peanut allergy HELP

[NJDVCmember]

Going in August with a friends son who is Extremly allergic to peanuts, peanut oil, even the smell of peanuts can be fatal.....

Anyone out there that can give suggestions about dinning out?

This is their first time at Disney. Would like to take care of this issue before we go. We figure we will only go out to dinner. The rest in our room.

Thanks in advance

 

[Mellie0119]

No personal experience, but I've heard that Disney Dining is great about these kinds of issues! I'm sure someone here has some great advice/experiences to share.

 

[ducklite]

I have serious nut allergies and mild peanut allergies. That said, I've been accomodated everywhere at WDW except dinner at Boma (breakfast is great, just ate there last Sunday).

Best bet is to get the phone number of every place you plan on eating and calling ahead to speak with a chef or manager (call around 4 in the afternoon).

Anne

 

[jenrose66]

I have a pretty bad nut allergy too; just like you described; except it's only with cashews (so it doesn't come up too often).

Anyway...I'm sure Disney will be very accomodating. Just make sure to mention it on all of your adr's and again when you check in to eat. I guess for counter service you would just mention it when you order your food.

Regarding restaurants; the only place I ate at that inquired about my allergy is LeCellier. They caught me off gaurd so I just said; "yeah, I can't have nuts" and they were very, I guess you would call it informative. It actually got a litte annoying, but I guess better safe than sorry.

I think the only other thing you would have to worry about if the smell of nuts does the little guy in would be those nut carts in the parks. I remember one at Epcot, but I don't remember where. I noticed they can be fragrant.

 

[Cinderella Fan]

I, too, have a severe nut allergy. I carry my epipen with me everywhere, just in case... When we go to WDW, just mention when you call dining that you have a party with a severe nut allergy. Disney Dining should make a note of it on the reservation so that the restaurant staff knows when you check in.

In some cases, the food may take a little longer than normal to arrive at the table, but it will be nut-free for your friend. I have also had some chefs suggest to me that I not order dessert or a particular item from the menu just because it would be almost impossible to work around the nuts. In that case, you just pick something else from the menu and go down the street for ice cream for dessert....

Hope this helps you on your trip. Have a great time!!

 

[NowaSki]

Our 8 year old son is extremely allergic to peanuts as well. He is not sensitive to the smell however. All of the restaurants we ate at were very accommodating, taking him around to the buffets and explaining what he could and could not have. He only ate off the children's menu, so most (if not all) of the food was safe for him. Even though the chefs told him he could eat the cakes, cookies, etc. we weren't comfortable with it, so he just had pudding or jello or ice cream. The one thing I remember is there was an ice cream bar with toppings and he was told he everything was safe for him, but there was m&ms and he can't eat them due the "may contain peanuts" statement. When we made priority seating arrangements we told them about the allergy and again when we arrived at the restaurant. Everyone was very helpful!

 

[Cam2Mike]

I have two DS's with a variety of allergies. I feel Disney is the safest place to vacation for us. Disney is really the only place that we eat out where I don't worry and feel very stressed out about it. The chefs are great at making accomadations and will prepare special meals. Even if you are at a buffet ! There is much more on this topic in the "disabilities" section of this board. I recommend that you read through some on the posts there.

Have a great vacation..you really will be able to relax a little!

 

[rkec]

There is actually a lot of evidence disputing allergy by inhaling smells. Anaphylaxis requires ingestion by mouth. Having said that, my daughter is peanut anaphylactic. We travelled with her at ages 4 and 5 and had excellent, detailed service. The chef would come out at each meal, walk us around (if buffet) or comment on all menu items. We felt completely safe.
Have fun!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Welcome to the Dis, rkec.

I assume it's pretty similar to WDW, but does anyone have experience on Disney Cruise Line with a peanut allergic child? We will be cruising in 2007 with a family that this affects. I can always ask on the cruise board, but figured since you are all here...thanks.

 

[rkec]

Thank you for the warm welcome!
I have been watching the boards for awhile - allergies are a special topic for me!
I agree that a cruise is a special situation due to access to care. I would fully anticipate that you will be fine esp at Disney - in part due to their customer service and in part due to allergies being so common in North America (thus they will have been exposed to this many times and understand the importance of an accurate answer). Do what you always do - avoid anything risky (I might be cautious of ice cream although this is disappointing), bring treats that you know are safe to avoid sad moments. I always use the words "life threatening" when speaking to servers. Sometimes this means that they go overboard in suggesting what to avoid, but you can at least make informed decisions from there. I would call ahead to be clear about what medical services are available in an emergency - they no doubt have epinephrine and salbutamol and some kind of steroid which are really all you'd get at any hospital anyway. I would take 3 epipen - 2 on you at all times and 1 extra.
Thanks!

 

[MzDiz]

I noticed that someone said they were not accomodated at Boma for dinner? Now I'm curious. DH has a nut allergy and we have an ADR there in March, should I cancel?

 

[Priorityonecb]

Our youngest dd has a peanut allergy. We noted it on our Disney cruise reservation. This information will be shared with our servers, and it makes it so that we will be seated alone on the cruise instead of with other families. We carry her epi-pen at all times as well. We carry a business card that has her name and allergy on it. We hand this to our server (here at home as well) and ask him to show it to the chef for recommendations. We have always been very pleased with the response to the card.

 

[3littlepeas]

We cruised last March with one of our son being allergic to peanuts/nuts and eggs. You get the same waiters everynight and on the first night the first thing they aked us, after how are you all doing?, was "anybody suffers food allergies", they were VERY careful about the whole issue, and when in doubt, they called in the chef, so no problem...we also visited the kitchens on a special tour and they have "allergy zones" where they prepare kids meals so...
Like it was stated previously, Disney (parks or cruises) is the safest place to vacation with an allergic kid.
As far as being "not close to accomodation" on a cruise ship....sorry to say, you are wrong. We visited the medical facilities while we were there, my son had an ear infection the day we boarded....well this is state-of-the-art medical equipment. They have a full operating room, Xray, ultrasound machine...we are from Canada, where our medical care SUCKS!!!,
let's not get started on this....
and boy, I almost wished I could be sick on that cruise, the doctor called us, to our room, the next day to check up on my son (they gave him antibiotics, which they had on board), now this something I had never experienced in Canada!!!
So don't worry, Disney is the best!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Thanks guys, those are good suggestions. Speaking of ice cream, are the Mickey bars safe?

we will be seated alone on the cruise instead of with other families

This child will be part of a large group on our cruise. Are you saying that they (meaning the child and his family) should be seated separately, or was your preference just to be seated alone?

 

[rkec]

1. We ate at Boma on our first trip. We didn't have any problems - I would just be extra cautious as there may be higher risk of contamination from the African dishes. Most other restaurants I assume would use peanut butter in recipes (eg desserts) whereas Boma may use ground peanuts in their dishes. Again, we had no problems and would eat there again.

2. 3littlepeas - By access to care I meant access to true emergency care. Unfortunately, an ultrasound, Xray, and operating room won't help an anaphylactic person. What are the MD hours? If you needed sustained care you would need to be flown off the boat. That is what makes me nervous, despite the unlikely event.

I am also from Canada. You should be careful what you wish for with respect to health care. Our system certainly leaves much to be desired esp with respect to wait times. Our wait times are hideous especially with respect to PRIVATE care in the US. However, our physicians are reported to be at least as well if not better trained than the US. In addition, everyone has access which is not true of other countries. Third, if you really want two tier care, as in other countries, you can pretty much buy it here now. Again, our system needs help but to say it "sucks" may not be appropriate.

3. I am almost certain that the Mickey bars would have a "may have come in contact with..." warning since there are nut products in their other bars. However, we might try it this time. Maybe...