Lactose Free products at WDW?

[chirurgeon]

I was just diagnosed with lactose intolerance. Does Disney have lactose free milk at the grab and go's in the resorts? I unfortunately love milk and milk products. I seem to do OK with cheese if I take Lactaid, but I still react badly to milk.

Thanks,
Kim

 

[sorcerermick]

Hi there! I also suffer from lactose intolerane. Unfortunately, no, there is no LActaid milk that I have ever found in the grab and go shops, although since this is a common problem maybe they should start stocking some. It has a much longer shelf life than regular milk. I am luckily a DVC member with a fridge in my room virtually every stay, so I generally pick up some at goodings Supermarket and have it for the week, but it is very tough watching the family eat those Mickey ice creams and all I can do is watch. I feel your pain. Maybe somebody else has a diffent experiance and I'll be watching to see the responses. Good luck and enjoy your trips.

 

[The Disney Bunch]

Some restaurants offer rice milk so if you are at a restaurant, ask what alternatives they have. I do the same as sorcermick - I buy what I need & keep it in my fridge. But in the parks, there are many things that they can offer. Good luck!

 

[ADisneyQueen]

Why not take lactaid tablets for ice cream? I buy the ultra kind (usually store brand) and I take 2 and am able to enjoy ice cream and other things. However, I do not attempt to drink regular milk even w/ the tablets b/c I can't. You can carry the tablets anywhere, you just need a drink to take them.

 

[chirurgeon]

Thank you all. I am still experimenting with what I can eat even with taking the Lactaid. Regular milk doesn't work. Haven't tried the Lactaid milk yet. Just got it today, so I will try it over the weekend. I am going to try ice cream soon. Just need to let my system settle down after I quit the milk. I would really miss ice cream in the parks.

Thanks again,
Kim

 

[The Sweetness]

Im a fellow sufferer! Heres what I take~

Digestive Advantage lactose intollerance pills. JUST 1 A DAY!!! And I can eat anything all day long

 

[chirurgeon]

Sweetness,

Where do you get that? I haven't heard of it.

Kim

 

[disneyfreak71]

The Lactaid pills work great. They allow the little things like ice cream etc to be enjoyable. Does anyone else only have problems with certain things?

I can eat cheese like there is no tomorrow but a little bit of butter...forget it!

I went to V&A's last year. We told them ahead of time and I had my very own special menu...even yummy dessert that my fiance could not have because there wa enough for one...ME!!!

Don't get discouraged. The pills will help.

Good luck.

 

[princessesrule4]

My kids are lactose intolerant and we carry Lactaid pills with us everywhere at WDW. The makers of lactaid told us that 1 pill works for just a half a cup of ice cream.My son took a pill,had a few spoonfuls of a milkshake,took another pill and had a little more. He was soooooo sick about 2 or 3 hours later! I think it was the combo of milk and ice cream and just also the inability for the pills to work when drinking milk. We learned our lesson! My kids both can eat Kraft shredded cheeses and some other cheeses by Kraft. If you look on the back by the ingredients, it states that there are 0 grams of lactose! Thank God for Kraft because my DD loves cheese! Check all Kraft cheese labels because a couple of them DO Not say 0 grams of lactose.We cut out all dairy and DS was still getting mildly sick. After doing some research and label reading I found out that there can be milk, whey and lactolate ingredients in most white breads, rolls etc. My kids had to switch to wheat bread. I guess they are just sensitive to those ingredients. Amazingly, they can still eat small amounts of milk chocolate! I think every person is different! Our pediatrician told us that most LI individuals can tolerate small amounts of lactose but the hard part is how much! Sometimes if one of them eats 3 or 4 foods with lactose in them and take pills with them all, they can still get sick! We were at CG and our food took a long time so DD kept eating cheddar goldfish (eaten with 1 pill). She then ate mac and cheese with 2 pills and had ice cream with 1 pill. About a half an hour later she was in the bathroom for an hour! We let them eat no more than 2 foods with a pill per day and only let them take the pills 1 or 2 days a week if at all! It can be a pain but there are definitely a lot worse things they could have. Hope this helps!

 

[DisneyPhD]

I have been lactose intollerent for about 13 years now.) oh my has it been that long I feel old. I love cheese, ice cream and the like. I always took the lacaid pills, like crazy. Still had a few porblems if what I ate was too much.

However my DD is now allergic to milk (the protein not lactose) and since she is a breast feed baby still I can't have it either (and eggs.) It has been a very hard adjustment for me, but it is really only temporay so I look forward to needing lactaid again!

I have heard (but check before you eat.) that dole whips are non dairy and that minnie bars (strawberry) also have no milk in it. I have been finding out other things too and have to wait until I go to find out more.

Best of luck. Oh what I wouldn't do to only be lactose intollerant again. In all reality going dairy free has been very good for me. I lost 15 extra pounds, 5 a month really easy. In addtion my somache problems are much better. I can't give up cheese for myself, but I can for my DD.

 

[swankybeth]

In my experience if you call ahead and make a notation on your ADR's, the table service restaurants are very accomodating. The best was Boma, the chef took me on a "tour" of the buffet to describe what foods contained what dairy products and for dessert I had a choice of a few yummy flavors of Soy Delicious ice cream. Most places had rice dream for dessert available. They do not sell dairy free milk in the resorts, but as others have mentioned, you can just bring your own. Personally, I use the Digestive Advantage pills that another poster mentioned and they rock! Lactaid never worked for me, I can't even drink the milk w/o getting a stomachache, but DA pills work so well. I buy them locally at Eckerd or Waldbaums. I would look them up online, I think they even have free samples on their website.

 

[DisneyPhD]

In my experience if you call ahead and make a notation on your ADR's, the table service restaurants are very accomodating. The best was Boma, the chef took me on a "tour" of the buffet to describe what foods contained what dairy products and for dessert I had a choice of a few yummy flavors of Soy Delicious ice cream. Most places had rice dream for dessert available. They do not sell dairy free milk in the resorts, but as others have mentioned, you can just bring your own. Personally, I use the Digestive Advantage pills that another poster mentioned and they rock! Lactaid never worked for me, I can't even drink the milk w/o getting a stomachache, but DA pills work so well. I buy them locally at Eckerd or Waldbaums. I would look them up online, I think they even have free samples on their website.

As soon as I can eat dairy again I am going to try those pills. (but I don't think I am going back to eating as much dairy as before. I don't want to gain the weight back.)

We were planing to eat a bomas and I was worried about not beinga able to have dessert. I want Zebra domes and I am pretty sure they are off limits. (milk allergies can't have any milk, not just major sources like ice cream and cheese.)

 

[*EWooWDW*]

I was also recently diagnosed with LI. I have been using the Lactose Advantage Pills. They really work wonders. You take them once a day and that's it. I get mine at CVS and my local grocery store pharmacy also offered to order them for me.

 

[tjmouse]

In case no one has mentioned it, Dole Whips are Lactose free! So, if you want a good, cold snack, you can't beat a Dole Whip!

 

[G8RFAN]

Both my wife and I are LI, but I'm a little bit more sensitive. I find that as I get older, it seems to get a little worse. I can eat a scoop of ice cream without much symptoms but a little half and half in my coffee is a no no. Go figure.

We are also DVC members and I will always check out the cooler at the "general store" to see if by some chance the cooler stocks Lactaid just due to popular request.

 

[mtakac]

This has been so helpful! I get so worked up about eating when I'm out of town. I've been lactose intolerent my whole life. And no, everyone doesn't grow out of it nor does eating more dairy help your system adjust! I'm 32 and when I was a kid my doctor told my mom I just needed more fiber so she'd force me to eat bran cereal (with milk) or drink a big, nasty glass of metamusil. I forgive you mom!

I'm so excited to try Digestive Advantage. I've seen it in the store and didn't believe taking one pill a day could actually work.

If anyone is looking for some non-dairy/mock dairy recipes try The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook by Joanne Stepaniak or Healthy Life Kitchen by Marilu Henner.

 

[MAKmom]

mtakac thanks for the Janne Stepaniak book advise, I love Marilu book! I also spent years figuring out what was wrong with my 9 yr old DD. NOt everyone gets the same symptons. I finally took us off of everything with Milk... which is about everything made by Kraft. Humans are not meant to drink milk. Irritable bowel syndrome is a milk allergy. Both my daughters were told they had ADD. Took them off dairy & they are fine. They have perfect attendance this year. FOr our Disney Trip I'll load up on the Lactose Pills so DD9 can have some Icecream. But I will push the Dole Whips & Minnie Bars. I can replace everything at home but not on a Disney trip. Good luck everyone.

 

[The Sweetness]

Sweetness,

Where do you get that? I haven't heard of it.

Kim

Here in Miami Ive gotten it from Walmart and Kmart

 

[bavaria]

While not lactose intolerant, I need to avoid animal products for health reasons.

The greatest challenge for me at WDW is avoiding cheese, particularly in vegetarian meals. I have learned to ask if there is cheese, and if so, can the dish be prepared without cheese. Some places can, some can't. (I usually go with TS meals)

Instead of ice cream, you could try a frozen juice bar, or a monkey tail (chocolate covered banana - chocolate doesn't bother me!) They are not sold at EVERY ice cream cart, but usually fairly easy to find if you stop at 2 or 3 along the way.

 

[NvrBnToWDW]

My 10 year-old son has had problems with dairy and one ice cream cone can keep the whole family up all night with his crying. But I discovered that it was not the lactose he was having problems with. It's actually the hormones and steroids given to the dairy cows. I switched him to organic milk 3 months ago and since then he has been able to enjoy hot chocolate and cereal. It makes so much sense, since women are warned that medications can pass through their breast milk to their babies, wouldn't it be the same for cow's milk? He still has trouble with ice cream, so I have to find organic or buy one of those ice cream machines and make it myself with organic milk. I think we'll try out some Lactaid for our trip to WDW.