Other vacation spots for food allergies?

[BeckyScott]

We are (sadly) looking at other potential vacation spots besides Disney, and not going this year. It's the money thing, you know. We still want to do a vacation, just a cheaper one.

One of the biggest issues we have is that DS has so many food allergies. Disney was fab-u-lous. I don't know that any other vacation is going to be able to match up food-wise, but I thought I'd ask here and see if anyone had any ideas or past experiences.

I told DH I thought what we were probably looking at, is packing food in a cooler and getting hotel rooms with kitchenettes.

DH and I have both traveled quite a bit around the US, when we were both younger, and there are so many places we could take the kids. We could do a road trip to the Grand Canyon/Sedona area with a side trip to Roswell. (they're all into the alien thing) I would like to take them to Washington DC although I don't know if that would be cheaper than Disney in the end. We could just head west and do the Mt. Rushmore area.

We could stay closer to home and go to St Louis and do the Arch and Six Flags etc. We could go back to Branson for a couple of days.

The cheapest and most allergy-friendly would be to go visit my dad for a couple of days, because then we'd have full access to a kitchen, but aside from visiting family (which is important) there isn't anything for the kids to do.

Is there any theme park or major attraction in the US that deals with food allergies as well as Disney?

 

[mechurchlady]

http://www.staystudio6.com/
I love Motel 6 and I used Studio ^ in Indianapolis area about 3 years ago. I swear by them and they are no frills but worth it. I was able to cook up a nice dinner there. Microwave, stove, fridge with tiny freezer, cabinets with pans. I tell you there are lots of places out there that have kitchenettes.

They have them in Phoenix, Tuscon, and Albuquerque.
Texas in season has a seaworld and six flags and a great gluten free restaurant. Story Inidana has a great dude who had the best elk and scallops before I started freaking out on scallops.

 

[BeckyScott]

So now I'm going to answer my own question. But it might be useful for someone else in the future.

I went to the Silver Dollar City website yesterday to check ticket prices, and clicked on the restaurants link to try to remember what all they had there. On that page there was another link for "food allergies". Apparantly they do have a protocol in place. There are lists of safe foods, but they are broken up by specific allergy. Since we have more than one, it was a little hard to figure out, but not any harder than the info Disney sends. But I guess if you call them in advance and tell them what you need and where you'll be, they will "send" food to the restaurant that day for you.

We would still need a hotel with a kitchenette, as we wouldn't be going to SDC every day. But it would be nice to be able to eat there without having to drag food along. DS really has pretty simple needs as far as meals, last year at Disney all he kept wanting was hot dogs and french fries, if you have all-meat hot dogs with no filler and can make a seperate batch of fries (not a big deal), the only odd thing is the bun. Really all we need are some Ener-G buns, not like he needs a whole elaborate meal cooked up for him.

SDC also owns a water park and I clicked over to their website but there was no food allergy link there, so I don't know if that service would apply to the water park too.

I had posted in the "other spots you might want to visit" thread about our last visit to SDC. They do have a version of a GAC. What they do not have is: a great deal of air conditioning, and very few "medium" rides. They have a kiddie area (includes stuff like teacups) and then total madness, not much in the middle.

 

[kaffinito]

Thanks for the info on Silver Dollar City BeckyScott! That looks like a really cool place to check out. Since they have protocol for food allergies, it looks like a good place for us to go.

I am not sure if our local indoor water park in Frankenmuth, Michigan has something for food allergies, but they have a limited buffet, (with no products containing tree nuts and large signs regarding peanut allergies) and there is a nearby chicken dinner restaurant where you can ask the server about the food. They are very good about that there, but I haven't had to call them about special meals, etc for multiple allergies. It is a great place to go to if you're in the mood for a ton of Christmas lights and decorations. The whole town is lit up and looks very beautiful!

 

[Selket]

I can suggest others but not all of them are cheaper than Disney.

I live near Washington, DC and there are lots of things to do here that are free (like the Smithsonian museums). My younger son has two serious allergies (peanut/tree nut and shellfish) - if the allergies are very complex I am not sure how well the restaurants can respond. I suppose it is like going anywhere in a city out to eat.

What about a beach vacation? We found some pretty cheap rates at North Myrtle Beach, SC - we like this company: http://www.northmyrtlebeachtravel.com/ We have stayed in the Seapoint many times and each apartment is a condo so the niceness depends on the owner of course. I've never been disappointed. You can walk right out to the beach and there has always been a huge tidal pool and some smaller pools that form at low tide that the kids *love* playing in - it is like having saltwater swimming pools all over. I've not seen that in front of the other condos there. There are a ton of things to do at Myrtle Beach. We usually eat out at the Hard Rock and other spots where we've had good luck. Or save the money and cook yourself and spend it on shopping and other stuff.

Of course a Disney cruise would be great for the food allergies - not so great for the pocketbook. Disney is having some good deals on some cruises but not during the busy times.

I've looked into renting a house around Yosemite. In the end I think it would cost us about the same to do stuff like that as go to Disney - we'd have to get across the country.

Another place we've had good luck is with Great Wolf Lodge - which is a water park type resort. There is one near us in Williamsburg, VA. They seemed always very helpful in dealing with his food allergies. I don't find it cheap though - sometimes the rooms are $230-$300 a night for a typical room but it includes the water park - not the food though.

Myrtle Beach is the cheapest I can find. There are also interesting timeshare rentals on ebay - I like the old Fairfield resorts (owned by Wyndam now or something else) - my SIL owns into these and they are always nice properties. Same company owns the Bonnet Creek condos on the Disney property (I think!).

Good luck!

 

[1stluvispooh]

For us a cheaper vacation is going to the Outer Banks of NC and renting a beach house. Yes unfortunately this means that I'm cooking all the time but I actually like to cook and well it's worth it to know that DD isn't going to have a reaction. Also I can always talk my sister to coming with us so that means that DH and I get a date night and don't have to pay a sitter.

 

[sleepingbean]

We are in the same boat...want to do more disney, but probably can't / shouldn't spend that much money again this year!
So we're planning some close to home weekend trips (Chicago, Wisconsin).
We find chains that advertise gluten free and we've had luck that way, but nothing great so far. It always pales in comparison to the Disney touch with allergies! But we still have fun.

Staying at a suite that has some kitchen features should be helpful, along with grocery stores nearbye, a cooler and a listing of local restaurants that can cater. In bigger cities, like Chicago, there are actually quite a few choices!

So, that is our spring trip plans....the Zoo and Museums in Chicago coupled with a trip the Chicago disney store! LOL
i'll take what I can get

 

[mechurchlady]

I had no problem in Chicago. Search online for celiac groups in the town you plan to visit. That is how I found some great restaurants in Moline, Chicago, and San Antonio. Do not for get that pier that has an amusement park.

 

[sleepingbean]

mechur - any recommendations for us in Chicago? We were in Moline last weekend to see Disney on Ice! We didn't eat there, just drove down to see the show (about 2 hour drive and we visited family in the area)

 

[mechurchlady]

http://www.glutenfreeceliacweb.com/2008/09/17/gluten-free-illinois/
I started with this site. It will take tie s I LOVE food.

http://www.vincichicago.com/menu.aspx?s=62
Nice restaurant but not really a kid type place.

http://csagc.park-ridge.il.us/restaurantlist.html
long list of GF restaurants

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=resources/lifestyle_community/food/restaurants&id=6168881
Mentions a wheat free bakery

http://www.glutenfreesweets.com/
a GF/CF bakery but not soy free, sigh

http://www.wildfirerestaurant.com/second_level/menu/celiac.htm

http://www.restaurantnewsresource.com/article36565.html
Uno Pizza

 

[sleepingbean]

so fun! Thanks

 

[goin2themouse]

We try to stick to more metropolitan areas when we travel, as they're more prone to have chain restaurants. I detest eating at chains, but when we travel, it's necessary. I have a list of chain restaurants that offer allergen menus/protocols, and when we're ready to eat, I'll plug a few into my GPS and see which ones are closest, then choose from there. I keep the updated menus printed out in a folder to take with me, since it's always iffy to find a knowledgeable manager who has the allergen menu and/or access to print one out.

NYC isn't necessarily an inexpensive vacation, but Allergic Girl has compiled a list of eateries where she's dined safely in the Great NYC area. I'll definitely use the list next time I'm in Manhattan.

List: http://allergicgirlrecommends.blogspot.com/

 

[goin2themouse]

Giving this thread a bump to ask if anyone is familiar with Busch Gardens' approach to food allergies?