Toddler peanut allergy and WDW

[danikoski]

So, my 10 month old son has a suspected peanut allergy. We are working on getting the allergy testing scheduled, but it is pretty likely based on the reactions he's had.
At any rate, I'm working on planning a big family trip to WDW for next June. He'll be 19 months for the trip. I was just wondering what other people with kids with peanut allergies or you yourself with a peanut allergy have experienced around meals and such.

 

[2019TripIdeas]

I don't have a peanut allergy but Disney is supposed to be basically the BEST for food allergies. You can mark it on your ADR, all sit down restaurants seem to offer allergen-friendly options or substitutions.

Our son has a dairy allergy (and is also allergic to beef, though he has not experienced anaphalaxyis from that yet, just hives) and we are opting for the WDW vacation BECAUSE of his allergy. We travel a lot and are accustomed to having to bring him things (or make a meal out of sides from the restaurant for him), which is fine. We're so excited for him to be able to order "normal" things at WDW. We stayed at a resort in Arizona this past year where they couldn't make a single thing for him from their in-house menus and it was such a bummer, so I understand the concern 100%. Everyone we've talked to has told us that Disney is amazing- there are food specialists or chefs come out to check with you, etc.

One thing that I did notice is when we booked our ADRs it did say that they do not attend to the warning labels because they aren't regulated, which does make sense. Our son has had minor reactions from cross-contamination so that did make me pause for a second but we're still going to go for it on letting him order from the allergen-friendly menus.

Good luck with your allergy testing. I found it gave me huge piece of mind to have the blood/IGE test and the skin prick tests done for my little guy, as I felt confident I "knew" what he was allergic to and could really relax a good deal. I also feel a lot more confidence knowing his AuviQ or EpiPen is with us, regardless of what we're eating.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

So, my 10 month old son has a suspected peanut allergy. We are working on getting the allergy testing scheduled, but it is pretty likely based on the reactions he's had.
At any rate, I'm working on planning a big family trip to WDW for next June. He'll be 19 months for the trip. I was just wondering what other people with kids with peanut allergies or you yourself with a peanut allergy have experienced around meals and such.

be prepared for peanuts/peanut butter to be anywhere in the parks. food from outside the parks is allowed in parks. people snack while in line for rides. had a grandson react to peanuts most likely peanut butter while in line for a ride. had no problems at any of our meals. noted on all ressies and checked the notebook at counter serves, did find that most rolls/bread served were out as Disney could not be sure no nuts/peanuts.

 

[monorailsilver]

No issues so far. My son has been on 4 trips, not many but enough for us. First trip he was 22 months, then 4/just shy of 5, 9/almost 10 and 2 weeks ago at 14 (15 next month).

We did bring him some snacks because he also has a dairy, tree nut and had an egg allergy. This way there was always something he could eat and liked!

One trip they gave me a whole row or Oreos for free at the Poly and gave him a sample of dairy free dole whip, OMG the sample was huge. This past trip at chef mickeys, they made him the best dessert, even he was impressed and it had a sparkly touch to it! It was more then he could eat-8 Oreos, 2 cups of raspberries and maybe blueberries, a huge scoop of tofutti. They were nice and gave him cups to take home what he didn’t eat.

Oh and for all my kids when they were small and out everything in their mouth, I brought Lysol wipes (in a baggie as it was easier to carry) to wipe off the table area and the high chair/chair and the table toppers as the palcemat. Not sure if they still make them.

 

[Childs1stTime2Disney]

Are you on facebook? If so, join Disney Chefs Rock Food Allergies. Great group.

 

[Childs1stTime2Disney]

And facebook Disney food Allergy group

 

[danikoski]

And facebook Disney food Allergy group

Thanks! I will!

 

[danikoski]

Thanks everyone for the replies! Greatly appreciated! This is the first trip I've had to plan with kids, and I was already working around a toddler and my step son's issues around autism. Now add in the suspect peanut allergy, and it's like yikes! But it'll all work out. Disney is great about all those things, I just have to figure out how to use the tools Disney provides. Your experiences help with that, so thanks!

 

[JediBonas]

We're coming up on our 6th Disney trip with my son and haven't had any issued so far (knock on wood). He has peanut, tree nut, egg and soy allergies (diagnosed at 1 year old) and Disney's been great so far, even giving him a special treat bag at the fireworks dessert party that was allergen-free.

 

[iamjustscott]

My 7 year old has a peanut allergy and we’re at the parks pretty much every weekend. (Perks of being local) There are plenty of snack and foods to choose from and most of the sit down restaurants normally ask if there are any allergies they need to be aware of. I know it may seem daunting and pretty overwhelming at times but just be vigilant about what your son puts in his mouth. Once he’s older he’ll be able to police himself for the most part. It’s always scary though and the hyper awareness never goes away. Good luck. I’m sure you’ll have an amazing time.

 

[hswillia07]

Our allergies are peanut for one daughter, dairy, egg, and wheat for the other. Disney has been amazing! I second 'Disney Chefs Rock Food Allergies' - it's a fantastic group. When we're in the parks, I try to always dress my kids in capris or long shorts to limit a contact reaction on rides, etc. I also bring wipes and wipe down tables and chairs. I didn't do a ton of wiping on the rides because you load so quickly. I'm aware of people around us in line and what they're eating, but so far no issues. Disney handles multiple allergies so well - when we are dealing with just the peanut allergy it seems to be a breeze for them. It'll be great

 

[Happyinwonerland]

DD was diagnosed with a peanut allergy at 13 months. Her first trip to disney was at 23 months, and we have been many, many times since. Disney is one of my favorite places to eat with peanut allergies, because they are so wonderful with the way they handle food allergies.

At table and counter service meals, they have a allergen menu that is very easy to read. At buffets, the chef always comes out and personally walks us down the buffet, pointing out any potential threats. For any food that is off limits, they usually have an alternative to offer. For instance, at a cinderella buffet dinner, they couldn't guarantee that the desserts were safe. Without asking, the chef brought her a plate of allergen free cookies, gummie worms, and ice cream with sprinkles. Her cousin was so jealous. At Woody's Lunchbox they had a manager come and approve our order to make sure we were safe.

I love that I can trust them to be extra-careful with contamination, while making sure DD (who is now 6) doesn't feel excluded due to her dietary restriction.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

Hugs to you, btw, OP. Having a kid with a life threatening allergy is terrifying. Make sure you have an epinephrine autoinjector or an auvi-q with you at all times, as you never know when an exposure could occur.

We have only had one reaction since her inital diagnosis, and it didn't happen as I thought it would (she didn't go anaphylactic until 3 hours later) It was terrifying but I was amazed to see how quickly the epinephrine auto injector worked. My point of saying all that is to encourage you to be smarter than me and a) take your child to hospital if ingestion is even suspected and b) don't be afraid to use the epinephrine. I was terrified to use it as she was so tiny, and I know (and have seen) all the bad things epinephrine can do to a heart, but I should have used it sooner.

 

[Childs1stTime2Disney]

Thanks everyone for the replies! Greatly appreciated! This is the first trip I've had to plan with kids, and I was already working around a toddler and my step son's issues around autism. Now add in the suspect peanut allergy, and it's like yikes! But it'll all work out. Disney is great about all those things, I just have to figure out how to use the tools Disney provides. Your experiences help with that, so thanks!

You will get all the info you need on the Facebook pages, I assure you!! My 14 month old with an allergy ate just great while at WDW. Actually a peanut allergy is one of the easier to manage dining wise in WDW, IMO.

 

[KrazeeK120]

One trip they gave me a whole row or Oreos for free at the Poly and gave him a sample of dairy free dole whip, OMG the sample was huge.

All Dole whips are dairy-free. Our local Fro-Yo place sells them (not under the same name, but it’s the same stuff). They’re a great treat for my niece, who has several food allergies including dairy.

 

[monorailsilver]

All Dole whips are dairy-free. Our local Fro-Yo place sells them (not under the same name, but it’s the same stuff). They’re a great treat for my niece, who has several food allergies including dairy.

He would love to have the swirl but the vanilla has dairy. Hopefully by next trip! At least this trip we were not so worried about things as he can have cooked dairy-hamburger buns, pizza (although he hates that) so I really didn’t ask about ingriedients other then chef mickeys. My dh did when he took him to the American adventure for a burger. I have no idea why! So they gave him a dairy free bun which he does not need-he needs to eat dairy to build up more of a tolerance.

 

[KrazeeK120]

He would love to have the swirl but the vanilla has dairy. Hopefully by next trip! At least this trip we were not so worried about things as he can have cooked dairy-hamburger buns, pizza (although he hates that) so I really didn’t ask about ingriedients other then chef mickeys. My dh did when he took him to the American adventure for a burger. I have no idea why! So they gave him a dairy free bun which he does not need-he needs to eat dairy to build up more of a tolerance.

Ah yes, the swirl would be an issue but the plain Dole Whip is non-dairy.