Help with Peanut allergy and Quick Service!

[autismmom1]

Hello all!

I was hoping to get some of your suggestions...I have submitted DS's allergy information for our ADRs and received the listing of items that are at most quick service locations that will be safe for my son, but I want to also hear from you guys.

So....for those of you having dealt with a peanut allergy, what counter service/quick service restaurants would you recommend? DS has autism and is a VERY picky eater. He loves chicken nuggets, cheese pizza, cheeseburgers, turkey sandwiches and cheesesticks (sense a pattern here?). Are there any specific restaurants that have "better" quality selections of these items?

Thanks for any help you're able to give!

 

[laughinplace199]

I think you'll find chicken nuggets and cheeseburgers at most QS places. You might want to check out allears.net. They have menus for TS & QS places which may help you plan out where you want to eat.

As far as food allergies, all QS places should have an ingredient binder. You ask the cashier for it. I have found that QS places are quite inconsistent in how they deal with allergies. Some won't even let you see the binder until a manager comes. Others will just hand it to you and let you figure things out for yourself. Most places would not let us place our order until a manager arrived (even if they let us read the ingredient binder already). This took a while at almost every place we went, so I'd recommend going to the QS places before your DS is super hungry in case you have a long wait for a manager.

 

[autismmom1]

Thank you for the info! Last year we tried to eat drive thru from chains we normally eat (like Subway) or the Park's table service, since we knew they were aware of his allergy in advance.

I ran into the problem at a quick service last year...I was breaking out in a sweat since I was holding up the line to look through their book...I was hoping I could avoid that this year, but I guess it is better to be safe than sorry!

 

[livndisney]

Thank you for the info! Last year we tried to eat drive thru from chains we normally eat (like Subway) or the Park's table service, since we knew they were aware of his allergy in advance.

I ran into the problem at a quick service last year...I was breaking out in a sweat since I was holding up the line to look through their book...I was hoping I could avoid that this year, but I guess it is better to be safe than sorry!

Per Disney policy, once you mention allergies at the cashier, you will be directed to a manager/supervisor to order. The manager will go over the binder with you, place your order and then bring it to you.

 

[DCDisney]

The QS food is pretty much the same everywhere. If he prefers bland food you may want to get the kids chicken nuggets instead of the adult. The kids are round flat and bland where the adult ones are not as crispy and taste peppery. The burger buns are whole grain and do have some little bits and pieces in them if that might be an issue. Cheese pizza is the same everywhere except a few resort QS locations have flatbread pizza. The flatbread has little torn pieces of spices throughout the crust though. Turkey sandwiches aren't that common but they are on different breads. At sunshine seasons at epcot they have a kids turkey sub sandwich that is on white bread roll that might work nicely. Can't remember any QS places with cheesesticks. QS places peanuts aren't usually much of an issue except desserts unless you go to a bakery or a place (mostly in epcot or dtd) that is not WDW owned.

 

[autismmom1]

Thank you guys!

I was so embarassed at the QS backup last year, I think the cm was new and was unsure of the procedure, so that made it even harder. I kept apologizing to the people behind me, but you could tell they were less than thrilled.

And I wasn't aware of the difference in the chicken, that will help more than you know! He is very picky about textures in food, so I had a difficult time finding an adequate amount to fuel him on the trip. I brought along Boost to supplement.

I appreciate the help!

 

[Ninnygunk]

We've eaten at tons of QS restaurants & with the help of the manager we've always very positive experiences. My son can be a pretty picky eater too.

 

[autismmom1]

We've eaten at tons of QS restaurants & with the help of the manager we've always very positive experiences. My son can be a pretty picky eater too.

Thanks Ninnygunk! I noticed you're from Kentucky...we're in Paducah!

 

[dizcrazee]

Last year we tried to eat drive thru from chains we normally eat (like Subway)...

Hi there, I just wanted to share this about Subway - we don't take our daughter there because a few years ago, a 13 yo girl died from apparent cross contamination with a peanut butter cookie. The family sued Subway. The last time I ate there (without my allergic daughter), the cookies were still at the end of the line, where they could contaminate the sandwiches waiting to be rung up. When they take out the cookies from the box above the line, crumbs can fall on top of the sandwiches.

Also, we have had great experiences at WDW, but we still have to be vigilant. For example, after the chef at Cape May told us what was safe to eat and went back to the kitchen, I discovered peanut butter cookies sitting on the higher level next to the kids' area of the buffet. They were on a platter right next to the edge sort of "overlooking" the kids' area. Crumbs could have easily fallen into the kids' food. The chef didn't mention anything about this, so it's important to ask, ask, ask, and double-check everything yourself whenever possible.

 

[livndisney]

Hi there, I just wanted to share this about Subway - we don't take our daughter there because a few years ago, a 13 yo girl died from apparent cross contamination with a peanut butter cookie. The family sued Subway. The last time I ate there (without my allergic daughter), the cookies were still at the end of the line, where they could contaminate the sandwiches waiting to be rung up. When they take out the cookies from the box above the line, crumbs can fall on top of the sandwiches.

In my experince Subway is one of the worse for cross contamination. I have had to fight with the "sandwich artist" to get them to change their gloves after handling other foods (allergens), so we just don't eat there anymore.

 

[autismmom1]

Hi there, I just wanted to share this about Subway - we don't take our daughter there because a few years ago, a 13 yo girl died from apparent cross contamination with a peanut butter cookie. The family sued Subway. The last time I ate there (without my allergic daughter), the cookies were still at the end of the line, where they could contaminate the sandwiches waiting to be rung up. When they take out the cookies from the box above the line, crumbs can fall on top of the sandwiches.

Also, we have had great experiences at WDW, but we still have to be vigilant. For example, after the chef at Cape May told us what was safe to eat and went back to the kitchen, I discovered peanut butter cookies sitting on the higher level next to the kids' area of the buffet. They were on a platter right next to the edge sort of "overlooking" the kids' area. Crumbs could have easily fallen into the kids' food. The chef didn't mention anything about this, so it's important to ask, ask, ask, and double-check everything yourself whenever possible.

In my experince Subway is one of the worse for cross contamination. I have had to fight with the "sandwich artist" to get them to change their gloves after handling other foods (allergens), so we just don't eat there anymore.

Oh, I wish I hadn't read this, but I'm glad I did! Subway is one of the only things he'll eat...we don't go through the drive thru and watch them like a hawk when they prepare his sandwich, but I didn't even think about the crumbs...I knew not to ever get him a chocolate chip cookie there because of the cross contamination issue, but never thought about it being so close to the sandwich materials. I guess because he only gets turkey and cheese on his sub and they wrap it down at the "meat" end...however, the paper they wrap it in is situated by the cookies! Thanks for bringing this to my attention!

 

[dizcrazee]

You are very welcome, OP. I'm sorry to share such worrisome info. My DD used to love Subway hot dogs, but we gave them up after reading about the death and realizing that those darn cookies are potentially a serious cross-contamination risk. I wish they would just get rid of the cookies.

 

[cinderella73]

At Pizza Planet in HS/MGM they will make you a fresh pizza in the back. They started carrying cupcakes and the servers handle those, than the pizza, so things can get contaminated. The manager s very nice though. Also ask for Enjoy Life , or Divvies choco chip cookies at almost every quickservice as a subsitute if getting a kids meal.

Looks like the pretzels at Epcots Port of Entry are safe now. At least at that location. Good to know with limited options at Epcot. They also have soft serve there you can get with or without a duffy souvy cup.

Other experiences at Epcot were great at Electric Umbrella , and Beirgarten , but I did not like that female manager ( the guy was nice) at The Liberty Inn in America. She was short with me and rude and offered no provisions.

In Tomorrowland Auntie Gravitys Galatic Goodies ( ice cream shop attached to the store near Indys Raceway has safe soft serve also.

Dinosaur Gerties at HS/MGM is also safe soft serve. ( big Dino over by the Indiana Jones ride , down by the lagoon.

 

[casper_jj11]

We've been to Disney many times and we'll be going again next May. I've started reviewing the menus and it seems that many of the CS locations, I've noticed it primarily in MK, have added peanut butter and jam sandwiches to the kids menus (back in Sept I believe) (one restaurant specifies teh uncrustables which I think are sealed, right ... we don't have those here) but others just say PB and J. While I've mentioned DDs allergy, I never worried too much about cross contamination before at CS but holy crap, that's freaking peanut butter! That stuff can get stuck on and smeared on anything. Has anyone heard how they're ensuring that it doesn't get spread around in the cooking/prep areas?

 

[laughinplace199]

We've been to Disney many times and we'll be going again next May. I've started reviewing the menus and it seems that many of the CS locations, I've noticed it primarily in MK, have added peanut butter and jam sandwiches to the kids menus (back in Sept I believe) (one restaurant specifies teh uncrustables which I think are sealed, right ... we don't have those here) but others just say PB and J. While I've mentioned DDs allergy, I never worried too much about cross contamination before at CS but holy crap, that's freaking peanut butter! That stuff can get stuck on and smeared on anything. Has anyone heard how they're ensuring that it doesn't get spread around in the cooking/prep areas?

A lot of QS places have PB & J, but I think it's always Uncrustables. I think for TS places, it may be different though.

 

[autismmom1]

Well, we're back from our trip and didn't have too much trouble this year...none at all at TS meals, but QS was a little rougher...

After explaining to a lady at the register at Pinocchio's Village Haus about my son's peanut allergy, ordered the child's grilled cheese, and she seemed to understand...we took a lot of time ordering the gluten free cookies (nut free also..she didn't seem to get that), but as I went up to the window to get the food, I noticed she had ordered him a child's meal PB & J sandwich...I freaked! I caught the attention of a person in the kitchen and the manager came over and took care of it. It was a slow time of day too. I can only imagine her inability to speak english well was the issue.

Funny thing is that he didn't eat chicken nuggets anywhere, and I was sure that would be a staple of this trip. We ate a lot of what was described as cheeseburgers, but I can't tell you for sure...not my favorite. I think next time I'll pack safe deli meat and bread from home in a cooler.

That being said, barring the one incident, I felt completely safe everywhere we ate. The TS chefs are top notch, and I really do trust that back in the kitchen they keep things as safe as humanly possible. I was careful on buffets, but didn't think there were circumstances I felt might present a problem with his allergy. I am thankful we have a place that truly tries to accommodate us!