First up, the allergy perspective:
Both of my sons have multiple anaphylactic food allergies.
E- tree nuts & eggs
L –peanuts, eggs, all legumes except for soy and green beans, mushrooms
At WDW we ate at:
1. Liberty Tree Tavern. Lunch at the Liberty Tree Tavern ended up being my second favourite meal of the trip. I was very nervous because we almost never eat out. Our server was great. The chef came out to speak with us right away, and was warm, friendly and knowledgeable. He answered my questions, and immediately put me at ease that he understood the severity of the allergies and how to cook safely for our sons. They both ordered Angus Chuck Burgers with big fat “steak cut” French fries, and chocolate milk to drink. The food arrived looking fantastic, and in absolutely enormous portions.
2. Tokyo Dining. The restaurant itself was beautiful, but this ended up being my most stressful meal of the trip. At this restaurant, a manager not a chef came to our table to discuss allergies. At first I was relieved to have someone English speaking, I had been worried about a potential language barrier, but the manager was chilly, brusque and dismissive. She seemed put out by my request to have their sushi made on fresh mats etc (to avoid cross contamination with egg) and informed us curtly that that would make our food take longer. Um, yeah…that would be a grave inconvenience vs. my sons dying. Also bear in mind that this was the first seating of the day, so my request shouldn’t have been a huge inconvenience. She would not take my sons’ food orders, and said to give it to our server. I ended the conversation really worried about whether our sons would be able to eat here safely. We went ahead and ordered anyway. The waiter was impeccably polite and easy to communicate with. I gave him one of the business cards I had printed up with the boys’ allergy info, and reaffirmed our needs and the severity of the allergies with him. I was still not feeling 100%, and debating whether or not to cancel and leave, when our waiter came back to the table. He had given our card to the chefs, and I didn’t have to worry they would make sure the food was completely safe. This was exactly what I needed to hear. I really appreciated him taking the time to come back and reassure me, and if not we would have left. We went ahead with our meal and the food was indeed safe for the boys (smelt & salmon roe nigiri, Philadelphia and cucumber rolls). I am really glad that the boys got to eat sushi in “Japan” which was very high on their wish list, but I would not go back to eat again. If (when!) we go back to WDW, we will stick to the Disney-owned restaurants.
3. Sci Fi Dine In. We were originally supposed to go to Pizza Planet in DHS, but one of my sons has decided he absolutely hates pizza in the months since we made our dining plans, and there’s nothing else on the menu there for him to eat. I was also concerned about counter service at a peak time from an allergy perspective (5:30-6pm), so we made a last minute ADR for Sci Fi. I am really glad we changed plans. The meal at Sci Fi was one of the highlights of our day. The food was pretty good(L had a HUGE burger, and E was able to order pizza from the kids menu to ease his disappointment over missing out on Pizza Planet), and it was made allergy safe, with the Chef coming to our table and inspiring confidence in his hands. The service was excellent, and the boys even got to order safe chocolate shakes. It was a very enjoyable meal.
4. Flame Tree BBQ. No problem getting safe food for the boys here. E had BBQ chicken and grapes, and L had BBQ ribs and grapes (none of the sides were safe). We hit the restaurant just before the lunch rush, and were able to talk to a manager/chef very quickly. He and I went through the binder together, and the boys’ food was ready in no time. It was very smooth and quick.
5. Liberty Inn. The manager was super nice and extremely thorough. The safest option was for the boys’ food to be baked separately here. The manager warned us that unfortunately this would take a while. We ordered Allergy Free Chicken Tenders with baked fries for L, and a burger with baked fries for E. Their food did take a really long time, and the manager was very apologetic when it finally came out, but it was prepared with great care (I think the manager took care of it himself) and was again, completely safe, so we didn’t mind waiting longer one bit. We got such good service here, I would recommend this option for anyone who has allergies and is eating at Epcot.
6. Tony’s Town Square. Tony’s was OK from an allergy perspective The chef came out to speak with us and take the boys’ orders, and although we could tell that our particular list of allergens was a challenge given their menu, he gave us some good options and I felt confident. I didn’t like the fact that the runners delivering the allergy-safe meals didn’t keep them separate from the other meals, and seemed confused and slightly irritated when we questioned them about it. Still, the food was safe. E really enjoyed his egg free meatballs and spaghetti, but L didn’t really like his egg free meatball sliders. He managed to choke down half of one slider and a handful of cherry tomatoes. I’m not sure if it was the food itself, or the close quarters of the table (this was the most challenging meal from a proximity/OCD POV for him), or simply the fact that he was super tired at this point. Either way, he was a champ. He did his best. He did not meltdown, and he stayed at the table while we ate.
7. Sanaa. The best meal of our trip from every perspective! Our server Sima, was the best of our trip. On a trip where we received almost uniformly excellent service, he was the cream of the crop. Chef Bob and Chef Ron came to our table, not just once, but several times during the meal to make sure all the boys’ allergy dining needs were cared for, and they were so knowledgeable about allergies that I was immediately completely at ease. Really, it was just extraordinary. The food itself was delicious. E had tandoori chicken. L had a burger on naan bread (are you getting a burger theme for L on this trip? The kid ate a lot of burgers!). They both ate almost every bite, which is practically unheard of, especially for L! The chefs also brought the boys fruit for an appetizer and made them special Strawberry smoothies for dessert. We had this meal on the last day of our trip before leaving for the airport, and it was the perfect way to end our vacation. We would go back anytime. Heck, if we lived closer, we’d go back once a week!
Snacks around the world included: Mickey premium ice cream bars, ice cream cones from Sunshine Tree Terrace, Kaki Gori, Divvies caramel popcorn and jellybeans from main street bakery, frozen lemonade, soda from Club Cool
At Universal we ate at:
The Three Broomsticks multiple times! We chose this option, because we are Harry Potter fanatics and kept ending up back in the Wizarding World no matter how far we strayed, and because it was really easy to get the boys safe food here. Eating here was one of the most relaxing meal experiences of our trip. A lady named Pam helps with all of the allergy ordering, and she is friendly and knowledgeable, and the whole process was very smooth, and inspired confidence (along with the info I’d gotten from Chef Bob Burdick by email beforehand). On the first day we ordered the Great Feast for our family. The roasted potatoes and veg were delicious, and the chicken pretty good. I didn’t care for the ribs, but others at the table did. It was a massive amount of food for the 4 of us, even though the boys were really hungry and tucked in, and all of it was safe for the boys’ allergies. We were seated at a large round table, with the boys at an adjacent 2 top, which was another factor making it relaxing. No worries for the boys about germs, proximity, contamination etc. We had butterbeer! We sat and ate and ate, and watched for house elf shadows, all of us so content! In subsequent meals here the boys also tried turkey legs and chips (dedicated fryer), ribs, corn and chips, frozen butterbeer, pumpkin juice and pumpkin fizzes. We had a great experience here! Thank you Pam!
At Kennedy Space Center:
We didn’t even try. We brought a picnic, leaving a cooler bag in the car and retrieving it at lunchtime, and had no problem with security. There are lots of tables around (we ate near the rocket garden), and it didn’t feel at all awkward bringing our own food.
In general:
I am really glad we contacted Disney Special Diets, and Chef Bob at Universal beforehand. We stuck to the first seating of the day, or other off times to eat for all except one meal, and this was a very good thing. We had great dining experiences at both Disney (CS and TS) and Universal (CS only), and my boys were completely safe. I am very thankful to all the wonderful chefs, managers and servers who took such wonderful care of us. Being able to eat in restaurants just like everyone else was one of the biggest things that made this trip so magical for our family!
We stayed offsite in a villa in Sunset Lakes with a full kitchen. This allowed us to serve the boys all of their breakfasts in, and usually one other meal per day (most often a quick supper before heading back to the parks for the evening). This really took the pressure off. Despite the A+ treatment we received (for the most part), eating out 3 times a day would have been too much for their & my stress levels. The boys also took an allergy safe prepackaged snack with them to the parks each morning, that way if hunger struck, they always had something safe readily available no matter where we were or what we were doing.
Perhaps it was a case of getting the wrong staff member on the wrong day, but at each stop we encountered more confusion and some rudeness. No one seemed to know what they were doing or rather what we were supposed to do. It was, without question the low point in our trip as far as access and service.
