Food Allergies and DL

[ShaunaM]

Does anyone have any experience with dessert , disney and allergies. My sister just returned yesterday ;she has two kids that carry epi-pens for nuts and eggs. She had talked over the phone prior to leaving with one of the head chefs for the resort. Thought she had all her ducks in row and when they arrived at BB for her son's bd they had pre-ordered birthday cake only to find out that what they ordered for her was gluten free but they could not guarantee anything as to nuts or eggs.

Same thing happened at Ariels with WOC dinner ...monstrous platter of dessert arrives and the boys could eat none of it.

We all did a disney cruise a few years ago and could not have been more accomodated and at that time there were even more allergies.

So the long and the short of it is we are back in a little over two weeks and have made a few reservations. One being Ariels but now I am second guessing myslef. My daughter also carries an epi-pen she is allergic to nuts. But if they are uubable to accomodate her I cannot see spending the money. Has anyone with food allergies had better luck? How did you do it?

 

[DizNee Luver]

Our twins have egg allergies, so we asked to speak with the chef at each restaurant we went to. We went over the allergies & things they like & all of the chefs made special plates for our girls. We were very pleased with all the help they gave us & the service was over the top!!

At the counter service places, ask for a manager or someone in charge so you can discuss allergies. They have large notebooks filled with labels for everything they serve. If the manager doesn't know what ingredients something has, they can refer to the book.

We were told by one of the chefs to NEVER take the word of a helpful server. They want to be helpful, but mistakes can be made.

Restaurants we got excellent service at: Cafe Orleans, Carnation Cafe, Ariel's, PCH Grill, Storyteller's Cafe, Goofy's Kitchen & Rainforest Cafe.

 

[DisSarahK]

We successfully made it through Ariel's Grotto for lunch with my little boy who is anaphalactic with all nuts and for whom I carry two epi-pen juniors. A sous-chef came to our table to discuss the menu with me (and was VERY patient as I went over each item in detail including cutting boards, knives, food prep areas, hand-washing, etc) and I was quite satisfied.

Our main issue was dessert. Our family was served bowls of gelato (I think that's what it is called--the stuff that is kind of like sorbet but not really...I'm drawing a bit of a blank right now) instead of the yummy platter of chocolates and yummy things because the chocolate items were contaminated and there was no way I was going to put those temptations in front of my four year old. He would have been crushed to not be able to eat those!

At any rate, the huge dessert platter never came to our table and we had our bowls of gelato topped with fresh blueberries instead and we all were happy. Except for the bill. That didn't make me happy--because of course the bill was the same even though we didn't have the pleasure of the lovely big dessert platter. That made me mad.

Anyhow, my little boy made it safely through our entire Disneyland trip (including meals at Minnie's, Ariel's and Carnation Cafe) without ever having a reaction.

 

[ShaunaM]

...argh allergies are so frustrating . They did put the dessert down in front of my nephews ages 6 and 9 and they were then told it was not safe for them to eat. That makes sad...especially that DN9 could not eat his own birthday cake...I guess I will call this number I have today and explain what happened to my sister and find out what can be done to prevent an encore. Primarily the issue tends to come up for us with dessert; as she is allergic to hazelnuts. But in her mind dessert is a food group so she would be devastated to not get dessert when her brother and sister are none allergic....it really does not make happy to pay for dessert (ie Ariel's) and not get to eat it...I thought there would be better accomodations; on our cruise they were phenominal the kids were never left out and always had special treats. We shied away from the candy shops and ice cream shops last time as with such a vast menu they made me nervous...so we settled on churros and mickey ice cream bars.

 

[pixiewings71]

My BFF has food allergies, she speaks with a chef at each restaurant before she orders. She's never had any issues and she's always been very pleased with the service she receives.

 

[DisSarahK]

I specifically brought up the big dessert platter with the chef. We discussed all the food prior to ANY food being brought to our table. I knew about the big dessert platter because we had been to Ariel's in the past (when my little boy was two)--and back then they DID bring the big platter and I just had to keep him from eating anything...but it was easier then because he was little.

It was much easier just to have everyone at our table eating the same thing. To be honest, we all were quite full at that point and barely touched our desserts anyhow.

The Disney Dining number was not helpful with food allergies--they just told me to talk to the people when I arrived at the restaurant. I had to push our waitress to get a chef--she kept insisting that she could answer my questions, but I insisted and she finally went and got a chef for me.

 

[Mugglemama]

We've recently had to transition into a special diet because of food allergies/sensitivities and related health conditions. We've done DLR before when doing no gluten or dairy, but this time we will be visiting when we are restricted from gluten, dairy, eggs, beef, high fructose corn syrup, food coloring, and strawberries.

Needless to say, we're just going to bring in our own food, lol.

My kids can still have Jr. Mints candies as a sweet treat (thankfully!)...so if all else fails, you may want to just bring along a "safe" treat to offer at dessert time.

 

[ShaunaM]

I specifically brought up the big dessert platter with the chef. We discussed all the food prior to ANY food being brought to our table. I knew about the big dessert platter because we had been to Ariel's in the past (when my little boy was two)--and back then they DID bring the big platter and I just had to keep him from eating anything...but it was easier then because he was little.

It was much easier just to have everyone at our table eating the same thing. To be honest, we all were quite full at that point and barely touched our desserts anyhow.

The Disney Dining number was not helpful with food allergies--they just told me to talk to the people when I arrived at the restaurant. I had to push our waitress to get a chef--she kept insisting that she could answer my questions, but I insisted and she finally went and got a chef for me.

thanks for the clarification. The number I have is not for disney dining but to an actual chef; this is to whom my sister was directed to call when they went. We certainly try and eat the same thing as it is just mena to eat it when she cannot. Never thel less it is holidays and the special part of holiday food is the treats..you know even if they could bring in some tigger tails or mickey ice cream bars it would make it a little more special. Certainly there are lots of kids that this is an issue for.

 

[Anna1227]

We just got back from our trip, and we did go to Ariel's. Both of my DDs have foods they can't have, so I told the server when we got there, and he went and got a chef to come talk to us. My younger DD can't have gluten and they made her some rice pasta with two sauces and veggies for dinner, and then brought her out a large serving of blood orange sorbet, and a big plate of fresh fruit for dessert. The sorbet was really good - I was jealous.
My older DD has a peanut allergy, and they said that the bread and desserts didn't have peanuts in them, but were baked in a place that also uses peanuts - so that was our call if we felt comfortable with that. I'm sure they would have brought her sorbet too, if we had asked.

They should be able to accommodate your DD, and bring her an alternate dessert. If your server does not go and get the chef to come and talk to you, be sure to ask for that. I always do carry safe snacks and treats in my backpack, just in case. I'm sorry about your sister's experience.

 

[bumbershoot]

We've recently had to transition into a special diet because of food allergies/sensitivities and related health conditions. We've done DLR before when doing no gluten or dairy, but this time we will be visiting when we are restricted from gluten, dairy, eggs, beef, high fructose corn syrup, food coloring, and strawberries.

Needless to say, we're just going to bring in our own food, lol.

My kids can still have Jr. Mints candies as a sweet treat (thankfully!)...so if all else fails, you may want to just bring along a "safe" treat to offer at dessert time.

We're just stuck with colorings, and anything with "corn syrup" in the name, and that's hard enough! YOu bet we bring in our own treats! Can't even do Uncrustables!!!! (let alone Dole Whips, aka the thing that caused us to discover that even corn syrup solids are off the table for DH and DS) And we eat NO ice cream in the parks (well, DS had a vanilla ice cream 3 years ago at Blue Bayou and was fine, but I don't want to push it). When we want ice cream we go to Haagen Dasz, as the lines are shorter and they have the same big binder with ingredients in it behind the counter...


OP, definitely have the chef come out.

Your sister would have had to go through Disney Dining's phoneline to get to the chef; not all CMs know how to get through to the chefs, though. So obviously her CM did, and she talked, and then was thwarted by the servers giving her different info? I would probably go with the chef's info, but then, my son's problems don't threaten his life so it's easy for me to talk.

Talk to the chef AT the restaurant, have awesome and safe treats with you, have a special budgeted amount for "drat, couldn't have dessert there, let's grab this here!" treats elsewhere...

 

[Mugglemama]

We're just stuck with colorings, and anything with "corn syrup" in the name, and that's hard enough! YOu bet we bring in our own treats! Can't even do Uncrustables!!!! (let alone Dole Whips, aka the thing that caused us to discover that even corn syrup solids are off the table for DH and DS) And we eat NO ice cream in the parks (well, DS had a vanilla ice cream 3 years ago at Blue Bayou and was fine, but I don't want to push it). When we want ice cream we go to Haagen Dasz, as the lines are shorter and they have the same big binder with ingredients in it behind the counter...

Thanks for the sympathy, Bumbershoot. I hate food allergies. That said, it's surprising how many choices we still have despite everything we have to leave out! At some point, we'll probably be able to reintroduce some things, but not before our next trip to DLR. Thankfully, none of my kids are anaphylactic (sp?) allergic to any of the foods they can't have. They just cause a myriad of other health issues...

OP, I hope your family has a wonderful time despite the challenges of severe food allergies. Sounds like you've gotten great advice and that you will have definite choices when you get to DLR.

 

[ShaunaM]

...anaphylaxis can be trying...you want your kids to be treated like everyone else but the occasions always, always come up that they feel different or excluded. It is a real life lesson in "that is not fair...no it it is not and it kind of sucks" I will give the chef a call in the next few days...I am thinking if I can source a few treats in the park then I could pick them up and bring them along.

this was not such a problem last time as we did not eat a lot in the park ...however this time we anticpate doing more of this...last time she was safe with the mickey ice cream bars, churros and dole whips. She has informed us that when we get there we will be eating Dole Whips every day...that is until we pointed out that that would be 45 Dole Whips for our family.

 

[ShaunaM]

Can't even do Uncrustables!!!!

...

What are uncrustables?

I just reread your post isn't it ironic in the world of food allergies one person poison is another's treat...no dole whips for you and no Hagen Daaz for us (cross contamination)

 

[bumbershoot]

What are uncrustables?

I just reread your post isn't it ironic in the world of food allergies one person poison is another's treat...no dole whips for you and no Hagen Daaz for us (cross contamination)

Uncrustables are the Smuckers brand PB&J sandwiches that used to be the big "let's go to the zoo" treat. I didn't put two and two together, realizing that all those horrible huge violent tantrums that ended our zoo days were specifically because of the corn syrup AND HFCS in the sandwiches. Too many times carrying my flailing, tall son to the car; and our zoo is very much downhill from its parking lot, which meant lots and lots of stairs... He had two at Disneyland, same tantrum the first time (which we put down to the end of the night), and the second was after I'd started figuring it out. Gave him the option of finishing it and finding a place to run around in circles for an hour, or of tossing it and getting osmething else. Mature 3 year old who didn't like beating me up tossed it and trusted me to get something else. Whew.


I can imagine that ANY ice cream served from a tub in a place like that is bad for you guys? That's why you want the packaged bars? And Mickey Bars are also not OK for DH and DS, because the ice cream has corn syrup. They are SO good, but it's just not worth it (seems to cause a massive blood sugar spike in them...hubby responds by flat out falling asleep, and son responds by having violent "tantrums" and not being able to stop moving or hear anyone).

Even at WDW, where it's a mecca for special diets (we're also vegetarian), their treats, Divvies and Tofutti, are not OK for us, b/c of the corn syrup in them. This is why we bring in our own goodies quite a lot of the time... Bought DVC, and our WDW trip was great b/c we just went to Publix, bought treats to keep in the fridge and freezer, and didn't waste the money at the parks on desserts at all!


I wish you guys luck! If you get to talk to Chef Chris, he's super-nice. And definitely don't back down if you need to talk to a chef or look at the binder with the ingredients at a counter service place, etc etc.

 

[DisSarahK]

You CAN have an amazing trip to Disneyland. We did it and my child does have life-threatening food allergies. Yes this meant no ice cream and no eating from any food carts...but that's okay--we had a BLAST anyhow! We love Disneyland!!

I hauled favorite snack foods and treats in our luggage on the airplane and that helped quite a bit with the munchies (and the budget!) and I interviewed chefs at the restaurants.

Trust me, my children's memories of Disneyland are not about what they didn't get to have, their memories are ALL about the amazing time they had there!

 

[ShaunaM]

...I know we will have a great time...we did last time.

We had just hoped to eat more in the park I will think on it and call the chef next week..the number I had was Chef Chris so that is good to know he is nice to talk to.

Thanks everone!