Nut free at WDW?

[bangzoom6877]

DS8 was diagnosed in November 2012 with allergies to all tree nuts, peanuts and coconut. These are in addition to his allergy to shellfish, which we had already known about. WDW has been wonderful accommodating him with the shellfish allergy, but since our last trip was last July, we haven't visited yet since his newly discovered allergies, which are much more complex to deal with, since nuts cause cross contamination with so many foods. It's quite scary, but at the same time, we find the places we frequent at home to be extremely accommodating and we have our safe places to take him.

I'd appreciate any experiences with living nut free at WDW (besides us, being the Disney "nuts" we are, can't escape that, haha! ). We tend to go to more TS restaurants than CS, but we do enjoy snacking as well. I know that grabbing something on the go will be a little more difficult, but I'm sure it's not impossible with some planning. We're going back in July 2014, so although we have a lot of time still, I like to find these things out early since I book dining 180 days out and I go back to work next month (teacher). So since I have the time now, I figured I would ask.

These are TS restaurants and meals we would possibly go to (10-night trip so there's a lot, plus we may or may not do some, undecided for sure!):

1. Flying Fish dinner
2. Kouzzina dinner
3. Yachtsman Steakhouse dinner
4. Garden Grill dinner
5. Chef Mickey's (not sure about breakfast or dinner)
6. Kona Cafe (breakfast, lunch and dinner!)
7. Ohana breakfast
8. Chefs de France (not sure about lunch or dinner)
9. San Angel Inn lunch
10. Biergarten dinner
11. T-Rex dinner
12. Beaches 'n' Cream lunch
13. 50s Prime Time
14. Sci-Fi
15. Brown Derby
16. Rose & Crown (not sure about lunch or dinner)
17. Crystal Palace breakfast
18. Grand Floridian Cafe dinner
19. 1900 Park Fare breakfast
20. Plaza Restaurant
21. Be Our Guest dinner

Possible CS places in case we decide to do some quick meals:

1. Boardwalk Bakery (breakfast and lunch...we stay at BWV)
2. Tangierine Cafe
3. Cosmic Ray's
4. Be Our Guest lunch

Snacks we usually get and love:

1. Cupcakes (mostly from Main St. Bakery, Boardwalk Bakery and Starring Rolls)
2. Dole Whips
3. Mickey ice cream bars (I don't think these are OK???)
4. Mickey ice cream sandwich
5. Ice pops (at the ice cream carts)
6. Soft pretzels (the regular ones, NOT the sweet ones)
7. Croissants, pastries and chocolate mousse in France
8. Pastries at Kringla in Norway
9. Churros in Mexico
10. Mickey Rice krispie treats

Any hope? I'm guessing the snacks will be harder than the meals. Sorry this is so long, and thanks in advance for any info that anyone can give me!

ETA: I am already planning to add all of his allergies to our ADRs. I'm mainly looking for the specifics mentioned above, and any other experiences people can share with me.

 

[TheDWord]

When you make your ADRs tell them about your son's allergy and they will note that in your reservation. When you get to the restaurant, they will already know about it and the chef will come out to you and describe in detail what your son can and cannot eat. They will also make whatever your son wants (granted they have the ingredients) if the menu selection gets too limited.

My daughter also has nut allergies (peanut and all tree nuts) plus a dairy allergy which is also very tricky and when we were last in WDW it was totally fine and she ate delicious, custom ordered meals.

 

[tarak]

I think for TS, you should have the same experience you have dealing with the shellfish allergy. Make a note of it when you make your ADR. Mention it again when you order. The CS restaurants have a book listing the allergen-free food they can offer. I can't comment on the ones you specifically mentioned, although we ate at Cosmic Ray's. He got the nut-free cookie they offered. My daughters were total pills about it and wanted to know why they didn't get one.

I agree you will have trouble with the snacks. The dole whip station might be okay, but I'm assuming there's a plant where the ingredients get mixed and you'd have an issue with that. My son has a peanut allergy, and he can't eat 90% of the prepackaged snacks (krispie treats are a definite no-go, unless they've changed things since January). Bakeries are tough, too, because there's rarely a guarantee that cross-contamination won't occur. I have yet to find a bakery anywhere, to be honest, that doesn't have the disclaimer that there might have been contact with nuts. Fruit and carrot sticks are what we normally get (the kids without allergies, too). I'm wondering, though, if you'll have issues with fruit and the coconut? I imagine it's not a very common allergy and not something generally mentioned on the packaging.

I found this site, which might be helpful. http://www.allergyeats.com/disney/ You can check off the allergy and which park you'll be at and get a list of restaurants where users have commented on how accommodating the restaurant was.

 

[bangzoom6877]

When you make your ADRs tell them about your son's allergy and they will note that in your reservation. When you get to the restaurant, they will already know about it and the chef will come out to you and describe in detail what your son can and cannot eat. They will also make whatever your son wants (granted they have the ingredients) if the menu selection gets too limited.

My daughter also has nut allergies (peanut and all tree nuts) plus a dairy allergy which is also very tricky and when we were last in WDW it was totally fine and she ate delicious, custom ordered meals.

Thank you for the info! It's great how accommodating the chefs are at WDW. I was already planning to add the allergies to our ADRs, I should have specified that in my original post (will edit for sure!). I was looking mainly for info regarding the places and the foods I listed. For the snacks, I wanted to see if I should bring snacks into the parks for him or if this is unnecessary due to availability of nut-free snacks inside the parks.

Custom meals sound great!! It does not surprise me that the chefs at WDW would go out of their way like this. They have been great with his shellfish allergy on past trips, but these additional allergies are so much more complicated since nuts are much more prevalent than shellfish in various foods. We don't go to local bakeries anymore because of the risk of cross contamination, except for one near home which does not use nuts, coconut or peanuts at all. That is the only way for sure he is safe, since the other bakeries use nuts in so many things they make (mainly Italian bakeries and Jewish bakeries...lots of nuts all over the place!). We're also very careful with ice cream. Only soft serve and only after they let me check the label and guarantee that they do not use a peanut butter or nut flavored soft serve mix in the same machine. Places have been wonderful and don't even give me a second look. Never had one bad experience yet...knock on wood! Probably because allergies are so common today that it's scary.

 

[bangzoom6877]

I think for TS, you should have the same experience you have dealing with the shellfish allergy. Make a note of it when you make your ADR. Mention it again when you order. The CS restaurants have a book listing the allergen-free food they can offer. I can't comment on the ones you specifically mentioned, although we ate at Cosmic Ray's. He got the nut-free cookie they offered. My daughters were total pills about it and wanted to know why they didn't get one.

I agree you will have trouble with the snacks. The dole whip station might be okay, but I'm assuming there's a plant where the ingredients get mixed and you'd have an issue with that. My son has a peanut allergy, and he can't eat 90% of the prepackaged snacks (krispie treats are a definite no-go, unless they've changed things since January). Bakeries are tough, too, because there's rarely a guarantee that cross-contamination won't occur. I have yet to find a bakery anywhere, to be honest, that doesn't have the disclaimer that there might have been contact with nuts. Fruit and carrot sticks are what we normally get (the kids without allergies, too). I'm wondering, though, if you'll have issues with fruit and the coconut? I imagine it's not a very common allergy and not something generally mentioned on the packaging.

I found this site, which might be helpful. http://www.allergyeats.com/disney/ You can check off the allergy and which park you'll be at and get a list of restaurants where users have commented on how accommodating the restaurant was.

The FDA classifies coconut as a tree nut. It's listed on the disclaimer for BabyCakes actually, that they use coconut products which are technically considered a tree nut, even though they do not use any other tree nuts in their baked goods. So even BabyCakes is a no-go for him. A shame too, since we live in NY and they originate here. But we do have the one bakery near our house that does not use any tree nuts, peanuts or coconut in their facility. They don't make a huge variety of items, but they have basic cakes (we get for celebrations when we don't bake our own), cupcakes, cookies and brownies. Those are basically what he likes. The bread bakery near us is also nut free so he can still eat his favorites.

I will just have to ask for the allergen list at each location. I didn't think most TS restaurants would be an issue, especially the ones actually run by Disney. The Epcot restaurants that are not Disney-owned concern me more because I don't know if they share the same practices and take it as seriously as Disney does. Hopefully they do!

Fresh fruit makes a great snack and he knows this is an option, unless there is coconut. Bananas are usually fine since they're in their own skin and closed. That is of course, unless they are next to coconut, which we never saw anywhere. I will probably be bringing a special snack for him each day at the parks. And worse comes to worse, if he can't even have a soft pretzel (which he loves), we stay in a 1-bedroom DVC villa at BWV so I could pick up some Super Pretzels at Wal Mart and prepare one for him in the villa. Food allergies sure have brought out my creative side to keep my son happy!

 

[EscapeReality]

The FDA classifies coconut as a tree nut.

Just a "fyi," my son has a peanut allergy and this contradicts information I have, so I double checked and it's not classified as a nut by Health Canada. This highlight how vigilant you need to be when travelling or eating imported treats!

Anyway I was very happy with how Disney dealt with his allergy, 2 years ago and in a further demonstration of leadership they have just opened a new kiosk at DAK to help people negotiate safe food choices. They apparently sell snacks there too! I'd post the link but haven't made enough posts yet, I read a thread about it on the DIS strategies forum.

 

[bangzoom6877]

Just a "fyi," my son has a peanut allergy and this contradicts information I have, so I double checked and it's not classified as a nut by Health Canada. This highlight how vigilant you need to be when travelling or eating imported treats!

Anyway I was very happy with how Disney dealt with his allergy, 2 years ago and in a further demonstration of leadership they have just opened a new kiosk at DAK to help people negotiate safe food choices. They apparently sell snacks there too! I'd post the link but haven't made enough posts yet, I read a thread about it on the DIS strategies forum.

That's good to know about coconut not being classified as a tree nut in Canada. I'm very careful when traveling and also with imported items. A colleague at the school where I teach brought me chocolate from Italy a few months ago when she chaperoned a Europe trip, and I wouldn't let my son touch it because I'm unfamiliar with their labeling practices. In the USA coconut is classified as a tree nut by the FDA.

It's nice they have a special kiosk at AK. Unfortunately we don't go to AK. Hopefully they will add one of these to the other parks at some point.

 

[SnowWhite1]

When we were last in Disney in 2010 with both children who have nut allergies we were so impressed with how the Chefs would come out and tell us what was ok to eat. They are very accommodating!

Snacks are tough, but some of those lists should be helpful. My kids seem to be able to eat things that may have been in contact (like Krispie treats, Mickey ice cream)...it's crazy when you start looking, how many things have some sort of peanut or nut or nut oil in them. I think if you let the restaurants know in advance you should be fine. Good luck!!!

 

[bangzoom6877]

When we were last in Disney in 2010 with both children who have nut allergies we were so impressed with how the Chefs would come out and tell us what was ok to eat. They are very accommodating!

Snacks are tough, but some of those lists should be helpful. My kids seem to be able to eat things that may have been in contact (like Krispie treats, Mickey ice cream)...it's crazy when you start looking, how many things have some sort of peanut or nut or nut oil in them. I think if you let the restaurants know in advance you should be fine. Good luck!!!

Thank you! I'm not sure if my son can have anything from the same equipment as nuts but the allergist instructed us not to take a chance. I'm a worrisome person by nature. Multiply that by a thousand and that's how worrisome I am with this. So I don't risk anything. If it says anything at all about nuts on the label, he knows he can't have it. His 6-year-old brother reads labels with us too and is very aware. He always asks us if Philip could have something or not. We're glad both our kids are so aware. I'm more scared of when he's older and I have less control because I'm not with him all the time.

 

[WeLoveLilo05]

If you can get to 1900 PF when Chef TJ is there, he is amazing!!! I think he only does breakfast now though. Captain's Grille ws also very accomodating to DD, as well as Chef mickey's.

Disney used to have Divies prepackaged allergy free snacks (not sure if they were coconut free though) BUT they no longer carry them I am told.

I e-mailed Disney this evening b/c I heard through the grapevine that all the desserts at BoG are peanut/tree nut free (and they look good!) so I will let you know when I heard from them. I also asked if there would be anything safe at Boardwalk Bakery but I highly doubt it b/c I haven't been to a bakery yet that DD could eat at.

For the most part the chefs at Disney have been amazing, just always double check. We ate at Le Cellier and the chef told us she couldn't have the banana chips with the sundae and the sundae came out with the banana chips so it had to go back.

GL!!!

 

[Disney_Princess83]

Hi! I'm an adult but I'm allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, coconut, soy (and the list goes on) I've listed below the places we have eaten and our experience, including the snacks. Cross contamination is an issue with me for peanuts. Even if someone else eats them and breathes on me, or touches the same door handle, I break out in hives. The hardest park that I found it difficult in was AK for snacks. There seemed to have alot of peanuts, coconut and soy in many products. Boma also surprisingly has so many options with coconut and soy (I know soy isn't an issue you mentioned but many people allergic to peanuts are allergic to soy.

5. Chef Mickey's (not sure about breakfast or dinner) They were great here! A chef came over and personally walked me about the buffet to show me what was safe. Several times when I approached the buffet, he would come out and check if I wanted anything else made.
7. Ohana breakfast The Chef came out and spoke to us here. Everything is safe at Ohana breakfast, except the bread.
11. T-Rex dinner Wonderful experience. We ended up here late one evening since everything else at DTD was closed and it was one of our favourite meals
12. Beaches 'n' Cream lunch - We have only had desserts/snacks from here but they're very accommodating. They assured us they would use fresh utensils to serve up our ice cream and the waitress said someone in the kitchen had rewashed our plates and bowls before they put the ice cream in "just in case"
13. 50s Prime Time We had a really disappointing experience at this restaurant. I selected 5 things from the menu that I wanted to eat for lunch and the Chef said none of them could be changed so they could be "safe". I don't want to eat something that I'm allergic to but he said even the chicken and fries wouldn't be "safe". We decided to just get dessert (since we had taken up the table and their time) The waitress was then really annoyed when my sister and I just decided to get dessert asking why my sister couldn't order a meal anyway We waited 20 minutes for our dessert and then another 20 minutes for our bill - the restaurant was really quite and in the end, we had to ask another waitress for help.

I know that it wasn't on the list but I have Tusker House at AK amazing for breakfast

Possible CS places in case we decide to do some quick meals:

1. Boardwalk Bakery (breakfast and lunch...we stay at BWV) Only had snacks here but found them wonderful. A baker/chef came to speak to us and were wonderful at helping us pick safe choices.
3. Cosmic Ray's - We eat here during every trip and I've never had any issues here. The person taking the order doesn't know what is safe but they can bring one of the cooks out to talk to us.

Snacks we usually get and love:

1. Cupcakes (mostly from Main St. Bakery, Boardwalk Bakery and Starring Rolls) - I've had many cupcakes from each of these locations without an issue. Always ask since many cupcakes have peanuts and if cross contamination is an issue, ask for a fresh pair of utensils to be used - I always do this when the bakery serves other nut products.
2. Dole WhipsHad these with no issue
3. Mickey ice cream bars (I don't think these are OK???) There is a warning on these about cross contamination but I have eaten these with no issue
4. Mickey ice cream sandwich Had these with no issue
5. Ice pops (at the ice cream carts) haven't had these, sorry
6. Soft pretzels (the regular ones, NOT the sweet ones) I've had these without an issue
7. Croissants, pastries and chocolate mousse in France - I have eaten the croissants, chocolate mousse, apple turnover
8. Pastries at Kringla in Norway I've had several things from Kringla but I can't remember exact what now. Haven't had a problem with the ones I ate and we spoke to someone behind the counter who was very knowledgable about what each contained.
9. Churros in Mexico I've had these with no issue
10. Mickey Rice krispie treats I eat these non stop during our trip and never had an issue

 

[bangzoom6877]

Hi! I'm an adult but I'm allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, coconut, soy (and the list goes on) I've listed below the places we have eaten and our experience, including the snacks. Cross contamination is an issue with me for peanuts. Even if someone else eats them and breathes on me, or touches the same door handle, I break out in hives. The hardest park that I found it difficult in was AK for snacks. There seemed to have alot of peanuts, coconut and soy in many products. Boma also surprisingly has so many options with coconut and soy (I know soy isn't an issue you mentioned but many people allergic to peanuts are allergic to soy.

5. Chef Mickey's (not sure about breakfast or dinner) They were great here! A chef came over and personally walked me about the buffet to show me what was safe. Several times when I approached the buffet, he would come out and check if I wanted anything else made.
7. Ohana breakfast The Chef came out and spoke to us here. Everything is safe at Ohana breakfast, except the bread.
11. T-Rex dinner Wonderful experience. We ended up here late one evening since everything else at DTD was closed and it was one of our favourite meals
12. Beaches 'n' Cream lunch - We have only had desserts/snacks from here but they're very accommodating. They assured us they would use fresh utensils to serve up our ice cream and the waitress said someone in the kitchen had rewashed our plates and bowls before they put the ice cream in "just in case"
13. 50s Prime Time We had a really disappointing experience at this restaurant. I selected 5 things from the menu that I wanted to eat for lunch and the Chef said none of them could be changed so they could be "safe". I don't want to eat something that I'm allergic to but he said even the chicken and fries wouldn't be "safe". We decided to just get dessert (since we had taken up the table and their time) The waitress was then really annoyed when my sister and I just decided to get dessert asking why my sister couldn't order a meal anyway We waited 20 minutes for our dessert and then another 20 minutes for our bill - the restaurant was really quite and in the end, we had to ask another waitress for help.

I know that it wasn't on the list but I have Tusker House at AK amazing for breakfast

Possible CS places in case we decide to do some quick meals:

1. Boardwalk Bakery (breakfast and lunch...we stay at BWV) Only had snacks here but found them wonderful. A baker/chef came to speak to us and were wonderful at helping us pick safe choices.
3. Cosmic Ray's - We eat here during every trip and I've never had any issues here. The person taking the order doesn't know what is safe but they can bring one of the cooks out to talk to us.

Snacks we usually get and love:

1. Cupcakes (mostly from Main St. Bakery, Boardwalk Bakery and Starring Rolls) - I've had many cupcakes from each of these locations without an issue. Always ask since many cupcakes have peanuts and if cross contamination is an issue, ask for a fresh pair of utensils to be used - I always do this when the bakery serves other nut products.
2. Dole WhipsHad these with no issue
3. Mickey ice cream bars (I don't think these are OK???) There is a warning on these about cross contamination but I have eaten these with no issue
4. Mickey ice cream sandwich Had these with no issue
5. Ice pops (at the ice cream carts) haven't had these, sorry
6. Soft pretzels (the regular ones, NOT the sweet ones) I've had these without an issue
7. Croissants, pastries and chocolate mousse in France - I have eaten the croissants, chocolate mousse, apple turnover
8. Pastries at Kringla in Norway I've had several things from Kringla but I can't remember exact what now. Haven't had a problem with the ones I ate and we spoke to someone behind the counter who was very knowledgable about what each contained.
9. Churros in Mexico I've had these with no issue
10. Mickey Rice krispie treats I eat these non stop during our trip and never had an issue

Thank you so much, this is so informative!!! Wow, so many snacks and treats that are safe! My son will be so happy!

A few days ago we came back from our cruise (on Carnival). Before we went, I had a talk with DS8 about how we're not sure he could eat desserts so we went to the supermarket and bought individual packs of Oreos for him to bring for each night just in case. He was so happy when we talked to the hostess in charge in the dining room and he found out there were many treats he could have! He only ate the Oreos once, when he wanted cookies (the cookies had possibility of cross contamination with nuts). When he can have treats he is so happy! I feel so bad for him that he has this allergy. I wish it was me instead of him having to deal with this.

 

[Disney_Princess83]

Disney is very accommodating and I have never gone hungry. It is one of the new places that I'm very comfortable that I won't have an allergic reaction. Peanuts is my most serious allergy but I have 9 others too and I have never been sick at Disney World

The only restaurant I would avoid is 'Ohana for dinner. The noodles only come with peanut sauce now. While you can ask without, 85%-90% of people around you will be having peanut sauce on their table and consuming it. Since mine is a "contact" allergy (as mentioned previously I break out in hives if someone eats peanuts and breathes on me) we avoid this one restaurant but go here for breakfast without an issue. I'm just not comfortable with that much "peanut sauce" around me

Thank you so much, this is so informative!!! Wow, so many snacks and treats that are safe! My son will be so happy!

A few days ago we came back from our cruise (on Carnival). Before we went, I had a talk with DS8 about how we're not sure he could eat desserts so we went to the supermarket and bought individual packs of Oreos for him to bring for each night just in case. He was so happy when we talked to the hostess in charge in the dining room and he found out there were many treats he could have! He only ate the Oreos once, when he wanted cookies (the cookies had possibility of cross contamination with nuts). When he can have treats he is so happy! I feel so bad for him that he has this allergy. I wish it was me instead of him having to deal with this.

 

[laughinplace199]

DS8 was diagnosed in November 2012 with allergies to all tree nuts, peanuts and coconut. These are in addition to his allergy to shellfish, which we had already known about. WDW has been wonderful accommodating him with the shellfish allergy, but since our last trip was last July, we haven't visited yet since his newly discovered allergies, which are much more complex to deal with, since nuts cause cross contamination with so many foods. It's quite scary, but at the same time, we find the places we frequent at home to be extremely accommodating and we have our safe places to take him.

I'd appreciate any experiences with living nut free at WDW (besides us, being the Disney "nuts" we are, can't escape that, haha! ). We tend to go to more TS restaurants than CS, but we do enjoy snacking as well. I know that grabbing something on the go will be a little more difficult, but I'm sure it's not impossible with some planning. We're going back in July 2014, so although we have a lot of time still, I like to find these things out early since I book dining 180 days out and I go back to work next month (teacher). So since I have the time now, I figured I would ask.

These are TS restaurants and meals we would possibly go to (10-night trip so there's a lot, plus we may or may not do some, undecided for sure!):

1. Flying Fish dinner
2. Kouzzina dinner
3. Yachtsman Steakhouse dinner
4. Garden Grill dinner
5. Chef Mickey's (not sure about breakfast or dinner) We've had dinner here many times, The chef will walk the buffet with you and make/bring food from the kitchen if necessary. For dinner, the Rice Krispie treats were safe for nut allergies (not sure about coconut though).
6. Kona Cafe (breakfast, lunch and dinner!)
7. Ohana breakfast
8. Chefs de France (not sure about lunch or dinner)
9. San Angel Inn lunch
10. Biergarten dinner
11. T-Rex dinner
12. Beaches 'n' Cream lunch
13. 50s Prime Time We've eaten here many times as well. The chef will talk to you about what is safe. DD could have ice cream for dessert.
14. Sci-Fi Same as above.
15. Brown Derby Same as above.
16. Rose & Crown (not sure about lunch or dinner)
17. Crystal Palace breakfast This is one of our faves! The chef will walk the buffet with you. There was plenty for DD to eat, just not the muffins & pastries. The French Toast puffs are amazing and they are nut free.
18. Grand Floridian Cafe dinner
19. 1900 Park Fare breakfast
20. Plaza Restaurant We've had great dinners here and DD could have a hot fudge sundae. The manager prepared it himself to make sure there would be no issues with cross-contamination.
21. Be Our Guest dinner

Possible CS places in case we decide to do some quick meals:

1. Boardwalk Bakery (breakfast and lunch...we stay at BWV)
2. Tangierine Cafe
3. Cosmic Ray's
4. Be Our Guest lunch

Snacks we usually get and love:

1. Cupcakes (mostly from Main St. Bakery, Boardwalk Bakery and Starring Rolls) You may not find any safe cupcakes at the bakeries. Starring Rolls had allergen free prepackaged cookies and brownies on our last trip.
2. Dole Whips These were safe for DD. Not sure of there's any coconut in them though.
3. Mickey ice cream bars (I don't think these are OK???) These were safe for DD.
4. Mickey ice cream sandwich
5. Ice pops (at the ice cream carts)
6. Soft pretzels (the regular ones, NOT the sweet ones) We were told to stay away from these.
7. Croissants, pastries and chocolate mousse in France
8. Pastries at Kringla in Norway
9. Churros in Mexico There were ok for DD in Mexico, but the churros in AK were not ok because they were stored on the same tray as unsafe muffins.
10. Mickey Rice krispie treats Packaged ones were not safe, but the ones at Chef Mickey's were safe.

Any hope? I'm guessing the snacks will be harder than the meals. Sorry this is so long, and thanks in advance for any info that anyone can give me!

ETA: I am already planning to add all of his allergies to our ADRs. I'm mainly looking for the specifics mentioned above, and any other experiences people can share with me.

I've added my input above. Our DD is allergic to peas, peanuts, and tree nuts, but not coconut, so I'm not sure of some of the items that DD had may have had coconut in them.

Snacks and desserts are definitely the hardest. DD can eat Mickey bars but not the popcorn or soft pretzels. Churros were ok in Epcot but not AK, so ask every time!

DD's new favorite place is LTT for lunch. There's a chocolate cake on the menu that is safe. She loves ice cream but gets sick of eating it for dessert every night, so we always go to LTT now.

Also, DD had Make Your Own Smores for dessert at Narcoossee's once.

 

[gingerfeathers]

I'm also an adult who is allergic to peanuts and tree nuts, and my mother is allergic to shellfish. We've traveled to Disney together before (and will do so again in September), so I have been in your shoes! The previous posters have provided you some great information!

I agree about 'Ohana for dinner--I (sadly) avoid that one. But for the most part the restaurants have all been very accommodating about my allergy and will explain and answer any questions I have. Even Coral Reef was great about my mom's allergy.

One option you might have: You could always have one of the grocery delivery services in the area bring snacks to your room. Otherwise, there are some 100% nut-free bakeries that will ship cookies. I've seen them mentioned on here before, but Eleni's has nut free cookies: http://elenis.com/page/nut-free/ It would be a fun surprise to go to your room and find cookies waiting for you that you know are safe!

Best of luck to you!

 

[bangzoom6877]

I'm also an adult who is allergic to peanuts and tree nuts, and my mother is allergic to shellfish. We've traveled to Disney together before (and will do so again in September), so I have been in your shoes! The previous posters have provided you some great information!

I agree about 'Ohana for dinner--I (sadly) avoid that one. But for the most part the restaurants have all been very accommodating about my allergy and will explain and answer any questions I have. Even Coral Reef was great about my mom's allergy.

One option you might have: You could always have one of the grocery delivery services in the area bring snacks to your room. Otherwise, there are some 100% nut-free bakeries that will ship cookies. I've seen them mentioned on here before, but Eleni's has nut free cookies: http://elenis.com/page/nut-free/ It would be a fun surprise to go to your room and find cookies waiting for you that you know are safe!

Best of luck to you!

We went to Ohana last summer, before knowing about his allergies. In fact, the funny thing is, he used to sometimes eat peanut butter and nutella sandwiches for lunch and never had a reaction to anything other than shellfish, until he ate the one pecan in November. Because the blood test also showed a peanut allergy, the allergist said to avoid them and all other tree nuts as well. Anyway, about Ohana...although we enjoyed our meal there, we were not too impressed by it. We much prefer Kona Cafe. Not that Ohana was bad, just wasn't a place we'd return to. So it's not disappointing to not be able to eat there again.

Eleni's is a NYC based bakery...they are very expensive so I never bought anything there, since I can bake cookies myself at home. Also, DS8 could eat a few varieties of Oreos and he loves them. We don't eat cookies that often so he has done fine with those. Plus Pepperidge Farm has a few varieties he could eat as well. But, it would be nice as a special vacation treat to have cookies waiting in the room at WDW! That would be well worth the cost to see how happy he would be at that surprise! Also, we drive down so we usually get a few things at Wal Mart anyway for breakfast (cereal, etc.) in the villa. We could also pick up some safe treats for him over there.

 

[Disney_Princess83]

In fact, the funny thing is, he used to sometimes eat peanut butter and nutella sandwiches for lunch and never had a reaction to anything other than shellfish, until he ate the one pecan in November. Because the blood test also showed a peanut allergy, the allergist said to avoid them and all other tree nuts as well. .

I used to eat peanuts by the handful! I absolutely loved them And then suddenly one day, I became extremely ill from them. We didn't realise at first but the problem was ongoing (because I kept eating them) and when we went to the doctor, the first thing he asked was "Have you been eating peanuts?" I hadn't realised because I had always been able to eat them before.

Most people who are allergic to peanuts avoid all nuts, regardless of allergy because cross contamination is extremely high.

 

[bangzoom6877]

I used to eat peanuts by the handful! I absolutely loved them And then suddenly one day, I became extremely ill from them. We didn't realise at first but the problem was ongoing (because I kept eating them) and when we went to the doctor, the first thing he asked was "Have you been eating peanuts?" I hadn't realised because I had always been able to eat them before.

Most people who are allergic to peanuts avoid all nuts, regardless of allergy because cross contamination is extremely high.

Yes, I totally understand! It is scary how these things can come on so suddenly. What's even more scary, is that the reaction could change from mild one time to life-threatening the next. I wish I had the food allergies instead of him. I feel so bad for him that he can't enjoy certain things, especially since he was almost 8 years old when this came about and had to completely change things he was eating like snacks and some lunches. But on the positive side, and we focus on this with him, we have discovered a whole new bunch of foods for him that he loves, that we never would have known about if it hadn't been for this allergy. I have done extensive research to find various alternatives for him, so he could still enjoy eating and focus on the positive. He also enjoys the attention he gets at WDW. On our Carnival cruise last week, they treated him like a king! And it is like this at pretty much all restaurants now. Places around here have been terrific and for that I am grateful. We bring our kids everywhere with us and we take them out to dinner once a week religiously, so they enjoy restaurants very much. I'm so happy we could still enjoy that with them despite this terrible circumstance!

 

[kiford]

I don't know for sure about WDW although I would think it's the same practices as on the Disney cruises. I am allergic to all seafood (not just shellfish), spinach and kiwi fruit. Every time I ordered something at dinner, they would warn me if it was made with or contained something that was pre-packaged because they generally could not confirm the contents or any potential cross-contamination in food that was not prepared fully from scratch by DCL.

If you can take pre-packaged snacks that you are sure are nut free that's the most sure route. However, if they follow the same practices as DCL, then you should also be able to avoid pre-packaged foods at WDW that are not certified as nut free. If they don't know, they will probably assume that they are not safe and won't recommend.

For the rest of foods that are not pre-packaged, the kitchen/chef will handle that. When I ate breakfast at Kouzzina, they even cooked my potatoes in fat that is kept separate from any other common items that might be cooked in it like seafood. At Jiko, they made a side dish for me which would normally have spinach in it and substituted arugula. They went far beyond what any restaurant near me has ever done for my allergy avoidance and even raised my awareness of how I should avoid problems.

If there are particular restaurants you want to go to but are unsure, perhaps you can call and ask some questions to reassure yourself of the menu items and whether there are options and processes to avoid problems. Then you'll know which of the restaurants are the best choices.

 

[jlk806]

When you make your ADRs tell them about your son's allergy and they will note that in your reservation. When you get to the restaurant, they will already know about it and the chef will come out to you and describe in detail what your son can and cannot eat. They will also make whatever your son wants (granted they have the ingredients) if the menu selection gets too limited.

My daughter also has nut allergies (peanut and all tree nuts) plus a dairy allergy which is also very tricky and when we were last in WDW it was totally fine and she ate delicious, custom ordered meals.

My DS5 has an allergy to treenuts (severe, and we found out about it at Disney World), and coconut.

We had a great experience at all the restaurants we visited after discovering his allergy. Here is where we ate":
Rainforest Cafe (Animal Kingdom)
Chef Mickeys Breakfast & Dinner
Crystal Palace Lunch
HolyWood & Vine lunch
Cape May Cafe, Breakfast
Tonys Town Square
San Angel Inn
Garden Grill
Ohana dinner
Mickeys Backyard BBQ
Cinderellas Royal Table


The chefs are great they will take care of all allergies and make sure you stay safe.