No GF Pirate Cruise For You*! *If you have a nut allergy, that is!

[DeeCeeSW]

I think he'll survive.

Believe me, it's not the end of his world or mine. Thanks.

 

[dizcrazee]

Wow, Cass, that wasn't very nice! It doesn't matter if you disagree with the mother's viewpoint...you are talking about a SMALL CHILD here! "He'll survive"...good grief. Have a little compassion, please.

 

[ajwomic]

Yea, he was allergic to peanuts and tree nuts. Also a boy at our church outgrew it as well. Some new research is showing that up to 20% - 25% will outgrow peanut allergies as well. Now maybe the reason more are outgrowing may be that more are allergic and it stands to reason as dianosis grows perhaps whatever is causing the increase in the allergy, also is allowing some to outgrow. Who knows! But I feel your pain and hope that some of the new research will help your son in his lifetime. God Bless!
Alicia

 

[DisneyDotty]

For all of you who have to worry about allergic reactions on a daily basis:

 

[dizcrazee]

ajwomic - THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for giving me new hope! My doctor indicated that outgrowing the peanut allergy was a pretty hopeless longshot! I think I'll get her tested for it again when we go to the Dr. this year. Thanks again!

 

[MouseWorshipin]

I know that peanut allergies are not like being lactose intolerant or other allergies. My point is that someone said that for their trip they substituted a cheese sandwhich. Well some kids can't eat cheese, my niece can't.

My point is simply that this is serious. What happens if your niece eats cheese? She gets sick. She gets crampy, has diarrhea, maybe a fever. She doesn't DIE.

Lots of people don't realize how serious this is. Comparing the nut allergy to lactose intolerance is apples and oranges. They have completely different effects on the people who have trouble with them, and one is life-threatening while the other isn't.

I never said Disney should change their policy to accomodate me. I just wanted to explain why it shouldn't be compared to lactose intolerance or pollen or cats.

 

[SueM in MN]

There ARE more kids with nut allergies, it isn't just that you hear about it more. And they research it like crazy. There are lots of schools of thought on why there is so much more autism, asthma, and this ridiculous nut allergy. What has changed?, that kind of thing. The bottom line is that they just don't know (yet). Personally, I'm on the side of the researchers who think it is connected to immunizations (the "baby shots.") It could very well be something else, I dunno, but that makes the most sense to me.

There was no (and still is no) central registry for any of those things, so coming up with a way to count what "more" is, is very difficult.

 

[MouseWorshipin]

. Some new research is showing that up to 20% - 25% will outgrow peanut allergies as well.

What research? I keep up pretty well with this, and have yet to see anything about this from any group.

Who said that that kids are "outgrowing" this?

 

[Cass]

Wow, Cass, that wasn't very nice! It doesn't matter if you disagree with the mother's viewpoint...you are talking about a SMALL CHILD here! "He'll survive"...good grief. Have a little compassion, please.

There is more going on then the small child here.. WHy does he even know about a GF pirate cruise (and that he can't participate?) there are a million things going on a disney - this is about Mom being upset because disney won't change their policies for her son.

The boy is not going to need therapy because he couldn't go on a the GF pirate cruise.

But DeeCee might

I hung up the phone crying after the conversation with the chef.

 

[MouseWorshipin]

There was no (and still is no) central registry for any of those things, so coming up with a way to count what "more" is, is very difficult.

Like heck. You are obviously not doing any research at all. There ARE more nut allergies, asthma, and autism than there used to be.

 

[Esmerelda]

MY oldest son DOES have a nut allergy (any type of nuts) and we have been warned at many places (including Disney) that there could be nut residue in the air...or near the food...etc. My son, however, CAN eat processed peanut butter. He cannot, however, eat a raw nut. I know a lot of folks this way...there are 2 more in my family. (he has stopped breathing twice in his younger years..just so you will know the severity)

He did do the pirate cruise when he was 8 with no problem years back (he is now 14) and we were not even warned back then of the nut issue. I can't recall what they ate at the time but he really did not enjoy himself and asked to never go on this cruise again. (his younger brother 5 at the time did enjoy himself...go figure...lol)

I have never expected in life to have every eating establishment or hotel accomodate a person with a nut allergy....its not realistic. I rememeber checking in to a Doubletree hotel once where they give you the warm CC cookies...guess what...they have nuts...and NO they do not have any without nuts. I also remember one time when my son was a little more than 3 and we were in the Roaring Forks at the WL and he asked for a bite of my husbands brownie....little did we know there were nuts in it!! They were NOT visible nor could you taste them. We ended up with an epi pen and a squad that day...yikes! Of course, that was our fault for not asking. My point is, you cannot expect to be accomodated everywhere with food allergies. We have learned that it just doesn't happen...that's why we (or my son) always check on everything in the food line.

If this were my son, I would focus on all the other cool stuff there is to do at Disney (and there are tons!). The pirate cruise is just one of many. Best of luck to the OP.


Esmerelda

 

[MouseWorshipin]

MY oldest son DOES have a nut allergy (any type of nuts) and we have been warned at many places (including Disney) that there could be nut residue in the air...or near the food...etc. My son, however, CAN eat processed peanut butter. He cannot, however, eat a raw nut. I know a lot of folks this way...there are 2 more in my family. (he has stopped breathing twice in his younger years..just so you will know the severity)

Esmerelda

There are lots of kids who are allergic to nuts and not peanuts, because legumes are a different family of nut.

But yours is the first case of a kid who was allergic to peanuts being able to eat peanut butter that I've heard.

 

[dizcrazee]

Wow, I've never heard of that before, either. He can eat the peanut butter but not the raw nut? I've certainly learned a lot in this thread, but now I'm all confused about things that I thought I understood before!

Also, let me say this, and then I'm shutting up because it's not in my nature to be argumentative and it kind of makes me uncomfortable to argue. We all love our children so much, and we shouldn't stand in judgement of each other on how we handle this situation. Everybody deals with it in their own way.

Cass, the OP doesn't need therapy just because she appears to be angry and cried after talking to the chef. Anger (even if it seems unjustified) is a normal response for a mom who has a child with a life-threatening condition. Remember, this is her beloved 5 yo child! I remember one time I was furious at one of my child's schoolmates for waving her peanut butter covered hands in my baby's face (to tease her, knowing she is allergic). Is is logical to be furious at a 6 yo child who doesn't know better? No way. Was I furious? Yes, indeed I was...even at the child's parents, who weren't present at the time, and at the teacher, who didn't see it happen. This is my baby, my only one, and it's a miracle that she's even on this earth...I was told that I couldn't have children. I had her at 35...what a gift! I know the OP feels that same way about her child. That's why I say...please have compassion. I mean no ill will, but this issue hits really close to home for me!

All I know for sure is that my DD is definitely allergic to ALL forms of peanuts, and ALL tree nuts as well! It's so scary...I pray that God will protect her, and I pray the same for all the parents/allergic children represented here as well!

 

[maps]

Don't be discouraged if your child has a peanut allergy. The allergist mentioned that my son might ourgrow this and if you read journals (allergy and immunology ones) they do have these facts.

So far unfortunately, my son hasn't shown signs of outgrowing it. We've had him tested the last 2 yrs and although the skin test reaction was less, the blood test came back really high. We'll try again next year. He also has asthma, lactose intolerance, cat/rabbit allergies, seasonal allergies...so his chances of outgrowing this is probably low. Doesn't matter, he's doing really well with handling all of this and he's only 5.

I do know some kids that have outgrown this and they are fine now. The key is to avoid an anaphylactic reaction. Once they have had that reaction it's hard to really "outgrow" the allergy. That's why a lot of people are really careful when their kids show reactions to peanuts such as rash, vomiting, wheezing...

 

[momtimesone]

I know this may seem lame but why not do your own pirate themed event rent a little boat do a fake map dress up like pirates and best of all you will be able to monitor your childs interaction with things while giving him the cruise after all its not the boat or the peaple that make the thing special its the event so do a fake tresure hunt and such it will be alot more memorable when its with mom. We as parents must protect our children any way we can but also have the power to make our children smile. IM sorry to hear of your problems and wish you the best.

 

[dizcrazee]

maps, thank you for your input and information. You have a very positive attitude, and I find that very encouraging to me personally. We'll just keep hoping, won't we....

 

[DeeCeeSW]

There is more going on then the small child here.. WHy does he even know about a GF pirate cruise (and that he can't participate?) there are a million things going on a disney - this is about Mom being upset because disney won't change their policies for her son.

The boy is not going to need therapy because he couldn't go on a the GF pirate cruise.

But DeeCee might

Get a grip. It's not about me, it's about him. I cried FOR MY SON not for myself. Apparently, you want to make this thread all about you. If you need attention, look for it elsewhere.

 

[singingpixie]

A couple thoughts-
-It seems to me that disney has no duty to remain true to a policy of the past, even if it was the recent past. It's great that the BC accomodated you in October, but take that as a blessing and not a comittment to always be able to do so. There are a million reasons for policies to change, and they have to happen sometime- meaning that yesterday they might have been able to accomodate someone, but the policy might change today so that tomorrow they might not. It isn't logical to expect that just because something happened in October (that was a surprise to you then, from your own post) is going to continue to happen.
-For all you know, the BC people might have been being less thorough than the GF people (not saying that this necessarily happened, but that it's a possibility), and you might have gotten lucky that nothing happened. It isn't as simple as just switching the sandwiches, as has not been disputed in this thread. Even if there was not a policy change per se, it could be that the GF cast members are taking this allergy more seriously and realizing that even if they did change the food, they would not be offering your son the protection he needed (from the perspective of his health, and of their legal protection).
-Disney is great about being accomodating, when they realistically can. The fact that they could not accomodate you in this case is probably testament to the fact that this accomodation cannot be made to the degree that would keep your child safe. They are better off saying no and disappointing you than saying yes, doing their best, and a tragedy occuring because it wasn't enough.

 

[DeeCeeSW]

MY oldest son DOES have a nut allergy (any type of nuts) and we have been warned at many places (including Disney) that there could be nut residue in the air...or near the food...etc. My son, however, CAN eat processed peanut butter. He cannot, however, eat a raw nut. I know a lot of folks this way...there are 2 more in my family. (he has stopped breathing twice in his younger years..just so you will know the severity)

He did do the pirate cruise when he was 8 with no problem years back (he is now 14) and we were not even warned back then of the nut issue. I can't recall what they ate at the time but he really did not enjoy himself and asked to never go on this cruise again. (his younger brother 5 at the time did enjoy himself...go figure...lol)

I have never expected in life to have every eating establishment or hotel accomodate a person with a nut allergy....its not realistic. I rememeber checking in to a Doubletree hotel once where they give you the warm CC cookies...guess what...they have nuts...and NO they do not have any without nuts. I also remember one time when my son was a little more than 3 and we were in the Roaring Forks at the WL and he asked for a bite of my husbands brownie....little did we know there were nuts in it!! They were NOT visible nor could you taste them. We ended up with an epi pen and a squad that day...yikes! Of course, that was our fault for not asking. My point is, you cannot expect to be accomodated everywhere with food allergies. We have learned that it just doesn't happen...that's why we (or my son) always check on everything in the food line.

If this were my son, I would focus on all the other cool stuff there is to do at Disney (and there are tons!). The pirate cruise is just one of many. Best of luck to the OP.


Esmerelda

I'm over the cruise already, Esmerelda. I'm a Disney veteran and fully aware of other things we can do. Other plans will be made. Please read through the whole thread first. Life does not end over a Pirate Cruise and I don't think I am taking this as hard as some of you think I am.

 

[DeeCeeSW]

Wow, I've never heard of that before, either. He can eat the peanut butter but not the raw nut? I've certainly learned a lot in this thread, but now I'm all confused about things that I thought I understood before!

Also, let me say this, and then I'm shutting up because it's not in my nature to be argumentative and it kind of makes me uncomfortable to argue. We all love our children so much, and we shouldn't stand in judgement of each other on how we handle this situation. Everybody deals with it in their own way.

Cass, the OP doesn't need therapy just because she appears to be angry and cried after talking to the chef. Anger (even if it seems unjustified) is a normal response for a mom who has a child with a life-threatening condition. Remember, this is her beloved 5 yo child! I remember one time I was furious at one of my child's schoolmates for waving her peanut butter covered hands in my baby's face (to tease her, knowing she is allergic). Is is logical to be furious at a 6 yo child who doesn't know better? No way. Was I furious? Yes, indeed I was...even at the child's parents, who weren't present at the time, and at the teacher, who didn't see it happen. This is my baby, my only one, and it's a miracle that she's even on this earth...I was told that I couldn't have children. I had her at 35...what a gift! I know the OP feels that same way about her child. That's why I say...please have compassion. I mean no ill will, but this issue hits really close to home for me!

All I know for sure is that my DD is definitely allergic to ALL forms of peanuts, and ALL tree nuts as well! It's so scary...I pray that God will protect her, and I pray the same for all the parents/allergic children represented here as well!

THANK YOU DIZCRAZEE!!!!!!!!