Eating Wheat-, Soy-, Dairy-Free and Low FODMAP at WDW

[geek+nerd]

DH and I recently spent 11 days at WDW, from June 29-July9, 2013. This was my first trip needing accommodations for food. Eating, especially sweets, has been a big part of our trips so I was very nervous about this experience. I wanted to share my experience with others with the hope of making someone else's trip a little less worrisome.

I'll give you a little bit of background information on my dietary needs; feel free to skip right over this first post. It is a bit of a saga and may contain too much information for some.

Last August, we went out to eat with my parents and sister and her family. My DBIL drove all 8 of us in his Honda Pilot. I was sitting in the middle of the first backseat row in between DH and our niece. On the way home, I threw up my meal in the car. At the time, we chalked it up to motion sickness. However, I noticed after this, that I wasnt eating quite as much as I usually did.

I am a high school teacher. On my way to work two weeks into the school year, I threw up on myself while driving to work on the Interstate. There was no way to avoid it; I couldnt pull over. I was out sick for three days. I assumed it was a virus, no big deal. However, I continued to feel nauseated pretty much most of the time. There were several incidents where I would eat and immediately rush to the sink and regurgitate what I just swallowed.

In October, I threw up again in a car while my husband was driving. My appetite was low and I was not consuming my usual quantity of food. I made an appointment with my family doctor. She ordered a number of tests, including a pregnancy test, a barium swallow, and a gallbladder ultrasound-all of which came back negative for any problems. She referred me to a GI specialist; I was unable to get an appointment until mid-November.

In between visiting my family doctor and the GI specialist, I had numerous more bouts of vomiting and regurgitation and pretty much 24/7 nausea. I was miserable, and I had already blown through a whole bunch of sick days. When I finally met with the GI specialist, she did a thorough interview of me about my symptoms. Based on my symptoms alone, she felt confident with a diagnosis of Gastroparesis (GP). GP means stomach paralysis, or that food does not move through the digestive tract at the rate that it should, causing people to fill up quickly and often regurgitate their food. One of the main diagnostic tests for GP is nuclear, and the doctor did not want to put me through that when she was confident of the diagnosis based on symptoms. So, she put me on the GP diet and I had a follow-up with her in two weeks.

The GP diet is very low in fat, low in fiber (NO raw fruits and vegetables; all need to be very well cooked or pureed), and low in spices. I also had to eat small amounts every 2-4 hours, which required me getting a note from her so that I would be allowed to eat in classes. I went on the diet for two weeks and did not vomit at all. The nausea, while still present, was not as bad. Instructions from the GI were to stick with the diet and let her know of any problems I was having.

I continued on the diet with improved results, but I still wasnt feeling anywhere near normal for me. I had another appointment with my family doctor in December and discussed the GI appointments with her. While I agreed with the GI doctor that a nuclear test wasnt the best thing to do unless necessary, I also wanted to confirm the diagnosis. My thinking was that if it wasnt GP, we needed to be exploring other possibilities.

So, my family doctor went ahead and ordered the gastric emptying test for me. This test involves eating radioactive eggs and drinking radioactive water and having your stomach scanned continuously for one hour and then scanned periodically for the next three hours to track how quickly the food moves through your digestive system. The results came back normal. However, people with GP can have normal gastric emptying results one time and then severely delayed results another time. The GI doctor wasnt convinced that it wasnt GP based on the results of the test, so my treatment remained the same.

I was pretty much living on ground turkey and mashed potatoes. I had very low energy, the near-constant nausea returned, I was still vomiting multiple times a month, and I was just absolutely miserable.

Fast forward to mid-April: On a Sunday evening, I threw up in the shower. I did not go to work the next day. Usually with a bout of vomiting and severe, crippling nausea, I could be out of commission for anywhere from 1-3 days. This time it was different. I was unable to eat anything and drink very little for 8 consecutive days. I ended up in the ER for dehydration, where I finally got a prescription for the nausea, Zofran. I had another appointment with my GI, where she discussed wanting to change my diet. If that change didnt work, she wanted to try an all-liquid diet, and if that didnt work, it would be on to a feeding tube. At this point, she told me going back to work was off the table for now, and I went on FMLA.

Needless to say, I was in an absolute panic at the mention of a feeding tube and was willing to try just about anything to avoid that. My new diet was wheat-, soy- and dairy-free along with low FODMAP. FODMAPs are fermentable carbohydrates that are found naturally in a lot of foods and in food additives.

When I was cleared to start to try to eat again, I had to start with very small amounts of chicken poached in low FODMAP broth. Once I was able to eat a little bit and get some strength back, I was able to return to work. I ended up missing 11 work days unpaid. However, within a week of starting the new diet, I was feeling significantly better-no vomiting, and I only had one bout of nausea that lasted a few hours and was gone.

Next, I was referred to an allergist. While my blood tests came back normal, the allergists recommendation was to continue to follow the diet. Her thinking was, We treat symptoms, not test results. Since I was feeling better on the diet, clearly I have some level of intolerance/sensitivity to these foods.

Through some experimentation, mostly accidental, DH and I have found that fructans seem to be the FODMAP that causes me the most problems. That means I need to avoid high fructose corn syrup (all organic foods for us now!), a whole bunch of different fruits and vegetables and juice concentrates, and onion and garlic and both in powder form. To be honest, the onion and garlic have been more challenging to avoid than wheat, soy and dairy. I have more or less been eating Paleo and low FODMAP combined.

In preparation for our trip to WDW, I contacted special diets and filled out the form as having allergies to wheat, soy and milk. In the other section, I listed my main FODMAP concerns. If anyone is familiar with FODMAPs, it is virtually impossible to list every single one that may cause you problems.

I had a successful trip, food wise. I did get sick twice; once, was totally my fault because I wasnt thinking. The other time, I have no clue what made me sick. In general, however, my food experiences at WDW were very positive.

I will include reviews for every table service restaurant we ate in as well as pictures of my meals in future posts.

 

[geek+nerd]

This was our first trip where we placed a grocery order. Given that there were a number of unknowns about what I could eat, we decided to use a grocery delivery service to get food that we knew was safe for me that I could have as breakfasts and snacks. We used wegoshop.com based on a recommendation from a friend who owns DVC. Amy was great, and we plan on placing another order for our upcoming Christmas trip.

We left Baltimore on a 6:15 am flight and made it to POP by around 9:45 ish. We checked in, got to our room, and then had some time to kill before the grocery order arrived. We went to the food court, and asked to speak to someone about food allergies. Chef Jon came out, and he immediately put me at ease. I have an orthopedic disability since birth and use my wheelchair at WDW. He crouched down so that he was at eye-level with me while we talked; I was impressed. He made me a kids' version of Mickey waffles (I'm still not eating much at any one given time) and bacon. He gave me a pager to let me know when it was done. DH and I just waited to the side, and the pager went off in less than 10 minutes.

I promise to add pictures later; I'm just not up for dealing with Photobucket right now.

The waffles were crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. They use Namaste mix. The bacon was Disney bacon, nothing special.

Our grocery order came, and we were off to MK. We waited in line for about 30 minutes to have lunch at BOG. Keep in mind, that I had decided that I wasn't going to worry too much about onion and garlic when ordering at QS restaurants and was hoping for the best for my digestive system. When we got up to the ordering kiosk, a cast member had us go over to a cashier to discuss my allergies. It was pretty cool; she entered my issues into the computer and the meals that were safe for me popped up. However, neither the tuna niciose nor the quinoa salad appealed to me at all. So, I asked about children's options. I was able to get the Feast a la Beast with no sauce and steamed green beans. Perfect! I actually really loved this meal. The pork was really tender.

Later that evening, we went to DTD and hit up Babycakes. I had a brownie cupcake with chocolate icing. I was soooooo excited to be able to have a cupcake! It was very good; DH even liked it (at least the cake; he wasn't a fan of the icing). I've read a number of reviews of Babycakes on here where folks didn't like their products. I had three different items from there on this trip and loved each one.

 

[stackyallred]

I haven't read your whole post yet but will later this evening. Wow, what an ordeal you've had while trying to understand what is going on! Thanks so much for sharing your experiences and I'm glad you had an overall good experience. I had years of vomiting, severe stomach pain, anxiety and many other problems before finally being diagnosed with 40+ food allergies and intolerances- including wheat, dairy and soy. I look forward to hearing more about your trip!

 

[geek+nerd]

I haven't read your whole post yet but will later this evening. Wow, what an ordeal you've had while trying to understand what is going on! Thanks so much for sharing your experiences and I'm glad you had an overall good experience. I had years of vomiting, severe stomach pain, anxiety and many other problems before finally being diagnosed with 40+ food allergies and intolerances- including wheat, dairy and soy. I look forward to hearing more about your trip!

Thanks for responding! I'm sorry that you suffered for so many years. I hope that you have found some relief at this point.

 

[disfan07]

Your story sounds a lot like mine. I've been going going through a full GI workp for nausea, vomiting, weightless, etc for the past 2 years. I have a tentative diagnosis of eosinophilic gastroenteritis and gastroperisis but I am also probably going to be having surgery soon because there was something suspicious on my last scan.

I have about 16 confirmed allergies including wheat, soy, and dairy. I also don't eat raw fruits and raw vegetables because I have oral allergy syndrome. I also avoid anything with high fructose corn syrup except for the occasional 7up when I'm sick because it actually helps my stomach.

I went to Disney last month and had a great experience as well. I only had one problem and that was at Garden Grill. The chef we got was terrible and my food was horrible and ended up causing a delayed allergic reaction which means something was probably cross contaminated

I always thought babycakes was really good. But I can't eat it anymore because I am allergic to coconut and the flour they use (Bobs Red Mill) is off limits because of cross contamination issues. My favorite at babycakes was actually always the cookies, donuts, and brownies. The cupcakes were good but I always did take the frosting off....lol.

The Mickey waffles are still my favorite thing to get. The ones I got from the Contempo Cafe this time were amazing. I got 3 orders the morning we left and ate them throughout the day as snacks becaus ewe were travelling all day. They are still really good cold!

 

[Brookebat]

I'm sorry if this is off topic but I am very similar to you. I have fructose malabsorption with IBS and FODMAP sensitivities. My gut hates fructose and those pesky fructans!

You don't know how happy it makes me to know I'm not the only one out there. You are the first person I have ever met to have symptoms like mine. I'm no sugar, no dairy, no wheat, no powered onions, no powered garlic, no fruit, no beans and many gas producing veggies.

Sorry I was diagnosed with this seven years ago. It's been a really hard and lonely road. If you ever want to trade recipes or information. Please PM me!

 

[geek+nerd]

I'm sorry if this is off topic but I am very similar to you. I have fructose malabsorption with IBS and FODMAP sensitivities. My gut hates fructose and those pesky fructans!

You don't know how happy it makes me to know I'm not the only one out there. You are the first person I have ever met to have symptoms like mine. I'm no sugar, no dairy, no wheat, no powered onions, no powered garlic, no fruit, no beans and many gas producing veggies.

Sorry I was diagnosed with this seven years ago. It's been a really hard and lonely road. If you ever want to trade recipes or information. Please PM me!

It's definitely nice to know there are others out there. It has definitely been a lonely journey trying to figure out what's wrongs. I actually haven't been diagnosed with IBS and I don't think I have it. However, when my GI put me on the low FODMAP diet and other restrictions, she said that the diet has been helpful for people with a variety of GI issues.

I've been able to do small amounts of fruit, mainly pineapple and berries. I miss apples!

I'm just glad it's working For the most part, I've been eating Paleo with modifications for FODMAPs. I have lots of recipes from Pinterest.

I promise to get my reviews up soon. I actually wrote two entries today, and then photobucket was giving me problems so I didn't get to post them.

 

[geek+nerd]

DH and I spent day two in Animal Kingdom. We had a reservation for 6:50 pm for Sanaa at Kidani Village at AKL. We left AK and took the bus over to AKL. We were quite early for our reservation, so we walked around the resort and sat outside on one of the balconies to watch the animals. I have to say that even though we will probably never pay to stay at a deluxe resort, if we were going to, AKL would be my pick! I love this place!

We checked into the restaurant and were seated within 10 minutes. Shortly after being seated, Chef Jake came out to talk with me. He had my list of allergies, but wanted to go over them again with me. He said that pretty much nothing on the menu was going to work as is for me because of the onion, garlic and tomato product issues. Despite this, he seemed really positive and upbeat. He asked what I was interested in to see what type of special dish he could prepare for me. I told him that I was looking at the tandoori dishes, and he said that it would be no problem to do one with no sauce and a few different spices for me. I chose the lamb tandoori.



This was my favorite meal of our whole trip. The lamb was unbelievably tender and so flavorful. It was served on a bed of vegetables, all of which I could eat (well, I didn't eat the cauliflower because I just don't like it).

Interaction with chef: 10/10
Meal: 10/10

 

[geek+nerd]

Since our meal at Sanaa was our anniversary dinner, I called Babycakes NYC in DTD to arrange for a cake to be delivered to the restaurant. I was a little nervous because I had not ever tried anything from there before and had read some iffy reviews.

We were offered several choices. I went with chocolate cake with chocolate chips with chocolate icing. The cost was $45. Below is a picture of the cake. We smudged it helping the server get it out of the box.




After placing the initial order, I contacted Emily at Babycakes via email to ask if she could do a design on the cake like our wedding cake. She was wonderful to work with. Below is a picture of our wedding cake.



I was impressed with the cake. The actual cake was very rich and moist. DH even liked it a lot! He didn’t care for the icing too much, but I thought it was good. We had a lot left over. The server packaged it back up for us, and we kept it in our hotel fridge for several days. We had some as breakfast and as a late night snack. We also took a piece into DHS so that I could enjoy a yummy treat as DH enjoyed his chocolate peanut butter cupcake from Starring Rolls.

 

[geek+nerd]

The next day, DH and I headed to DHS. We started the day with his beloved chocolate peanut butter cupcake from Starring Rolls and I had a piece of leftover anniversary cake.

We had a late lunch/early dinner reservation at 50's PTC at 3:20 pm. We were both really looking forward to this meal because we had a great time here on a previous trip. Our server, cousin Sara, was so much fun! On the last trip, I had the fried chicken and DH had the sampler plate. I tried some of his meatloaf and the pot roast, and I fell in love with the pot roast. I knew it was a long shot, but I was hoping the pot roast could be made safe for me.

We arrived a little bit early and had to wait about 20 minutes to be seated. Our server was nice (I don't remember her name), but she wasn't too into character. It took quite some time for the chef to come out to talk to me. In fact, the server came by twice and said, "He hasn't been out yet? Let me see what I can do." Finally, Chef Frank came out. DH and I have renamed him "Chef DB." I hope you can figure out what the DB stands for.

He started off by asking me about my allergies, and I gave him my whole long list. Then he asked what I was interested in eating. I asked him for suggestions since I knew I was so limited. He responded by saying, "Tell me what you think you want." He seemed annoyed that he had to be talking to me. I understand that the chefs are really busy and that they have to deal with a whole lot of allergy people in a day, but I really don't want to be made to feel like a burden. So, I said that I really wanted the pot roast. He said that it has gluten in it. So I suggested something else which he told me was also off limits. It really would have been better if he had just told me up front what he could do.

At this point, I am near tears. He finally says in an exasperated tone, "What would be easiest for me is to just grill you something. The pork chop is good. Let's do the pork chop." I agreed, even though I didn't really want the pork chop. I was clearly pissing this man off.

He huffs off, and the server took DH's order. I had to excuse myself to go cry in the bathroom. I was very stressed out by the interaction with the chef and felt like walking out of the restaurant.

We waited FOREVER for my food. It had to be 45+ minutes. When it did come out, I took a bite of my pork chop. It was totally flavorless. I took two more bites and that was it. I ate a few green beans and carrots. I didn't eat the arugula dish because it had apples in it, which are high in FODMAPs (they didn't ask if I wanted that; it just came out with the meal).



The server walked by and asked what was wrong. I said that the pork was flavorless and that I didn't think that the chef even put salt and pepper on it. She said he didn't. I started to cry again. Really, buddy? Not even salt and pepper? The only two spices I can't have are garlic and onion. Other than that, have a spice party on my plate!

I thought about asking for a manager, but at that point, I was a basketcase and just wanted to get out of there.

Interaction with chef: 0/10
Meal: 2/10 (it was edible, but totally flavorless and I didn't want to eat it)

 

[geek+nerd]

On Tuesday, we spent most of the day in EPCOT. We left around 3:30 pm to head over to Coronado Springs for a 5 pm ADR at Maya Grill. After the previous day's disappointing meal, I was nervous.

We had some transportation issues on the way over there. We were the only folks in line for the resort, and there was a change of drivers. Apparently, the driver who was taking over was new. He was not excited to have a wheelchair passenger and really pushed that he wanted me to transfer. I told him that I preferred to stay in my chair. It hurts my hips to try to balance in a regular bus seat, so unless absolutely necessary, I stay in my chair on the buses. This driver was very nervous. DH tried to help him attach the hooks to tie down points on my chair. He finally got me all nice and snug and then he made my DH stand behind me and hold on to my chair because in his words, "Sometimes these things tip." My husband actually chuckled because he thought the driver was joking. He wasn't.

Say what???!!!! First off, if he had me in there correctly, my chair would not tip. Second of all, it is extremely unsafe for my husband to be there. If my chair tips, he's going to tip with it. So now not only am I at risk of injury but so is my husband.

Whatever. . .my husband stands behind me through the uneventful ride to Coronado Springs. We get there and as the driver is unhooking me, I notice that he had one of the hooks attached to the wheel!!! Double Dude, you don't do tie downs to a detachable part of the chair! I politely informed him that he should never attach the hook to a wheel and we inspected the wheel to make sure it wasn't damaged before we left.

Needless to say, as soon as we entered the resort, we went to the concierge so that I could call transportation to report this driver. I don't want to get anyone in trouble, but he clearly needs more training. He was not at all comfortable and he did some pretty dumb and unsafe things.

We had about 40 minutes until our reservation so we explored the gift shop and walked around the resort a little and sat along the lake. It was very pretty and I think that sitting there helped my blood pressure to come down after the bus incident.

We checked in and were seated immediately. Our ADR time was the restaurant opening time. Chef David, who is new, came out fairly quickly to talk to me. He crouched down at the booth so that he was eye level with me. Things like that always impress me. We went over my list, and I relayed the disaster at 50's with him. I told him that I love flavor and spices and reiterated that the only things I couldn't have in terms of spices were onion and garlic. I told him some things that I like. He took notes and said, "Give me a few minutes to go back in the kitchen, check some things out and see what I can do."

He returned in a few minutes with his ideas. He said that he would prepare a skillet of chicken with Cuban spices, red and green pepper and corn salsa, grilled zucchini and corn tortillas. I told him that it sounded perfect. His response was, "Cookin' is cookin'. It'll be great!"



And it was! This meal tied for my favorite with Sanaa. Everything was so yummy! I loved the salsa, and had never thought of making my own that way. Just lime juice, cilantro, red and green pepper and corn. Absolutely delicious! It was way more food than I could eat, but I did a pretty darn good job on it.

I wanted to hug Chef David. He did come out to see how I was enjoying the meal at one point, and I told him how much I appreciated his efforts. It was the complete opposite of the previous day's experience. We will definitely go back to Maya Grill!

Interaction with chef: A million/10 Seriously, this guy is my new favorite person at Disney; I just might like him more than Mickey!
Meal: 10/10 Delicious, super flavorful

 

[Mjkre]

Sent you a pm.

 

[SDSorority]

My husband does well with low FODMAP. Something else we have incorporated into his routine is:

Prescript Assist probiotics (soil-based probiotics)
Now Foods Digest Platinum digestive enzymes
Peppermint Oil capsules 15 min to an hour before eating

This has helped his system SO.MUCH. I'm now no longer worried about going to WDW next month!! Thanks OP for your reviews!

 

[davebon23]

My DS and I have been going through similar trials and tribulations with our health. I have Celiac, Lactose intolerance, Fructose Malabsorption, SIBO(Small intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth) 3 times, and now Yeast overgrowth in the intestines.

My DS has Fructose Malabsorption and recently had an abnormal cat scan showing possible Gastroparesis. He is doing gastric emptying study on Tues. We have been trying to figure out his issues for 5-6 years. THis poor kid has been through so many tests all saying normal. He is so thin and can't put on weight. He used to miss a lot of school for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

It's interesting to find someone else who has had the same problems as you. So I can definitely relate with what you have had to go through. One Dr thought it was psychological and wanted him to go to therapy. He WANTS TO EAT AND TRIES TO EAT and just gets so full quickly and just doesn't feel well. And he cannot put on weight. Dr wanted to put him in hospital. I was like "My son is not Anorexic!!! Can't you just do more tests to help him!!!"

We have had to research to find all these problems. We have had to diagnose ourselves and beg DR's to do these tests!! I should be getting paid, not the Dr's ! LOL. He is going away to college in couple weeks so I'm hoping we have his issues at least under control a little before he goes. Even though I have been TRYING FOR YEARS!! I can't tell you how many gastro and GP dr's we have been through for him. It can all be so frustrating.

Sorry to rant and hijack your thread, just wanted you to know that you were not alone. There are a lot of us out there fighting to get through this and fix our health just like you. Luckily, you seem to have had some help with your doctors and it may just take time to get your system completely under control.

My situation is completely different than his and I can't stop GAINING WEIGHT, when not even eating hardly anything. Crazy right!! I also had to beg dr's to do tests and help me out. Had to research online, diagnose myself and then ask them to do the tests.

Good luck!! Can't wait to read the rest of your thread. I wanted to post first.

 

[Alexsandra]

Oh man, I reserved 50's prime time for my trip in Sept. I think I will cancel it after reading your review. It is too bad the chef made you feel so bad.
It is not like we love bothering people with our food allergies/intolerances. If he thinks it is a hassle to prepare food for you, he should walk in your shoes for a day or two! What a jerk! Sorry but it gets me so mad.

 

[disfan07]

Oh man, I reserved 50's prime time for my trip in Sept. I think I will cancel it after reading your review. It is too bad the chef made you feel so bad.
It is not like we love bothering people with our food allergies/intolerances. If he thinks it is a hassle to prepare food for you, he should walk in your shoes for a day or two! What a jerk! Sorry but it gets me so mad.

We had the opposite service at 50s prime time. The chef was wonderful. I have 16 allergies and I got a wonderful salmon with roasted potatoes and asparagus. He was very accommodating.

On the other hand, we had horrendous service at Garden Grill and so many people sing high praise for allergy accomodations there. That was the one and only reaction I have ever had at Disney. It was cross contamination from something. Combine that with the fact that the food was terrible and we won't go back.

My point being.....bad experiences happen at basically all restaurants. It's based on a combination of personal expectations, the chef, and the allergens/available foods. So i would personally not let one review sway your decision either way but obviously, it's your choice with what you are comfortable with.

 

[geek+nerd]

My DS and I have been going through similar trials and tribulations with our health. I have Celiac, Lactose intolerance, Fructose Malabsorption, SIBO(Small intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth) 3 times, and now Yeast overgrowth in the intestines.

My DS has Fructose Malabsorption and recently had an abnormal cat scan showing possible Gastroparesis. He is doing gastric emptying study on Tues. We have been trying to figure out his issues for 5-6 years. THis poor kid has been through so many tests all saying normal. He is so thin and can't put on weight. He used to miss a lot of school for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

It's interesting to find someone else who has had the same problems as you. So I can definitely relate with what you have had to go through. One Dr thought it was psychological and wanted him to go to therapy. He WANTS TO EAT AND TRIES TO EAT and just gets so full quickly and just doesn't feel well. And he cannot put on weight. Dr wanted to put him in hospital. I was like "My son is not Anorexic!!! Can't you just do more tests to help him!!!"

We have had to research to find all these problems. We have had to diagnose ourselves and beg DR's to do these tests!! I should be getting paid, not the Dr's ! LOL. He is going away to college in couple weeks so I'm hoping we have his issues at least under control a little before he goes. Even though I have been TRYING FOR YEARS!! I can't tell you how many gastro and GP dr's we have been through for him. It can all be so frustrating.

Sorry to rant and hijack your thread, just wanted you to know that you were not alone. There are a lot of us out there fighting to get through this and fix our health just like you. Luckily, you seem to have had some help with your doctors and it may just take time to get your system completely under control.

My situation is completely different than his and I can't stop GAINING WEIGHT, when not even eating hardly anything. Crazy right!! I also had to beg dr's to do tests and help me out. Had to research online, diagnose myself and then ask them to do the tests.

Good luck!! Can't wait to read the rest of your thread. I wanted to post first.

I'm so sorry that you are both going through all this. One thing that I have taken from this experience is that we really do need to be our own advocates and that it's OK to not agree with your doctor. I think that I've always seen the doctor as such an authority figure that it's been hard to not just go along with what s/he thinks is the problem. However, we do know our bodies better than any doctor and know when something just isn't right.

Oh man, I reserved 50's prime time for my trip in Sept. I think I will cancel it after reading your review. It is too bad the chef made you feel so bad.
It is not like we love bothering people with our food allergies/intolerances. If he thinks it is a hassle to prepare food for you, he should walk in your shoes for a day or two! What a jerk! Sorry but it gets me so mad.

It makes me mad, too. He really did make me feel bad. This is still somewhat new to me, and we hadn't eaten out much before Disney, so I was already stressed about the situation. His "table-side" manner did not help matters at all. However, I had other chefs who more than made up for this guy.

We had the opposite service at 50s prime time. The chef was wonderful. I have 16 allergies and I got a wonderful salmon with roasted potatoes and asparagus. He was very accommodating.

On the other hand, we had horrendous service at Garden Grill and so many people sing high praise for allergy accomodations there. That was the one and only reaction I have ever had at Disney. It was cross contamination from something. Combine that with the fact that the food was terrible and we won't go back.

My point being.....bad experiences happen at basically all restaurants. It's based on a combination of personal expectations, the chef, and the allergens/available foods. So i would personally not let one review sway your decision either way but obviously, it's your choice with what you are comfortable with.

I agree!

I don't think anyone should cancel a reservation based on one review. If we did that, DH and I would have NOWHERE to eat at WDW! I would do a search here on the boards and read multiple reviews, positive and negative, and then make a decision. There will always be people who love a place and people who abhor the same place. In fact, one of our favorite restaurants, Bongo's in DTD, is repeatedly trashed here on the boards. To each his or her own.

 

[geek+nerd]

Wednesday, July 3, was an MK day. We planned it this way because the fireworks were going to be the same as on the 4th of July, and we knew that we did not want to be anywhere near MK on the 4th.

We had a lunch reservation at LTT, our first time there. It was not our last time there on this trip This is definitely one of our new favorites! It's like a little hidden gem at MK.

While we were waiting in the lobby to be seated, I noticed that there were three people with wristbands on. DH and I had both been reading up on magic bands, so being the curious one that I am, I started a conversation with them. They were 3 CMs who were beta testing the bands. Basically, they did a mock vacation with the bands. They checked into a resort, did FP+, had ADRs and all that fun stuff. They were very friendly, and it was pretty cool to learn about the bands from them. The one thing they all said was that you did notice the band on your wrist, particularly in the July heat.

We were seated relatively quickly and Chef JT came out within minutes of our server taking our drink orders. My order was fairly simple; all I wanted was a hamburger patty and sweet potato fries, both of which he was able to do safely for me. It is important to note for later on that I am NOT supposed to have fried foods, but I really wanted fries, and I love sweet potatoes.

Food was really good. I ate most of my burger, and even though I told myself that I would only indulge in a few fries, I may have eaten a few more than I should have because they were SO GOOD!



DH had the BLT, which isn't really a BLT. He loved this sandwich so much that we ended up making an ADR here for lunch again on our last day! We also have a lunch ADR here on our upcoming Christmas trip.

Meal: 8/10; it was just a burger and fries, but it was tasty
Interaction with chef: 8/10; nothing super special, but he was attentive and made good food.

 

[geek+nerd]

After lunch at LTT, we met up with a friend of mine from college who now lives in the area. We did a few rides and headed to Gaston's Tavern so that they could have a snack.

A picture of me and DH on Dumbo that my friend took. And, yes, we are wearing matching shirts. We are the Dork Squad, and that's how we roll at Disney.



DH really wanted to try Lefou's Brew at Gaston's Tavern. I knew that I wouldn't be able to drink a whole one, but I really wanted to try it, so I asked to see the binder. The toasted marshmallow and the foam were safe! I was so excited. Probably a little too excited. . .I had several large "sips" of DH's refreshing beverage. This comes back to bite me later on in the evening.

We hung out with my friend for a bit longer, but we eventually separated because we had reservations for the Tomorrowland Terrace Dessert Party this night also. I was really excited for this because I have never had a good view of the fireworks in MK. I use a wheelchair in the parks, and it doesn't seem to matter how early we stake out a spot for the fireworks; inevitably, someone weasles their way in front of me and I see nothing.

Chef Kristy had contacted me by phone about this experience, and we played phone tag. I called her back and left her a message, she called me back and left me a message, I called her back and left another message, and then she called the day before and left another message asking if there was anything specific that I wanted. I called back and left yet another message stating that I liked sorbet, berries and chocolate so whatever she could do with that would be fine.

We were seated and a manager came over to review my allergies. She said that she would be back with my plate shortly. DH went up to the buffet and got a plate. He came back and ate. And I waited. And I waited. And I waited. The manager came back again and said my plate would be out soon. At this point, DH went back up for seconds and I still did not have my plate. It did come out while he was up at the buffet again.



I had a whole bunch of mixed berries, raspberry sorbet, spice cake, chocolate cake, Enjoy Life chocolate chip cookies and some gummy candies. Nothing special, but it wasn't bad. Except for the spice cake. That was just icky. It really had no flavor. However, I did like the icing on the spice cake. DH, being the genius that he is, suggested that I scrape the icing off the cake and make a sandwich with it and the chocolate chip cookies. Now that was tasty! I wasn't able to eat everything, so I have no idea if they offer any "refills" for folks with allergies.

There was another woman with allergies a few tables over from us who got the exact same plate. So, I'm not sure what the point of the chef contacting me was if there seems to be a standard allergy plate. Has anyone else with allergies done the dessert party? If so, what was your experience?

Interaction with chef: 5/10; a lot of phone tag and I'm not sure why we needed to talk.
Meal: 6/10; nothing spectacular but everything was ok except for the spice cake.

Given these somewhat mediocre ratings, I will say that we will do the dessert party again. I don't think it will become a tradition that we do every trip, but it was nice to not deal with the crowds and I was able to see the fireworks very well. We did go up to the fence about 20 minutes beforehand, and I was able to position my chair so that no one could stand in front of me unless they were straddling my chair (I wouldn't put it past someone in Disney to try. . .). Overall, DH and I both felt it was worth the money.

We waited for the crowds to clear a bit before leaving the Tomorrowland Terrace and heading out to catch our bus back to POP. On the bus back to the resort, I began to feel a little sick. Keep in mind that the only thing that I have an almost immediate reaction to is high fructose corn syrup (nausea within 30 minutes of consuming), so figuring out what made me sick at any given time involves reviewing everything I ate in the 48 hours prior to feeling ill, per my GI doctor.

Shortly after getting back to the room, I felt so incredibly nauseated. I began heaving. I ended up taking a Zofran (anti-nausea medicine) and getting a little bit of relief. After reflecting on what might have made me sick, we are pretty sure it was the Lefou's Brew. While the other ingredients were safe, stupid me did not think of the main ingredient: apple juice! Um, hello, high in FODMAPs. We are almost positive it was that or a combination of that and too many sweet potato fries at lunch.

I did not end up eating breakfast the next day because I still wasn't feeling that great. I was OK for lunch, though.

 

[davebon23]

Great reviews so far. Glad to see the pic of your food at the dessert party. Thanks.

Sorry to hear you got sick. I was considering that LeFreou's(sp) brew also. But I think the apple juice would prob make me ill, also. It sounds so yummy, though!!

I hope you felt better the next day.