Help for dining with child with tree nut allergy

[disyady]

On our return driving trip from Disney in August my youngest had an almost fatal reaction to cashews. We have had her tested and she is allergic to all tree nuts and we are now concerned about dining in restaurants - particularly buffets. She is 10 and loves the Crystal Palace and I am wondering if they are able to plate her food in the kitchen for her. Do I ask about this when making ADR's, at the podium when checking in or do I call each restaurant directly when we arrive at Disney? Does anyone have any experience and suggestions for me?? Thanks.

 

[disneytraveler]

You should be able to call each chef directly on the food allergy .

 

[diswisher]

Hi,

My son also has tree nut allergies, as well as peanut, strawberry and various others (soaps/detergents etc)
Disney was more than accomodating, they really put all my fears to rest. Every TS place we dined at, the Chef came out to talk to me personally, (even the buffets) if he/she wasn't 100% sure that the food was safe (hadn't come in contact with allergy) he made up something fresh for my little guy who was just 2 1/2 at the time. DS also had a reaction to the detergent they use to wash the sheets and bedding at the resort-I just let the front desk know and they washed everything in the detergent i specified. (Talk about Disney Magic)

 

[gigi1313]

welcome to my world as my ds has peanut/tree nut allergies

when we were heading to wdw we were told the protocol is as follows:
-- inform the cm when making adr
-- call the restaurant directly 48 hours in advance (the booking cm will give you the #)
-- let the hostess know when checking in for your adr
-- inform the waiter/waitress when he/she greets you and ask to meet with a chef
-- walk the buffet line or review menu selections w/the chef
-- avoid all baked goods, even if you are told they are "safe" because they are NOT (ask me how i know! ) unless they are individually packaged (i.e. oreos from gift shop)
-- feel free to ask to have things individually prepared in the kitchen using clean utensils/pans to avoid any cross-contamination
-- remind waitstaff that desserts are mostly off limits, asking for ice cream or ice pop instead

we were blessed to have mostly great experiences and a little extra attention... ds got all the chefs to sign his autograph book as well as pose for a picture with him... many went out of their way to craft him a special dessert, and when they were unable to (i.e. garden grill) they made a big deal out of bringing him a good humor ice pop! he was thrilled and felt quite special!

good luck... feel free to ask specific questions!

also, p.s. are you flying? if so, what airline? some are now nut-free... others are not but have nut allergy plans in place... we've flown american and southwest and had great success w/both... we pre-boarded in both instances allowing time to wipe down all surfaces w/clorox wipes to insure no residue from previous passengers...

 

[The Disney Bunch]

I am allergic to milk products & Disney is one of the few places I go that I can relax - when you make your reservations, let them know you have someone with a food allergy coming & that you would like to talk to the chef. When you sit down, ask your server if you can talk to the chef. I have had the chef come out to me on a number of occasions & sometimes the meal he has made me is better than what I could have ordered from the menu! And I can eat everything! I have had people walk through buffets an point out what I can & cannot have. I had breakfast at the Land one time & they went to another restaurant to get me something since they had nothing at the time. They are very accomodating at WDW. Good luck!

 

[DisneyPhD]

I am allergic to milk products & Disney is one of the few places I go that I can relax - when you make your reservations, let them know you have someone with a food allergy coming & that you would like to talk to the chef. When you sit down, ask your server if you can talk to the chef. I have had the chef come out to me on a number of occasions & sometimes the meal he has made me is better than what I could have ordered from the menu! And I can eat everything! I have had people walk through buffets an point out what I can & cannot have. I had breakfast at the Land one time & they went to another restaurant to get me something since they had nothing at the time. They are very accomodating at WDW. Good luck!

That is very good to hear. We are going to WDW in Jan and it will be my 1st time with food allergys in my family (DD 15 months old is allgeric to eggs and milk, neither are life threating, but she can't eat them.) Since she is still breast feed I have to eat a dairy and egg free diet too. Last trip she was 9 months old and this wasn't a problem.

I haven't called and made my ADR's yet and I was wondering about cs and walk up ts resturants. Is there anyway to find out what is in food before you go (on line maybe.) So I know what CS places we I can eat at. I would hate to stand in line and then find there isn't anything I can eat. I want to decided what I can eat before I get to the counter.

Also does the cheif actually prepare something specail for you, or do they just let you know what is safe to eat and what isn't?

I can't wait until I can just eat food and not hound people as to what is in it! (I will be able to before DD, she should outgrow it, but more then likley I will stop nursing her before that time.) Of course I cook dairy and egg free for the whole family so sometimes it is just as well.

 

[DCDisney]

I'm also allergic to tree nuts and peanuts. I haven't had any life threatening reactions so I'm somewhat less than 100% cautious. I do strongly prefer non-buffets but we did do Chef Mickey's. The biggest issue was baked goods at every restaurant (pretty much a total no because they are made off property) and desserts. I'm allowed to have things processed in a factory with nuts but they didn't have to that level of detail and basically just said to be safe no desserts at Chef Mickeys (the soft serve ice cream was probably ok). They can plate back in the kitchen but you also can't graciously ask for 100 things. At the CS it was great because if they serve PBJ it is those prepackaged uncrustables so no worries about cross contamination. I also avoid very nut oriented menus like Boma and any asian restaurant.