Doing Disney without Digestion Distress (IBS)

misstheworld

Mouseketeer
Joined
Nov 7, 2007
Messages
199
Hi all!

I've never posted on this particular board before, but DH read some things here before our last trip (January 16-22, 2011) and suggested I post here.

I have IBS and have a particular sensitivity to fats in food. It's not an allergy, I won't die if I eat fat, but too much fat and I'll be sick to my stomach for days. While I miss all those lovely higher fat foods (I can taste deep fried mozzerella sticks right now), I'm thankful that with the help and encouragement of my gastroentrologist I've learned to manage my illness.

After listening to the Disboards podcast about gluten allergies, it got me to thinking that I probably COULD manage my illness and still eat at WDW. DH made our dining reservations and made sure to list my "allergy" (that's how it's classified) on all of them. I followed up by emailing dining services and filling out the handy-dandy form that they emailed me. I was advised to ask to speak to a chef before ordering at every restaurant.

I have to report...I was delighted with almost all of our service!! We ate a total of seven table service meals. I'll go into more detail in my next post, but let me highly encourage EVERYONE who has ANY dietary need to take the step to email Disney and get your allergy/sensitivity listed with your reservation. It's so incredibly worth the time and effort. Or, at least, I found it to be worth it. Nothing than being sick on your vacay...if you can help it!

In the meantime, please feel free to PM me or reply in this thread if you have questions about where we ate, what I ate, and what kind of service we had. I'll get started soon on more detailed info.
 
We stayed at the Wildnerness Lodge for five nights and Bay Lake Tower at the Contemporary for one night. During that time we ate at...

Flame Tree BBQ in AK (lunch, Sunday 1/16)
Boma in AKL (dinner, Sunday 1/16)
Sunshine Seasons in Epcot (lunch, Monday 1/17)
Via Napoli in Epcot (dinner, Monday 1/17)
Crystal Palace in MK (breakfast, Tuesday 1/18)
Whispering Canyon Cafe in WL (lunch & dinner, Tuesday 1/18...i'll explain)
Backlot Express in DHS (lunch, Wednesday 1/19)
Kona in Poly (dinner, Wednesday 1/19)
La Cantina de St. Angel in Epcot (lunch, Thursday 1/20)
Roaring Fork in WL (dinner, Thursday 1/20)
Cosmic Ray's in MK (lunch, Friday 1/21)
Wave in CR (dinner, Friday 1/21)
Contempo Cafe in CR (breakfast, Saturday 1/22)

I'll actually be doing these in order, and since I don't anticipate a TON of responses, I won't be linking them unless someone educates me on how to do so! :laughing:
 
We had our first lunch at Flame Tree BBQ. I did research for CS restaurants at each of the parks before hand so we wouldn't be running all over the place looking for something I thought I could eat. I got the turkey sandwich on multigrain bread. It came with cranberry mayo, which sounded wonderful, but I can't eat mayo so had them leave that off. It came with a side of fruit which ended up being a slice of honeydew melon.

The sandwich wasn't half bad once I added some bbq sauce! The turkey wasn't dry at all, but the bread wasn't the most moist in the world. It was a very hardy multi-grain bread and there was a LOT of food. Not bad, but def. not the best CS I had all week. (Anyone wanna' guess where that happened? It was def. a suprise!!)

Dinner was at Boma in the AKL. This was the first on-property restaurant we ate at during our honeymoon for years ago and so we decided to try it again! When we checked in they noted the allergy listed and the hostess said she'd inform our waiter. Sure enough, our waiter came over, took our drink order, and told us that a chef would be out soon.

The chef came over, greeted us, but I didn't get a very warm feeling from him. He told me he'd take me through the buffet and show me exactly what I could eat. While it was a bit overwhelming, he was EXTREMELY thorough and told me exactly how things were cooked (broiled, fried, sauteed) and what kinds of fats were in the dish (whole milk, heavy cream, olive oil, vegetable oil, butter, etc...). There were two dishes where he didn't even bother, he just said with a smile, "Yeah...you can't eat that at all." He'd tell me I could eat a little or eat a lot. He even offered to make me a plain grilled chicken breast because most of the meats on the buffet are fatty and I can't eat red meat at all.

DH and I BOTH had a wonderful meal thanks to the chef! He literally went through EVERY dish on the buffet...including the dips and breads and desserts. It turns out there was quite a bit that I could eat and it was all fabulous!
 
You did your homework and it paid off.

I'm sure every chef would rather not bother with explaining everything, but it sounds like the Boma chef did an extra ordinary job of helping you understand it all even if he wasn't thrilled.
 

Sounds like you had a good trip. Being prepared is very helpful when you have allergies/special diets/digestive issues. I am gluten intolerant and allergic to dairy, on top of having Crohn's disease, so I can completely understand your needs. Glad to hear it turned out well, and looking forward to hearing your other reviews! :thumbsup2
 
Thanks for the review of your experience so far. I also have IBS on top of my Celiac Disease. So I have to eat gluten free. Can't wait to hear the rest of your reviews!:)
 
Subscribing and cannot wait to hear more about your experience. DD8 was just diagnosed with IBS and we are planning a trip in Sept. Still trying to figure out her trigger foods, but good to know accommodations can be made. I am most concerned about CS since most kids meals are high fat.
 
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Glad to hear it was a great trip and that the food situation worked out!!
 

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