Disney with allergies?

[disneyfor6]

Don't know where to post this so I will start here.

Our 3 YO daughter has been diagnosed with food allergies. Now my concern is on our trip in April. I am worried about what we will feed her.
She has a wheat, peanut, laytex allergy and she is lactose intolorant.
Does Disney list ingredients in their foods? I am so lost and overwhelmed with all of this and I just want to make sure our trip will go fine and we don't have to worry so much while we are there.

Anyone have any experience with this? If so any suggestions?
TIA!

 

[Bugsmom73]

Go over to the the DisAbilities section here and there should be some numbers to call. I am not sure but you could start by calling Disney Dining. Ds is sensitive to gluten and casein and I am allergic to latex.

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Disney is fantastic about helping you with food accomidations. I know, several times, at buffets, I've seen the chef helping people out in line...telling them what they can eat. Good Luck

 

[Beth E. (NJ)]

And when you make any dining reservations let them know about the allergies. I would remind them again when you arrive at a restaurant. They will walk you through and let you know what's okay. They will even make things special in some of the restaurants.

 

[BeckityBobbidyBoo!]

I have a son with peanut and tree nut allegies. Disney was great. I got all the info I needed and let the restaurants know about the allergy and they accomodated us. It made me feel a lot better to know he would be safe.

 

[GoinToDisney]

My dd has peanut, tree nut and pork allergies. Disney was awesome. We did the dining plan and our table service meals were great. We don't have trouble with wheat, so I can't advise you there. We ate at H&V (Lots of choices for us), CP, LTT, Chef Mickey's, LeCellier, and counter service places like restaurantosaurus (I believe that they have a gluten and nut free bun there for the pure beef burgers) and Cosmic Rays. At the sit down meals the Chef always came to our table except for LeCellier. He called me on the phone and the server made me feel very comfortable. She was just having green beans and steak and vanilla ice cream. Be aware that you will need to allow extra time at counter service places. We went to Restaurantosourus for lunch and I requested the Ener-G bun for nut allergies. They made sure that I got to see the manager, but it took a really long time. They were quite backed up at the time, and they ended up serving numbers higher than mine until someone got the manager for me. Once she was there, the manager was wonderful. She kind of guided me to check out the regular bun because the gluten free ones are not the same as the regular buns. She checked the ingredients on the buns and brought out the actual bag of buns for me to read the label myself. It turned out that I did feel fine with the regular buns. I had also ordered 2 desserts that I knew my dd could not eat and figured that I'd give her a treat that I brought for her. I did double check and she allowed me to switch to an applesauce and encouraged me to take a free jello. I think she felt bad for keeping me so long. I definitely felt that food allergies were taken very seriously, but just know to allow some extra time. The rest of our counter service meals were breakfast at Pop and lunch or dinner at Cosmic Rays. we kept eating there because we knew what was safe there. Good luck. Oh, there is a lady that you can email who is very helpful, but her name escapes me.

 

[hildarumpole]

I don't know if the food prep people wear gloves, which might be a problem with your daughter's latex allergy. If they do, they may use the latex-free gloves, because of allergy concerns. When you make dining reservations, you'll get phone numbers for the various chefs. Call ahead and find out. Disney is terrific about making accomodations for guests with dietary restrictions.

 

[liamandcaili]

Brenda Bennett is the person to email (sorry I don't have the exact address). She is so helpful! Disney is a great place for children/people with allergies. They are so accommodating. Good luck!

 

[SueM in MN]

Brenda Bennett is the person to email (sorry I don't have the exact address). She is so helpful! Disney is a great place for children/people with allergies. They are so accommodating. Good luck!

If you go to the disABILITIES FAQs thread (follow the link in my signature), you will find her email and a lot of contact information. There are also links to some past threads about trips with food allergies.
There are usually some current threads about dealing with food allergies somewhere on the disABILITIES Board.

 

[mousebymarriage]

My DD11 had a very bad milk and egg allergy when she was little(she would become violently ill and then would break out in hives and become very lethargic, sometimes it was so bad it scared the heck out of me so I was VERY careful about what she came in contact with). I found that staying in a hotel (off-site) that had a full kitchen was the answer. I was able to prepare ALL of her meals and bring them with me in a small soft-sided cooler. When we went to a restaurant I would explain my DD allergies to the waitress and ask her to heat my DD food in the microwave. I always gave her strict instructions not to stir the food at all, just heat it for _min. and I have never had a problem. The wait staff and chef's were always very understanding , even asking if I would like them to prepare anything special for my DD.

 

[WantToGoNow]

My son was diagnosed with a latex allergy when he was almost 4. I was glad to see that more people in the parks buy they Mylar balloons instead of the latex - we didn't have any problems avoiding those. When we made our dining reservatons, we had this notated. The chef came out at every restaurant -- they were wonderful - they made him special plates, gave him utinsels and napkins that that had never been used (thus never washed), etc. I asked at the counter service places and they now use vinyl or plastic gloves - didn't find latex anywhere we went.

He's 6.5 now and just this winter he has been diagnosed with milk and egg allergies -- I'm actually finding those are harder to avoid.

Make sure you carry your medications -- we carry Benadryl, his inhaler and an EpiPen Jr. everywhere we go.