Eating at Disney with food allergies

[JEWLSVERN]

I posted over on the restaurant board and was directed over here.

We are planning a trip next year. My DS3 is allergic to dairy. What should I know/do in planning our trip? We will get the regular dining plan with 1CS and 1TS.

Last time we went to Disney he was just a baby and we knew nothing about him being allergic yet, so we have not dealt with this at Disney. I have heard they are very accommodating but I am wondering what to expect.

 

[Random Ninja]

Disney does wonderful with allergies. Make sue to list his dairy allergy on all your TS reservations. A chef will come talk to you at your table or show you around the buffet to find safe foods.

For CS meals, there is a binder at each restaurant you can request that has all the ingredients. The manager will come talk to you to get a safe meal. Check out the menus either here or at allears to see what might interest him. Many things are easily made dairy-free or substituted. There is also a dairy-free bakery at DTD called Babycakes, some of the food courts are starting to carry there products.

Make sure you check ingredients on pre-packaged foods. You shouldn't have too many issues with just a dairy allergy. Take the same precautions you would at home and pay attention to what he eats. I'm also dairy-free if you want any help.

 

[It'sJustPoints]

You are absolutely right, they are fabulous about the special dietary needs. My children are gluten-free and dairy-free and Disney is one of the few places we've gone where it is not a hassle.

Just some advice, the ice cream parlor on Main Street has Rice Dream ice cream. I believe it is the only place in the MK.

 

[Random Ninja]

Just some advice, the ice cream parlor on Main Street has Rice Dream ice cream. I believe it is the only place in the MK.

I've seen Rice Dream at Sci-fi in HS. The main Street Ice Cream parlor also carries Tofutti and dairy-free ice cream cones. Many of the food carts have a fruit popscicle if you want a cold treat while walking around any park. The popcorn at the carts is dairy-free as well.

 

[nfceagles]

You'll have a great time. Most TS restaurants have soy and or rice ice cream available and will often make kids sundaes with them. My DS frequently got his served with little cups of chocolate sauce and sprinkles. The special diet brownies and choc chip cookies should be dairy dree, but also gluten free. We can't eat them because of an egg allergy, so I can't offer an opinion on them. The popcorn is dairy free. Pizza places usually have a vegan cheese available, but my DS prefers his pizzas cheeseless which is also doable. Buns may be an issue. For years the regular hamburger and hot dog buns contained dairy, but I did read a recent post from someone claiming they were at the park and had the normal buns were dairy free.

What does your DS like to eat? The most important step for me is to look over the menus of restaurants to get an idea of which ones will have something DS would both like and be able to eat. For example, he's a meat eater, so we favor bbq places, steak houses, etc... If nothing else, I try to make sure it's a place he could at least get a bunless hot dog and fries.

 

[clanmcculloch]

The OMG brownies that are currently being served at WDW contain milk. The cookies are milk free but not the brownies. Yeah, that was a genius decision on somebody's part; NOT.

Many CS locations around the parks carry chicken tenders and fries that are milk free. As PP said, there is also pizza with vegan cheese as well as mac & cheese with vegan cheese. I know that there were some hot dog buns in February that were milk free but at least at that time those weren't available at many places and my DD who isn't gluten free but is dairy free had to eat the gluten free buns when she wanted a bun. The Udi's ones that are currently being served at least taste better than the gluten free buns they used to carry and have a good texture as well. Basically, there are lots of kid friendly meals that are dairy free.

When you walk into a CS location, you'll want to ask for the allergy binder. This binder clearly lists allergens. This will also trigger the CM to call a manager over and that manager will personally prepare your food as the managers are the CMs in CS locations who are trained to understand about cross contamination and allergy prep.

At your resort, CS meals will be taken care of by a chef. Ask any CM in the food court to get a chef for you due to allergies.

For TS meals, just note the allergy on the ADR. When you arrive, confirm that the allergy is noted when you check in and with your server as well. A chef will come out to your table to discuss your options.

For snacks, there are lots of yummy dairy free options. The ice cream parlours at the various parks carry Tofutti and Rice Dream ice cream in chocolate and vanilla. The frozen strawberry and pineapple bars as well as the popsicles at the frozen carts are completely milk free. The popcorn is milk free. Last time I checked, the preztels including the Mickey shaped ones were milk free. Most CS locations carry some kind of cookie that's milk free but you'll have to confirm at each location which they carry.

 

[Random Ninja]

You'll have a great time. Most TS restaurants have soy and or rice ice cream available and will often make kids sundaes with them. My DS frequently got his served with little cups of chocolate sauce and sprinkles. The special diet brownies and choc chip cookies should be dairy dree, but also gluten free. We can't eat them because of an egg allergy, so I can't offer an opinion on them. The popcorn is dairy free. Pizza places usually have a vegan cheese available, but my DS prefers his pizzas cheeseless which is also doable. Buns may be an issue. For years the regular hamburger and hot dog buns contained dairy, but I did read a recent post from someone claiming they were at the park and had the normal buns were dairy free.

That was me. Pretty much every CS place I've been to has regular dairy-free hamburger buns. They are some kind of whole grain, a little dry but decent. The kids hamburger buns are NOT dairy-free. I'm allergic to hot dogs so I can't comment on the hot dog buns.