Where NOT to go with a peanut allergy?

[Music City Mama]

My almost 3 year old is peanut allergic (not tree nut allergic, but we're avoiding them due to cross-contamination risks).

Other than the obvious ethnic restaurants that may use peanut in their sauces, which CS restaurants do you know of personally that I should avoid?

We're doing the QSDP and paying OOP for two TS meals -- I'm not worried about the TS meals, but has anyone heard of or have first-hand experience with knowing to avoid certain CS restaurants?

Thanks in advance!

 

[MSSANDRA]

We live with a peanut allergy (DGS-3 ) but have not yet traveled to WDW. That is in the plans! In general we avoid all Asian resturants (per Dr advice) and most ice-cream parlor type places as I have seen chopped peanut on the counter too many times to count. We do one where they do not have nut toppings and will open a new container for DGS and we do soft serve ice cream. We also avoid any of the steak houses that has peanuts in buckets. They get everywhere!!!

That being said, at WDW we are going to try Ohanna's but none of the Asian places in Epcot. We will not do Beaches and Cream but will allow ice cream from some of the places that do soft serve.


DGS has never had a major peanut reaction but his #'s indicate he could. We know he did have some "may contain" stuff before he was diagnoised but has never been truely exposed.

We DO know how he reacts to egss!

It is really a comfort level decission. I think we fall somewhere in the middle. Of couse we go NO WHERE without benedryl and an epi pen.

Good luck!

 

[hildarumpole]

We don't go to any Asian CS or Cooke's at DTD. Cooke's has deep-fried Snickers, so we're concerned about anything fried being unsafe. If you're at all concerned about ingredients, tell the CM about the allergy when ordering. They have ingredient binders. The main things we avoid at the CS are the desserts. Aside from pb&j uncrustables and the chocolate chip cookies, all CS kids meal items have been o.k. for my kids.

After you make your TS ADRs, email specialdiets@disneyworld.com. They'll take care of notifying the chefs for you. They'll also email you a list of common CS and snack item allergy info.

 

[Music City Mama]

Thank you, both of you.

Yes, I do plan on sending an email to that address re: my TS meals (they already noted it when I made the ADRs by phone, but I still plan on sending that separate email).

They'll also email you a list of common CS and snack item allergy info.

That's good to know!

Well, that's pretty much what I thought . . . no CS desserts, no Asian food, no candy/bakery places or ice cream parlors. Thank you for the tip about Cooke's. <-- exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for!

My ds has only reacted one time and it was to having actual peanut butter for the first time shortly after turning 2. Fortunately, it was just hives that were isolated to his face, but we do carry Benadryl and our EpiPen with us everywhere.

 

[MSSANDRA]

I am trying to think that some of the CS dessert are individualy wrapped and have labels??? It's been a couple years since our last trip. Of course we always carry him a dessert in case there is nothing he can have!

 

[Mary976]

I think with the ice cream places, it all depends on the severity of the allergy and your comfort level.

One other place to mention...a couple years ago, Wolfgang Puck's (DTD) was unsafe because they used peanut oil in the pizza crust. Don't know if they still do because we haven't been back since.

Mary

 

[MadiWI]

We always carry wipes and clean the table and chair - at least the area that our PN/TN allergic child will be sitting in. Things are generally pretty contained with the uncrustables and such, but you never know who has sat there before with a very young, messy child who got peanut butter all over the place.

We are very conservative outside Disney and only eat at restaurants that do not serve any nuts whatsoever, but at Disney we've even eaten at the Asian counter service in Magic Kingdom and had a great experience. (The one near tomorrowland - noodle something I think.)

I would be cautious of the Epcot Asian CS restaurants, and check on any Epcot CS you plan to eat at. Some Epcot restaurants are not run by Disney, and we had problems before we found that out.

Enjoy your trip. Disney is AMAZING for people with food allergies!

 

[momsavealot]

Hi OP,
I would avoid Pinochio's Village Haus in Fantasyland. We sat in the area overlooking the ride It's a Small World and my kids were touching the windows. In retrospect, I remember thinking "boy, those windows look dirty". Turns out, my dd had an allergic reaction b/c she touched the windows (to see the ride) which had already been touched by kids who had eaten the PB&J uncrustables there. Yup, she touched peanut butter that had been smeared on the windows and then touched her eye which set off a reaction. Luckily, we never had to give her the Epi Pen. Benadryl chewable tablets were enough but we had to leave the park since I wasn't sure how bad the reaction was going to get. This was the only reaction she has ever had at Disney. Now, we don't eat at CS restaurants that serve the PB& J uncrustables. We have had good experiences at Cosmic Ray's, Casey's Hot Dogs, Plaza Ice Cream on Main Street, Pizza Planet, Pizzafari, Restaurantasaurus, Sunshine Seasons and the CS places at POP and Poly. Good luck!!

 

[livndisney]

Hi OP,
I would avoid Pinochio's Village Haus in Fantasyland. We sat in the area overlooking the ride It's a Small World and my kids were touching the windows. In retrospect, I remember thinking "boy, those windows look dirty". Turns out, my dd had an allergic reaction b/c she touched the windows (to see the ride) which had already been touched by kids who had eaten the PB&J uncrustables there. Yup, she touched peanut butter that had been smeared on the windows and then touched her eye which set off a reaction. Luckily, we never had to give her the Epi Pen. Benadryl chewable tablets were enough but we had to leave the park since I wasn't sure how bad the reaction was going to get. This was the only reaction she has ever had at Disney. Now, we don't eat at CS restaurants that serve the PB& J uncrustables. We have had good experiences at Cosmic Ray's, Casey's Hot Dogs, Plaza Ice Cream on Main Street, Pizza Planet, Pizzafari, Restaurantasaurus, Sunshine Seasons and the CS places at POP and Poly. Good luck!!

Just as an FYI: Cosmic Rays, Sunshine Seasons and Food Court at Pop all sell Uncrustables.

 

[Gigi22]

Oddly enough, the only place at WDW where my DH (now 56 years old) got a peanut reaction was at the Rose and Crown at Epcot. This was about 10 years ago and Disney has changed their procedures for dealing with food allergies since then. DH ordered the Ploughman's Lunch, which was mainly cheese and crackers, pickles, and an h.b. egg. All I can guess is that it was in either the crackers, or something was cross-contaminated in the kitchen. So, now we only go there if we want a beer on the patio...

 

[MSSANDRA]

Just as an FYI: Cosmic Rays, Sunshine Seasons and Food Court at Pop all sell Uncrustables.

...and we have seen MANY times kids sitting on benches eating uncrustabes or just peanutbutter sandwiches from outside the parks. We just try to wipe down, use disposable placemats on tables and pray a lot!!!!

 

[aussietravellers]

Well, that's pretty much what I thought . . . no CS desserts, no Asian food, no candy/bakery places or ice cream parlors. Thank you for the tip about Cooke's. <-- exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for!

That is a real shame to avoid asian food, if you like asian food that is If you don't like it then its not such a shame, but to avoid it because of a PN allergy if you enjoy it is a shame. I have had a life threatening PA my whole life, have an airbourne allergy too and my favourite food is Japanese, I eat it once to twice a week! I LOVE asian food, I ate at Yak and Yeti a few times on last trip and it was SO good, they don't use peanut oil, there was absolutely no problem, the allergy was noted in our ADR and like all WDW restaurants we were shown what was safe to eat and what to avoid. Teppan Edo was also great with the allergy and traditionally Japanese are not big on the use of peanut oil or peanuts in their cooking. You always have to mention the allergy, but you have to do that everywhere, I would never go to a restaurant anywhere, WDW or outside and not ask about the oil they use and to make sure there are no contaminents in my food.

So if you do enjoy Asian food, you would be ok at the Japanese restaurants and also Yak & Yeti, note the allergy in you ADR of course, as you would at all restaurants, mention it again when you are there and they will treat the allergy just as they would at all WDW restaurants.

 

[aussietravellers]

I think with the ice cream places, it all depends on the severity of the allergy and your comfort level.

One other place to mention...a couple years ago, Wolfgang Puck's (DTD) was unsafe because they used peanut oil in the pizza crust. Don't know if they still do because we haven't been back since.

Mary

Funny you mention this, I was going to Wolfgang Puck's, then heard about the peanut oil and thought, AH no way will we be going there now.

Anyway I emailed them to ask if they used peanut oil. They emailed back with the email address of the managers of Express and Cafe and then I got another email from the Manager of Cafe and this is what they said.

" have just been forwarded your note regarding your upcoming trip to Florida.
I wanted to let you know that at the Wolfgang Puck Café located on the Westside of Downtown Disney we do not use any peanut oil in our cooking process. Our Chefs will also be happy to personally discuss all menu options with you.
When you are ready to make reservation I would be happy to make those reservations for you. Feel free to contact me directly by email or phone at 407....
Have a Great Day and Enjoy your vacation!!"

The other email also said that they do not use peanut oil in their cooking process at Express either but to "Please ensure that you share your allergy concerns with the staff during your visit."

So I we may eat there afterall. Still makes me a little nervous Once I hear the word peanut oil, I run Have had an anaphylactic reaction to PN oil before so not keen to be around it again!

 

[Music City Mama]

That is a real shame to avoid asian food, if you like asian food that is If you don't like it then its not such a shame, but to avoid it because of a PN allergy if you enjoy it is a shame. I have had a life threatening PA my whole life, have an airbourne allergy too and my favourite food is Japanese, I eat it once to twice a week! I LOVE asian food, I ate at Yak and Yeti a few times on last trip and it was SO good, they don't use peanut oil, there was absolutely no problem, the allergy was noted in our ADR and like all WDW restaurants we were shown what was safe to eat and what to avoid. Teppan Edo was also great with the allergy and traditionally Japanese are not big on the use of peanut oil or peanuts in their cooking. You always have to mention the allergy, but you have to do that everywhere, I would never go to a restaurant anywhere, WDW or outside and not ask about the oil they use and to make sure there are no contaminents in my food.

So if you do enjoy Asian food, you would be ok at the Japanese restaurants and also Yak & Yeti, note the allergy in you ADR of course, as you would at all restaurants, mention it again when you are there and they will treat the allergy just as they would at all WDW restaurants.

Well, we're only doing two TS meals and they just happen not to be Japanese, but you're right, we don't have any real concerns with Japanese food. We also always mention his allergy wherever we eat anyway.

We'll definitely be wiping down wherever he eats -- I don't know if we'll specifically seek out places that don't have those uncrustables (seems like a lot places have them). Good info re: Pinnochio's Village Haus -- I could totally see peanut buttery fingers being the culprit of the smudges on that window.

I think I've read that you can buy those pre-packaged cookies "Divvies" at the Main Street Bakery and some other locations at the other parks. Since they're also egg and milk free, not sure how good they'd be, but it's worth a try!

 

[hildarumpole]

I think I've read that you can buy those pre-packaged cookies "Divvies" at the Main Street Bakery and some other locations at the other parks. Since they're also egg and milk free, not sure how good they'd be, but it's worth a try!

Divvies are surprisingly good. I order them online whenever DS8 needs to share a treat with one of his sports teams. He's usually the only one with pn/tn allergies, so I get them to quietly raise awareness about food allergies. Last summer he had a baseball teammate that was severely allergic to eggs and dairy. The little boy was so excited to finally be able to eat the treat. Everyone always tells me that if they hadn't read the package, they wouldn't have known they were dairy and egg free.

 

[dizcrazee]

We had a scary experience at Cape May Cafe, unfortunately. The chef was very nice and walked us around the buffet, but he failed to point out the peanut butter brownies that were located right next to the kid's food. Crumbs could have easily gotten into the chicken nuggets, which were right next to the brownies (on a lower "kid's height" level). In other words, the p.b. brownies were next to the ledge sort of "overlooking" the kid's food. When someone got a brownie, crumbs could very easily fall into the kid's food.

Anyway, when I went back up to the kid's buffet to get her some more food, I finally saw the p.b. brownies! I'm telling you, it scared me badly! I didn't eat another bite, I just sat and watched her, terrified!

Fortunately, she didn't have a reaction and everything turned out okay, but I learned a valuable lesson - just because you are in WDW doesn't mean you can reduce your vigilance. Chefs and wait staff can still make mistakes, so check everything out thoroughly. We should have asked the chef to fix her plate in the kitchen, and in fact, that's what we now do when we go to buffets at WDW (don't go to any outside of WDW).

My understanding of my dd's allergies is that it only takes the tiniest amount of peanut protein for her to have a reaction, and she's had some very serious reactions in the past. That's why we'll never go to O'hana, with all that peanut sauce! I know others have eaten there successfully, but cross-contamination can happen so easily, especially with something like peanut sauce.

Now I always look at the menu for the restaurant (look in the wdwinfo area or on the disney website), and if they serve pbj or peanut butter pie, etc., we avoid that restaurant. That's just my comfort zone. We do eat at places that have tree nuts (she's got that allergy too), but the idea of smeary, sticky peanut butter is too scary to me. It's just too easy to cross contaminate in that form. Also, dd orders things that are very straightforward and unlikely to be contaminated.

Other than the Cape May scare, we haven't really had any "bad" experiences - just some places go the extra mile, which is really important when you don't get to eat out much due to food allergies. The chef at Liberty Tree Tavern did an exceptionally good job of making dd feel special, bless his heart. He made her the biggest, fanciest looking fruit salad with divvies cookies you've ever seen!

Anyway, have a fabulous time, and enjoy eating out!