from experience, how well does Disney really do with allergies?

[mistysue]

Long story short, DS (3 tomorrow) is allergic to egg, dairy, soy, peanuts, walnuts, shrimp and wheat. Is he sort of screwed? Is he going to be eating white rice and hamburger patties the entire trip?
None of them are deadly allergies, he will get rashes, an upset tummy and have to run to the bathroom if he gets the wrong thing. There is a part of me that wants to give him a dose of benadryl and choose the option with the least poison. At this point we can't buy processed food at home anymore because it's like $1 per cookie for a box of them, so I wouldn't think they would just stock easy options.

We went when his only known allergy was peanuts and it was great but can they even work with this much?

I already wrote to disney and got the forms I would send to each table service place, what I'm left with is trying to figure out where I should be going, or if we really need to bake in bulk and ship it to ourselves or something? Maybe we are being forced into requiring a kitchinette? We just love eating out so much and this is totally ruining my excitement about planning. (I actually moved our vacation so I could do ADR's on my birthday) I was making a spreadsheet to compare how many options he had at various places, but the wheat allergy is new- and it's totally screwing up my plans!

 

[LindaBabe]

Check out these threads

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2434567&highlight=gluten+free

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2628068&highlight=gluten+free


ALSO - if you ever want to take a cruise - DCL does gluten free VERY well.

 

[Celestia]

Disney is fabulous for allergies. We've been 9 times and have a wide range of allergies between myself and two children. We have filled out the forms, noted on reservations and spoken with chefs. It has been amazing how wonderful they have been. My son has been thrilled with all the things he has been able to eat there!

We have only had a problem once and ironically it was at the one place that is supposedly known for personal attention regardless of allergies or not..Victoria & Albert's Chef's Table! After having my allergies noted, a phone call from them before, speaking with our waiters and the chef himself, I was still brought pineapple and walnuts!!!! I am just glad I noticed both items before eating because I would have been in a world of hurt. Although that was a nice dinner we will definitely not be returning! We were very disappointed.

 

[Eliserose]

We had such a great experience eating out in Disney. We don't eat out too much at home and it was so nice to do it every night and not have to worry. Most places the chef came to our table and was knowledgeable and accommodating. My daughter was peanut, shellfish, and egg allergic. My other daughter is now gluten free, so we will deal with that on our next trip. Some places we ate that I'd recommend are California Grill, Mama Melrose, and Teppan Edo.

 

[sleeperclan]

DD has a gluten allergy and has been really pleased with dining at WDW. We always note it on our ADRs and only once had a problem with them forgetting to note it when we checked in. Thankfully, I noticed our ticket was not stamped and mentioned it to the hostess. It was quickly corrected and DD went on to have a delicious breakfast! I know allergies do change your lifestyle eating (I've become a label reading fiend, looking for hidden ingredients), but we've adjusted and experimented with recipes and things have settled down in the past 6 years. DDs favorite TS dining is Kona Cafe (deliciously soft gluten free rolls), Teppan Edo (they prepare her meal before everyone's), Crystal Palace (she loves the gluten free Mickey waffles), and Tutto Italia (great gluten free pasta). CS is a bit more tricky, but she has been able to do pretty well there, too. Just mention it to the person taking your order and they will have one of the chefs from the back come out and let you know what is available to you. I really don't think you will have any problems finding meals for your DS...go and enjoy your birthday dinner

 

[koolaidmoms]

My DS (8) has gluten, soy and food coloring allergies. We found for the most part Disney was really good. But, we did find that the Disney owned and run restaurants were better with his issues than the contracted ones. At La Hacienda they almost served him a dessert with a big fried, flour tortilla with cinnamon and sugar on it. I noticed when the waiter went to sit it in front of him and I stopped him. He was most gracious and said he told the chef but he must have forgotten. Also, the chef never came out at the contracted restaurants but they ALWAYS did at the Disney ones so I could really talk to them and explain the issue and they could ask me questions too.

Hope this helps some.

 

[g3pak]

One of the things we like the most about Disney is how they handle food allergies. Our DD6 has peanut and egg (epi-pen serious) and dairy allergy (rash, not epi-pen). We eat at: 'Ohanas, Crystal Palace (dinner), Chef Mickey's (dinner), CRT (breakfast and dinner), Hoop De Doo, Le Cellier. For CS we do: Cosmic Rays or Pecos Bill's, Sunshine Seasons or Mexico CS, Pizza Planet, Flame Tree BBQ.

For the TS places we remind them at check-in and then remind our server. A chef comes out to go over the menu. For the buffets he walks my wife through the line and they go over each item to say yes or no. For the places we are seated he will talk through the menu. All of the places have specially prepared food for her. Grilled chicken, veggies without butter, etc. Even desserts

Bottom line- as long as they know about the allergies, they will make it happen, at least at the TS. For CS your options may be limited but you will be fine.

 

[Quillo]

DD 3 is allergic to soy and dairy, and my DW was very worried about our trip, well, now she loves Disney!

At every place we went (TS or CS) a Manager or a Chef came out, talked to us and recommended stuff for my daughter to eat, and she loved everything, an special mention goes to the counter service CM at Flame Tree BBQ at AK, that prepared for her the most deliciuous pulbacked pork with BBQ sauce, grapes and apple juice, she loved it.

She also loved the chicken tenders at Columbia Harbor House at MK.

The three color popsicls are soy and dairy free, also the popcorn that the carts sell, and all of them have the ingredientes for you to check.

We ate at the following places and all of them were very accomodating:

Magic Kingdom:
Crystal Palace
Cinderella's Royal Table
Columbia Harbor House (we loved it, went here two times)

Epcot:
Biergarten

Animal Kingdom:
Flame Tree BBQ

DHS:
Sci-Fi Dine Inn

Just be patient at the CS places, the prepare the food from zero, and it may take longer to get special orders, but they are very carefull not to contaminate them.

if you have any additional questions fell free to PM me
Enjoy your trip!

 

[joanjett1976]

Just returned from a week at WDW. My partner has an intolerance to gluten and dairy. I find it much easier for us to eat at sit-downs as the chef comes to your table and discusses your allergies and offers many usually wonderful choices. Gluten free fried chicken with olive oil mashed potatoes at 50's Prime Time, Gluten Free Champagne batter Fish & Chips at Raglan Road, etc...

As for the counters, I would recommed trying to eat during off-peak hours as the cast member needs to call in a manager and the entire process can sometimes take quite a bit of time. We waited about 20 minutes at Donald's Restorantosaurus at AK. Your choices are also more limited and most counter service restaurants offer the same items. Gluten free chicken tenders, gluten and dairy free chocolate chip cookie, etc...

But I agree with previous posters that WDW is one of the best, most accomodating places to dine with allergies!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I would suggest going to the disABILITIES Forum and look at Post #3 of the disABILITIES FAQs. There is a large section in that post dealing with special dietary needs, as well as many related links. You can get directly to the disABILITIES FAQs by following the link in my signature.

This is a very common topic of discussion in the disABILITIES Forum. There are currently several dietary threads on Page 1 of the disABILITIES Index.

 

[sotoalf]

I don't cut Disney any slack but in my experience they've been extraordinary about dealing with allergies.

After notifying our waitress about my cousin's peanut allergy on our visit to Artist Point last February, the chef himself approached our table. Once he'd assured us that nothing remotely nut-like would approach our table, we had a five-minute conversation about food and our experiences at AP.

Then he announced, "You guys are going to be my special table." A few minutes later select appetizers emerged from the kitchen, all free of charge as we discovered later. When I lamented the disappearance of the venison spring rolls, the chef said, "Well, they're a concierge item now, but I'm pretty sure I can hook you guys up with a fresh batch." Sure enough they arrived a few minutes later, fresh and delicious.

I'm not even mentioning the excellence of the main courses. We made sure to tell our hostess that our meal at AP was our best ever. We thought we'd experienced the best of the so-called "Disney magic."

 

[catne]

Have traveled on the dining plan with allergy-laden folks 3 times now...

1 person had a peanut allergy (traveled with us in 2010 and 2011)

1 person had tree-nut allergies, dairy intolerance (Traveled with us in 2010)

1 person had multiple allergies including wheat/gluten, most grains, tree nuts, peanuts, dairy allergy (traveled with us in 2011)

For all three people the chef came to the table every time (total, probably talking about 25 different restaurants) ...chef went over the menu and said what was "clean" on it for that person's situation, as well as everything on the menu that could be special-made to leave out the allergens. At the buffets, a chef walked the entire buffet with the person and pointed out what was safe...in the case of my daughter-in-law (the one with multiple allergies) the chef saw her face when she found out she couldn't have a particularly tasty looking salad (because it had both walnuts and dairy in the dressing)...he told her the kitchen could make the salad fresh without the walnuts, subbing a soy-based dressing for her. She was sooooo happy with Disney restaurants...every place made something special for her and she had plenty of choices...she was so used to basically only being able to get plain lettuce salads and plain grilled chicken breasts everywhere else she's gone out to eat in the last year...but at Disney, they were making her a variety of fresh veggies, multiple meat & fish choices fresh-prepared to suit her flavor choices. She really did think Disney was MAGICAL.

 

[mom of princess]

Disney is very wonderful when it comes to working with allergies. We took our niece in 2007, shortly after her diagnosis of celiac disease, and my DH noted it on our reservations. At the TS restaurants, the chef came to the table to ask what she could have and what she wanted to have - some were even buffets and she got non-contaminated food from the back. At CS, the chef met with us at some of the restaurants. Our only issue was that sometimes her food didn't come at the CS until everyone else was done eating so she felt the need to shove her food in her mouth so we didn't have to wait for her (even though we weren't that mean that she had to hurry). If I can find my DH food report from then I'll post I over here.
Don't forget to ask if hey can make something even if it's not on the menu. Niece wanted chicken nuggets but they werent listed as a choice, the chef said they could make them with GF (gluten free) breading but needed a few minutes to heat the safe oil. So they can even make something that is out of the ordinary to keep a child happy.
Enjoy your trip!

 

[mistysue]

Thanks everybody! We went before when we only knew about his peanut issue and they were very helpful, this crazy list is just scaring me a bit!

I have the feeling we are going to end up at a lot of buffets, which is cool because we all like buffets.