multiple food allergies and mobile order

[Dug720]

You're right--I didn't understand your point. Thanks for making it clear. Really, I didn't realize anyone did this sort of thing, but it's not surprising that someone would. I mean, I'm just back from a week at WDW and I saw a lot of behavior that I'm not quite sure how to define. Perhaps "defiant" would describe this sort of thing. People in the resort, in the elevator, without a mask, for example. Or the guy on KRR who refused to buckle his seat belt and held up our raft for a few minutes while he kept refusing. I felt so bad for the CM.

Yeah, sadly many people seem to have forgotten how to be decent human beings during quarantine. Or maybe the fact that in general people seem to be more aware of others makes those who aren't - or who are ME FIRST more evident.

 

[Lilsia]

You're welcome! I'm lucky in that my allergies are not life-threatening, BUT they can make my life extremely unpleasant, so I still take them very seriously and hate to see the word thrown around when it's really just "I don't like this and want something specially made for me". I have no issue with people who want to make requests based on preferences AS LONG AS they are not abusing the service that many places, but Disney more than most has created for those of us who do have allergies.

I agree that no one should be abusing the order in person for allergy reasons. Buy I see this more of a Disney issue, then a guest one. They need to have a place where people can type in specific requests. This would eliminate a big chunk of issues, IMO. The app is limited in what you can modify and it gets frustrating. People should be able to order their food how they want as long as it is within the scope of what the restaurant has available, allergy or not.

 

[Dug720]

I agree that no one should be abusing the order in person for allergy reasons. Buy I see this more of a Disney issue, then a guest one. They need to have a place where people can type in specific requests. This would eliminate a big chunk of issues, IMO. The app is limited in what you can modify and it gets frustrating. People should be able to order their food how they want as long as it is within the scope of what the restaurant has available, allergy or not.

There is always the option to say you need to pay in cash to get past the door guard and then you can order however you choose. Or flat out tell them you want to customize. Just because you can't on the app doesn't mean you should be saying you have allergies just to get in. Saying you have to pay cash and then using a card or your band to pay doesn't hurt anyone (and they have to accept those forms of payment - unless the system goes down - because just ordering allergy items doesn't mean you're paying cash) the way that abuse of the "allergy reason" has the potential to.

 

[Lilsia]

Clearly you're never going to understand that when I talk about people abusing "allergies" when they really just want a special order I am not talking about people who have a legitimate need for special diets, so we might as well stop the back and forth.

What I am talking about is someone who simple does not want pickles or ketchup or whatever because they don't like it saying that they need to order in person due to allergies just to get past the door. Just be honest about why you want to order in person. Or hey, they are giving you an out - say you need to pay in cash if your reason is STRICTLY a "I don't want XYorZ on my burger" and you don't think they will let you in saying that.

I have worked in food service for decades and I have seen more people then I can count saying they have an allergy when it is just a preference. I think it comes from people assuming that the staff will not take their request seriously if they don't say "allergy". I am sure that is the case in some places, but I can tell you that the people preparing the food, in most places, don't care if it is an allergy or just a request, they just make the food how it is ordered. Now if you have a special need, like things being prepared in a separate area, etc then that should be communicated. But you are right that too many people claim to have allergies when they don't. It is not statistically possible for the amount of people that claim food allergies to actually have them. It has become the new thing to say when you want to special order.

 

[Lilsia]

There is always the option to say you need to pay in cash to get past the door guard and then you can order however you choose. Or flat out tell them you want to customize. Just because you can't on the app doesn't mean you should be saying you have allergies just to get in. Saying you have to pay cash and then using a card or your band to pay doesn't hurt anyone (and they have to accept those forms of payment - unless the system goes down - because just ordering allergy items doesn't mean you're paying cash) the way that abuse of the "allergy reason" has the potential to.

Umm, I don't know why you are arguing with me since I just agreed with you. I never said to say you have an allergy, only that people feel like they have to in order to get what they want. I have seen cast members refuse to let someone in to order when they said that they did not have a smart phone so some of this is on Disney.

 

[Dug720]

Umm, I don't know why you are arguing with me since I just agreed with you. I never said to say you have an allergy, only that people feel like they have to in order to get what they want. I have seen cast members refuse to let someone in to order when they said that they did not have a smart phone so some of this is on Disney.

Sorry. Didn't mean to argue back.

I'd personally be asking for a manager if I had a reason like "no smart phone" that is an allowed reason to order in person. (I've even seen where some of the resort QS were trying to make everyone mobile order, and there IS no allergy option on the mobile order so even someone like me who is allergic to wheat/gluten has to order in person. I didn't have an issue at the Poly, but the manager who helped me one time even said "I don't mind having people order in person - I miss talking with everyone - but I don't understand why the allergy menus are on the QS in the parks but not the resorts.) I think there are some CMs who are a little overzealous.

 

[TwoMisfits]

I hate mobile order...but I have multiple allergies.

There is no way to know if an item as dairy or tree nut components unless you can see the full ingredient list with the components to those ingredients.

If they want to really go all in with mobile order, they need to do what Chick-Fil-A can do - for any item, the cashier can literally print every ingredient with its components and see all allergy issues in one go. If Chick-Fil-A can do it, the theme parks in Florida can, especially if they want us stuck on phones...

 

[monstermash23]

I have worked in food service for decades and I have seen more people then I can count saying they have an allergy when it is just a preference. I think it comes from people assuming that the staff will not take their request seriously if they don't say "allergy". I am sure that is the case in some places, but I can tell you that the people preparing the food, in most places, don't care if it is an allergy or just a request, they just make the food how it is ordered. Now if you have a special need, like things being prepared in a separate area, etc then that should be communicated. But you are right that too many people claim to have allergies when they don't. It is not statistically possible for the amount of people that claim food allergies to actually have them. It has become the new thing to say when you want to special order.

You are SPOT on with this assessment.

I have celiacs disease, and more often then not (like 99% of the time), depending on the health of my gut at the moment, I can't handle a single breadcrumb without being deathly sick for a week. I stopped telling servers long ago that this was a Celiac issue since a lot of servers outside of Disney just never knew what it was. They'd look at me like I had 3 heads on my shoulder. So eventually I learned that telling them I had a "gluten allergy" was more universally understood and accepted. Eventually, it became habit for me when dining out. I'm sure others figured this out too.

I do hate seeing people order things saying they have an allergy if they don't though. For instance, I watched one woman in front of me in line at the food shack, at Typhoon Lagoon, go over all of the gluten free options with a chef that came out just for her. She talked with the chef about this for a good 20 minutes and was adamant that her allergy was bad. The chef was great, and reassured her on everything and said it would be prepared separately and safely. And then at the end, she said "screw it I'm on vacation, can I have the gluten filled cookie also?". I felt so bad for the chef, and myself at that moment lol. I was in disgust, and embarrassment, knowing I would be talking to that exact chef next and that he probably won't take me seriously now thanks to this woman in front of me. Of course he was great with me and I had no issues, but this kind of thing happens a TON I imagine.

I've never worked in a restaurant, but I pity servers having to deal with these situations. My fiance knows me so well, but even she doesn't understand fully the science of my Celiac issue. So I can only imagine what a server knows after their wild experiences with so many different people's requests with this kind of stuff.

 

[kc51570]

To provide another answer to the poster’s original question, many of the allergy menus do account for multiple allergies at once at both quick service and table service. They will state for “wheat/gluten, dairy, peanut/tree nut allergies”, etc.. As the parent of a kid who has allergies, this change has been somewhat annoying because even if I am ordering at a table restaurant Disney seems to have become lazier with accommodating for one or two specific allergens. My kid doesn’t have a wheat allergy so he doesn’t want to be forced to eat a gluten free roll because of a nut allergy. And with a gluten intolerance if I want cheese on a burger, I don’t want to have to argue for it, because it’s not “part of the allergy safe offering”. I’ve definitely had to be more pushy to get specifically what we need/want when the servers try to steer us only to the all encompassing allergy menus. It‘s the same story with the old buffets. We’ve been to Boma when a chef offered to bring us whatever we wanted out of the back (nothing crazy-for example the salmon without the sauce which contained nuts). Then on a return trip we were handed a huge menu in poor lighting on what was safe on the buffet and met with some annoyance and a huge wait when we wanted something from the back that wouldn’t be cross contaminated. Disney used to be much more accommodating before the advent of these allergy menus.

 

[Lilsia]

You are SPOT on with this assessment.

I have celiacs disease, and more often then not (like 99% of the time), depending on the health of my gut at the moment, I can't handle a single breadcrumb without being deathly sick for a week. I stopped telling servers long ago that this was a Celiac issue since a lot of servers outside of Disney just never knew what it was. They'd look at me like I had 3 heads on my shoulder. So eventually I learned that telling them I had a "gluten allergy" was more universally understood and accepted. Eventually, it became habit for me when dining out. I'm sure others figured this out too.

I do hate seeing people order things saying they have an allergy if they don't though. For instance, I watched one woman in front of me in line at the food shack, at Typhoon Lagoon, go over all of the gluten free options with a chef that came out just for her. She talked with the chef about this for a good 20 minutes and was adamant that her allergy was bad. The chef was great, and reassured her on everything and said it would be prepared separately and safely. And then at the end, she said "screw it I'm on vacation, can I have the gluten filled cookie also?". I felt so bad for the chef, and myself at that moment lol. I was in disgust, and embarrassment, knowing I would be talking to that exact chef next and that he probably won't take me seriously now thanks to this woman in front of me. Of course he was great with me and I had no issues, but this kind of thing happens a TON I imagine.

I've never worked in a restaurant, but I pity servers having to deal with these situations. My fiance knows me so well, but even she doesn't understand fully the science of my Celiac issue. So I can only imagine what a server knows after their wild experiences with so many different people's requests with this kind of stuff.

You are right that many people don't know of or understand celiac. I am one of those weird people that takes pride in my work so I educate myself on my own time but many do not. I think this is also a failing on the restaurant's behalf.

 

[LovesTimone]

I have a food allergy... and its not very common, coconut.... as well I have some issues with papaya, mango, any melon except watermelon... So I stay away from them... If I have to go into bath and body, I have to take someone with me. I have family that loves the products there. Most of the products have a coconut base now... So I have to be careful not to pick up anything while in there... just with the cross contamination, with people using the tester, and spraying away... I do wear a mask while in there... and try to go when they first open, before all the testing and spraying starts up... I really miss their hand soap.

Coconut is used in many ways, oils, flours, flavoring, water, and shredded...So for me I have to be sure that I'm not getting something with coconut in it... So for me I have to speak to someone and at the QS spots, they have brought out this big binder for me to look at, and it shows all the products...table service we always tell the server, and the chef comes out and speaks to me... DH prefers for us to go the table service route, just because he knows I get embarrassed, and don't want to bother anyone, or make a big deal... Which sometimes at the QS, happens. While I know its a pain, it is much easier than eating something, that you might not be aware the allergen is in the food...then you or someone in your family gets sick...

 

[monstermash23]

You are right that many people don't know of or understand celiac. I am one of those weird people that takes pride in my work so I educate myself on my own time but many do not. I think this is also a failing on the restaurant's behalf.

That’s awesome you do that! I wish more did but I understand that they don’t.

From my side of things though, it’s so appreciated when someone takes the time to try and understand that. I always tip at least 20% in restaurants, no matter how bad or good service is. But just that little bit of extra understanding and/or communication regarding my “allergy” means I’m walking away from a restaurant extremely happy. It takes away all the stress of eating out for me. So thank you!

 

[bookbabe626]

Disney used to be much more accommodating before the advent of these allergy menus.

Yup, and as the PP has said, it’s the fault of people lying about having allergies to get special order preferences accommodated. As a person with allergies, it’s one of my pet peeves. There’s a HUGE diffference between allergies, intolerances and preferences. But now we are all relegated to the crappy allergy menu whether we need it or not.

The best explanation I’ve heard is that, when you eat a trigger food, an allergy means you die (or need medical attention), an intolerance means you just wish you were dead, and a preference means everyone around you wishes they were dead ‘cause you’re complaining so much. ;-) Note here that I’m leaving out of the equation people who need a special diet for other reasons such as religious (kosher, halal, etc) or moral (vegan for non-health reasons) grounds. I guess they count because they suffer a spiritual death? But the Karen who just hates ketchup does not count as an allergy or even an intolerance. When they lie about it I just want to scream.

My biggest allergy is fish...just finfish, not shellfish or mollusks or crustaceans. And I certainly don’t want to have to have a gluten-free bun on my burger just to avoid fish. I feel your son’s pain, ‘cause that’s happened to me more times than I can count. I’ve gotten to the point that I won’t mention my allergy upfront at some WDW restaurants where I know the allergy menu will be forced on me or where I won’t even be served a glass of water until the chef okays it. (Sci-Fi, I’m looking at you here.)

I don‘t know what the solution is, though. We can’t go back to the old system because too many morons abuse it so they can unnecessarily get special order items. But it does make it hard for those with legitimate needs to get food easily.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

But PLEASE do not abuse allergies just to order with a preference of something. It makes it much more difficult for people who legitimately have allergies when people who simply have a preference throw allergies around. (Example: a friend of mine works in a restaurant (not Disney) and had a customer claim to be gluten-free due to allergies and then proceed to eat bites of her companion's gluten-filled food. "Because a bite or two won't hurt." Turned out she just wanted a major adaptation to a dish that generally is only done for allergies. It's like The Boy Who Cried Wolf - makes them question every allergy order when they get enough of "well a few bites won't hurt".)

I wish Disney would REQUIRE people to order off the allergy menu if that's what they claim is why they needed to order in person. I'll be that would stop a lot of the "I have allergies" when it's really "I just don't want ketchup on my burger" or some other preference.

Please note: I'm not saying YOU did this @Dis703 - just that when things like "never a problem when we said we had allergies" is mentioned, the abuse of they system by people who don't but decide it's a sure-fire way to order in person happens.

my problem is not an allergy as such but I have reflux. lets just say you would not want to be seated near me if something that triggers my reflux is in food I have ordered. I most likely will not make it to bathroom before everything comes up. so where do I fit in this discussion?

 

[Dug720]

my problem is not an allergy as such but I have reflux. lets just say you would not want to be seated near me if something that triggers my reflux is in food I have ordered. I most likely will not make it to bathroom before everything comes up. so where do I fit in this discussion?

If it is a condition that prevents you from using mobile order, then I would say "I have a medical condition that requires in-person ordering."

 

[Dis703]

But PLEASE do not abuse allergies just to order with a preference of something. It makes it much more difficult for people who legitimately have allergies when people who simply have a preference throw allergies around. (Example: a friend of mine works in a restaurant (not Disney) and had a customer claim to be gluten-free due to allergies and then proceed to eat bites of her companion's gluten-filled food. "Because a bite or two won't hurt." Turned out she just wanted a major adaptation to a dish that generally is only done for allergies. It's like The Boy Who Cried Wolf - makes them question every allergy order when they get enough of "well a few bites won't hurt".)

I wish Disney would REQUIRE people to order off the allergy menu if that's what they claim is why they needed to order in person. I'll be that would stop a lot of the "I have allergies" when it's really "I just don't want ketchup on my burger" or some other preference.

Please note: I'm not saying YOU did this @Dis703 - just that when things like "never a problem when we said we had allergies" is mentioned, the abuse of they system by people who don't but decide it's a sure-fire way to order in person happens.

Oh, I agree absolutely. My kids are one of those complicated cases where the allergy menus are just no help. Most of the time we have to actually read the ingredients as some foods they can even tolerate in tiny amounts. Soy oil and lethicin for example are safe for my boys, but we often get told no for foods that have just those as the only soy ingredients. So I ask for the ingredient lists so we can make our own decision about how safe something may be.

I've also been on the end of having "milder" intolerances though so it's not always someone being picky. I have a weird thing with eggs for example where baked they don't bother me at all and even a scrambled egg I can tolerate sometimes, but I can't have too much or more than once in a period of a couple days or I'm in agonizing pain with GI issues. I'm the same way with corn. And when I was breastfeeding I had a point where I had to limit my kids allergens in my diet, but not 100% exclude them so gluten for example, I kind of picked where it was easier to be gluten free as I knew if I ate a slice of pizza my babies wouldn't react, but I couldn't eat waffles for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch and then pizza for dinner or they would absolutely have had a reaction. Not life or death reaction, but enough they'd be quite sick and in a lot of pain.

Having been through those experiences I try not to judge, but it really doesn't help when people outright lie to take advantage. Hopefully, most people are honest about it and don't abuse the situation.

 

[Dis703]

Thank you for sharing this experience! Which parks and restaurants did you go to?

We went to all four parks. As for which QS restaurants that's going to take some thinking. I know Pinocchio's Village house and Restaurantasaurus were definitely ones we went to. I can't remember the name of the place in HS, but it was in the Star Wars area and serves hot dog/sausages on pita bread. Ronto's Roasters maybe? Tomorrowland Terrace was another and I believe Peco's Bill. We did a lot of splitting up for food ordering because it's hard to find something we all eat at the same time, but this trip and one in December there was always someone we could ask out front.

 

[kc51570]

Oh, I agree absolutely. My kids are one of those complicated cases where the allergy menus are just no help. Most of the time we have to actually read the ingredients as some foods they can even tolerate in tiny amounts. Soy oil and lethicin for example are safe for my boys, but we often get told no for foods that have just those as the only soy ingredients. So I ask for the ingredient lists so we can make our own decision about how safe something may be.

I've also been on the end of having "milder" intolerances though so it's not always someone being picky. I have a weird thing with eggs for example where baked they don't bother me at all and even a scrambled egg I can tolerate sometimes, but I can't have too much or more than once in a period of a couple days or I'm in agonizing pain with GI issues. I'm the same way with corn. And when I was breastfeeding I had a point where I had to limit my kids allergens in my diet, but not 100% exclude them so gluten for example, I kind of picked where it was easier to be gluten free as I knew if I ate a slice of pizza my babies wouldn't react, but I couldn't eat waffles for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch and then pizza for dinner or they would absolutely have had a reaction. Not life or death reaction, but enough they'd be quite sick and in a lot of pain.

Having been through those experiences I try not to judge, but it really doesn't help when people outright lie to take advantage. Hopefully, most people are honest about it and don't abuse the situation.

We have the same issue with soy. My son is allergic to it but can tolerate oil or lecithin which are usually the soy culprits. And with tree nuts, they count coconut which is technically not a tree nut so they will tell us the popcorn is a no because it is cooked in coconut oil.

 

[TwoMisfits]

We have the same issue with soy. My son is allergic to it but can tolerate oil or lecithin which are usually the soy culprits. And with tree nuts, they count coconut which is technically not a tree nut so they will tell us the popcorn is a no because it is cooked in coconut oil.
And for all I know I do have Celiac disease and not an intolerance but the doctors tell me a test is useless because I avoid gluten and the only way to make sure it’s accurate is to eat bread every day for two weeks which will give me a stomach ache, a rash, joint pain, exhaustion among other things... So I will just keep avoiding it because the symptoms aren’t worth it even when I am on vacation.

Yeah, I always start my tree nut allergy with "I can have coconut b/c it's a fruit, and I can have peanuts b/c they are legumes...but all actual nuts are out".

 

[123SA]

My teenager was diagnosed with Celiac disease shortly before COVID hit. We have very little experience ordering food away from home. I thought that Disney would be easy to figure out, but this thread has me re-thinking that. Honestly, the thought of feeding him for 3 weeks (2 at Disney, 1 at Universal) is really starting to worry me.