GREAT Allergy Info from DISNEY WORLD!

[copperbrick]

Hi, Everyone:

I'm sure this has been posted here before, but as an update I'd like to tell you about my experience with planning a food-allergy-free Disney World vacation.

My particular challenge is having to eat gluten-free, Celiac diet, but this thread is also for those with other food allergies.

We go to Disney in October. I called for dining reservations 90 days prior, as is recommended, and I let the reservation desk know about my having to eat gluten-free. They marked it on all of my reservations.

I thought that would take care of everything, but when I was speaking to a Disney World Cast Member earlier this week, she reminded me of something I knew but forgot: It is important to contact the Special Dietary Request Executive Offices as soon as possible once you've booked your dining reservations. 1-407-824-5967.

If you're not booking reservations and just doing quick service, it's STILL important to call. They have a ton of excellent information for you.

Leave a message telling Disney exactly what your allergy needs are. You'll get a call back from the Dietary Department, AND they'll email you a packet overflowing with info:

A letter linking you to Disney dietary info

An attachment that explains how to handle special dietary requests

An overview of what the park restaurants offer

A special attachment that shows all the restaurants that have allergy-free chicken tenderloins.

A copy of the allergy-free chicken tenderloin nutrition label

A dietery request form to send back to Disney

A list of prepackaged snacks

A list of specialty products (did you know you can get a baked potato at Liberty Square with advance notice?)

For my gluten-free needs, I received a specific no-gluten guide to dining in the parks that shows what foods are naturally gluten-free as well as what substitutes can be made at Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, and Disney Studios (sit-down and counter service).

Wow!

Also, the Dietary Department told me that Main Street Bakery offers a to-go box which allows you to go to Main Street Bakery early in the day, order what you'd like -- just about anything -- for the restaurant you plan to attend later, and they'll have it there for you!

I assume you can just order carry-out, too. I need to check it out. Not sure.

So, from what I understand, if you're dining at a restaurant that, say, doesn't have allergy-free chicken tenders, all you need to do it order it at Main Street Bakery, and they'll make sure you have it there.

I assume you need to order very early or maybe even the day before. Again, not sure.

I hope this helps! I'm going to post this at celiac.com, too. (For those who eat gluten-free, this site is very helpful.)

Thanks everyone! Hope this helps.

 

[minnie1012]

Thanks so much. My daughter was at the doctor today and he thinks she has, milk, dairy, egg and soy allergies. He also said no shellfish and peanuts to be safe. We leave in 2 weeks and I know nothing about allergies so I was paniced! Thanks for the info I will call the number!

 

[thejman]

Thanks so much for the great info. We are going to WDW in December with my three children who all have food allergies (peanut, tree nut, eggs and sesame.) I am hoping we will have good food options for them.

 

[copperbrick]

You will be happy with how much Disney cares, I'm sure.

Wow -- having multiple allergies makes it a special challenge. I've spoken with others who have (or children have) multiple allergies, and all of them have been happy with the experience. Of course, the more allergies, the more limited the chefs may be in what they can prepare, but they really do go out of their way to accomodate.

I have heard that the chef at 'Ohana is particularly wonderful when it comes to food allergies. I haven't been there yet, but I'm trying it on our October trip. 'Ohana is a family fun place, too . . . although perhaps you already know this.

Both of you have a wonderful trip! I hope more people will find this thread and post here.

 

[SueM in MN]

Thanks for the complete report and glad to hear things went well for you.

 

[copperbrick]

Thanks for the complete report and glad to hear things went well for you.

Thank you, Sue! How wonderful to get a reply from you. I am looking forward to giving a complete reveiw of all 10 days of dining when I return -- Celiac as well as general info (Hubby not Celiac -- he's an excellent food critic and can eat anything).

So, we hope everyone will benefit from our experience.

Thanks again!

 

[clanmcculloch]

I've experienced this amazing level of help every time we've gone. It's one of the big reasons we continue to return to WDW. So many of the chefs have told us that they themselves or their loved ones have these huge lists of food allergies which is why they have such a passion for being able to make our meals so special. The majority really do go way above and beyond for us.

Enjoy your trip and feel confident that you'll be safe as well as eat REALLY well.

 

[copperbrick]

I've experienced this amazing level of help every time we've gone. It's one of the big reasons we continue to return to WDW. So many of the chefs have told us that they themselves or their loved ones have these huge lists of food allergies which is why they have such a passion for being able to make our meals so special. The majority really do go way above and beyond for us.

Enjoy your trip and feel confident that you'll be safe as well as eat REALLY well.

Yes! I know I am especially grateful for being cared for by Disney. Since I've just recently been told I must eat gluten-free, it is so comforting to know that I'm going on a vacation where I won't have to worry about how to manage each restaurant OR burden my husband (who eats anything) with it. That means the world to me. That's what a vacation is supposed to be.

 

[ashley0139]

I have known I have Celiac for 19 years (aka since I was 3) and have always been impressed with how they handle allergies. I am going again in October and can't wait to eat there.

 

[itradehilton]

Please post your experiences and where you ate. My DS has Celiac and we are going on our first trip next year. He eats like an adult in regards to food variety. Please let us which places where the most accommodating. Have a great trip.

 

[clanmcculloch]

Please post your experiences and where you ate. My DS has Celiac and we are going on our first trip next year. He eats like an adult in regards to food variety. Please let us which places where the most accommodating. Have a great trip.

We've found every single Disney owned TS restaurant to be extremely accomodating. Obviously we haven't tried EVERY restaurant but each one we have tried has been great. For our first trip post-diagnosis we didn't know about the Disney owned vs other ownership and were very disappointed in Maya Grill and Chefs de France who both tried their best and did ensure safety, but just didn't have the ingredients on hand to be able to make much beyond what we can get anywhere (you know, the bunless burgers or steak with plain baked potato). We now stick strictly with the Disney owned TS places. For buffets, the chef will walk you through the line showing you what is safe, but ask for him to get a plate of your selected items from the kitchen as you don't know what kind of cross contamination has happened in the buffet line.

Besides resort food courts, the absolute BEST CS location is Sunshine Seasons at Epcot. The American pavillion is also good, but they don't have nearly as much. Because of our additional allergy issues, we don't have nearly as many options elsewhere as you might have. Go through the lists of what foods are available where and go to the CS locations that you already know (from the lists from Brenda) carry what you're in the mood for.

 

[JerseyMamaBear]

wow! thanks for the post. My infant son has an allergy to soy and milk and nursing him while retricting my diet has been difficult. We will be there for my b-day in January and really needed this help. I just left a message with the hotline,

 

[PJB71]

Hi thank you so much for the tip.

As i'm from the UK it's not always easy to call with time differences etc

Does anyone know if theres an e-mail address I can contact?

My 9year old DD had a dairy, wheat and gluten allergy.

Thank you once again for the infoxxx

 

[valree]

Hi thank you so much for the tip.

As i'm from the UK it's not always easy to call with time differences etc

Does anyone know if theres an e-mail address I can contact?

My 9year old DD had a dairy, wheat and gluten allergy.

Thank you once again for the infoxxx

You can contact Special Diets at SpecialDiets@DisneyWorld.com. They usually reply pretty quickly - within 2 business days. Normally, it's Brenda Bennett, but she is vacation until either next week or the end of this week. Good luck!

 

[PJB71]

Hi Valree

Thank you so much for the information, I will e-mail them straight away.

You can contact Special Diets at SpecialDiets@DisneyWorld.com. They usually reply pretty quickly - within 2 business days. Normally, it's Brenda Bennett, but she is vacation until either next week or the end of this week. Good luck!

 

[dwsandy]

I arrive in about 3 weeks. Am I too late to contact the allergy line?

 

[pudge the fish]

I woudl email right away but it's not too late

I have called the day before cause sometimes we decide late on a Thursday night or Friday at noon we're going saturday and I can get a last minute reservation.
Most of the time I just note it on the ADR when I make reservations - unless you have many, many allergies you should be ok

 

[3littleHalls]

I think there should be a permanent thread about food allergies. We love how WDW is so good about food allergies and giving options! I have 2 children with food allergies. It has become impossible for us to eat out anywhere else but Disney.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

There is one.

If you click on where it says "disABILTIES" at the top of this page it will take you to the Index. One of the top items is the "disABILTIES FAQ" which will gives lots of useful information. Post #3 in the FAQ has a listing in althabetic order and one of the groupings has to do with dietary restrictions, with both informatiuon and links to threads.

Or, if you want an easier route to the FAQs, click on the link in my signature.

 

[dwsandy]

I woudl email right away but it's not too late

I have called the day before cause sometimes we decide late on a Thursday night or Friday at noon we're going saturday and I can get a last minute reservation.
Most of the time I just note it on the ADR when I make reservations - unless you have many, many allergies you should be ok

My ds does have MANY allergies but I did note them on the ADR's. We had to check off most items I'm just hoping to be able to get him maybe some plain pasta or a baked potato or rice and maybe some vegetables and we will bring his protein with us. Hope we can work it out