Food issues at counter service restaurants

[Sazuburns]

We have the dining plan for our forthcoming trip this summer, and I was wondering how the counter service restaurants were if there are food intollerances or other issues involved.

I know that the table service restaurants have an excellent reputation of catering for special needs and that we can inform them when we book. Are the counter service restaurants as flexible, bearing in mind that you can't book the meals?

I am dairy free (as is my daughter but she is under 3 so she'll be sharing with me anyway) and I'm also concerned about the lack of choice for children, as everything seems to be mac & cheese, pb&j or chicken nuggets, none of which are options for my 8 year old son! How do I go about getting more suitable food for him?

Thanks
Sarah

 

[Haley/Hayden Mom]

I have a daughter with red dye and the hormones they give chickens to produce more eggs allergies and mine is the hormones they give the cows to produce more milk so only organic for us, so I called Disney dining and spoke with the nicest CM last year. She gave me the name and number of the person to talk to at the parks about allergies. I just can't remember her name right now. She emailed me paperwork to fill out and fax back to her inregards to our allergies and she was also very helpful at letting me know what to avoid at all the counterservice resturants.

 

[SueM in MN]

There are less options for modification at the counter service restaurants. Many of the items are premade and just heated.
If you have not already looked, I suggest you look at the resources in post #3 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread. The thread is
near the top of this board or you can follow the link in my signature to get there.
There is contact information for special dietary needs in post #3.
EDITED TO ADD: This is how to contact people at WDW as the poster above me mentioned - we were posting at the same time.
There are also links in the thread to the restaurant menu pages from both wdwinfo.com and allearsnet. These may not be totally up to date, but between looking at the menus on both sites, you should get a least some idea of what you will find.

 

[Sazuburns]

Thanks, that's very useful.

Sarah

 

[Haley/Hayden Mom]

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/special-dietary-requests/


It has all kinds of info and the email addr for them on it too.

 

[Haley/Hayden Mom]

There are less options for modification at the counter service restaurants. Many of the items are premade and just heated.
If you have not already looked, I suggest you look at the resources in post #3 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread. The thread is
near the top of this board or you can follow the link in my signature to get there.
There is contact information for special dietary needs in post #3.
EDITED TO ADD: This is how to contact people at WDW as the poster above me mentioned - we were posting at the same time.
There are also links in the thread to the restaurant menu pages from both wdwinfo.com and allearsnet. These may not be totally up to date, but between looking at the menus on both sites, you should get a least some idea of what you will find.

Thanks Sue, seeing the thread made me remember we only have 1 mth 19 days left so I need to get my paperwork done and sent over for us too. I would so hate for Hayden Claire to not be able to eat anything. You just won't believe how much food has red dye in it. Poor thing though, back for allergy testing 4 days after Disney. At least we can bribe her with Toy Story 3 for it.

 

[clanmcculloch]

While there are allergy options at some CS locations at the parks, I tend to do the majority of our CS meals at our resort. DD12 has Asperger Syndrome so we really can't do long days at the parks anyway so what works well for us is to get to the park at rope drop and tour until 11:00ish then head back to the resort for our CS lunch. Brenda with Special Diets always has a chef from our resort call me at home so we can discuss my kids' needs in depth. The chefs always have extra options ready for my kids when we arrive and have even special ordered foods in just for them knowing that we'd be coming. The chefs at the resorts just have so much more freedom to do things like this than the chefs at the parks (there really aren't chefs at the parks for the most part; they're really just short order cooks there while at the resorts they have actual chefs overseeing the kitchens).

 

[Sazuburns]

That's an interesting point - I hadn't thought of that!

Thanks
Sarah

 

[Schmeck]

I am dairy free (as is my daughter but she is under 3 so she'll be sharing with me anyway) and I'm also concerned about the lack of choice for children, as everything seems to be mac & cheese, pb&j or chicken nuggets, none of which are options for my 8 year old son! How do I go about getting more suitable food for him?

Thanks
Sarah

Your son can order an appropriate adult meal, kids don't have to order off the kids' menu. My older daughter never liked nuggets so we got her what she liked from the standard menu.

 

[Sazuburns]

Your son can order an appropriate adult meal, kids don't have to order off the kids' menu. My older daughter never liked nuggets so we got her what she liked from the standard menu.

Does this still apply if you are on the dining plan?

Thanks
S x

 

[snorris49]

I'll just reiterate what everyone else has said. TS has, of course, more flex in regards to dietary restrictions, but some CS can be really great. I would agree that resort CS seem to have more flex, and chefs, rather than managers come to discuss options with you. At AKL, I got this huge plate of African spice rubbed chicken and cooked to order vegetables and a great salad at WL. CS in the park is hit or miss depending on the restaurant. I love, love, love Sunshine seasons (the roast chicken or pork are great GF choices. And they made me steamed broccoli b/c the carrots had dairy in it) I also loved the allergy free chicken tenders at ABC Commissary (which are available at many different locations). YUM!

Special diets is a great resource, and they can get you in contact with a lot of the chefs at WDW, including CS.

Good luck!

 

[nfceagles]

Ditto what everyone else said about TS having more flexibility. But there are counter service options too. The allergy-free chicken tenders are very good and available at a place or two in each park. Cosmic Rays had good options. We got the bbq chicken and ribs plate, withe some apple sauce and grapes as a side. Fries can often be fried in a separate fryer if you're willing to wait. The smoked turkey legs are non-dairy. The popcorn is non-dairy. You can get soy or rice ice cream at The Plaza Cone Shop on Main Street. We got a dairy-free, soy cheeze pepperoni pizza at Pizzafari in AK. It was good. I'd bet Flame Tree BBQ in AK has some options too. We never made it to Sunshine Seasons in Epcot, but they're probably your best option in Epcot.

 

[Schmeck]

Does this still apply if you are on the dining plan?

Thanks
S x

I don't think so - but we don't use the dining plan because we are small, light eaters and wouldn't use half the points.

 

[scojos]

you might want to conside paying to upgrade to an adult, it could be cheaper than paying OOP for extras.
we have upgraded dd7 for this reason
tracy

 

[DisneyDreamerMom]

Has anyone eaten at CHH with a person who had shellfish allergies? I was thinking my kids would love the fried fish and my dh could eat chicken nuggets but I wondered if they were fried in the same oil as the shrimp. Does anyone know? Thanks!