Phrasing for CS meal requests and DDP?

[dawnball]

I think that I've decided to request special CS meals for at least part of our group during our next WDW trip. Since we'll need to order the meals when we enter the parks and won't be speaking directly with a chef (you speak with a manager in the morning) and we have multiple individuals with different (and sometimes overlapping) food intolerances - I thought I would make up a short form with the foods each person can and can't eat, the time we'd like to pick up our food, etc.

We will be on the Disney Dining Plan. I know that there are times what we want won't be plan-compatible. However, I'd generally like to be as compatible with the dining plan as possible, and I'd like to know when we're going to pay out of pocket for a meal.

Currently my dining plan note says " Note: we did purchase the Disney Dining Plan. We understand that all items may not be available on the dining plan. Our priorities are safe food and food that allows <DD3> to feel normal. We do ask that you assist us by making us aware of items that would not be included in the plan."

Does this seem reasonable?

My primary concern is that the 2 entrees my DD can/will eat are usually considered "adult" entrees, but if she didn't have food intolerances such that she had to have special foods the same items would be considered a child's meal. If I have to pay $11 OOP for her to have a safe lunch I will - but I'd really like to be able to set my expectations appropriately in the morning instead of being surprised when we pick up lunch. IME when you have special meals made no one knows how to ring things up, no one knows if it's included or what the cash price would be, etc.


Also, is there anything else folks can think of I should add to my information? I have: foods we can't eat, foods we can eat, what we'd like to have made for us, date, requested time for pick-up, requested location for pick-up, contact phone.

 

[Selket]

Did you talk to Brenda about the foods that she'll eat and whether you can have them ready for her as a CS kid's meal?

It would be surprising to me that they wouldn't substitute the regular mac and cheese for gluten free for a kid's meal - and you be charged the same (or in this case have it in your dining plan).

If not you could order it for one of the adult CS meals though right? You could share with her and order a kid's meal you could eat the rest of. Not ideal but it would be cheaper if they won't substitute.

 

[dawnball]

The gluten free mac and cheese is currently (as of May) considered an adult entree if you pay out of pocket. Mac and cheese, carrot sticks, chocolate milk cost me right around $11 in May. The manager I spoke to said that they couldn't do it as a kid's meal because it came pre-portioned and frozen. We were told that when we did the dining plan in 2005 as well - it only counted as an adult entree at CS. At Table service you can get it as a child's entree, if they have it around.

I'd happily use an adult CS credit for it, but we have 3 special-needs meals we'll need to pre-order, they're spread across 2 rooms, and while we do have an adult who would eat her kid's meal and be content - he's a vegetarian, and I don't think there's a veggie kid's meal at the CS we can pick things up at. I'll look again at some of the options though.

I spoke with Brenda about this once before (I haven't yet for this trip, because it is in Sept and this is a little early) and she said that they would provide her a safe meal at no extra charge on the dining plan. I just have no power to enforce that when the reality at the CS location is different or when they give her a "safe" meal that is fundamentally different from a "regular" kids meal.

We ran into the same thing with breakfasts. We could request gluten free pancakes, but not gluten free pancakes with bacon, even though regular pancakes with bacon was an option and the bacon was safe. It was just bizzare and unpredictable. You never knew what you were going to get or what you would be charged separately for. It's very frustrating to wait 30 minutes for a meal, and then have the cashier look blankly at it, huddle with other CMs for awhile, and then say "That's not a meal, it doesn't have an entree" or "You can't have a fruit cup for your dessert" or whatever.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I thought I would make up a short form with the foods each person can and can't eat, the time we'd like to pick up our food, etc.

Currently my dining plan note says " Note: we did purchase the Disney Dining Plan. We understand that all items may not be available on the dining plan. Our priorities are safe food and food that allows <DD3> to feel normal. We do ask that you assist us by making us aware of items that would not be included in the plan."

Does this seem reasonable?

Yes, this does seem reasonable. I would suggest also when you go to any CS location you just walk to a window (bypass the line) and tell the first person inside that you would like to talk to the manager.

 

[dawnball]

Yes, this does seem reasonable. I would suggest also when you go to any CS location you just walk to a window (bypass the line) and tell the first person inside that you would like to talk to the manager.

Thanks! We do usually speak with a manger first. Frequently they just send us to the chef, which is fine. In this case we'll be requesting our meals at the Main Street Bakery in the morning and arranging for the meals to be ready at lunch or dinnertime for us to pick up. The process makes me nervous, probably just because I've never tried it before.

 

[dclfun]

We've done this before to accomodate my son's renal diet which is extremely restricted. Brenda also suggested that we stop by the Main Street Bakery in the morning to make our requests. Fortunately my son gets an adult CS or TS meal due to his age so it hasn't been an issue as far as pricing goes. I wonder how often they grapple with people who have dietary needs? It seems that it's so much more prevalent lately and thus I wonder if there even is a policy on pricing. It would help if something were policy and in writing. Has anyone written to Guest Comm or spoken with Brenda about a policy regarding pricing for dietary needs and what's included with the DDP?---Kathy

 

[Selket]

Dawn - it does sound complicated! My younger one has a peanut/tree nut allergy (and type 1 diabetes) and I think it is much easier to accommodate his allergy compared to some - or those with multiple allergies. Celiac is more common among those with type 1 (and we were afraid a couple of times that William was developing it).

As for your requests and the way you are going about it - it all seems very organized. I hope you will report back what you hear from Brenda as you get closer and call her and what actually happens on your trip!

When you get your meal it is at the Bakery yes? (Is the mac and cheese still hot?) Then...where do you go to eat it? I just wondered how the new set-up at some CS places where you can't sit unless your party is all there with food in hand would work in this case.

 

[dawnball]

It is a little complicated. We have a gluten free pre-schooler, a gluten free - dairy free - nightshade free adult, and a gluten free - pepper free - onion free adult. That's why we're considering the pre-order process and the dietary sheets. Brenda will send out our dietary sheets to the TS locations, but it's a lot for a CS chef to remember/check for without a written reminder.

For MK we'll be ordering the food at the Main Street Bakery in the morning, but Brenda said we could pick it up at Cosmic Ray's, Pinocchio Village Haus or Columbia Harbour House.

As for hot - I'm not holding my breath - it's just too hard for everyone (us included) to get the timing perfect. DD likes her mac and cheese lukewarm though. I expect to mostly eat salads and items that can be pulled from the regular line with a care to cross-contamination. Between my dietary requirements and our busy life - I've learned not to be picky about how hot my food is.

Really, the rumors of the new "you must have food in hand" is part of what encouraged me to do this. I also tend to have a lot of discomfort with in-park CS locations, and I'm hoping this will help make me more comfortable.

 

[Selket]

That is great you can pick up at the restaurant cause otherwise it seems like a lot more work!

I agree with you on CS places. Maybe it is my luck but I never saw a way to get up to the counter and talk to the manager without looking like I was seriously cutting line. And the CM's working the counter are always super busy so I'm taking them away from a customer who waited in line. Then the giganto-binder of a million ingredients! I'll just do TS thanks!

We haven't done the meal plan yet but if we do I'll have to get more CS savvy. I think it isn't quite as difficult to avoid peanuts and may contains as it is gluten and other things.

I do appreciate all the work they do to make our meals safe. I hope the process gets more streamlined for those picking up special meals so that you don't run into problems.

 

[Foxes Den]

I just assumed I would be paying for a adult meal plan for my DD - who will be three at time of travel. And that our CS meals would not really be used.
Can anyone give me more info on how this works? I have contacted Brenda - but our trip is 18 months away. I was going to send in our medical form, (which may change) this fall for when we start to get ready for our ADRs.

How far in advance has everyone started with Brenda?

Taylor

 

[dawnball]

I don't usually contact Brenda until a month or two before our trip. I wouldn't send in the allergy form that early, because it only goes out to the restaurants a few days to a week before your arrival. Particularly if things are likely to change.

There are exceptions to that though. If you are requesting that a restaurant obtain a specialty item for you that isn't normally stocked by WDW, I'd give them an extra week or so of lead time.

I wouldn't expect to purchase the adult dining plan for a child due to allergies. For TS - restaurants have *always* made an acceptable meal for my child. They'll use whatever they have at their disposal (which is significant). Particularly for a 3 year old who isn't likely to want luxurious ingredients like shrimp. What they make for your child may or may not be on the menu for a child or an adult - but they'll make an appropriate portion and charge it to the dining plan. Table service meals have also always considered gluten free mac and cheese to be a children's item and charged it at the same price as other children's meals. It's cheaper for me to get DD a mac and cheese children's meal at a TS than it is at a CS.

Purchasing an adult dining plan for a child isn't worthwhile because you could pay for extra meals out of pocket more cheaply than you could upgrade them to the adult dining plan.


Oh, as for getting the ingredient book - there's almost always one at the registers. I just stand off to the side of a register and in between customers (or while they're waiting for a customer to find their wallet) I'll ask politely for the book. Then I can peruse the book at my leisure before I ask for a manager. I've also asked CMs who are cleaning up the dining room or stocking the condiment bars to find me a manager. Mostly though we visit during the most-off times we can. We eat lunch at 11 or 2 instead of between 12 and 1.

Really - everyone at CS does the very best they can to ensure we get a safe meal. The problem is that it is inherently hard to get a safe meal at any sort of fast-food establishment and that I have extremely low tolerance for cross-contamination. I think that as customers we tend to worry more about getting a cross-contaminated meal on vacation than we would at home. You don't have the comforts of home while you're miserable and it's worse to be uncomfortable/sick when you know you could be having fun. Of course, there's nowhere but Disney that I would willingly eat out 2 meals a day for a week.