Peanut Allergy and Cooking Oil

[Aletha]

I'm planning my first trip to Disney world and I have a severe peanut allergy. I know the chefs come to your table to talk to you and there are special allergy free menus, but if there are restaraunts that have peanut sauces or cook with peanut oil I would rather not eat there. Is there any resource online that shows a list of oils the restaraunts cook with? Or is that not even an issue because they all cook with vegetable oil, or something different? It's fairly easy to avoid actual peanuts, but it's hard to avoid the oil.

 

[Andreas Mom]

You should ask over on the disABILITES board, they are awesome. Or look up menus at allears and see what restaurants look like something you might like then possibly call or email the restaurant or Disney. I would think that most would not use actual nut oils expect for more ethnic food places.

 

[kiford]

I can't say anything specifically with respect to peanut oils or nut allergies but I'm allergic to seafood. When I order something in a WDW restaurant that needs to be fried (like potatoes), they always tell me that it will be fried in oil that has never contacted any seafood and is kept separate from oil used to fry seafood. So if you have a peanut allergy and ask about cooking in peanut oil, I would think that they have processes and/or areas that can accommodate that. But definitely ask and do more investigation. I know on board the DCL ships, they have either separate areas or separate kitchens (depending on the ship) for people with various allergies - seafood, gluten, nuts, etc. and they take it quite seriously so I would expect that they take it every bit as seriously at WDW.

 

[Pixie Dust ✨]

'Ohana puts peanut sauce on the tables & there's really no way around that. You can ask for it to be kept away from your table but you wouldn't be able to prevent it from being on all surrounding tables.

 

[Metalliman98]

'Ohana puts peanut sauce on the tables & there's really no way around that. You can ask for it to be kept away from your table but you wouldn't be able to prevent it from being on all surrounding tables.

I would probably avoid 'Ohana as well. Our son has a peanut allergy and we are not going to take him there for dinner as most of the meats come with peanut sauce, just too hard to avoid.

I haven't heard of Disney using peanut oil, but we are most familiar with Disneyland, and every time we have asked there they say they don't use peanut oil.

I would be wary of Asian restaurants though, since they use peanuts as an ingredient and would be more likely to use peanut oil. If you're planning to go to Nine Dragons or the like, I'd make especially sure to ask there.

 

[steph12]

I would probably avoid 'Ohana as well. Our son has a peanut allergy and we are not going to take him there for dinner as most of the meats come with peanut sauce, just too hard to avoid.

This is not true. It is NOT used on any meats that are cooked at Ohana. My son has a peanut allergy and we go to Ohana every time we visit Disney. It's one of his favorite restaurants. The chef comes to the table every time and will tell you that the only peanuts used in the restaurant are in the peanut sauce that is brought to the table separately. They can just not bring that to the table, and then you will not have any contact with peanuts at your table.

 

[Metalliman98]

This is not true. It is NOT used on any meats that are cooked at Ohana. My son has a peanut allergy and we go to Ohana every time we visit Disney. It's one of his favorite restaurants. The chef comes to the table every time and will tell you that the only peanuts used in the restaurant are in the peanut sauce that is brought to the table separately. They can just not bring that to the table, and then you will not have any contact with peanuts at your table.

At the table, yes, I have no doubt that the chefs can ensure that it doesn't come to the table. Our concern, with it being such a prominent part of the menu (every skewer and appetizer comes with peanut sauce) is possible cross contamination in the kitchen. Disney chefs are wonderful people, but they can't guarantee allergen-free (and I wouldn't expect them to be able to). Kitchens can be chaotic, and with the peanut sauce being such a prominent part of the dinner offerings, all it takes is one slip. Extreme? Maybe. But then, our son experienced an allergic reaction (just some hives luckily) when he had to use the bathroom and the closest one available at the time was at Rancho Del Zocalo, a Mexican restaurant at Disneyland that uses peanuts. So we choose to play it safe, much as I'd like to try that place out. When he is older and can understand the risks and make his own decisions, perhaps we will eat there, but for now, we are avoiding, for our peace of mind.

 

[Aletha]

Thanks for the advice. Ohana is easy to avoid. No, I wouldn't even want to smell the peanut sauce in the restaraunt! Anyway, there are so many other delicious restaurants to choose from. I tend to take precautions to the extreme because my mouth and throat swell and it's awful! It would ruin my whole day. Also easy to avoid the Asian restaurants. I live in Oregon so it's rare to cook in peanut oil but I've heard that in a lot of restaurants in the south they do, so I wondered if that is true in Disney world. I was thinking about Art Smiths Homecoming and it would be sad to not be able to eat the fried chicken. Of course I could probably call Disney Dining to ask for specifics I guess.

At the table, yes, I have no doubt that the chefs can ensure that it doesn't come to the table. Our concern, with it being such a prominent part of the menu (every skewer and appetizer comes with peanut sauce) is possible cross contamination in the kitchen. Disney chefs are wonderful people, but they can't guarantee allergen-free (and I wouldn't expect them to be able to). Kitchens can be chaotic, and with the peanut sauce being such a prominent part of the dinner offerings, all it takes is one slip. Extreme? Maybe. But then, our son experienced an allergic reaction (just some hives luckily) when he had to use the bathroom and the closest one available at the time was at Rancho Del Zocalo, a Mexican restaurant at Disneyland that uses peanuts. So we choose to play it safe, much as I'd like to try that place out. When he is older and can understand the risks and make his own decisions, perhaps we will eat there, but for now, we are avoiding, for our peace of mind.

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[Betty Rohrer]

Thanks for the advice. Ohana is easy to avoid. No, I wouldn't even want to smell the peanut sauce in the restaraunt! Anyway, there are so many other delicious restaurants to choose from. I tend to take precautions to the extreme because my mouth and throat swell and it's awful! It would ruin my whole day. Also easy to avoid the Asian restaurants. I live in Oregon so it's rare to cook in peanut oil but I've heard that in a lot of restaurants in the south they do, so I wondered if that is true in Disney world. I was thinking about Art Smiths Homecoming and it would be sad to not be able to eat the fried chicken. Of course I could probably call Disney Dining to ask for specifics I guess.

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even with the call I would be prepared to ask every time as restaurants can change without dining knowing. also remember a number of restaurants share kitchens Ohana and Kona come to mind. from what I remember from trip with the grandson who has peanut allergy most table serves that had bread he was not allowed. he also had a reaction while in line for a ride with no food around us and we could not see any peanuts or peanut butter as snacks are allowed to be brought into parks and you see them being eaten in lines all the time so be prepared for this also

 

[bookbabe626]

If you list the allergy on your ADR, my experience has been that the server won't even pour you a glass of water until the chef comes out to speak with you. They take allergies VERY seriously at WDW. It's probably one of the safest places in the world to vacation with an allergy.

 

[Dis703]

Ohana and Asian style restaurants are the only ones that come to mind. The majority of restaurants we've dined at seem to use canola as their primary oil.