Food allergy CS question??

[brown1442]

My son has multiple food allergies (peanuts, tree nuts, milk, soy, gluten and a few other minor ones). I've already been in contact with Lee from WDW special diets and he was very helpful!! : I filled out their form for all of our TS dining places... then I started thinking about CS. Many of the lists that I was sent say that the CS places *may* have items or that they *might* need advanced notice. I emailed Lee back to ask about this and he said most have allergen friendly foods available but that I could fill out my form again to include all of the CS places we wanted to go to and when we'd be there (including times of day). He said it was up to me... is that necessary? Or do most of the CS places usually have stuff in stock? My son's diet is pretty limited so I worry!! The problem is we don't have our CS plans set yet... and may not until the day of in the parks. Just wondering what to expect based on others experience!!

TIA!!

 

[tinkslite]

My 11 year old, Nicholas, has been living with Food Allergies since age 4 1/2. His first vacation (age 6) was to DisneyLAND in CA. He ate at Goofy's Kitchen and was in love with the way Disney handles allergies.

To answer your questions about Counter Service. Many of the restaurants have a lot of allergen free choices in stock or nearby, it may take a bit longer to get the food for the allergic person- so order his first and inform counter person that you'll be happy to wait for remainder of order until allergen stuff is ready!

Nick is allergic to Peanuts, Tree nuts, wheat (so gluten free is a must) soy, banana and a few other minor things........ For years he was unable to eat corn in any form, as well. Now he does okay with it, though.

Some of his favorite CS meals at the World are:
Hot Dogs with Gluten Free Tapioca buns at the American Pavilion in Epcot.
Also on Main Street USA
Rice Noodle Pasta @ the Noodle shop in Tomorrowland
Pizza with Gluten Free Pizza Crusts at any All Star Resort Food Court
Gluten Free Brownie Sundae with Vanilla Rice Dream Ice Cream! Main Street Ice Cream Shop AND Beaches and Cream at the Beach Club Resort

Let the CMs at Counter Service spots know what you are dealing with and they will let you know what they can do, they are very good at going above and beyond! We always try to eat at earlier/later than average times to make it easier for the CMs to attend to the special kid. They really do a great job. Do not be shy about telling the CMs at EVERY place you eat!!!! They will help!

Have fun.

If you are not already booked at O'hana, get a ressie! Chef TJ there is AMAZING in dealing with kiddos with Allergies!!!!! My son is still raving about his dessert there at the beginning of SEPT. It was a show in presentation as much as a dessert, and it was JUST FOR THE ALLERGY CHILD it was not something on the regular menu! Which is also delicious!

 

[clanmcculloch]

I'm not a big fan of the way they're not sending just a list of which CS locations may be able to accomodate our allergies. In general, this newer way of providing information makes me very uncomfortable because while they may have gluten free foods, that doesn't mean my daughter can necessarily eat them because of other allergies. She can't eat the Ener-G buns because they have yeast so if the CS location is listed because they have the buns then we'll end up with a crying child over not being able to eat where we thought we could (she's also autistic so upsetting expectations can be horrible).

Lee should have also sent you a list of allergy safe foods. The list also includes locations where many of those specific items can be found by park. I'm bringing a list by park of where I can find the specific foods that are safe and I know my kids will like.

We try to eat most of our CS meals at our resort. I speak with a chef at the resort ahead of time so they know my kids' favourites and the resort food courts also have a much wider variety of foods to begin with. We like to take rests in the middle of the day anyway so it works out well for us. For the few CS meals we do eat the parks, I've got my handy list of where I can find which foods and I've got my touring plans set up to include where we'll stop for those meals. I'm using TGM so I have that level of daily detail for my upcoming trip.

 

[spacepixie2]

we too have similar food allergies: gluten, caseine, soy, corn, peanuts. We listed the spcial diet on our TS ressies; but we are still formulating our CS plans for DEC. In the past we were provided with a list of CS foods which we could review relative to our needs. We had also made special arrangements for CS pizza to be made at MaMa Melrose's and served at Pizza Planet, but now I see that GF pizza is already an available option at certain CS's (thanks for posting that info.). We also found our resort (POFQ) was also very helpful in keeping certain favorites available. At TS locations you can ask to speak to the Chef before you order; and they will go over the menu choices or buffet options with you. At CS we always ask to speak to the manager before we order and they have even gone so far as to let us see a list of actual ingredients for a given food. Otherwise, the CS managers have offered to oversee our son's food preparation to make sure it did not come into contact with anything it should't.

Hope this helps. Have a great trip.

 

[brown1442]

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences!!

I spoke with dh last night and he really doesn't want to have to plan out exactly what CS places we are going to... he wants to play that by ear. I really hope that isn't a mistake!! I did look on line at the ingredients lists for a lot of the prepackaged stuff and it looks like my son can't have most if it... esp the GF desserts. He's also allergic to vanilla of all things and of course all the cookies and brownies have vanilla and of course so does the Rice Dream. I am hoping he'll be happy with popsicles and fruit for desserts all week. Maybe I'll have to bring my own cookies for him?? Will they let me do that??

We do have TS ressies at Ohana!! I am super excited now!! We have ADRs for dinners at Ohana, Kona, Le Cellier, Whispering Canyon, and Mama Melrose (Fantastmic pkg), and breakfasts at Chef Mickeys and 1900 Park Fair.

 

[HETRICKL]

My DD doesn't have as many allergies as you, we are Tree Nuts, Shellfish, Sesame and Mango. Although I've been comfortable with the TS, I'm not a big fan of the CS. Since we are not gluten, we do have a bit more options for meals (not necessarily dessert). WIth that said, I like to know Manufacturers so I can contact them directly about cross contamination, we do not take the chance if same lines are used.

I usually bring in snacks, cookies and other items for her. This time I'm also thinking about bringing in her sandwiches and fruit, since we are staying with a kitchen. I think it's just easier for the CS.

For example, the mickey head ice cream lists as safe on WDW sheets, however when I contacted Nestle they said it was made on a line with tree nuts, but cleaned. Since my comfort level is not to use same lines, I don't think of that as safe.

 

[brown1442]

I am not comfortable with shared lines either. Thankfully it seems like most (not all obviously)items that are free of my son's allergens are usually made on dedicated lines. It just seems like once you are eliminating that many things they are assuming high sensativities... you know.

His "only" anaphylactic allergies are peanuts and tree nuts so I definitely tend to be a lot more hyper about those. His other allergy reactions are not fun but at least not life threatening.

We are traveling from Ohio so I am not sure how much food I'll be able to bring with me. I'd like to make sure I have some options for him at least though... just in case.

 

[HETRICKL]

We are flying from WI, so it's not easy with the food. I do a combination usually of two things. One, I pack a box with non perishable items in it and ship ahead to our hotel. Then, I order from www.gardengrocer.com and have perishable items delivered to the hotel. I request a fridge if there isn't one in the room. This way, we usually all eat breakfast in the room and I can pack lunch and snacks for my allergic daughter to bring. I just pack a collapsable cooler in my luggage.

I do find that Disney is the BEST place to travel in dealing with food allergies.