Dining With Allergies

[disneyfan01]

Hi,

I have been recently diagnosed with a wheat allergy, as well as my allergies to eggs, nuts, sesame seeds, coconut and shellfish. I was wondering how accommodating Disney is with these specific allergies (I am most worried about the wheat with egg allergy, because I have trouble finding eggless wheat-free things)? Does anyone have any experience with these allergies?(specifically wheat and eggs). Lastly, my mom is on a low sodium diet due to her blood pressure, and I was curious if Disney is able to do low sodium meals?
Thanks

 

[sissa216]

I don't have experience with the alternative options available for your specific allergies, but I can tell you that Disney is fantastic about accommodating all types of special dietary needs. You can email Special.Diets@DisneyWorld.com and they can help provide more specific information about your situation. I had someone travel recently who had 4 allergies, and Disney was very happy to help set up safe and enjoyable meals for her.

 

[disneyfan01]

Thank you.
Just another quick question, do I have to email them a certain number of days before the trip? Or can I email them whenever?

 

[sissa216]

They suggest you do message them at least 14 days out. Make sure it is noted on your dining reservations as well!

 

[Weather_Lady]

Do you have ADRs yet? If not, then as @sissa216 said, note them on your reservation (on the pop-up screen if you're doing it online, or to the CM you speak with if you call them in). If you have some already, just call Disney dining and ask them to note it on your reservations. When you arrive to the meal, remind the server. They'll typically send a chef right out to tell you about what menu options are suitable for you (or can be modified to be so).

As for counter service, you'll have to ask, restaurant by restaurant, about any allergy/gluten/sodium, etc. in the ingredients. The Animal Kingdom has a dedicated Food Allergy Information Kiosk (just look for it on your park map) where you can inquire about the food options in that park.

 

[DisneyPrincess5]

I have a shellfish allergy and have visited WDW as a vegetarian and then a vegan. Disney has always been extremely sensitive and accommodating to my needs. A chef always comes to our table to discuss the shellfish allergy.

 

[kasey1988]

I have a coconut allergy, the chef has always come out to speak to me and pointed out certain items on the menu and buffet I should avoid. Disney seems to go above and beyond!

 

[teacherlady19]

When I made our ADR's, the person asked me about allergies. I stated that I had a shellfish allergy. At each place, the chef made a trip to our table to talk to me about what I should and should not order, and stated that he would grill (whatever it is I ordered) on a separate grill. I felt that went above and beyond. Later in our trip, we were in Maine, and found that every restaurant was accommodating to my problem despite the fact that my husband loves lobster, clams, and shrimp! Speak up!


Donna

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Definitely contact Special Diets. They usually help out when a person has 4 or more allergies, uncommon allergies, or metabolic disorders like PKU. We deal with peanut and tree nut allergies in our party, so we don't qualify for their assistance, but I recall from speaking with them and talking to others who qualify that they like some extra time on these things so they can have a nice window to work with the various chefs/restaurants where you've scheduled your ADRs.

 

[zurgandfriend]

Check out the Disneyfoodblog. Yesterday or today they discuss allergy food kiosks.

 

[dreamfinder]

Definitely reach out to special diets using the email above, they can at least point you in the right direction. However, any TS location, by notating Food Allergy on the reservation, or at least when you show up at the kiosk will alert your server that you need to speak with the chef. At a normal TS or buffet location, it shouldn't be a problem. However, at limited service locations like Hoop Dee Do Review, they may not be able to be as accommodating due to what they stock in their kitchen. Any CS location, ask to speak with a manager, or view "the book". The book is a binder listing every ingredient for all the foods that location serves. Some locations will be better suited to handle allergies, for instance by having a dedicated wheat-free frier for things like french fries, but others simply don't have the space to make the accommodations.

I do strongly suggest reading this site -> http://www.glutenfreedairyfreewdw.com/ to see what they have encountered.

Regarding low-sodium, they view that as a dietary choice, must like vegetarian or vegan, and will do their best to work with you. While dining on the same reservation as you, just bring it up with the chef at the same time. Some chefs don't take dietary requests nearly as well as they do allergies, but will work with you. Just be persistent. At Crystal Palace our last trip, when I told the chef I'm vegetarian, he simply said that everything in the line was clearly labeled and started to walk away. I asked to be walked through the line, and low and behold there were a half dozen items that he "remembered" that had meat or other animal products in them that were not labeled. Normally it's not an issue at all. My DM is celiac, and she gets great service everytime. TS locations will be tougher, you can ask to see the book, but that is more ingredients than nutritional information. May need to use common sense when ordering.

 

[disneyfan01]

Hi everyone! Thanks for the responses and I will check out the blog and website mentioned! The main reason I was worried was because on our last trip, a couple of years ago, we were staying at Pop century, and I really wanted the waffles that said POP on them, but my mom didn't let me eat them because of the eggs. That trip left me with very limited choices because we never bothered to ask if they had allergy friendly options! But now this time I feel a lot better going, and will hopefully be able to get some Mickey Waffles!! And once again, I really appreciate all the responses I got to this question

 

[coachwnh]

Hi,

I have been recently diagnosed with a wheat allergy, as well as my allergies to eggs, nuts, sesame seeds, coconut and shellfish. I was wondering how accommodating Disney is with these specific allergies (I am most worried about the wheat with egg allergy, because I have trouble finding eggless wheat-free things)? Does anyone have any experience with these allergies?(specifically wheat and eggs). Lastly, my mom is on a low sodium diet due to her blood pressure, and I was curious if Disney is able to do low sodium meals?
Thanks

You will have no issues with the wheat allergy. My wife cannot have gluten, and it is one of the easiest allergies to accommodate. The food options are fantastic, and many of the gluten free options are made with other allergies in mind. Relax and enjoy your trip. You are in good hands with Disney chefs.

 

[MorganKelly]

Disney does an exemplary job with their approach and procedures for food allergies. They are kind and accommodating and go out of their way to ensure your experience is safe and pleasurable. Not that I'm particularly surprised about that!

 

[Ohio HHI]

Don't be shy! Most of the larger restaurants have a chef dedicated to special diets (and specially trained) that will work with you to come up with a meal. My son has a very restricted diet and the chefs have always been fabulous about accommodating him - they have never made us feel like a bother. Many of his meals come out looking better than the things on the menu!

I have also gotten lists of snack foods that work with his diet from the special diets email through Disney. For me, eating out is easier at Disney than anywhere else I have ever gone.

 

[eliezrah]

The first time we took our kids, my son had over 30 allergies and he ate like a king at WDW! They had gluten free waffles and pancakes for him, he was also dairy, egg, beef, tree nut and peanut free (among many others). We're taking the kids back this summer for their 3rd trip (well our youngest's 2nd) and even though my older son's allergies are down to about 13, he's still limited in what he can eat. Both my food allergy boys have no issues with food at WDW. I usually email Special Diets 3 months out, when we make our ADRs, so I don't forget. Then I email them back the form they send me about a month out from the trip.

 

[Fauntleroy147]

I know nut allergies are completely different, but my son is allergic to nuts and at every restaurants (table service) the chef comes out and sits with us to go over the menu. At the buffet, they take us through and let us know anything that could be a potential issue as well. We had our reservations flagged when we made them.

 

[cmanley23]

My family has had great service with food allergies at Walt Disney World. My wife has over 150 food allergies along with two of my children having some also. When we were setting up our dinner reservations for our last trip a few years ago my wife talked to someone either a chef or someone in charge at almost every dining location over the phone through guest services and the Disney dining reservation system. They notated what her food allergies were and said they would have a plan for their meal when we arrived along with the Disney dining reservation people emailed us a form that we had to fill out listing all of the allergies which was then emailed back to them and was sent out to each dining location based on our reservation list.

Most of the dining locations had prepared special menus for them to order from along with meeting a chef from each location to go over the meal decisions. Three of the best places that we ate at were the Garden Grill at Epcot, Boma and Jiko at Animal Kingdom. They went above and beyond at those places along with giving my wife at the time recipes of what they made for dinner on the specialized dinner menu. At some of the buffet style dining locations the chefs walked with my wife and kids and told them every ingredient that was in the buffet items if they wanted to try something off the line besides what they could order.

My wife and kids love going to Disney World because they are amazed, especially my wife at what they can do with a person who has food allergies. Also, when we ate at Ohana this last trip the chef made my wife and kids customized snacks while we were there on the spot, since they couldn't eat some of the snacks that were available across "The World". Only because the chef asked how they were eating with their snacks off the dining plan. So, it doesn't hurt to ask at places or to talk to someone before you get there and while you're there.

 

[MCRRBA]

My wife is also Glutean free (due to allergy) we stayed at POP in the dining area the two primary chefs came out to talk to her, they have a whole separate area for glutean free storage and prep. They were wonderful made suggestions and then would prepare her meal separately and this was each time we ate at the resort and this was all counter service. They were very proud of their ability to make dishes that were fresh and accomadated her allergies.
So I would suggest going with all the pre trip advise you see here but at all resturants including counter service tell them about your allergies and they will have someone (usualy the chef) come out and talk to you.
We did find and this was confirmed by the great chefs at POP that the resorts were a better place for allergy dining as in the parks it is harder to keep contamination down to 100% (the parks were still good though and we only had one instant where there was possible cross contamination)
Hope this helps