We are going to Florida and hoping to visit many parks. Looking for advice about food. DS is allergic to dairy, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts and sesame. I know we can bring snacks and stuff in for him, but does anyone have any positive (or negative) stories to share?
We just went last week! We only have a peanut allergy so our experience might be different...but they are completely fine with you bringing in food into all the parks. The bag checkers just go right through it. That was really helpful, not for the allergy but for the $. The food cost inside the parks was insane. For the character meals, they are GREAT. With the peanut allergy, our issue is usually dessert and they made sure there was plenty of peanut free baked goods she could have. The sit down restaurants were great as well, the chef came out and told us what she could have and were very knowledgeable. For the most part, she wasn't very limited with the nuts (we avoid tree nuts as well, even though she tests negative, it's not worth the risk of peanut). When you make reservations, you can note the allergy so they know ahead of time.
At the food stands, you can ask for an "allergy binder". This will tell you what they can have, again we weren't very limited. The workers at the food stands basically have no clue about allergies and usually look at you like a deer in headlights. Based on your allergens, I might steer clear of these...bring your own food and then book some sit down restaurants/character meals for a treat. At ours, they even had a chocolate cake that was totally Top 8 free. I was very impressed!
Our experience was great! It was so nice being able to eat and not having to worry about DD's dairy allergy. The quick service places she was kind of limited in choices, but the sit down restaurants were great. The chef or manager would come out, ask about allergies and her food preferences and create a safe meal. The chef at Chef Mickey's breakfast even went as far as to go in the kitchen and whip up a batch of dairy-free waffles so DD could have Mickey shaped waffles like the rest of the kids at our table. I was so touched. At the buffet at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, the chef walked me through the entire buffet helping me find safe choices. He also told me the history of the African foods which was a fun experience as well!
Our experience was great! It was so nice being able to eat and not having to worry about DD's dairy allergy. The quick service places she was kind of limited in choices, but the sit down restaurants were great. The chef or manager would come out, ask about allergies and her food preferences and create a safe meal. The chef at Chef Mickey's breakfast even went as far as to go in the kitchen and whip up a batch of dairy-free waffles so DD could have Mickey shaped waffles like the rest of the kids at our table. I was so touched. At the buffet at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, the chef walked me through the entire buffet helping me find safe choices. He also told me the history of the African foods which was a fun experience as well!
this actually made me tear up
Oh, don't worry- I did too! I felt like such a ninny, but when your LO is left out of SO MANY treats and normal things kids enjoy, it's nice for them to feel included and "normal" for a change.
I have a huge list of allergies too and Disney is awesome!
Any sit down place will do just as PP's mentioned and I have never had any hint of a reaction while eating there! We are annual pass holders so we go a couple of times a month!
We did disney last year. DD cannot have wheat, eggs, dairy, soy, rice, or oats.
Meals were not such an issue. She ate a lot of steak, with potatoes and veg.
We made reservations for everyday for lunch and dinner. You can call and talk to the chef. Disney is awesome! The chef will come out and talk to you. For example, they did my daughters potatoes separate, etc. now snacks were more of an issue. Not much she could have so we brought in tons of snacks we knew were safe. Good luck!
Re: Anyone been to Disney?
https://www.allergyeats.com/disney/
Any sit down place will do just as PP's mentioned and I have never had any hint of a reaction while eating there! We are annual pass holders so we go a couple of times a month!