Dye Free at Disney

[mirage0306]

Hi, everyone! I hope it's okay that I am posting this question here. We eliminated all food dyes from my younger son's diet this past year for behavioral issues and have found that it has made a tremendous difference for him. We have a trip planned for this June, and I'm wondering if any of you have taken kids to Disney and attempted (successfully? unsuccessfully?) to make sure any foods they ate were free from artificial dyes.

He is actually very, very good at not eating foods with dyes in them, so I am not too worried that he'll be upset if he has to pass on a cupcake with sprinkles or whatever. I would just love to know if any of you have experience with this, if there are restaurants or CS places that have a better selection of foods that are probably dye free, if anyone has any insight/tips/BTDT stuff.

Thanks in advance!!

 

[BusyMom2Three]

You will be fine at buffets and table service locations because it is freshly made food and dessert choices will be obvious (colored cupcakes and such will have dye) but brownies and some cookies will be fine (the chefs will be able to tell you as well). As far as the processed counter service kid's choices, I can tell you (because of needing to know for our food restrictions) that the mac and cheese--unless it specifies house made--is Stouffer's mac and cheese and the pbjs are Smucker's Uncrustables if you want to look up the ingredients. You will have to avoid many of the ice cream cart treats. Mickey bars may be okay and I'm pretty sure the soft pretzels will be too. I would email specialdiets@disneyworld.com and ask them about the processed foods your son may want but you will have a lot of choices. Also, at each counter service location there is a book with ingredients.

 

[mirage0306]

Thank you!! Wow, that was such a helpful post. I really, really appreciate it! I am so excited to know that all the counter service places have books with ingredients. That is perfect for us. We are not on the meal plan, so aren't limited to the kids' menu; I feel like this will help give ds a lot more options in terms of meals.

We have reservations at a couple of buffets, so we should be good to go there. So I think what I'll do is email the special diets address and ask them about the menu at the other restaurants and if it's possible to get the ingredient list for some of the dishes. Our non-buffet table service restaurants are Rose & Crown, Biergarten, 'Ohana, and La Hacienda. As long as ds has a few things he can choose from, I think he'll be fine.

I wonder if they can also send me the ingredient list for things like the Mickey bars? Or maybe I can even google and find some of that out myself. Okay, just thinking aloud here.

Thank you again--I really, really appreciate it!!

 

[BusyMom2Three]

You are very welcome. Be aware that sometimes meat has red dye in it, too. We try to eat as little dye as possible. I also have a couple friends whose kids have benefitted from this. One has a pituitary issue and red dye makes him agressive when he is otherwise extremely sweet and calm. And strangely, my aunt's dog cannot have red dye because it exacerbates his seizure disorder. So you know, my friend whose son cannot have dye often gets him treats (candy) from Canada (or England if they travel) because a lot of the same candies here that use dye use natural (fruit or veg) coloring there. Hopefully the U.S. can catch up with them soon!

 

[WheeledTraveler]

Just as a note, 3 of the places you mentioned as non-buffet table service are not Disney owned and operated so Special Diets may not have much information about what they have. I suspect they should mostly be okay as long as they make their own food, but you may have more trouble getting information about them (and have trouble getting servers to understand what you need).

 

[mirage0306]

Oh, yes, we order treats from a German candy shop online--my dh hunted down a list of all the ingredients and everything is dye free, colored with things like beet juice. They make nice treats for the kids. however, one day I was at the store and picked up a bag of the exact same brand of gummies and they were colored with food dyes!! So frustrating! Thankfully we have a trader joes in town--I can get lots of good stuff there for the kids, and nothing is artificially colored or flavored.

I do have a question about what you said about the meat. Do you mean things like hamburgers? Or chicken nuggets? I definitely will find out ahead of time what they use in the breading, but should I be looking into things like burgers, too?

Again, many thanks for your help and suggestions!

 

[amykathleen2005]

Also at all counter service locations you can ask to speak with the manager and they will bring out a book of ingredients for everything so you can confirm that he can eat something.

 

[mirage0306]

That is such good news--really, better than I'd hoped for. Thank you!

 

[mirage0306]

Just as a note, 3 of the places you mentioned as non-buffet table service are not Disney owned and operated so Special Diets may not have much information about what they have. I suspect they should mostly be okay as long as they make their own food, but you may have more trouble getting information about them (and have trouble getting servers to understand what you need).

That's right--I had forgotten that Epcot restaurants aren't owned/operated by Disney, right? Thank you for the reminder. I'll check out the menus on allears and see how they look. I imagine La Hacienda will be no problem--he can have a quesedilla or something and that should be fine. So I really just need to check on Biergarten and Rose and Crown.

Thank you!

 

[BusyMom2Three]

I do have a question about what you said about the meat. Do you mean things like hamburgers? Or chicken nuggets? I definitely will find out ahead of time what they use in the breading, but should I be looking into things like burgers, too?

I am a vegetarian, so I can't give you too much info about meat. I do know I have read that sometimes meat has dye to improve color, but I don't know if that means processed things like chicken nuggets or wrapped meats at the grocer as well. I have some friends who buy organic meats, and I'd imagine this def. wouldn't. Hopefully someone else will know. You can always try a Google search, and processed meat products will have ingredients on the bag.

 

[robin09]

Hi, everyone! I hope it's okay that I am posting this question here. We eliminated all food dyes from my younger son's diet this past year for behavioral issues and have found that it has made a tremendous difference for him. We have a trip planned for this June, and I'm wondering if any of you have taken kids to Disney and attempted (successfully? unsuccessfully?) to make sure any foods they ate were free from artificial dyes.

He is actually very, very good at not eating foods with dyes in them, so I am not too worried that he'll be upset if he has to pass on a cupcake with sprinkles or whatever. I would just love to know if any of you have experience with this, if there are restaurants or CS places that have a better selection of foods that are probably dye free, if anyone has any insight/tips/BTDT stuff.

Thanks in advance!!

Hi, I'm sorry I haven't read thru all the answers but I'd like to give you my observation. Our dd13 has been dye free since she was 5 or 6... It feels like a lifetime ago. We have been to Disney numerous times because of how well they work with us. I have it noted on our reservation her allergy. Any restaurant that we went to had the chef personally come out to us and discuss what she can and cannot eat. We went thru all the items and their ingredients. The chefs have also made her special meals so she felt good about eating, I cannot begin to tell you how wonderful they have been. Sometimes they have been overboard, like at Ohanas for breakfast. They wouldn't even bring us the juice until the chef came over. BUT I'd rather they do that then just don't care. TRULY TRULY wonderful, Ican't say enough! Feel free to contact me if you need anything else...

Have a great time!

 

[mirage0306]

Hi, I'm sorry I haven't read thru all the answers but I'd like to give you my observation. Our dd13 has been dye free since she was 5 or 6... It feels like a lifetime ago. We have been to Disney numerous times because of how well they work with us. I have it noted on our reservation her allergy. Any restaurant that we went to had the chef personally come out to us and discuss what she can and cannot eat. We went thru all the items and their ingredients. The chefs have also made her special meals so she felt good about eating, I cannot begin to tell you how wonderful they have been. Sometimes they have been overboard, like at Ohanas for breakfast. They wouldn't even bring us the juice until the chef came over. BUT I'd rather they do that then just don't care. TRULY TRULY wonderful, Ican't say enough! Feel free to contact me if you need anything else...

Have a great time!

Oh, thank you!!! Boy, I feel so encouraged and really excited now. I know how great Disney is about other food allergies, but I didn't know how they would deal with something that isn't a "real" allergy (he won't die or get sick if he ingests dye, but the result is just awful), but knowing they will take it seriously is just the best news. Yay!!

 

[robin09]

Oh, thank you!!! Boy, I feel so encouraged and really excited now. I know how great Disney is about other food allergies, but I didn't know how they would deal with something that isn't a "real" allergy (he won't die or get sick if he ingests dye, but the result is just awful), but knowing they will take it seriously is just the best news. Yay!!

Been there, done that... and then people look at you like you are crazy. Some of the people might look really nervous about giving you anything, but once you explain as you did, it's behavioral allergy, it becomes much easier. If your son is anything like my DD, it's what you have to do.. She literally becomes like a jumping bean, extremely hyper and bounces off the walls, can be nasty. She has understood what it does to her, and agrees she doesn't like how it feels. She does sneak a candy here or there, and always regrets it.

DIsney is wonderful for our children, go and enjoy!

 

[mirage0306]

Been there, done that... and then people look at you like you are crazy. Some of the people might look really nervous about giving you anything, but once you explain as you did, it's behavioral allergy, it becomes much easier. If your son is anything like my DD, it's what you have to do.. She literally becomes like a jumping bean, extremely hyper and bounces off the walls, can be nasty. She has understood what it does to her, and agrees she doesn't like how it feels. She does sneak a candy here or there, and always regrets it.

DIsney is wonderful for our children, go and enjoy!

That is just what happens to ds. He get crazy, kind of loses his ability to be reasonable, gets hyper, mean, and yes, nasty. It's not enjoyable at all--for him or us! It's absolutely a priority for our family to keep him free of artificial dyes. And thankfully, he is so good about it--he knows how bad it is for him. So knowing that we can avoid this even while on vacation makes me so happy.

If people look at me funny--meh, that's their problem. They'd be more irritated if ds were having a massive meltdown, acting like a crazy kid, kicking me and shrieking!

Again, thanks!!!

 

[karlacorley]

I am glad you asked this question, my 3yr old son has an allergy to any red dye and yellow 6. He gets sick if he eats anything with it, his cheeks turn bright red and has nasty stomach issues so we avoid all dyes if possible. I would love to know the German candy company you get things from. I also feel much better after reading all the responses.

 

[mirage0306]

I am glad you asked this question, my 3yr old son has an allergy to any red dye and yellow 6. He gets sick if he eats anything with it, his cheeks turn bright red and has nasty stomach issues so we avoid all dyes if possible. I would love to know the German candy company you get things from. I also feel much better after reading all the responses.

Aw, poor baby! Sure--I believe it's http://www.germandeli.com.

 

[jeirikis]

We are going to Disney in September & my 3 year old son is allergic to all food dyes. We went to Disney last year for only 2 days & no matter where we ate we had a chef talk us through every item & let us know what was dye free & what was not. We are going to do the same thing this year & we are going for 8 days. I always carry snacks for him so he always has something to eat. I would suggest calling the food reservations & let them know that your son can't have food dye. I know our hotel last year would show us the book of all the ingredients. Its hard & difficult since a lot of things contain food dyes.

 

[SMorgan711]

random and not related to Disney but I read about how awful food dyes are for humans so I try to go dye free too. The candy I eat is Yummy Earth. They have lollipops, candy drops and gummi bears and are all colored with things like beet juice as well. They are organic too. I give them to people and at first they are like EW ORGANIC LOLLIPOPS but then they eat them and are like OMG BEST LOLLIPOPS EVER! They are so much more flavorful and just taste better!

I have the package here and it says they are gluten free, 100% vegan, no artifical dyes, certified organic, gmo-free, 100%natural flavors, nut-free, real fruit extracts, soy free, wheat free, dairy free, no msg, peanut-free, casein free and no corn syrup.

They also make anti-oxifruits and have candy drops with 100% vitamin C in them so they help keep you healthy too! I found them at my local Wegmans and health food store. You can also order them online.

 

[My2CrazyGirls]

To the OP, are you just dye free or also artificial flavors and preservative free as well? There are dyes in tons of things you would not imagine dyes to be in. And so much of what WDW serves have artificial flavors and preservatives in it. It is frustrating!