We had a great trip despite some illnesses and the evolving special diets options. Just wanted to share what we discovered throughout our week for my milk, egg, and nut allergic 6.5 yr old DS. I really didnt take very many pictures this time. Sorry. He didnt eat many vegetables this week. Hes my pickier eater and while hes required to eat some at home, I dont force the issue while were on vacation, especially since its DSs rare opportunity to dine out and his veggies are always pretty bland at Disney.
As background, no trip to Disney would be complete without sick children. Three nights before we left, DS started feeling sick around bedtime, vomited, slept the rest of the night peacefully and woke up the next day feeling almost completely fine. Then the night before we left, DS woke me at 12:30 to say he puked in his bed and needed to puke again. He spit up a little in the toilet and, strangely, I couldnt find anything in his bed. We went back to bed (my alarm set for 3:45am), me worrying sick about wether to fly with him or stay back for a day or what. Anyway, we ended up flying on our original early morning flight and had no problems. I share this not to gross you out, but to assure you that future stomach problems and meal aversions were the result of a stomach bug, not Disney failing to serve delicious and safe meals.
SUNDAY
Contempo Café for Lunch: After checking in (we stayed at BLT) we headed to the Contempo to get some lunch. DS didnt want anything, but I got a plate of fries and a popsicle in case he changed his mind. Contempo Café and every other place I noticed has definitely replaced Silk Soy milk with Kikkoman Pearl. The Itsakadoozie pops are definitely gone everywhere and replaced with a similar, but more boring conical popsicles. I did see some gluten free treats, but they arent safe for us due to eggs.
1900 Park Fare for Dinner: We saw Chef TJ. He was great as always. Unfortunately, DS was over tired, grouchy, and had little appetite. I thought this meal would be a nice way for DD to get a princess meal in and DS to get a Chef TJ meal in. He made DS a tower of chicken drumsticks stuck into some boiled potatoes and surrounded by some other very plain vegetables. They were pretty plain, but good and tender. I also got some of the roasted pork from the carving station for DS. DS wouldnt touch it, but it was delicious. Dessert was a Chef TJ classic. It was a skewer mounted in a pineapple chunk surrounded by Divvies caramel popcorn. On the skewer were strawberries, bananas, and scoops of choc Tofutti, all drizzled table side with choc syrup. DS loved it and ate all the choc ice cream and strawberries. Last time we saw Chef TJ, the tower was made of ice cream SANDWICHES using Divvies cookies, so those were lost with the changes, but still a wonderful dessert that made tired and sick DS feel special.
MONDAY
Columbia Harbour House for Lunch: DS still wasnt very hungry, but I ordered the allergy chicken tenders and fries here, no dessert. I was relieved to be able to find them, given I wasnt sure how accurate the Special Diet Reference Sheets were anymore. The manager was very nice. Warned me that the meal might take 5 minutes. NO PROBLEM, 5 minutes is nothing for safe food. He did ask me if I was sure I didnt want a dessert because he had some gluten free cookies and brownies (not safe for us due to egg), but I politely declined. We were all skipping dessert because I suspected they wouldnt have anything for us and we really didnt need it. DS wouldnt eat much, but the rest of our party was impressed with the chicken tenders
Whispering Canyon Café for Dinner: Chef was super nice. Made DS a non-dairy chocolate milk shake, ribs, and fries. DS plowed down the shake but wouldnt touch the ribs, despite ribs being his all-time favorite food. I was getting irritated at his diet of chocolate ice cream and the occasional french fry, but when we got back to the room, he vomited and was up several times that night with diarrhea. After that I quit pushing him to eat and let him eat only what and how much he was comfortable with.
TUESDAY
50s Prime Time Café for Lunch: DS was feeling quite a bit better. I asked about some of the meats on the adult menu, like boneless pork loin or pot roast. I was told those werent on the kids menu. This was the first time ever that Id been encouraged to order off the kids menu for an allergic diner. Chef was polite and I didnt push the issue, but it surprised me a little. Ordered DS a hot dog. It was bunless due to the bread changes. He ate most of it and enjoyed it. For dessert, he got a root beer float and LOVED it. The rest of us also really enjoyed the meal.
Contempo Café for Dinner: Talked to a super nice manager and looked into some new ideas I hadnt tried there before. Ended up getting DS a cheeseless pepperoni flatbread. FTR- the crust has a same facility as tree nuts warning. I went with it since technically we dont even know wether DS is allergic to tree nuts. I just list them since we havent tried any of the them and dont want to get anything with actual nuts. I also asked if it was possible to get one of the allergy friendly cupcakes from Chef Mickeys for dessert. Manager agreed and DS loved his meal and cupcake.
WEDNESDAY
Chef Mickeys for breakfast: DS got Mickey waffles (He enjoyed them this time. Strangely enough he didnt like them 2 years ago. Kids!), bacon, sausage, fruit, and a chocolate CUPCAKE. Chef was nice. He was talking me through the order, but when he asked if a cupcake would be ok, DS piped in YEAH! Chef apologized for not whispering that, but I assured him it was ok. You guys know how nice it is to see these kids spoiled now and then. DS loved the meal.
I think we ate out of our room the rest of this day.
THURSDAY
Snack at Sunshine Seasons: We just grabbed some chips and fruit to tide us over until our late lunch ADR. I did notice, however, that they had Divvies caramel popcorn and Enjoy Life Chocolate bars as well as the gluten free treats.
Club Cool: My soda-obsessed DSs favorite ride at Epcot.
Le Cellier for Lunch: DS got a steak and fries. He loved it. For dessert we were offered fruit or a mandarin orange sorbet. DS whined that he didnt want sorbet, but when it came he loved it. The portion was pretty small though.
Comtempo Café for Dinner: Another cheeseless, pepperoni flatbread.
FRIDAY
Flametree BBQ for Lunch: Very nice manager. Got a chicken and ribs combo with a side of watermelon and pineapple. I was able to get a safely prepared side of fries too, but had to use a snack credit for those. They also had Enjoy Life chocolate chip cookies. I shared it with DS since it was so much food and it was really good.
The Wave for Dinner: Not the best meal of the trip, but everything turned out fine in the end. It was nearly empty in there. Chef asked if anything on the childrens menu appealed to DS. I said not, could he get a child size portion of one of several meats on the menu? Braised short ribs? No they come pre-portioned for adults. We settled on fries and a small portion of pork tenderloin over a bed of pulled pork, or so I thought. The chef also offered a side of plain green beans and carrots. I agreed, though I knew DS likely wouldnt eat them. Chef also offered alternative bread for DS. I asked if it was the new Udis because that contains egg, but the chef assured me he had some tapioca rolls other than the Udis. The waitress came by and was writing his order down. She pushed a salad even though I said he probably wouldnt eat it. (FTR- He does eat veggies at home, but doesnt love them, so we stick to his favorite veggies, dressings, and dipping sauces at home. On vacation, his rare opportunity to enjoy a restaurant meal, I dont push them.) His bread came out and it looked just like the EnerG rolls from our last trip. Waitress brought out a separate plate of butter for him, but it looked exactly like the slabs of butter sprinkled with sea salt that we already had on the table. I asked if it was real butter and waitress quickly apologized, retrieved it, and returned with some Earth Balance. DS enjoyed the roll. Not sure why they still had EnerG rolls. Maybe this place is so slow they still had some leftover in the freezer??? The adult pork tenderloin (which I also had) included a bed of pulled pork. DSs came out just a steak-like piece of pork tenderloin. I didnt complain, perhaps the pulled pork wasnt safe, DS didnt notice or seem disappointed. His salad came out with a ranch-looking dressing on it. I asked the waitress about it and again she apologized and brought a new plain salad out. She also brought a carafe of vinegar and oil, but like I mentioned earlier DS really prefers certain dressings that hes familiar with. The waitress was very nice, but was in our face all night. She kept pushing DS to eat his veggies and asking him if he wanted to stay in Florida and live with her. I had already whispered to DS that he didnt have to eat the veggies if he didnt like them, but that he needed to be polite and say thank you. No rude comments about them being gross. Her poking wasnt helping, but DS handled it well. For dessert, a new chef came out (maybe a shift change?) and offered Rice Dream ice cream. I agreed and asked for some chocolate syrup too. The chef then returned with the carton of Rice Dream for me to verify (maybe because of the 2 prior goofs). DSs ice cream came out with a side of chocolate syrup and a side of mickey sprinkles. It was perfect and he really enjoyed it.
SATURDAY
Beaches and Cream for Dinner: The Wave was supposed to be our last TS meal, but due to a snow storm back home we pushed our flights back a day. We couldnt get a room that night at BLT so we had to transfer to Boardwalk Inn. We grabbed the ribs and chicken combo meal from Cosmic Rays for lunch and skipped dessert since we were hoping to get ice cream at Epcot later. When dinner time came around we werent sure where to eat, but decided to swing by Beaches and Cream at the Beach Club and if that didnt work head over to Epcot to find a QS meal. The host at Beaches & Cream was very nice and ran inside to verify they had non-dairy ice cream. We got a table after only a few minutes wait. Ordered a hot dog, no bun, and fries. The waitress was very kind. She told us that the fries were fried with unsafe onion rings, but that she could run over to the pool snack bar where they fried only fries to get DSs fries. For dessert, DS got a root beer float made with Toffuti. It was all delicious and such a treat to eat in an ice cream shop. DH also got a root beer float and requested Tofutti. Hes beginning to think hes becoming lactose intolerant and likes the Tofutti products we buy for DS. They were happy to oblige. Loved this place and would definitely return, especially since they were able to handle us so nicely without any advanced notice. Wonderful way to end our Disney trip.
Ill post some further thoughts, tips, and tricks in another post.
As background, no trip to Disney would be complete without sick children. Three nights before we left, DS started feeling sick around bedtime, vomited, slept the rest of the night peacefully and woke up the next day feeling almost completely fine. Then the night before we left, DS woke me at 12:30 to say he puked in his bed and needed to puke again. He spit up a little in the toilet and, strangely, I couldnt find anything in his bed. We went back to bed (my alarm set for 3:45am), me worrying sick about wether to fly with him or stay back for a day or what. Anyway, we ended up flying on our original early morning flight and had no problems. I share this not to gross you out, but to assure you that future stomach problems and meal aversions were the result of a stomach bug, not Disney failing to serve delicious and safe meals.
SUNDAY
Contempo Café for Lunch: After checking in (we stayed at BLT) we headed to the Contempo to get some lunch. DS didnt want anything, but I got a plate of fries and a popsicle in case he changed his mind. Contempo Café and every other place I noticed has definitely replaced Silk Soy milk with Kikkoman Pearl. The Itsakadoozie pops are definitely gone everywhere and replaced with a similar, but more boring conical popsicles. I did see some gluten free treats, but they arent safe for us due to eggs.
1900 Park Fare for Dinner: We saw Chef TJ. He was great as always. Unfortunately, DS was over tired, grouchy, and had little appetite. I thought this meal would be a nice way for DD to get a princess meal in and DS to get a Chef TJ meal in. He made DS a tower of chicken drumsticks stuck into some boiled potatoes and surrounded by some other very plain vegetables. They were pretty plain, but good and tender. I also got some of the roasted pork from the carving station for DS. DS wouldnt touch it, but it was delicious. Dessert was a Chef TJ classic. It was a skewer mounted in a pineapple chunk surrounded by Divvies caramel popcorn. On the skewer were strawberries, bananas, and scoops of choc Tofutti, all drizzled table side with choc syrup. DS loved it and ate all the choc ice cream and strawberries. Last time we saw Chef TJ, the tower was made of ice cream SANDWICHES using Divvies cookies, so those were lost with the changes, but still a wonderful dessert that made tired and sick DS feel special.
MONDAY
Columbia Harbour House for Lunch: DS still wasnt very hungry, but I ordered the allergy chicken tenders and fries here, no dessert. I was relieved to be able to find them, given I wasnt sure how accurate the Special Diet Reference Sheets were anymore. The manager was very nice. Warned me that the meal might take 5 minutes. NO PROBLEM, 5 minutes is nothing for safe food. He did ask me if I was sure I didnt want a dessert because he had some gluten free cookies and brownies (not safe for us due to egg), but I politely declined. We were all skipping dessert because I suspected they wouldnt have anything for us and we really didnt need it. DS wouldnt eat much, but the rest of our party was impressed with the chicken tenders
Whispering Canyon Café for Dinner: Chef was super nice. Made DS a non-dairy chocolate milk shake, ribs, and fries. DS plowed down the shake but wouldnt touch the ribs, despite ribs being his all-time favorite food. I was getting irritated at his diet of chocolate ice cream and the occasional french fry, but when we got back to the room, he vomited and was up several times that night with diarrhea. After that I quit pushing him to eat and let him eat only what and how much he was comfortable with.
TUESDAY
50s Prime Time Café for Lunch: DS was feeling quite a bit better. I asked about some of the meats on the adult menu, like boneless pork loin or pot roast. I was told those werent on the kids menu. This was the first time ever that Id been encouraged to order off the kids menu for an allergic diner. Chef was polite and I didnt push the issue, but it surprised me a little. Ordered DS a hot dog. It was bunless due to the bread changes. He ate most of it and enjoyed it. For dessert, he got a root beer float and LOVED it. The rest of us also really enjoyed the meal.
Contempo Café for Dinner: Talked to a super nice manager and looked into some new ideas I hadnt tried there before. Ended up getting DS a cheeseless pepperoni flatbread. FTR- the crust has a same facility as tree nuts warning. I went with it since technically we dont even know wether DS is allergic to tree nuts. I just list them since we havent tried any of the them and dont want to get anything with actual nuts. I also asked if it was possible to get one of the allergy friendly cupcakes from Chef Mickeys for dessert. Manager agreed and DS loved his meal and cupcake.
WEDNESDAY
Chef Mickeys for breakfast: DS got Mickey waffles (He enjoyed them this time. Strangely enough he didnt like them 2 years ago. Kids!), bacon, sausage, fruit, and a chocolate CUPCAKE. Chef was nice. He was talking me through the order, but when he asked if a cupcake would be ok, DS piped in YEAH! Chef apologized for not whispering that, but I assured him it was ok. You guys know how nice it is to see these kids spoiled now and then. DS loved the meal.
I think we ate out of our room the rest of this day.
THURSDAY
Snack at Sunshine Seasons: We just grabbed some chips and fruit to tide us over until our late lunch ADR. I did notice, however, that they had Divvies caramel popcorn and Enjoy Life Chocolate bars as well as the gluten free treats.
Club Cool: My soda-obsessed DSs favorite ride at Epcot.
Le Cellier for Lunch: DS got a steak and fries. He loved it. For dessert we were offered fruit or a mandarin orange sorbet. DS whined that he didnt want sorbet, but when it came he loved it. The portion was pretty small though.
Comtempo Café for Dinner: Another cheeseless, pepperoni flatbread.
FRIDAY
Flametree BBQ for Lunch: Very nice manager. Got a chicken and ribs combo with a side of watermelon and pineapple. I was able to get a safely prepared side of fries too, but had to use a snack credit for those. They also had Enjoy Life chocolate chip cookies. I shared it with DS since it was so much food and it was really good.
The Wave for Dinner: Not the best meal of the trip, but everything turned out fine in the end. It was nearly empty in there. Chef asked if anything on the childrens menu appealed to DS. I said not, could he get a child size portion of one of several meats on the menu? Braised short ribs? No they come pre-portioned for adults. We settled on fries and a small portion of pork tenderloin over a bed of pulled pork, or so I thought. The chef also offered a side of plain green beans and carrots. I agreed, though I knew DS likely wouldnt eat them. Chef also offered alternative bread for DS. I asked if it was the new Udis because that contains egg, but the chef assured me he had some tapioca rolls other than the Udis. The waitress came by and was writing his order down. She pushed a salad even though I said he probably wouldnt eat it. (FTR- He does eat veggies at home, but doesnt love them, so we stick to his favorite veggies, dressings, and dipping sauces at home. On vacation, his rare opportunity to enjoy a restaurant meal, I dont push them.) His bread came out and it looked just like the EnerG rolls from our last trip. Waitress brought out a separate plate of butter for him, but it looked exactly like the slabs of butter sprinkled with sea salt that we already had on the table. I asked if it was real butter and waitress quickly apologized, retrieved it, and returned with some Earth Balance. DS enjoyed the roll. Not sure why they still had EnerG rolls. Maybe this place is so slow they still had some leftover in the freezer??? The adult pork tenderloin (which I also had) included a bed of pulled pork. DSs came out just a steak-like piece of pork tenderloin. I didnt complain, perhaps the pulled pork wasnt safe, DS didnt notice or seem disappointed. His salad came out with a ranch-looking dressing on it. I asked the waitress about it and again she apologized and brought a new plain salad out. She also brought a carafe of vinegar and oil, but like I mentioned earlier DS really prefers certain dressings that hes familiar with. The waitress was very nice, but was in our face all night. She kept pushing DS to eat his veggies and asking him if he wanted to stay in Florida and live with her. I had already whispered to DS that he didnt have to eat the veggies if he didnt like them, but that he needed to be polite and say thank you. No rude comments about them being gross. Her poking wasnt helping, but DS handled it well. For dessert, a new chef came out (maybe a shift change?) and offered Rice Dream ice cream. I agreed and asked for some chocolate syrup too. The chef then returned with the carton of Rice Dream for me to verify (maybe because of the 2 prior goofs). DSs ice cream came out with a side of chocolate syrup and a side of mickey sprinkles. It was perfect and he really enjoyed it.
SATURDAY
Beaches and Cream for Dinner: The Wave was supposed to be our last TS meal, but due to a snow storm back home we pushed our flights back a day. We couldnt get a room that night at BLT so we had to transfer to Boardwalk Inn. We grabbed the ribs and chicken combo meal from Cosmic Rays for lunch and skipped dessert since we were hoping to get ice cream at Epcot later. When dinner time came around we werent sure where to eat, but decided to swing by Beaches and Cream at the Beach Club and if that didnt work head over to Epcot to find a QS meal. The host at Beaches & Cream was very nice and ran inside to verify they had non-dairy ice cream. We got a table after only a few minutes wait. Ordered a hot dog, no bun, and fries. The waitress was very kind. She told us that the fries were fried with unsafe onion rings, but that she could run over to the pool snack bar where they fried only fries to get DSs fries. For dessert, DS got a root beer float made with Toffuti. It was all delicious and such a treat to eat in an ice cream shop. DH also got a root beer float and requested Tofutti. Hes beginning to think hes becoming lactose intolerant and likes the Tofutti products we buy for DS. They were happy to oblige. Loved this place and would definitely return, especially since they were able to handle us so nicely without any advanced notice. Wonderful way to end our Disney trip.
Ill post some further thoughts, tips, and tricks in another post.
