Dining at WDW-Hope this is not a sign of things to come

[livndisney]

At Liberty Inn today, we were told they have one person trained to "deal with those people with allergies", and he is "very busy" and it could take up to an hour to get our food.

There were no food binders at the registers, I was told the "lead" would bring it. He never did. After waiting for 15 minutes for him to show up-I went ahead and just ordered food for the rest of party. (Non allergy). The cashier refused to take my order once I mentioned allergies. As I was getting the food for my party the "lead" finally showed up (no binder).

 

[Bete]

is that there must have been a bad reaction for someone about allergies and Disney is getting cautious about it all. Maybe, it's a lot more expensive for Disney to have chefs trained this way.

Let's face it there are not too many places that will go to this end as Disney does for their guests.

There could be a lot of reasons involved and in my opinion Disney goes way beyond the norm with regards to special conditions.

You might have hit a bad time at the restaurant, too. We will have to see if we continue to get reports like yours.

Did you say you have allergies and what they were when you made your reservation there? Not sure if it would help, but I would do as much as possible in advance.

 

[livndisney]

is that there must have been a bad reaction for someone about allergies and Disney is getting cautious about it all. Maybe, it's a lot more expensive for Disney to have chefs trained this way.

Let's face it there are not too many places that will go to this end as Disney does for their guests.

There could be a lot of reasons involved and in my opinion Disney goes way beyond the norm with regards to special conditions.

You might have hit a bad time at the restaurant, too. We will have to see if we continue to get reports like yours.

Did you say you have allergies and what they were when you made your reservation there? Not sure if it would help, but I would do as much as possible in advance.

It is a counter service there is no ADR. And it is one of the places "recommended" by Special Diets to handle allergies.

 

[kirstenb1]

I don't know what your allergy is obviously. But there are so many people avoiding gluten nowadays, it would make sense for there to be some gluten free option at each counter service.

 

[livndisney]

I don't know what your allergy is obviously. But there are so many people avoiding gluten nowadays, it would make sense for there to be some gluten free option at each counter service.

Yes, it would make sense. Many other places (outside WDW) have gone to "allergy menus" where they give you gluten free options. But that would go against WDW's policy of not allowing guests with allergies to order without speaking with a manager or lead first.

I can understand WDW wanting to keep guests safe, but since more and more people require special diets, I don't think it is reasonable to have just one person trained to handle them. I don't think waiting up to an hour for food at a CS is very practical either. I can't imagine how that would work tablewise. The rest of my family would be long done eating and we would still be sitting there waiting for food. The comments I got yesterday for "holding up the line" while waiting for the lead were bad enough. I was blocked in the line with people in front of me(The cashier just kept waiting on the people on the other side of the register).

 

[Bete]

I took it for Liberty Tree, not Liberty Inn.

I would almost say you are better off going to TS rather than CS for allergy issues when it comes to dining. I think the staff there would be more attentive.

The only other suggestion is to maybe go at off times when it's not so crowded. Then, you might get better attention by the staff at CS.

I'm sorry about your experience.

 

[livndisney]

I took it for Liberty Tree, not Liberty Inn.

I would almost say you are better off going to TS rather than CS for allergy issues when it comes to dining. I think the staff there would be more attentive.

The only other suggestion is to maybe go at off times when it's not so crowded. Then, you might get better attention by the staff at CS.

I'm sorry about your experience.

TS is not really an option since we can't plan months in advance as to the days we are going to be in the park, we are local. We made it a point to go during "off " dining hours. We made it a point to follow the guidlines given by Special Diets. The result was less than successful. As I said, I hope this is not a sign of things to come considering more and more people have allergies.

 

[dawnball]

I hope not too. It already took 30 minutes most of the time for us to get a gluten free meal from CS, and Liberty Inn used to be one of the better ones. They even had a cash-register option for a gluten free mac and cheese.


Well, 6 more days and then I'll find out. I have 17 days of QSDP ahead of me, and one way or another, we'll get fed.

 

[Mama Who]

But that would go against WDW's policy of not allowing guests with allergies to order without speaking with a manager or lead first.

Let's be fair. While I understand you had a bad experience and are frustrated, WDW does NOT to my knowledge have any such policy. In my research of this issue I have seen that you may need to speak to a lead to get the information you want but nothing has led me to believe that they will not serve you until that time. The need for specially trained employees to accommodate special needs is one that Disney seems to take very seriously. That they will not allow random counter employees making minimum wage to offer potentially wrong information in this area seems like a good thing to me.

 

[livndisney]

Let's be fair. While I understand you had a bad experience and are frustrated, WDW does NOT to my knowledge have any such policy. In my research of this issue I have seen that you may need to speak to a lead to get the information you want but nothing has led me to believe that they will not serve you until that time. The need for specially trained employees to accommodate special needs is one that Disney seems to take very seriously. That they will not allow random counter employees making minimum wage to offer potentially wrong information in this area seems like a good thing to me.

To your knowledge there is no policy. That does not mean there is no policy. We have been told at each park that we cannot be served without speaking to a manager. This has come from cashiers and managers. I also have an email from Special Diets confirming the policy.

During the most recent conversation, the cashier stated he could not serve me without a manager. There was never a point where he could have offered "wrong information" since he would not speak to me after he called for a manager.

 

[Mama Who]

We have been told at each park that we cannot be served without speaking to a manager. This has come from cashiers and managers. I also have an email from Special Diets confirming the policy.

Really? They told you, "If you have allergies you may not eat until you speak to a manager." Could we see the text of that email so we all know what this policy they sent you is, exactly? It could be of great value.

 

[livndisney]

Really? They told you, "If you have allergies you may not eat until you speak to a manager." Could we see the text of that email so we all know what this policy they sent you is, exactly? It could be of great value.

I am not sure why you are having such a hard time with this, but yes I have been told on more than one occasion that I could not be served until I spoke with a manager even as recently as last week.

 

[Mama Who]

I am not sure why you are having such a hard time with this, but yes I have been told on more than one occasion that I could not be served until I spoke with a manager even as recently as last week.

So... can we see that email? Because yes, I have a really hard time believing that they actually said "you may not eat at all" rather than "we cannot guarantee to accommodate your needs"- it doesn't make any sense and if that's a policy they sent you in writing I'd very much like to have a look at it before we plan our WDW trip.

 

[nancycg56]

I am not sure why you are having such a hard time with this, but yes I have been told on more than one occasion that I could not be served until I spoke with a manager even as recently as last week.

I agree with this. My DD has an allergy, we noted it on reservations, and our whole table was not allowed to order until she spoke with manager. Not a big deal at all.

 

[3prettyprincesses]

I can add that at all of our TS meals, we had to wait for the chef to come take our order due to mine and my DD's food allergies. Our order was not taken until the chef had come.

At our counter service meals, as soon as I said I have an allergy to gluten, they immediately fetched the chef/manager who then took our whole order. It took a few minutes till he showed up and we waited a little longer for mine and DD's meal.

I wasn't told that we had to wait up till an hour for our food at any counter service meal though. Sounds like they were either extremely busy or misinformed. I do know from mine own experience that Disney takes food allergies very seriously. Therefore I don't think it's too far fetched that they'd say you need to speak with a manager before serving you. But I'd be irritated if it took nearly an hour to get counter service food.

From what I recall about the paperwork Special Diets sent me, they encourage you to ask for the manager/chef at counter service restaurants. It didn't state they wouldn't serve you until then but it did sound clea to me that it was protocol to ask before ordering. Here's a direct quote from the letter I received from them in early January 2011:

"All our chefs in our Theme Parks and Resorts are trained to handle allergies and take every precaution against any cross contact. Due to the large volume of meals we serve, vendors and suppliers occasionally swap out product. Therefore menu items and preparation is often updated. We stress that you ask to speak to a Chef or Manager when you arrive at each location. They will be happy to assist with your selection and provide product labels and ingredients for menu items.

The chefs and managers, at our Quick Service and Resort locations, are happy to discuss and attempt to accommodate all dietary requests. Below is a list of quick service locations that will be able to accommodate your dietary requests."

 

[honugirl]

The other people in my party were allowed to order without me since we were all paying separately but once I said I had an allergy I was not allowed to order ANYTHING until I spoke to someone, even if I knew what the place had to offer ahead of time because I'd been there before.

 

[Piper]

I can also confirm that once you say the "a word"--you cannot order until you speak to a chef or manager. This is true at both counter service and table service locations. I often had to wait a long time after the rest of my party ordered and were served just to talk with someone.

Actually, it would be foolish to assume that something is safe just because it looks safe. I have an anaphalactic allergy to both mangos and cashews (and the doctor said to avoid all tree nuts.) At WDW, I was told repeatedly that pastries and baked goods had tree nuts in them. If I had just looked at it and said, "OK that's apple pie--no nuts or mangoes in that" I would have been in the hospital.

 

[jmartinez1895]

The last time we ate at a counter service a man in front of us tried to order something and they told him that was not an option. He told the girl that he has food allergies and that it was an option there because he had gotten it the day before and the manger had told him next time to just ask for it when ordering. As soon as he said that she asked him to stand to the side while she got a manger. This poor guy had to wait a long time to order the same exact allergen free dish he had the day before.

 

[livndisney]

So... can we see that email? Because yes, I have a really hard time believing that they actually said "you may not eat at all" rather than "we cannot guarantee to accommodate your needs"- it doesn't make any sense and if that's a policy they sent you in writing I'd very much like to have a look at it before we plan our WDW trip.

I don't think I am supposed to post emails here (Sue?). But I did once again ask the question and got the same reply. "In order to ensure the safety of our guests, at each Quick Service Location there are specific people who have been trained to take and fill special dietary orders."

Perhaps, you should email Specials Diets and ask the question yourself, so you can be satisfied of Disney's policy.

 

[dclfun]

I think Disney provides WAY more than most places in terms of accommodating special dietary needs. There are special products provided and special preparation. Once someone mentions that they have allergies, then there would probably be a lawsuit if that person was served something they shouldn't have because an untrained CM let them place the order after they'd advised of the allergy. I know when I asked Special Diets about my son's renal diet, I was told to visit a few specific QS locations early in the day to speak with someone and place an order that we could then return later to pick up to avoid a long wait.---Kathy