dinning with peanut allergy

[2littleprincesses28]

Just wondering if anyone has any advice on places to avoid eating with a severe peanut allergy? DD is allergic...I know the chefs come and talk to you but are there some places people have found too risky?

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

Are you talking about at the World?

My mom said that there was a place on the online ressie to list any allergies (my nephew has mild allergies...) when making ADRs.

As for other restaurants... each restaurant is required to have a book with the ingredients of everything they serve. If you have major concerns/serious allergies, ask the server or the manager (I would highly recommend NOT doing this during peak dining hours... it's very difficult to get the staff to play nice when they're super busy...).

When I was a server, I had a lady come in with her grandbaby. She was severely allergic to wheat ingredients. We checked the master book and even the marinades on the meats had wheat products in them. We finally found something that she could have and she had a nice meal. She shared with me that she was thankful that we took the time to look up the information - she rarely had the opportunity to go out to eat because she was worried about what she could/couldn't eat. It broke my heart a little to hear that because everyone, regardless of their situation, deserves a night out.

I also experienced an allergy situation while at a rehearsel dinner for a wedding. The flower girl was deathly allergic to lots of stuff. They set up a buffett for the meal and the chef took her mom to the buffett table and made sure to point out what the little girl couldn't eat. I'm sure if you'd ask, they'd have a list like that for you.

Best of luck.

 

[GoofyFairie]

Just wondering if anyone has any advice on places to avoid eating with a severe peanut allergy? DD is allergic...I know the chefs come and talk to you but are there some places people have found too risky?

I would post this question on the disabilities board. It may take a little longer to get a response, but those people will have the experience and advice you are seeking. Good luck to you.

 

[Nancyg56]

I would post this question on the disabilities board. It may take a little longer to get a response, but those people will have the experience and advice you are seeking. Good luck to you.

I agree. Those folks are really knowledgeable. They made planning around my DGD's allergies so much less stressful. For what it is worth, when you make your ADR's you can document the allergies and the CM will give you a number to call if you want to discuss them. I think it is a direct number to the restaurant. Once you check in tell the CM about the food allergy. You will be told that the Chef will come out to discuss the menu options. This happens no matter how busy the restaurant is. DIsney takes food allergies very seriously. The server will also ask about the allergy and will make sure the Chef comes out.


The chef will go over all of the menu options, will tell you which ones that you should not even consider. At R&C there was nothing ont eh children's menu that was safe for Kady, the Chef asked DD to help her choose something on the regular menu and she would adjust it for Kady. Same thing at the Beach Club. WHen it wad clear that teh options on teh buffet that were safe for Kady were not something she would eat the Chef made pasta dish especially for her and then got her Divvies Cookies for her dessert.

The Chef at Shutters at teh CBR told us that Disney trains their Chefs in 40 different food related allergies adn discussed the precautions that are taken to keep guests safe. It ws the only vacation destination my DD felt thatshe could take Kady to for several years and know that not only was she able to have a balanced diet while there but also that she would not feel as though she was a burden on the kitchen..

 

[wrighter]

I have never had to deal with a food allergy personally, but I do have a dear friend who recently traveled to WDW with her three children, all with different SEVERE food allergies. (I think two are allergic to milk and eggs, the other is allergic to eggs and wheat? And they're all allergic to nuts.) She is extremely knowledgable on this topic, is a school board member in our district and is a champion for the cause. And she absolutely RAVED about how responsive Disney was to her family. She said that of all the places they have vacationed, it is the one place where she actually doesn't feel completely afraid of eating out.

I know this doesn't specifically answer your question, but just wanted to pass along her two thumbs up. Good luck!

 

[minniem]

I just wanted to add that we travelled in 2007 with my DS who has a severe peanut/treenut allergy and when we made our ADR's they noted it on the reservation. When we checked in they noted it again and the chef would come out to the table and talk with us about what could be done to help him.

If it was a buffet the chef took me around personally and showed me what was safe and what was not. In the situation where they had rolls on the buffet that had been potentially cross contaminated they offered to make fresh rolls for us in the back and brought them directly to the table.

Honestly, Disney made it easy to dine out with our son. I felt safer there than I do eating out around home sometimes.

Have a great trip.

 

[minniem]

Oh, I just reread your OP. As far as places we found too risky we avoided the bake shops and any kind of cookies, etc. as extra precautions. We were worried about cross contamination issues.

Good Luck!

 

[sweetmonkey]

We LOVED Disney World for this on our last trip, and we did the dining plan with terrific service!!! Our DD was severely allergic to milk and eggs and the chefs would come talk to us personally and prepare a special meal just for her. THEY ARE AWESOME and very knowledgeable. She rarely ate off the kids menu and at family service or buffets they would often cook enough for all of us and we had fresh, healthy scrumptious food to share!

I have a dietary reference sheet from Jan 2008. PM me with your email addy and I can forward it to you. Here's some info from it:

At the bake/snack shops, they sell some prepackaged snacks for allergy sensitive people. The following items are gluten, lactose, and peanut free.

Delicious Fudgie Brownie $2.50
Chocolate Chip Cookie $2.50
Crispy Rice Treat $2.50

Manufactured by GLP Manufacturing Corporation
www.okbrownie.com

The following items are made without milk, eggs, peanuts, and tree nuts.

Chocolate Chip Cookie $2.50
Caramel Popcorn $4.00
Jelly Beans $4.00

Manufactured by Divvies LLC
www.divvies.com

These items can be found in the following locations;

MAGIC KINGDOM® Park Main Street Bakery
Epcot® Liberty Inn
Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa Gasparilla Grill & Games
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge The Mara

 

[sweetmonkey]

I wanted to add that at the counter service venues, they have a folder with the ingredient lists for all their menu items. Many times, it is at the check out counter or under the register so you can ask the cast member there before waiting in the line to order. Hope that helps!

 

[livndisney]

As Disney's suppliers change (as do ingredients) I suggest contacting Disney directly for a current list of "safe" foods.

Also make sure you check the dates of the lists you are looking at when you read the binders and counter service places. "Sometimes" they do not get updated right away. If you have a question even at a CS you can ask for a manager or Chef to come out and speak with you. A lot of the registers at Epcot have a button for the CM to call a manager and they have been very helpful.

 

[SueM in MN]

As Disney's suppliers change (as do ingredients) I suggest contacting Disney directly for a current list of "safe" foods.

Also make sure you check the dates of the lists you are looking at when you read the binders and counter service places. "Sometimes" they do not get updated right away. If you have a question even at a CS you can ask for a manager or Chef to come out and speak with you. A lot of the registers at Epcot have a button for the CM to call a manager and they have been very helpful.

Very important points.
The products can change, so one of the things WDW recommends is getting new lists each time, especially for someone with severe allergies.

If you follow the link in my signature to the disABILITIES FAQs thread, you will find contact information and links to past threads in post #3.

 

[PGHDisneyfan]

FYI The Rainforest Cafe is extreamly cautious about allergys especially with children. The chef was always willing to stop at our table and see what he could do for our nephew who has a severe nut allergy and my neice to eggs. The breads used for hamburger buns are egg free as are the pita pizzas on the kids meals.