Overly restrictive allergy rules?

[Rach3975]

We were in Disney last month, and I'm wondering if our experience is common. I've always heard how wonderful Disney is at accommodating allergies, and I'm glad that they are. I know there are people who couldn't eat there at all without the allergy menus. But our experience was a little different.

My 15 year old has a seafood allergy. It's almost always easy to work around on the regular menu, but since they had a space to check it off and notify the restaurants we did it. Our main concern is usually a shared fryer, and we figured this way we'd know when fried foods weren't safe for him. When we were actually there, most of the TS restaurants we ate at insisted that DS order off the allergy menu. The problem is that the allergy menu was free of ALL common allergens. So for example, they didn't want to bring him mashed potatoes because of the dairy. Really? He can have dairy with no issue. We ended up having to tell some of the restaurants that it was an error and he wasn't allergic. I'd accept and appreciate it if I felt they were really trying to keep him safe, but this was entirely Disney trying to protect themselves from lawsuits. It makes DS less safe when we have to lie and conceal his allergy, but that may be our only option at Disney. Has anyone else tried to eat from the regular menu after Disney knew there was an allergy?

 

[mommycrawford]

Honestly, not the same experience....At buffets, you can always get a chef to walk you through, and there are lots of lists handed out now, as well. Gluten was our culprit, and actually, one time, a chef that had said a soup was gluten free actually had macaroni in it!...(Our chef had been transferred from another restaurant where pasta was added at the table, so her error was an accident!) My DD is only sensitive, not celiac, so no bleeding issue, but those are the reasons their allergy service has changed.

My suggestion for the future is to email special diets, and ask directly which places have dedicated fryers to avoid cross contamination with seafood, or whatever else you need to know. We have been emailed lists of places with gf stuff and where it is sold; perhaps they can do that for you.

 

[Mainemama]

We have never had that issue. The allergy menus list all top 8, but that doesn’t mean that all the items on it are free of all of them. You can also ask to substitute sides. We ask for both menus, so we know what our options are. Your issue may have been individual servers who didn’t understand the allergies/menu. Hopefully in the future, you can ask to speak directly to the chef if you are getting nowhere with the allergy menu. You are right that they will err on the side of caution.

 

[mom2grace]

I'm with you, the allergy menus are a joke. I'm allergic to mango and shellfish, so a top 8 and one that is not. I HATE the allergy menus......I do appreciate a chef at Boma but otherwise don't use it. (I order what I want off of which ever menu I prefer). I think some servers don't understand food allergies and this leads to the confusion.

 

[ILuvDisney78]

We were in Disney last month, and I'm wondering if our experience is common. I've always heard how wonderful Disney is at accommodating allergies, and I'm glad that they are. I know there are people who couldn't eat there at all without the allergy menus. But our experience was a little different.

My 15 year old has a seafood allergy. It's almost always easy to work around on the regular menu, but since they had a space to check it off and notify the restaurants we did it. Our main concern is usually a shared fryer, and we figured this way we'd know when fried foods weren't safe for him. When we were actually there, most of the TS restaurants we ate at insisted that DS order off the allergy menu. The problem is that the allergy menu was free of ALL common allergens. So for example, they didn't want to bring him mashed potatoes because of the dairy. Really? He can have dairy with no issue. We ended up having to tell some of the restaurants that it was an error and he wasn't allergic. I'd accept and appreciate it if I felt they were really trying to keep him safe, but this was entirely Disney trying to protect themselves from lawsuits. It makes DS less safe when we have to lie and conceal his allergy, but that may be our only option at Disney. Has anyone else tried to eat from the regular menu after Disney knew there was an allergy?

I also have had a different experience. My son has severe dairy, peanut and tree nut allergies and my husband has a severe shellfish allergy. We always order off the allergy menus; at TS/buffets we speak with the chef and at QS we speak with the Manager. When my son was younger and a picky eater the chefs at TS would even prepare foods that he liked that were not on the menu. The allergy menus are separated into allergen sections (gluten, dairy, shellfish, peanut, etc.) so as long as your son orders an item from the shellfish allergy section it should not be a problem. The only allergens they should be concerned about are the ones you informed them about. I'm thinking there was some type of miscommunication; did the chef tell you this or your server?

 

[Dr.Mrs.ScroogeMcDuck]

I also just had a similar issue in our most recent trip. I have an allergy to 1 spice. Every restaurant insisted on giving me the allergy menu, but they also gave me the regular menu. After explaining my allergy, every member of wait staff checked ingredients with the chefs and I had no issues ordering off the regular menus.

 

[kiford]

I am allergic to all seafood and I hate the allergy menus. Half of what's on those menus has seafood (or at least it did a couple of years ago) in it because these menus are written for common allergies and shellfish allergies are more common than all seafood allergies. I usually discard it, tell them that I don't need it, or I just look off DH's menu and order from that. I've had servers go back to the kitchen to confirm that what I'm ordering doesn't have seafood, or confirm that the fryer hasn't been used for seafood, or make substitutions (I'm also allergic to spinach) but I've never had them refuse me anything. I normally end up eating off the regular menu because far too many things on the so-called allergy menu are more toxic for me than most of what's on the regular. And I do check off fish, shellfish, and Other on the ADR site when booking. We'll see if that's an issue this upcoming trip or not.

 

[Rach3975]

Thanks, everyone. Sounds like maybe the issue was with a few specific servers rather than Disney as a whole. Knowing that makes handling future trips easier.

The allergy menus are separated into allergen sections (gluten, dairy, shellfish, peanut, etc.) so as long as your son orders an item from the shellfish allergy section it should not be a problem. The only allergens they should be concerned about are the ones you informed them about. I'm thinking there was some type of miscommunication; did the chef tell you this or your server?

We dealt with the servers, not a chef. We didn't have any issue at the buffets because they handed us a printed list that told us which items were shellfish-free. So thinking back, we had 5 TS meals, 2 of which were buffets. At 1 of the TS restaurants what he wanted was on the allergy menu, so it never came up. So it was just 2 places (Liberty Tree Tavern and 50's Prime Time Cafe).

This was our first trip since DS's allergy was diagnosed. I don't know if the allergy menus have been pared down from what they used to be or if it's just the specific restaurants we ate at, but there were often only 2-3 options for him on the allergy menu even though the regular menu might have had 6+ seafood-free dishes. On the allergy menu, a lot of things were listed for multiple allergies. I may not have this 100% right since I'm doing it from memory, but I'm thinking of an order of fried chicken on the allergy menu at 50's Prime Time Cafe. I think it was served with green beans and potatoes. It was listed as being safe for several of the major allergies, including shellfish. On the regular menu it comes with mashed potatoes, but on the allergy menu they wouldn't serve it that way since that contains dairy which makes it no longer safe for one of the allergies they've got it listed for. If there had been a dedicated shellfish-free section on the TS menus like there was at the buffets, we probably never would have run into a problem.

 

[Lisa F]

Thanks, everyone. Sounds like maybe the issue was with a few specific servers rather than Disney as a whole. Knowing that makes handling future trips easier.



We dealt with the servers, not a chef. We didn't have any issue at the buffets because they handed us a printed list that told us which items were shellfish-free. So thinking back, we had 5 TS meals, 2 of which were buffets. At 1 of the TS restaurants what he wanted was on the allergy menu, so it never came up. So it was just 2 places (Liberty Tree Tavern and 50's Prime Time Cafe).

This was our first trip since DS's allergy was diagnosed. I don't know if the allergy menus have been pared down from what they used to be or if it's just the specific restaurants we ate at, but there were often only 2-3 options for him on the allergy menu even though the regular menu might have had 6+ seafood-free dishes. On the allergy menu, a lot of things were listed for multiple allergies. I may not have this 100% right since I'm doing it from memory, but I'm thinking of an order of fried chicken on the allergy menu at 50's Prime Time Cafe. I think it was served with green beans and potatoes. It was listed as being safe for several of the major allergies, including shellfish. On the regular menu it comes with mashed potatoes, but on the allergy menu they wouldn't serve it that way since that contains dairy which makes it no longer safe for one of the allergies they've got it listed for. If there had been a dedicated shellfish-free section on the TS menus like there was at the buffets, we probably never would have run into a problem.

No one wants the hassle but for the future maybe ask to speak to a chef or manager if the server is being too rigid. Not all servers are equal and it could be that one of them just does not understand allergies well and is trying to keep it simple for themselves... but if they are over their head understanding it then they should get someone who does.

 

[kiford]

I think it was served with green beans and potatoes. It was listed as being safe for several of the major allergies, including shellfish. On the regular menu it comes with mashed potatoes, but on the allergy menu they wouldn't serve it that way since that contains dairy which makes it no longer safe for one of the allergies they've got it listed for.

Maybe it's because it was ordered off the allergy menu. It's probably cooked in a different part of the kitchen so maybe the issue is that they can't prepare it differently (i.e., including mashed potatoes instead of whatever is on the allergy menu) because it's something that can't be cooked in that part of the kitchen without contamination. And if the order is labelled as coming from the allergy menu, they won't do substitutions from the regular menu because they are afraid that someone in the non-allergy section of the kitchen could do something to cause contamination that they are unaware of. It seems that they're essentially giving you a higher level of guarantee that food is allergen free when they're cooking something ordered off the allergy menu and to make changes could potentially degrade that guarantee.

You'll probably find more options by ordering off the regular menu, and just checking cooking method and ingredients. I've never had problems doing that, but it depends on your level of comfort. I have to do that with every restaurant I ever go to so I'm fine with it.

 

[PrincessV]

I have a shellfish allergy and have never been forced to order from an allergy menu, though one has been provided to me at various places. I have been informed at a couple places that a single fryer is used for multiple dishes, including shrimp, so fried anything was a bad idea, and that sushi could be cross-contaminated, and in general, if I indicate on the reservation that there is an allergy, they tend to be VERY concerned about it. I've tried explaining that my allergy isn't severe and cross-contamination isn't an issue (no need for a separate prep/grilling surface, for instance), but they, understandably, don't want that kind of liability. So I don't always bother noting the allergy and just order something that doesn't have shellfish in it.

 

[ryansstitch]

Allergy menus are evil! I hate them! Tantrum over, lol. Yes, I had those problems. I’m allergic to corn, so I can’t even eat the vast majority of things on the allergy menu. My favorite is when the servers insist I have something gluten free. I’m not allergic to wheat, just corn, and gluten free products usually have corn. *le sigh* I just insist on seeing the chef and tell the server I can’t eat the food on the allergy menu. Many of the chefs seem not to like the allergy menus either. I’ve even had one tell me, “I know it’s worthless to you, but they make us give them anyway.” I think they do this to cut down on chef visits.

We were in Disney last month, and I'm wondering if our experience is common. I've always heard how wonderful Disney is at accommodating allergies, and I'm glad that they are. I know there are people who couldn't eat there at all without the allergy menus. But our experience was a little different.

My 15 year old has a seafood allergy. It's almost always easy to work around on the regular menu, but since they had a space to check it off and notify the restaurants we did it. Our main concern is usually a shared fryer, and we figured this way we'd know when fried foods weren't safe for him. When we were actually there, most of the TS restaurants we ate at insisted that DS order off the allergy menu. The problem is that the allergy menu was free of ALL common allergens. So for example, they didn't want to bring him mashed potatoes because of the dairy. Really? He can have dairy with no issue. We ended up having to tell some of the restaurants that it was an error and he wasn't allergic. I'd accept and appreciate it if I felt they were really trying to keep him safe, but this was entirely Disney trying to protect themselves from lawsuits. It makes DS less safe when we have to lie and conceal his allergy, but that may be our only option at Disney. Has anyone else tried to eat from the regular menu after Disney knew there was an allergy?