Our experiences of Soy and Peanut allergy dining Jan 2008

[kidzmom3]

We just arrived home from our vacation. My husband has a severe allergy to peanuts (legumes actually) and Soy. This can be difficult as many things are made with soybean oil. Here are our experiences:

all bread products were off limits-all chefs told him that they do not make their own bread products and they could not guarantee that they were safe. For soy. They knew if they had peanuts.

no butter-they use margarine and butter replacements. We asked everywhere. We never found real butter, even in the best restaurants.

Counter service-very knowledgeable and able to look up allergy info on all of their products. Peanut and soy free brownie they offer was really gross. Most deserts were off limits, sometimes soy sometimes peanut. He could eat the cheesecake at the Electric Umbrella.

We ate at Chef Mickey/Crystal Palace/Mama Melrose/Coral Reef/Garden Grille
San Angel Inn/1900 Park Fare.
Every place a chef came out and spoke with him. At buffets they took him around and showed him what he could and could not eat. All seemed very knowledgeable and took their time.

The best was at Mama Melrose, the worst was 1900 Park Fare.
1900 Park Fare seemed rushed and sweepingly said everything over there is safe. A little hard to believe, so he did avoid those. Perhaps the chef was correct, but every other chef went dish to dish and explained ingredients.
At Mama Melrose both the server and the chef were fantastic. He came over, made suggestions, modifications the food was delicious. The server was knowledgeable. They asked if a culinary student could help with preparation of the food as he was working on food allergy prep. It was still quick and very delicious.

Just a side note San Angel Inn is not for the soy allergic. They cook absolutely every dish they prepare with soybean oil or cook it in soybean oil. The chef was very nice but totally thrown by the allergy. He did prepare a special chicken breast but the side dish had to be angel hair pasta with olive oil. They sent someone into a main Epcot kitchen to obtain the oil. They were very kind and really went out of their way. Unfortunately, the food was totally bland, dry and tasteless. But they tried to keep him safe, the most important thing. It also took a long time. We did appreciate their effort but would not eat there again with his allergies.

If you have any questions feel free

 

[ENSOCK]

Thank you for your post. Thank god we do not have to deal with that problem. But it is great to know that Disney was able to help you!

 

[familyS]

Thanks for posting.

Sounds like the 1900 Park Fare chef was almost indifferent compared to the other chefs. Glad to hear you were able to eat safely, though

 

[CamColt]

Thanks for the report!

My DS is allergic to peanuts and we have always been impressed with how well it is handled. They really go above and beyond to ensure all safety.

 

[Kris10luvsDisney]

My DD has a severe peanut allergy and we feel very safe w/ her at Disney. We have had excellent response to our situation and we feel confident in what the chefs tell us is safe vs. non-safe. They do seem very knowledgable and understanding of how serious an issue it is. The chef at Chef Mickey's even sent someone out to get my DD some gummy bears for dessert b/c the ice cream bar wasn't safe for her! That is just one example of what makes Disney so magical!

 

[CamColt]

This was such a great post, I received a request to have it moved to the Disabilities Board. I have copied it there so that it may reach more people who may be interested.

 

[Davey-D-99]

Thanks for the post...
We are going on our very first family WDW trip in April and my DW and DS are both very allergic to peanuts...

My wife is very worried after reading that most of CS menus have PB&J sandwiches In our family that's like serving poison!! Quite frankly, for us it's scary to see PB on any menu.

Can anyone recommend any CS restaurants for lunch at the parks that does not serve any peanut products?

Are they careful about the peanut butter use at CS?...We have just recently had a bad cross contamination reaction and we certainly don't want it happening during a fun day at WDW.

I was reassured after making my ADR 's for TS that they are cautious about allergies.

 

[mom2aredhead]

My 3 yr old niece is allergic to dairy and soy (but is fine with peanuts - go figure) and it is usually the soy that gives my sister more of a problem when they attempt to eat out. It was helpful to hear your experience as she is in the planning stages of her first trip.
People don't realize how many products contain soy - it is really difficult for her to eat sometimes!

 

[ThisMomLuvsDisney]

Any PB&J offerings at WDW that we saw were the pre-packaged "Uncrustables". They actually serve them right in the package and the diner would unwrap them at their table. I don't know if this would be at every single place on property, but every place that we encountered PB&J on the menu it was the purchased pre-packaged type. I hope that helps a little with one cross contamination issue.

Have a safe and fun vavcation

 

[Benducci]

I have to say I have found most of the restaurants were very accomodating for allergies - I have a dairy allergy. Each time we ate out int he restaurants, a chef would come out & talk to me about what I could eat or would like to eat & most often I had a special made meal. For buffets, I had a chef walk me through & tell me what I could eat or not eat. If I wanted something that their place did not have, they woudl send someone to another restaturant to get it for me. It made me feel good!

 

[Davey-D-99]

 

[kofduke]

This is great information - while I am hopeful that DS's upcoming food challenge will shown he's outgrown his egg allergy, it will be good to know if not!

 

[rsquare]

My DW has an alergy to the enzyme in cheese so it really throws a wrench in a lot of common restaurant foods. I will say that even at Victoria and Alberts, as long as you let them know in advance, they can and will work around any alergies.

But it's always good to ask...