice steak or salmon or ribs on the menu and we're good to go. Burgers and hot dogs are usually bunless as the regular buns usually contain dairy and the gluten free ones are tough if you aren't used to gluten free food.

I once asked at Chef Mickey's if they could use the waffle batter to make pancakes instead as my DS prefers pancakes. The chef said he could if we really wanted him to, but that he finds they come out a little flat. We chose to go ahead and get Mickey waffles and DS has loved those ever since.

MonorailSilver- Did the chef at Chef Mickey's offer a cupcake for dessert? We've been there every trip and they always have allergy cupcakes available that are pretty good, despite being also gluten free. We only eat there for breakfast, but the chefs have given them to us when we asked about them. Good luck at the peanut challenge!

He didn't just because I told him ice cream. It did take forever to come out so I was a bit disappointed in that. My son doesn't eat cupcakes, cakes, breads like banana, etc... The only cookies he will eat are Oreos and mallomar type and now he will eat moon pies. The later too I cringe on! He would prefer a grapefruit over a chocolate chip cookie! I have. I idea where he came from since I love cookies, etc...

And I brought hamburger rolls from home, maybe hot dog too, I can't remember. I just remember he didn't like the gluten free option last time and when we stopped in April in downtown Disney for dinner they didn't have any at one place so I made sure I brought some. I also brought a small Tupperware container to put it in so it wouldn't get smoothed.

I wonder if this is our same chef from Captain Cook's?? If so, her name is M.J. and she is just so, so great. Just like your post described. This woman has bent over backwards for our ds. She was there when we went in Sept 2012 and Sept 2013.

I can't remember her name. And I just threw away al the receipts last week (yes from August) and there were a few of those allergy ones. She was older then me and I am 42. So maybe 50 (give or take). We mainly had her at lunch time.

Yes, this!

I am sever lactose intolerant and use the Dairy Ease or similar chewables just fine. There are too many special treats to enjoy if you can tolerate using them. I love my Dole Whip, but I am not going to have dairy earlier that day; then using the chews works fine.

Work with it before you leave, find the tolerated, as your needs, per dose recommendation. Various brands are different.
Disney band cruising I do not miss out on favorites or stress over hidden lactose. Did you know it can be found in hotdogs and many Disney college of knowledge ears items as fillers?

The dole whips at the poly are fine, just the vanilla spigot. My son is fully allergic and had one, well a few!

 

[mattheweston]

Maybe I am thinking of something else, this was a float with pineapple juice. Dear family just gets me "the float with pineapple juice.". I would hate to try it and find out there is dairy becausè of the cream part.

I had two questions.
1. Does anyone think that the dairy farm use of chemicals to make cows produce more mile aids in sensitivities.
2. Do they use antibiotics as in cattle, would that have an affect?

I don't know about the cattle, but I've read where people have taken the antibotic laced chicken and ground it up to feed to injured/sick cats to get the benefit of the antibiotics. If they are able to use the chicken for that then what kind level of antibiotic are we getting? Also consider the people that toss old antibiotics down the toilet into the water system? People wonder why we are starting to see an increase in the number of people who can't use certain antibiotics?

Antibiotics may be a factor in sensitivities, but there are other things to consider as well. Think about how many man made ingredients go into our food supply that our bodies may not have been built to handle. I have also heard that people who have used allergy shots for seasonal type allergies may just be transferring that to internal allergies(aka food allergies).

Another thing to look at is what state is the health of your gut? The digestive system handles probably 80% of our immune response.

 

[lanejudy]

THIS THREAD WAS STARTED IN 2013. I will leave it open for now because it has general allergy information. Please be sure to check with the WDW restaurants for current offerings and ingredients as those can change.

 

[wendow]

We are taking our dairy allergic ds7 in Sept. Dh & I went last year without kids but when we go with the kids in Sept, it will have been almost 2 years since they were there. I had done so much research on all our previous trips as to what my ds could eat. I'm wondering how much has changed in two years and where to begin finding out where safe foods are, if ingredients have changed since last time, etc. He cannot have any dairy...no enzyme will help him since he is allergic to the milk protein itself.

Some questions I have, if anyone knows, I sure would appreciate any info:

Are Dole Whips (pineapple) still df? Are the Mickey pretzels still safe? The popcorn still only popped in coconut oil with no butter?

Which places now have the allergy chicken tenders (we have had them at Contemp Cafe and CHH)?

Any other safe snacks you can recommend?

We don't make a ton of ADR's but we currently have Captain Grille's dinner, Trail's End dinner, BOG lunch, 1900 PF breakfast, 50's Prime Time dinner. Anything I should know for these places? We have done BOG for lunch a few other times and that has been a hard one but wanted to try again. Any suggestions?

He has only reacted once while at WDW and that was from Epcot (Sunshine Seasons). We have the hardest time feeding him there. I figure chinese/Japanese would most likely be safe but I steer clear of those places cause my oldest dd is anaphylactic to peanuts and I am afraid of those places. She went into shock in May from accidental ingestion so not taking any chances there.

Thanks for any help!

 

[Starwind]

Are Dole Whips (pineapple) still df? Are the Mickey pretzels still safe? The popcorn still only popped in coconut oil with no butter?

Which places now have the allergy chicken tenders (we have had them at Contemp Cafe and CHH)?

Any other safe snacks you can recommend?

I am anaphylactic to dairy, tree nuts, peanuts and seafood. We steer clear of asian cuisine and places with lots of seafood because the cross contamination risk is too high and/or there is too much allergen in the air.

PINEAPPLE Dole Whip is dairy-free. Actually, according to the manufacturer it is free of the top 8 allergens: http://www.precisionfoods.com/Foods...rve-Mix-Naturally-and-Artificially-Flavored-2 (see allergen statements in a couple places)

I have had allergy chicken tenders at several places; many of the resort hotel QS resturants have them. For example, I have had them at Roaring Forks at WL.

Now for some alternatives:

Being dairy allergic usually means no pizza in a restaurant :-( However, I had SAFE pizza made for me at Pizzafari at AK (I stopped in at the allergy kiosk and went through the ingredient book with the CM to make sure it could be done and it could ! At the time they had Udi pizza crust, their normal tomato sauce, their normal peperoni, and Daiya cheese shreds). The manager made me a delicious peperoni with "cheese" pizza. I cried when she delivered it to me -- it had been YEARS since I had had pizza in a restaurant.

Gasparella at GF also made me a peperoni flatbread pizza -- but it was flatbread, sauce, and LOTS of peperoni, NO cheese. Still very yummy and the manager was quite happy to have been able to make it

At Cosmic Ray's in MK I had rotisserie chicken, green beans and another side (sorry forgot which; possibly safe fries) that was good.

We found very few places we have been to where we had to resort to allergy chicken fingers as a fallback. Almost everywhere we have tried there was something I could have.

Boma breakfast; Crystal Palace dinner; Rainforest cafe lunch and dinner; TREX lunch and dinner; Whispering Canyon breakfast lunch and dinner; Spirit of Aloha dinner; Mama Melrose lunch and dinner; Tusker House breakfast. For the Wild Africa Safari they made me a special set of food that was safe for me to eat that came in its own specially labeled tins and which was every bit as wonderful as everyone else's.

Most of the restaurants now have "allergy menus" and there are copies of them lurking around online. Search for them and you will get an idea of what is safe "off the shelf" as it were. They had these on our last trip. I used them as a guide, but refused to be limited by them -- if there was something ELSE I wanted that seemed like it could be prepared safely with some modification (e.g. do not put cheese on something...), I would ASK -- sometimes it could sometimes not.

A note about the allergy menus though: it is great that they list what foods by ingredient are safe. It does NOTHING to prevent cross contamination. When someone has an anaphylaxis-level allergy to a food(s), personally I strongly encourage still insisting to speak with the chef/manager, letting them know the allerg(ies) and discussing options and the order. They should then be the one preparing the food and doing so in a way to prevent cross contamination (though there are never 100% guarantees; always carry the Epipen(s)).

Even with all that said -- when you do get the meal, VISUALLY CHECK IT !!!! mistakes happen. Does it look right ? Is it what you ordered ? Is there a slice of cheese hiding under that hamburger bun that you can't see because of the bun and lettuce ?? While WDW and DCL have almost always been just fine for me, I HAVE had a few experiences of errors having been made -- fortunately they were caught before I ate the meal.

SW

 

[wendow]

Thank you, @Starwind ! I really appreciate your detailed response. As a mom of two kids with allergies, only the peanut allergic dd is anaphylatic though, I gotta just say sometimes it is overwhelming. Especially the dairy. It is in everything!! And while he is not ana to dairy, his reactions are so bad that it will ruin that day and the next so we just don't take any chances.'

I know things change at WDW in terms of vendors and such so it is nice to hear how things are now. They did have the allergy menus at the CS last time we were there with our kids so I will plan on asking for those again and try to search online to see if I can look at them ahead of time.

Thanks again for the suggestions and reminders!

 

[Starwind]

Thank you, @Starwind ! I really appreciate your detailed response. As a mom of two kids with allergies, only the peanut allergic dd is anaphylatic though, I gotta just say sometimes it is overwhelming. Especially the dairy. It is in everything!! And while he is not ana to dairy, his reactions are so bad that it will ruin that day and the next so we just don't take any chances.'

I know things change at WDW in terms of vendors and such so it is nice to hear how things are now. They did have the allergy menus at the CS last time we were there with our kids so I will plan on asking for those again and try to search online to see if I can look at them ahead of time.

Thanks again for the suggestions and reminders!

Most welcome.

Yeah, of my food allergies the dairy is the most annoying. as you note, it is in seemingly everything. I have lost track of how many times I have read an ingredient list NOT expecting it to be there and voila there it is... I make a face and look at the container and wonder why the heck they put a milk product in XYZ item ?!!?! sometimes it is quite baffling. On the plus side, pretty much most prepared foods are a no-go, so it forces one to eat "healthier"... on the downside, the time, effort, and energy involved in preparing food from scratch... well, sometimes it just sucks. I have a stash of fallback safe major-allergen-free foods that I can have that will make a meal in a pinch, though not always quickly.

Before a WDW trip we always plan each restaurant )TS or QS) we will eat at, and I check out the full menus to get a good idea of what I want to order, and then the allergy menus for an idea of what might actually work. And we have a couple options as fall-backs if e.g. a QS is too busy when we get there. Planning this way, while time consuming, I find makes things work much better. for example, there are restaurants I would love to eat at, but by reading the menu I realized would just not be a safe option / worth the risk / I would be severely limited in what I could have. e.g. O'Hana dinner there is just way too much peanut product for me to accept that risk.

Good luck and enjoy your trip !

SW