How am I doing this wrong? (critique needed, allergy ordering)

[RubyV]

It surprises me you had trouble with just dairy and seafood. I'm sorry that didn't work out. It seems to me a lot of the posts that are the most enthusiastic about how great Disney is are for lists of 1-3 allergies.

It's not just the number of allergies, but which ones. At some places, the dairy was easy to deal with, the seafood, otoh, much harder. Some places it reversed . Cosmic Ray couldn't do dairy allergy well at all, for example.

Hollywood and Vine, despite being told they could accommodate, couldn't. I watched the person at the pasta station repeatedly contaminate my dish.

TS, overall, was far more accommodating. YMMV. I personally wouldn't do CS in her situation.

We ate our way through the park, courtesy of their ingredient books at the carts, etc. We just recognized the limitations of the system.

(limitation example :they kept offering soy dream or rice dream for dessert - these are not safe for dairy allergy and Disney needs to update)

Eating worked out well, and our deluxe plan for well used. We just went into this knowing that with two out of three of us with allergies, and months of research, TS was going the be safer, albeit expensive. The only counter service we did was breakfast at Pop - they are very good at allergies, and even made her Tinker bell cake.

 

[Leota]

I can't have gluten, dairy, egg as an emulsifier, peanut & kiwi - (now I have to limit fodmaps too, but I haven't been back home to FL since that got thrown in)

Like ClanMcCullough, I have my stand-by go to CS places, my favorites are in the resorts, particularly the MK area resorts & AoA food court. Park CS is extremely limited if you have multiple allergies. Sunshine Seasons is the best in Park CS dining, followed by Flame Tree (IMHO) Otherwise it is alot of chicken fingers, burgers & the like in the Parks.

I also eat at The Mara alot as it's the closest to our house down there. I do alot of research ahead - I read the menus over & over ad nauseum until they are ingrained in my brain, lol. And I usually try & have an idea in my mind of what I would like based on what they have on the menu.

At TS they are much more able to work with you. CS is just pre-cooked fast food. Disney's better at it than Mickey D's for sure, but it's still fast food. At TS, they have real, fresh ingredients to work with. And some of the Chefs really enjoy the creative aspect & guest interaction, which is where you get these amazing experiences that make you cry. And esp. at MK, it's so easy to hop the monorail & be at GF Cafe or The Wave or something and lunches aren't really that much more.

But honestly? When I first got sick, I cried over my 1st FF in a year at a CS in TL. Hey! Fried food is tough with allergies! And just being able to eat ANYTHING that I don't have to shop for, prep, cook & clean up is pretty spectacular. That's why we decided to relocate there. So we can eat out again. That's Priceless.

 

[Talking Hands]

It's not just the number of allergies, but which ones. At some places, the dairy was easy to deal with, the seafood, otoh, much harder. Some places it reversed . Cosmic Ray couldn't do dairy allergy well at all, for example.

Hollywood and Vine, despite being told they could accommodate, couldn't. I watched the person at the pasta station repeatedly contaminate my dish.

TS, overall, was far more accommodating. YMMV. I personally wouldn't do CS in her situation.

We ate our way through the park, courtesy of their ingredient books at the carts, etc. We just recognized the limitations of the system.

(limitation example :they kept offering soy dream or rice dream for dessert - these are not safe for dairy allergy and Disney needs to update)

Eating worked out well, and our deluxe plan for well used. We just went into this knowing that with two out of three of us with allergies, and months of research, TS was going the be safer, albeit expensive. The only counter service we did was breakfast at Pop - they are very good at allergies, and even made her Tinker bell cake.

Tofutti and Rice Dream are fine for a person with a dairy allergy. I prefer something called So Delicious made from coconut milk but do not have problems with either of these products. If your child cannot use them perhaps there is another allergy in the mix.

 

[disfan07]

I honestly have only ever had problems with 1 chef with my list of allergies and that was Garden Grill. When we went december 2012, my allergies were:
Peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, shellfish, soy, wheat, oats, sesame, coconut, ginger, mustard, cherries, bananas, broccoli. I also am very sensitive to thyme (can handle tiny amounts) and I have oral allergy syndrome so no raw fruits or vegetables except grapes. In June, dairy was also added to the list.

We've had succes at:
The Wave
Contempo cafe
1900 Park Fare
Citricos
Crystal Palace
The Plaza
Liberty Tree Tavern
Cosmic Rays
Columbia Harbor House
The Turf Club
Artists Palette
POP century food court
AoA food court
Sunshine Seasons
Electric Umbrella
50s Prime Time
Sci Fi Cafe
Studio Catering Company
POR food court

All I do for TS is when I check in, make sure I have allergies marked down. If the server doesn't say anything when they come to the table I remind them and they get the chef. The chef comes and I hand them the list (and it's always the same reaction....WOW!) and than we go over what I can eat. The chefs I've met always seem to enjoy this challenge!

If it's a buffet, they take me through the line and tell me what is safe or what can be made safe (ex: salmon at CP without the aioli on top) and they get me fresh food from the back. If its a menu, they ask me what on the menu I am interested in and they determine if they can make it safe. And they have always been willing to cook any vegetable they have to replace un safe sides (so potatoes for pasta, cooked veggies instead of raw, etc).

I do always check the menus ahead of time to make sure there is something that can be made safe on th menu even if that just means steak and fries or chicken and fries.

At QS, I tell th I have allergies and they always get the manager/supervisor. At park QS places, they get the binder and find something possible. Nothing perpared as is has ever been 100% safe for me but they have always been willing to make something safe as long as they have the ingredients (I've gotten burgers or chicken sandwiches with no bun, fries or grapes instead of mashed potatoes, cooked veggies instead of fresh, etc). At the resort QS meals, for breakfast I always get the Mickey waffles. For meals I usually get the chicken tenders and fries but at every place they've often offered grilled chicken, deconstructed burgers (no bun), GF pasta (if they have it), cooked veggies, etc. if they have the item in the back they've always been willing to cook it in a way safe for me.

Honestly, except for garden grill, I've never left a restaurant hungry, and again, except for garden grill, I've never had a reaction. A lot of times the number of choices is minimal. Some places I've only been often a couple of options, but for me that's never been an issue. I'm happy as long as they have 1 option they can make safe for me. I've never gotten what I would consider a "cool" allergy meal. Just regular food made safe. I'm just extraordinarily happy that I can go somewhere for a week and not have to cook!

I don't think I'm doing anything different than you are. The chefs always seem so willing to talk to me about my allergies and they are always very happy when they come back out at the end and see that I am happy, full, and most importantly....no reaction! Maybe ve just gotten lucky, maybe it's something else...I'm really not sure.

But I've also never be charged extra for an allergy meal and I've actually gotten a couple of QS meals for free or discounted because of long waits. But I really don't know what I'm doing different than anyone else.

 

[disfan07]

Tofutti and Rice Dream are fine for a person with a dairy allergy. I prefer something called So Delicious made from coconut milk but do not have problems with either of these products. If your child cannot use them perhaps there is another allergy in the mix.

Rice dream depends. If I remember correctly, some of the products have a "may contain" warning, or shared equipment warning for dairy ( and every other major allergen)

That's why I don't go near that stuff.

 

[nfceagles]

I'm so glad you asked this. I've seen your posts about having trouble and really felt sad for you. My DS's allergies are easier than yours, milk, egg, peanuts and we avoid tree nuts and shellfish as he hasn't tried them. I also understand your social anxiety. It's one of the hardest things for me wrt DS's allergies. I hate being a bother.

What does your DS like to eat when you cook for him at home? Does he like meat?

Things that come to mind reading over this thread, some of which have already been mentioned but I'll list them too in order to reiterate:

1) We never stay at Epcot resorts because of DSs allergies and the very limited CS options.
2)Have you tried Sunshine Seasons? They have a lot of nice rice and meat based dishes and they have Enjoy Life Chocolate Bars for dessert. I've even seen the softer Enjoy Life cookies there, but I don't know if those are still stocked.
3) Have you tried Flame Tree BBQ? We have good luck with bbq as it's generally just seasoned meat, but I realize you have more restrictions than we do. They also have fruit sides that are a little different from the standard. Pineapple, watermelon, and a different sort of grape.
3) In MK, we have good luck with Cosmic Rays chicken and ribs. Have you tried that?
4) Does your DS like hamburgers? Are there places that can put a safely grilled beef patty on the GF buns? Is there something in the standard hamburger patties that isn't safe? It might be a nice change of pace from chicken tenders.
5) Can your DS eat smoked turkey legs? It's at least one more thing to be able to get easily at MK and it's not a chicken tender.
6) As for ordering at TS places, I definitely go into each place with an idea of something that I think they might be able to do for DS. I tend not to ask what they can make him, but rather say something like, "We were wondering if he could get a steak and fries?" where steak is usually an option on the kids menu or at least the adult menu. I'm not asking for things that require special ingredients like dairy-free mac and cheese. Fortunately, DS tends to not like allergy substitutes and prefers food that is simply, naturally free of his allergens. I pick ADRs in a way that I hope will create enough variety for him. Examples of meals that I expect to be doable for him:
LTT- Turkey with their special allergy mashed potatoes and gravy (which I knew about from reading this board)
WCC- Chicken, pulled pork, or ribs and fries (DS eats lots of fries as I don't force veggies while we're on vacation)
CM's breakfast- Mickey waffles, fruit, and bacon, and they carry a house-made top 8 free cupcake (I heard about it here.)
LeCellier (pre-2credit days)- Steak or Salmon with Fries
Kona Kafe- Chicken Wings and fries. Our chef was concerned about their fryer, but offered to run down to Ohana for wings (this after I specifically asked if wings were possible)
1900 Park Fare- Chef TJ does a nice job making some pretty basic dishes special.
7) Dessert variety does get tricky as, for us, it's a whole lot of Tofutti, but we've got a few tricks that work for us. We usually hit one place that I know can make safe milkshakes, like WCC (I've heard Sci-Fi too, but haven't been there yet). They can usually make it chocolate too with Hershey's syrup. DS also loves Root Beer Floats and every TS I know of has Root Beer on tap. No place has ever offered that, but I know it's not a problem for them if they have Tofutti to start with (Rice Dream in your case). The chef at LTT sounded really excited when I asked for one and said she'd never thought of offering that. Super easy for them, but a nice change and really exciting to DS. Some places I know have sorbets and we fill in the rest of the gaps with the standard Tofutti with sauce and maybe sprinkles. Oh, and the allergy cupcakes I mentioned from Chef Mickey's. Any chance your DS can have Dole Whips? That's another very special dessert treat even if it's not at a sit-down meal.

The variety we find is nothing compared to what the non-FA experience, but compared to out lives back home where eating out is very difficult it feels like a lot to us and especially DS.

 

[mistysue]

Rice dream depends. If I remember correctly, some of the products have a "may contain" warning, or shared equipment warning for dairy ( and every other major allergen)

That's why I don't go near that stuff.

I think Rice dream used to use barley so it may contain gluten, I'm wondering if that is specifically what the PP is thinking of. If not, that is even scarier that a product primarily used as a dairy alternative would have dairy. Somebody in their product development department didn't think that one through.

Those "may contain" labels drive me crazy.
Disfan07, I'm glad Disney works out so well for you. It's possible that one of our issues may be CS locations where the kid's meal doesn't have some of the easily altered items, so they just say no rather than offering an adult item such as grilled chicken.

 

[vicki_c]

I stumbled on this thread more accidentally than anything else, since I'm not usually on this board.

Although I know Trudy well from elsewhere and her extensive background and research on this topic, reading these posts from all of you has been very eye opening to me. I really am in awe of all of you and have an entirely different perspective on the whole allergy things and its exceptional difficulties.

I already knew my family was fortunate to not have allergy issues (except for lactose-intolerant me as I've aged), but reading this has made me feel even more fortunate and hopefully more understanding/tolerant/respectful/whatever of others dealing with this things.

And I'm glad most of you can find things to eat at Disney!

 

[disfan07]

I think Rice dream used to use barley so it may contain gluten, I'm wondering if that is specifically what the PP is thinking of. If not, that is even scarier that a product primarily used as a dairy alternative would have dairy. Somebody in their product development department didn't think that one through.

Those "may contain" labels drive me crazy.
Disfan07, I'm glad Disney works out so well for you. It's possible that one of our issues may be CS locations where the kid's meal doesn't have some of the easily altered items, so they just say no rather than offering an adult item such as grilled chicken.

I was wondering if it might be a kids menu issue as well. I realized I forgot to put that in my post. I've never done food allergies as a Disney kid so I don't know fom that perspective.

I might have missed it in your post, but you could probably ask for something from the adult menu if your son will eat it if the options are really limited from the kids menu. I've seen that at a few restaurants. At the table next to us at Citricos and The Wave there were kids with allergies and I overheard them order off the adult menu with no problem. But I have no idea if they got a kids size portion or paid adult price.

I honestly really don't know why it's worked out so well for me. I hope for your next trip it will work up better for you.

 

[mistysue]

I'm so glad you asked this. I've seen your posts about having trouble and really felt sad for you. My DS's allergies are easier than yours, milk, egg, peanuts and we avoid tree nuts and shellfish as he hasn't tried them. I also understand your social anxiety. It's one of the hardest things for me wrt DS's allergies. I hate being a bother.

Things that come to mind reading over this thread, some of which have already been mentioned but I'll list them too in order to reiterate:

I edited a lot out there but thank you for so many ideas. I made goals this year of getting him to eat salad and meat on a bone, which will probably help with getting him to branch out. He approaches a lot of food very skeptically, which I can understand.

He can have some of the dole whips but so far hasn't believed me that he could have them since everybody is leaving the stand with the same thing. I may order some mix and start making it at home so he recognizes it. Part of me feels crazy for prepping him for vacation by copying Disney food, but I can't say any of the rest of us will be upset by it.

 

[RubyV]

Tofutti and Rice Dream are fine for a person with a dairy allergy. I prefer something called So Delicious made from coconut milk but do not have problems with either of these products. If your child cannot use them perhaps there is another allergy in the mix.

From the website:

Although our RICE DREAM Frozen Desserts are free of dairy ingredients, they are produced on shared equipment with dairy ingredients and may contain trace amounts of dairy.

SOY DREAM Non-Dairy Frozen Desserts and Novelties

Although our SOY DREAM Frozen Desserts are free of dairy ingredients, they are produced on shared equipment with dairy ingredients and may contain trace amounts of dairy.

My daughter's dairy allergy is severe enough that these are not safe - and her allergist warns against them. Toffutti was just allowed back again - theire frozen items were also cross contaminated for ages too.

 

[RubyV]

Our favorite places, FWIW, were:

Sci-Fi at HS (she loved the milkshake)

Be Our Guest

Tony's (they were amazing at working with us - we wound up there 2 more times when our flight got cancelled and stayed an extra day)

Rose and Crown

Pop for breakfast

The worst was Hollywood and Vine - the service was terrible, they were not as accommodating of either my daughter's dairy or my seafood, and as I mentioned, it took 4 tries before I got a non contaminated pasta at the pasta station. I would stay far, far away.

We had lots of Dole Whips, pretzels, and other assorted snacks- members were very good about looking up things.

Dessert was tricky. It really varied. My daughter found that the Enjoy life cookies often tasted off, and she would know as she has them often. She found that things tasted of freezer burn.

We did Cinderella's Royal Table and Akershus. Akershus was much yummier. CRT brought us safe muffins in place of the pastry course.

One thing that does make a difference for us is that Pixie is very used to speaking to staff, and is comfortable with speaking to them about what she needs. She also made a point of looking for someone in charge to tell them when the waitstaff and chef went above and beyond.

 

[mistysue]

We did Cinderella's Royal Table and Akershus. Akershus was much yummier. CRT brought us safe muffins in place of the pastry course.

One thing that does make a difference for us is that Pixie is very used to speaking to staff, and is comfortable with speaking to them about what she needs. She also made a point of looking for someone in charge to tell them when the waitstaff and chef went above and beyond.

If you don't mind my asking, which meal did you do at Akershus?
Their breakfast was easily our favorite meal before DS became allergic to everything vaguely associated with that meal. Our snow white once spilled an orange juice all over our table, amazingly making it even better because it was so hilarious.

I remember you saying HWV was scary, that is the place we went where the chef totally screwed us up too. "It's only soy flour, that should be ok" for a soy allergy and cheese not being dairy like milk is dairy. He sure sounded like English was his primary language, but I hope it wasn't after that. I also believe I may have told you that with just dairy and seafood you don't need to worry before your trip. Sorry about that. I was thinking they seem so well prepared for a dairy allergy and seafood rarely even comes up as a concern for us. I know it's not the quantity that matters but I would feel really silly in a kitchen if I couldn't figure out how to feed somebody with no dairy or seafood. They need to hire a bunch of chefs from families with food allergies, that would turn things around really quick at a few places.

 

[RubyV]

If you don't mind my asking, which meal did you do at Akershus?
Their breakfast was easily our favorite meal before DS became allergic to everything vaguely associated with that meal. Our snow white once spilled an orange juice all over our table, amazingly making it even better because it was so hilarious.

I remember you saying HWV was scary, that is the place we went where the chef totally screwed us up too. "It's only soy flour, that should be ok" for a soy allergy and cheese not being dairy like milk is dairy. He sure sounded like English was his primary language, but I hope it wasn't after that. I also believe I may have told you that with just dairy and seafood you don't need to worry before your trip. Sorry about that. I was thinking they seem so well prepared for a dairy allergy and seafood rarely even comes up as a concern for us. I know it's not the quantity that matters but I would feel really silly in a kitchen if I couldn't figure out how to feed somebody with no dairy or seafood. They need to hire a bunch of chefs from families with food allergies, that would turn things around really quick at a few places.

Breakfast at Akershus

HAV was dinner for the Fantasmic package. Service was atrocious too.

I was standing right there, giving instructions, and the man STILL messed up my meal

1. forgot to change pan
2. Forgot to change gloves
3. forgot to change pan again
4. final attempt - success

Her allergy nuggets (the only time she had something from the kids menu) were off tasting, the enjoy life cookies stale, and it took them 45 minutes to get her food out. Overall, miserable.

 

[DCDisney]

I had more difficulties on this trip I just took than previous trips. Lots of the QS places use software now and pretty much if they put in soy allergy it took everything away except grapes and carrots. I can have soybean oil and soy lecithin so that made it even more difficult bc then the chef had to think about why it was labelled soy. Not all places had binders with the new system--BOG didn't. I can't do most of the gluten free products, they tend to have things I've never eaten and I don't want to try new things on a trip when I have multiple allergies. I usually have no problems at LTT for lunch but this year they gave me gluten free stuffing and allergy safe potatoes (and gravy on the side that the chef said was not safe) so not knowing what was in those all I could eat was the turkey and I was not happy because we had figured out what was safe and I had eaten in the past and then I was served something different. I was served gluten free allergy cookies numerous times this trip and no alternatives with the nut allergy. Those have seeds which I'm also not supposed to have because they can be cross reactive with my legume allergy. I'm not highly allergic to nuts and I would be far safer with something produced in a plant with rather than gluten free products but chefs seem to be brain washed now to think gluten free products=safe for all allergies. Columbia Harbor House was great as was Sunshine Seasons and the resort QS that have full kitchens. I agree with the PP who said they don't stay in the epcot area resorts bc of limited allergy options and I totally agree! In terms of ordering I pick something from the menu that is easy to adapt. Pasta dish with no sauce just pasta, meat, veg with olive oil and garlic type thing. Steak with no marinade and sauce. With multiple allergies I have to keep it simple in restaurants and I'd rather have something I know is safe. Having your son look at menus to see what they have before you go is a good idea--what meats that he likes, do they offer rice, pasta, or potato he would prefer, veggies as a side to any dish. They are always relieved for me to give them an idea of what I want if I don't they do just default to the simplest of things like grilled chicken and rice. At Hoop Dee Doo I cant have beans and the chef asked if there was any veg I liked and I said zucchini knowing I had had that there before. He was delighted to be able to get me something I liked and he made a really nice dish of grilled zucchini. All of the fried stuff now they are restricting from allergy people it seemed like. I guess when they have dedicated fryers they only want to do the allergy safe chicken tenders. I couldn't get fries anywhere that they considered safe bc of cross contam. This was by far my worst allergy trip. I had decent basic foods but nothing at all special any more. Everything special has been replaced by gluten free gross (to a non gluten free eater's tastes) stuff. No more Krispy Kreme donuts from the nut free facility, no more nut safe chocolate stuff, no cookies or candies anywhere I could have.

 

[Talking Hands]

From the website:

Although our RICE DREAM Frozen Desserts are free of dairy ingredients, they are produced on shared equipment with dairy ingredients and may contain trace amounts of dairy.

SOY DREAM Non-Dairy Frozen Desserts and Novelties

Although our SOY DREAM Frozen Desserts are free of dairy ingredients, they are produced on shared equipment with dairy ingredients and may contain trace amounts of dairy.

My daughter's dairy allergy is severe enough that these are not safe - and her allergist warns against them. Toffutti was just allowed back again - theire frozen items were also cross contaminated for ages too.

But Disney is not wrong in offering these to guests. It is the choice of the guest whether not they feel safe enough to deal with cross contamination. I have so far not had a problem with cross contamination in any of these products. I do find that the warnings are there for legal reasons but that these companies take care not to get cross contamination. And dairy is a severe allergy for me. Even the smallest amount of dairy causes a reaction.

 

[mistysue]

DCDisney- that's so sad that it was so disappointing for you. The conversation about the Rice dream may be proving an interesting point right here, how is Disney even supposed to figure out how to help when everyone has a different idea about what is safe even for the same allergen?

I find it a little amusing how society's view of allergies seems to shift between individual allergens. You mention some previous options for peanut allergies. A few years ago if you mentioned allergies everybody assumed you meant peanut and anything else just sort of fell on deaf ears. So places were big on stocking peanut free alternatives. Right now it's the same way with gluten. You say "allergy" and get back "but yes, it is gluten free." Rather than an item that is only peanut free they are stocking one that is only gluten free. I have to say I think it's a plus that they are carrying items that are for multiple common allergens, otherwise many people would just have no options at all. I also find it crazy to try to have a program that weeds things out rather than ingredient lists. Of course somebody is going to enter something wrong and we either get fewer options or somebody with an egg allergy is going to order an omelet. (It said egg safe!) It only makes things harder when some 3rd party is trying to determine which items are safe even when you are standing there saying it is ok.
I'm surprised LTT didn't tell you what they were making you. We have had good lunches there.
A lot of suggestions are making me realize how little variety is on the kids menu. It is all pizza, grilled cheese and mac and cheese. All things Disney can't alter enough for DS, all that is left is the one mickey check meal they have nearly everywhere - the chicken or fish with rice and veggies, so of course that is his meal everywhere.

 

[Talking Hands]

DCDisney- that's so sad that it was so disappointing for you. The conversation about the Rice dream may be proving an interesting point right here, how is Disney even supposed to figure out how to help when everyone has a different idea about what is safe even for the same allergen?

I find it a little amusing how society's view of allergies seems to shift between individual allergens. You mention some previous options for peanut allergies. A few years ago if you mentioned allergies everybody assumed you meant peanut and anything else just sort of fell on deaf ears. So places were big on stocking peanut free alternatives. Right now it's the same way with gluten. You say "allergy" and get back "but yes, it is gluten free." Rather than an item that is only peanut free they are stocking one that is only gluten free. I have to say I think it's a plus that they are carrying items that are for multiple common allergens, otherwise many people would just have no options at all. I also find it crazy to try to have a program that weeds things out rather than ingredient lists. Of course somebody is going to enter something wrong and we either get fewer options or somebody with an egg allergy is going to order an omelet. (It said egg safe!) It only makes things harder when some 3rd party is trying to determine which items are safe even when you are standing there saying it is ok.
I'm surprised LTT didn't tell you what they were making you. We have had good lunches there.
A lot of suggestions are making me realize how little variety is on the kids menu. It is all pizza, grilled cheese and mac and cheese. All things Disney can't alter enough for DS, all that is left is the one mickey check meal they have nearly everywhere - the chicken or fish with rice and veggies, so of course that is his meal everywhere.

I find it appalling that every item on the kids menu is dairy. My daughter is allergic to dairy as well as myself and it has always been difficult to find her an acceptable meal. Now she is vegan and while it is difficult people do understand that she eats no animal products so as a vegan dairy allergy becomes a non issue.
Those who say cheese is not the same as milk, wrong, wrong, wrong! maybe for a person who is lactose intolerant but not for a person who is dairy allergic.

 

[DCDisney]

DCDisney- that's so sad that it was so disappointing for you.

I think its really because they are trying to streamline things in a way that works pretty well for anyone with one allergy. I'm sure the system is lots easier for people to just push a button and see what they can eat. It saves lots of chef time too I'd think. I know I'm difficult w mult allergies and I'm generally very easy to please but I do want to know EXACTLY what I'm eating. Because the meal plans and vacation in general are so dessert oriented I do expect an effort to be made there. Heck, I would be happy with a pack of cookies like oreos or such that are a pretty common safe food for allergies other than gluten. It's rough if you can't have ice cream or any of the alternatives (they all have legume based stabilizers) bc that and enjoy life cookies seem to be it unless there is creme brulee on the menu. I was really happy though that my food was seasoned this trip. In the past when they have prepared things specially they wouldn't even use salt and this time everything was at least salted All the stuff that hadn't changed in years was fine it was all new stuff mostly and items they stopped carrying that made for a lacking diet.

 

[mistysue]

It would be nice if they put a little more effort into dessert. I also feel like they emphasize it enough that it's a little sad knowing there is nothing or just a single option that is the same everywhere. The only reason I even notice DS's dessert is it is included with kids' meals. I used to love enjoy life but Disney kept giving him the crunchy ones which contain buckwheat even after directly being told he was allergic. (Soft were safe) Now last summer the company switched their recipes to nearly all contain buckwheat... those were the only shelf stable cookies he wasn't allergic to anywhere. At least now I can just tell them none are safe. Last year I put a note on his form that he loves brownies, but to watch for buckwheat. He was given the enjoy life brownie cookies with buckwheat nearly every day.
Since they make a big deal of giving a kid dessert at every meal it would be cool if he had a choice some days. If we go to counter service he gets nothing.