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

[Traveliz]

Yep we avoid saying gluten free or allergy if we know exactly what we want and it's "ok" Otherwise they absolutely will make you wait for a Chef or Manager before allowing you to order.

Liz

 

[cm8]

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.

That would have put a big damper in my day . I'm so thankful I do not have to deal with food allergies at this point. I have much respect for those who do

 

[Betty Rohrer]

with one boy's peanut allergy, at ts where on ressie had to wait for chef,everyone at table. we found that peanut oil was in alot of the breads served at table plus a lot of desserts. never told cs's but would have most likely had to wait also.

 

[Mama Who]

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

No, you claim there's an email and then you refuse to provide the information. I'm satisfied that I know what I need now. Thanks for clearing that up.

 

[Goofygirl17]

If anyone needs the email for food allergies...

SpecialDiets@disneyworld.com

I contacted them for our recent trip because DH can't have gluten. I indicated that on our reservations when I made them (online) and got a confirmation email telling me to email them or call if it was less than two weeks from our trip.

 

[livndisney]

No, you claim there's an email and then you refuse to provide the information. I'm satisfied that I know what I need now. Thanks for clearing that up.

There is an email, I am still not sure what your issue is. If Sue or another Mod says it is ok to post I will. If you don't want to believe me or the many others that have posted the same info,you can email Special Diets yourself. But there is no need to be nasty.

 

[SueM in MN]

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.

This appears to be the text of the part of the email that livndisney is talking about.
Anyone can and should email to Special Dietary Needs if they are concerned about getting the information first hand from Disney.
The only way to post an email here is to copy and paste the text, which I am not sure would satisfy the person who is saying they want the email posted.
livndisney is not obligated to post the text of the email unless she wants to, so people please stop demanding that she do so.

ANY FURTHER DEMANDS TO POST AN EMAIL WILL BE DELETED AND THE PERSON ASKING WILL GET POINTS FOR HARASSMENT.

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

I agree.

On our last trip (March 2011) we were traveling with my niece who has a gluten allergy. She did have to wait longer once she mentioned it for a specific CM to come and talk to her. We were lucky and did not have to wait long, but she did have to wait to talk to someone once she mentioned the allergy.

 

[sorul82?]

Just an FYI: a few on the cruise board are posting that they had somewhat limited choices on recent cruises. Instead of being offered safe version of something on the menu, they were told "x" item is safe for your allergy needs. Not even an offer to make something; just here is your option for today.


Is it possible that Disney has become too accommodating and is in over their head?

 

[Bete]

and if Disney is still better than other vacation destinations in that way (allergies and such) then I don't see how anyone can have issue with them and if they are not better than you have to make choices to go somewhere else. It's your dollar and you have to vocie yourself in that way. Any special considerations anywhere will have longer waits; I believe. I think you have to expect it. Also, Disney doesn't want to be placed in any scenario that will cause being sued anymore then somewhere else.

This is off topic to a degree, but it's getting harder and harder for me to take my mom places with her Alzheimer's. She is having more and more outbursts in our resort room. I feel I may get kicked out someday from some place; because, she gets overboard at the wrong times like early morning when everyone still wants to sleep. Also, I may have the cops at my door if it gets really bad. I don't want to be placed in that situation. I don't really have any other good options, either to leave her behind or whatever. My doctor doesn't want to sedate her in anyway, because; her age and the disease is to the point where these drugs become a killer. She is better once we are in the public eye and doing activities, but doing hygiene or similar activities in our room can be tough with her outbursts. Even changing from bed clothes to day clothes is a challenge. I know I'm going to have to make hard choices and stop vacationing pretty soon. I can't afford places like the cabin rentals at Disney World or equivalent scenarios where my neighbor doesn't share a wall; so, I'm not disturbing others. Each vacation is getting harder this way. Believe me, I'm not trying to do anything out of the ordinary routine, but she is not understanding the simple things anymore. It's sad and I keep on trying, but I don't expect the vacation destinations to have an Alzheimer's wing for her. I try to get a room at the end of the hall or similar at the resorts; so, we don't have to have neighbors on both sides of us. I even choose areas farthest away from the door to change her clothes or whatever so, that I trigger less outbursts that can be heard by others.

I'm sharing this because you may need to bring your own food, do your own preparation or whatever; so, you can still enjoy vacationing. You do have choices to a degree. I would not lay the responsibility onto Disney especially if it's more out of the ordinary.

 

[jmartinez1895]

I emailed the special diets team and told them that I had heard that if you order and say you have an allergy then you have to wait on a special CM. I then point blank asked if that was just a rumor or policy and this is the text from the email that I received...

" We have many different polices and procedures set in place to ensure the safe and proper handling and preparation of all food and other consumable items that we may sell, package or serve. We also have many polices in place to insure that any guest we may encounter that may have special dietary needs can enjoy consumable items safely. Some of these policies include, but are not limited to the special training of food handlers and more specific to your question, the training of those who may encounter a guest at point of order. One such policy that we have set in place is that once notified of a special dietary need at any of our Quick Service locations, the Cast Member taking the sale is to notify the person who has been trained to assist with these orders. In most cases you will find that this person is also the manager on duty. Because we want to insure that a person with special dietary needs is served safely, there may be a slight delay in service time. We do apologize for an inconvenience this may cause, but it is to insure that the health and safety of all of valued guest can be meet.
I hope that I have been able to answer your question properly and provided you with information that will be helpful in your vacation planning. If you have any more questions or need information about specific locations or menu items, please feel free to contact us at any time. "

 

[clanmcculloch]

WOW!!! That's quite the experience at Liberty Inn. We haven't had the greatest experience there ourselves, but our last time eating there was quite a while ago. They didn't carry the chicken tenders there at the time. Really though, if you're at that end of the WS there isn't much other option besides grabbing a turkey leg. I was hoping to be able to get the tenders there this year if we don't have much luck at HH at BC. I suspect we'll be better off just getting tenders at B&C instead of walking over there. At Epcot, I try to stick with Sunshine Seasons.

Just to share, our experience at CS with food allergies is that even if I just order the allergy tenders then that word allergy does stop the CM who's ringing in the order from proceeding. The CM will immediately say that she needs to get her manager who will then discuss our options and our allergies, ring in the order and prepare the food herself. The only exception is at Sunshine Seasons where I ask for a chef before ordering. I don't actually want anything specially prepared there but my kids order things from different stations (rotisserie chicken with plain white rice for their sides; they LOVE this) so by having a chef come over (1) I know it's safe (even though I know they're safe per special diets) even from cross contamination (huge since the chicken sits at the counter beside stuff that's not safe) and (2) I can get the items from the separate counters. Most times I just ask the first CM I see before I even approach the cashiers because that way I don't hold up the whole line behind me while waiting for the manager. If I mention allergies to any CM at a CS location, I ALWAYS have to wait for somebody to come help me.

 

[SueM in MN]

Closing at OP's request.

Just a reminder to pepole - it is OK to disagree. It is not OK to attack other posters.