Food allergies at Universal Studios / IOA

[cinderella73]

We will be going with our food allergic child to Universal Studios / Islands of Adventure this August. I know Disney handles things well and I have already gotten info from them but I have heard Universal is not as good with things.

Has anyone contacted them before and made special arrangements made? I am dealing with the severe type of food allergies not the intolerances so I need to know if they have things in placeto deal with that. I cant just have someone point to a buffet and say " Well this is safe this is not " etc . Are they good with that? Its the only thing that concerns me with our days there . To the point that I might cancel .

Also does anyone have any contact info for them ?
And lastly does anyone have any nut allergies and know of places and or food that they were told was safe? I know I would need to double check as vendors change all the time but any help would be wonderful! Thanks guys!

 

[THUNDERMOUNTAINMOMMA]

I can't answer most of your questions, but I wanted to reply to you. I have a severe peanut allergy. We go to US/IOA quite a bit (passholders). Several times, when I've mentioned my peanut allergy to the server, they don't know how to respond. I've never contacted someone ahead of time. so I can't help you there. Since I'm the one w/ the allergy (not my child) it is much easier for me. I can't imagine having a child with this and worrying about what's being served. I always cary my epipens, and am vigilant in asking questions. Some restaurants (sit down) serve pan-asian dishes that have peanut sauces, so beware of those. I just always inform whoever is taking my order of my allergy, and double check when I get it.

 

[cinderella73]

I can't answer most of your questions, but I wanted to reply to you. I have a severe peanut allergy. We go to US/IOA quite a bit (passholders). Several times, when I've mentioned my peanut allergy to the server, they don't know how to respond. I've never contacted someone ahead of time. so I can't help you there. Since I'm the one w/ the allergy (not my child) it is much easier for me. I can't imagine having a child with this and worrying about what's being served. I always cary my epipens, and am vigilant in asking questions. Some restaurants (sit down) serve pan-asian dishes that have peanut sauces, so beware of those. I just always inform whoever is taking my order of my allergy, and double check when I get it.

Thank you so much for your help. I have made some calls this wek to the onsite hotels regarding their policy's and whether or not they can and or will do a special room cleaning like Disney. IE removing comforters , wipe downs , removing nut items, etc... They didnt have a system in place like Disney. They were willing to work with me but anytime I have to explain to them what I need I always worry. To me in that kind of proffession its their job to know. And that was the Manager at that.

My kids really want to see Spidey and all the other guys . And we did go there and stay when my son was a infant . But he didnt need to eat their food then. So I tink I am going to just nix the whole idea. I know they will be upset but after what you said I dont think its worth it. It would be just as hard to have to tell my son he couldnt have this or that to eat because I didnt feel it was safe. I am going to write a letter to a few people higher up and let them know how I feel.

A few years back I know a woman went in with her son to Mythos and the server didnt check something and said he did and the kid had a full blown attack ended up in the hospital. You think they would have learned.

Anyway thank you for letting me know. It saves me so much grief and worry.. Maybe in the next few years we can go if they get a safe food policy started up by then.

 

[rascalmom]

I have a severe fish/shellfish allergy - and I do know it is very different dealing with this as an adult as opposed to a child.

That said, we have made successful visits to Universal. I don't have severe contact reactions, so I have not had to ask for a special room cleaning, but we did have success in dining.

The place where I was most comfortable and felt it was handled the most professionally and knowledgeably was the Hard Rock Cafe. Granted, it is not in the parks, but it is close enough to leave for a mid-day meal and then return to the park. The waitress was able to reference ingredient lists quickly when I was deciding what to order & a chef came out before my meal was prepared to speak with me personally. The waitstaff at Mythos was pretty nonchalant, but a chef did come speak to me and made a menu suggestion.


One thing I do like about staying at the Hard Rock Hotel is that they use white duvet covers. I would feel much more confident in bedding changes there than I would at Disney where they use normal bedspreads. There are enough people with allergies and asthma that travel that asking for a complete special room clean shouldn't be out-of-the ordinary. I would call and ask to speak to their most senior housekeeping manager - they should know what to do.

Universal has phone banks like Disney's CRO - it make take digging a bit to get to the right person actually onsite at your hotel, but it should be do-able.

 

[livndisney]

Thank you so much for your help. I have made some calls this wek to the onsite hotels regarding their policy's and whether or not they can and or will do a special room cleaning like Disney. IE removing comforters , wipe downs , removing nut items, etc... They didnt have a system in place like Disney. They were willing to work with me but anytime I have to explain to them what I need I always worry. To me in that kind of proffession its their job to know. And that was the Manager at that.

My kids really want to see Spidey and all the other guys . And we did go there and stay when my son was a infant . But he didnt need to eat their food then. So I tink I am going to just nix the whole idea. I know they will be upset but after what you said I dont think its worth it. It would be just as hard to have to tell my son he couldnt have this or that to eat because I didnt feel it was safe. I am going to write a letter to a few people higher up and let them know how I feel.

A few years back I know a woman went in with her son to Mythos and the server didnt check something and said he did and the kid had a full blown attack ended up in the hospital. You think they would have learned.

Anyway thank you for letting me know. It saves me so much grief and worry.. Maybe in the next few years we can go if they get a safe food policy started up by then.

I know how important Spidey is . What about staying at a Disney resort and making a day trip to IOA? We have allergies, we don't eat Universal/IOA food-but rather we take our own in with us. Rollup sandwiches are VERY transportable.

 

[cinderella73]

Thanks guys for your advice. I just now saw that I had some responses.

I am booked for 2 weeks at Windsor Hills now . I am still undecided on whether or not to do the theme parks . It would be 500 and we only get maybe 2 days use out of them and we also have to leave the site to eat which cuts our time in the park down. I can bring in food but being 5 to 7 of us its a bit harder to bring in enough of what we would need. We could just bring in food for the kids and avoid the known nut products for the adults but it wouldnt be fair to the kids that would see and want the regular food. So I would have to bring in enough or make trips . It just adds so much extra hassle.

We had such a great experience staying onsite when my son was a baby and we loved everything. But I guess now that is a thing of the past. I just hope that they get on the bandwagon and start realizing how serious and more frequent this is becoming.

I guess for now we will play it by ear. I just hope the kids dont ask me about it because I feel so bad when I always have to say we cant do this or that over food allergies. I will just focus them on everything we will be doing and I am sure we will have a great time non the less.