My Food Allergy Trip Report (EGG & Peanut)

[Goofy4TheWorld]

I have thrown together a trip report regarding my 2 year old son’s EGG and PEANUT allergy, and our experience with dining at Disney. I took very detailed notes of what foods had egg, for both kids and adults, using the notepad on my cell phone. On our last night at the World, my cell went crazy and I had to take the battery out to get it unfrozen. The next morning, all of my notes were gone. So this report is an attempt to salvage what my wife and I can recall 7 days later.

(*** As I was reading back my report, I realized that I used the term egg-free instead of egg AND peanut free. I do this because egg is our big allergy, but at each occasion, we ALWAYS asked about egg and peanut, even if I didn’t type peanut in my post.)

First, a few general observations about managers and chefs. Almost all of them instinctively assumed that a peanut allergy included all tree nuts, which is not the case with our son. One or two did ask up front whether tree nuts were ok, but most would start rattling off what was NOT ok and say something to the effect of “you can’t have that because it has tree nuts....” and we would have to stop them and say that tree nuts are not a no-no for us, just peanuts. By the end of our trip we made sure to say up front that peanuts were bad, but tree nuts were ok.

Another issue was the difference between “Contains” vs “Made on the Same Equipment” vs “Made in the Same Facility.” Particularly with the CS manager at the Contempo Cafe, about half would fail to make that distinction unless we went out of our way to say that “made on the same equipment” was okay for eggs, and “Made in the same facility” was okay for Peanuts. Again, this is based on our son's level of allergy, and is something that will vary from child to child, but was something that a handful of managers didn’t understand much at all.

Another issue that we always had to bring up ourselves was the fact that Mom and Dad wanted to eat egg-free also. While everyone was happy to accommodate us once we got that across, some seem surprised that we did not want to eat contaminated food while tending to our wild and crazy 2 year old. We always had to make sure to ask about our foods first because the times when we asked about the kids meals first, the chef would start to leave before we would get to the adult entrees.

Four final points: 1) All Mac and Cheese, whether CS or TS, contained egg. 2) While we never asked about them at CS locations, all TS breakfast buffets can make special EGG FREE waffles. I must admit that I was stunned that nobody on Intercot had ever mentioned this fact, but the Chef at Chef Mickey’s offered them as soon as he came out. I nearly fell out of my chair with excitement! 3) All of the biscuits were okay as well. 4) We noticed that when you place an allergy order at CS locations, its is indicated on the printout, meaning if you order FF it will say ALLERGY FRIES, so it seems like they actually enter a special button on the register as well as let the manager handle things.

continuing below....

[Goofy4TheWorld]

Now to the specifics.

Contempo Cafe seemed the least aware of procedure. I talked to a manager the first night asking “just in case” questions and he never offered to let me see the book. He even said NONE of his bread would be ok because of cross-contamination and “we bring our breads in and cannot say for sure what they might have come in contact with”. Because of this terrible first experience, I never asked another question at the Contempo Cafe. The only two things we ate there were Hotdogs and Pizza, two foods we knew were ok from looking at other CS locations.

Pinocchio’s pizza was ok, but the manager never mentioned the egg-free cookies, and when my wife pointed out that the cookies they gave us contained egg, the cashier and the CM behind the counter both said “that’s all we got.” We just got him Grapes and Applesauce and let it go, even though I thought the egg-free cookies were available everywhere.

Tony’s Town Square had the best Chef of all. It was Charles and I had actually emailed him months ago checking on allergy information and he was always very helpful. He came out and said all bread and noodles were ok except the Meatballs, but that he could make our son egg-free spaghetti and meatballs, so he ate that and egg-free cookies. The chef also made Chicken Parmesan for my wife and I using non-breaded chicken so that we wouldn’t be eating egg. The spaghetti was VERY good, but the grilled chicken breast tasted a little funny, so I would just order the spaghetti if I had it to do over again. Charles was the only chef to go out of his way to ask us whether tree nuts were ok, and whether same equipment was ok, and what Mom and Dad wanted to eat. We had to ask all other Chef’s to treat Mom and Dad like they had the allergy too, but the chef at Tony’s made the offer without even being asked.

ABC Commissary had a great manager who knew her stuff. She said all of the nuggets were a no-go, but they did have the special egg-free Chicken Tenders. She said the FF were ok, but to avoid the cross-contamination potential with the Chicken Nuggets being cooked nearby, she would fry us a separate batch for all three of us. We ate a HB and a Hotdog, while our son ate the egg-free tenders and egg-free cookies. It did slow our food down waiting for them to deep-fry the egg-free tenders, but it wasn’t too bad, maybe 10 minutes?

Sci-Fi’s chef seemed like he knew his stuff, but seemed distant in his interaction with us, like he hated doing this part of his job. He would even look puzzled when saying things like “of course the ribs don’t contain egg”, but we remained persistent. My son ate the same child’s pizza available at CS locations, and my wife ate Spinach Dip and I ate ribs and FF, all ok to eat. Didn’t care for the atmosphere at Sci-Fi, because it was so dark I came out drenched with sauce from trying to eat ribs in the dark.

We didn’t ask for the manager at Cosmic Rays. We were eating HB and Hotdogs, so we knew all would be okay. From our conversation at ABC, we had gathered that all locations fry their FF in separate fryers, so we just winged it here, and all turned out ok.

Whispering Canyon’s chef was a little slow getting out, but I think that was the waitress’s fault, since everything was slow here. This was a party of 9 where we were meeting up with family, so I was the most concerned about this meal, since I can’t tell 6 other adults what they can and cannot eat. The chef offered to “rig” some Macaroni using Penne Noodles and marinara sauce. We told our son it was spaghetti and he fell for it. The chef did mention that, like most noodles, they were made on the same equipment as eggs, which we told him was okay. My wife had the Queso Dip, and I had the skillet, HOLD the slaw and cornbread. We allowed the other family members to have cornbread at the table, just not on our end. Then we kept reminding everyone to wash their hands when done. Since our last egg breakout was from waffles & cornbread at Cracker Barrel several months ago (with some of the same family members), we were on high alert. All of the milkshakes were okay also.

Chef Mickey’s chef came right out, but instead of walking us around the buffet, he just asked us what we wanted. He immediately offered egg free waffles, and we were thrilled to be able to get this. He brought us all the food we wanted himself, except for the fruit, which my wife just got herself since is wasn’t near any egg products on the bar. When my wife went back to the bar to get butter for the waffles, she realized people were taking the knife at the bar and rubbing the butter directly on their waffles instead of putting it in the cups, so we sent for some butter out of the back.

House of Blues waitress said right off that bat “sorry, we just got new menus today and I am still learning what is on them.” Not a good way to start. The chef came out and was accommodating, but seemed to get tripped up on the fact that we all wanted to eat egg-free, not just our son. We had to keep repeating “hold the slaw”. I ate a plate of wings and FF, my wife a steak and FF, my son Chicken tenders and corn. As I picked up my fifth chicken wing, I uncovered the fact that the wings were actually stacked on top of some strange pile of white stuff. I smelled and tasted it, but couldn’t figure out what it was. The more I looked, the more I began to suspect it was slaw. When I asked the waitress what this was, she turned pale as a ghost and said “Oh my God, I am so sorry, I though it was only your son who was allergic....” I told her that we all wanted to eat egg-free and that I had repeatedly said hold the slaw, but she thought that meant just for his plate I guess. My wife had asked me earlier to let our son lick one of the wings to try them, but I wouldn’t do it since they were so hot, and that turned out to be a great blessing is disguise. We dodged a bullet, and I had to go to the bathroom and get strange looks from people wandering why I was brushing my teeth, but that’s ok!

Tusker House chef came out and immediately took me to the bar and pointed to everything on the bar and said yes or no. If I was a slow learner, it may have been too fast, but I was okay with his rapid-fire flow of information. This buffet seemed bigger with more selection than Chef Mickey’s. Most of the no-go pastries were in the middle, and there were a lot of different toasts that were egg-free, although 4 out of 8 DID contain egg, so we just avoided them all. The chef made our son egg-free waffles, and got him some bacon and sausage from the back, since the eggs were beside the sausage and there was visible cross-contamination. However, since we forgot to specifically mention that we all wanted the egg-free stuff, the Chef just sent out enough for our son. My wife and I just ate carefully from the regular bar and washed up as soon as we were done.

Pizzafari manager was okay, and we found out the both the pizza and the breadsticks were okay.

LeCellier chef came while I was distracting my son outside (in hopes of having a peaceful meal once the food came <keep dreaming>) so I didn’t speak to him. The Steak and “Yukon Potatoes” were ok (and VERY GOOD) but both the adult and child’s Mac & Cheese was a no-go but the Chef made a substitute that looked like small spaghetti noodles with cheese on top, along with a side of mashed potatoes. My son through a fit and refused to eat or sit down, he didn’t fall for this substitution and kept screaming “Macaroni”. My wife and I ate this meal separately while our son looked at the waterfall in Canada. Not a good day...

I spoke with a Flametree manager prior to eating there, and he was on top of everything and took down my info and said just ask for him when I returned to eat later that day. He was gone when I returned, and the lady I spoke to knew the procedure, but seemed very unsure of herself, and I could not get across to the other workers that she would handle the order (they kept asking me if I wanted one slaw or two when I wanted NONE.) The ribs and the Pork Sandwich were ok, as well as the Hot Dog for my son. Flametree was the best CS meal we had all week, we loved eating outside with the birds, and it was such a great & peaceful break for us. We actually realized how peaceful AK was in general, as it was the only park we my wife and I didn’t have a meltdown in!

There you have it. Like I said, it is scattered and incomplete because I lost all of my notes stored in my phone. Losing my notes was just one piece of the puzzle in the DISASTEROUS trip we had; I cried myself to sleep the first two nights from the emotional roller coaster we were on. The trip got tolerable in the middle, and ended with a fantastic last day, but I must admit this trip has diminished my love of Disney quite a bit, :( but not because of and food allergy issues, so I just wanted to let those that are looking for tidbits of information what my experience was at the World.

Good Luck.

[Pirate Granny]

OH NO...don't cancel...give it a chance, and especially the beautiful decorations in December...I'm going to go back and see if you wrote a trip report to see what went wrong outside of the dining experiences...which in the end, seemed like you made good progress...when you make your December ADR...just have them note that ALL Three of you have the egg allergy...save you a lot of time and pain.
:pirate:

[Goofy4TheWorld]

OH NO...don't cancel...give it a chance, and especially the beautiful decorations in December...I'm going to go back and see if you wrote a trip report to see what went wrong outside of the dining experiences...which in the end, seemed like you made good progress...when you make your December ADR...just have them note that ALL Three of you have the egg allergy...save you a lot of time and pain.
:pirate:

Thank you very much for the encouragement. I planned on writing a journal each day, but the trip started off sooooo bad that I told myself I didn't want to remember this trip. I am finally starting to write things down now, and I am going to try to eventually post a few different reports on various issues, but for now my wife and I are focusing on figuring out what to do with our TERRIBLE TWOs son. We experienced an explosion of bad behaviors at WDW that we had never seen. It was so bad, we just can't see enjoying another trip, but we both hope time will heal all our wounds.

Gonna go cry a little bit more now.... I will try my best to post more later.

[ElenitaB]

Thanks for sharing your experiences with us. I think the advice of saying that all of you have allergies might yield better results next time. The one thing that I admire about WDW is that at least they make the attempt (though sometimes as you saw, they do fail... thank goodness their failures didn't have negative consequences for your DS).

TheTerrible Two's are a difficult time. WDW is very stimulating for kids of all ages... maybe a slow pace and afternoon naps could be the ticket. The holidays at WDW are so enchanting. :cloud9: But they'll be there next year. Sorry to hear that you've been and continue to be so upset. :hug:

[Bubbie Girl]

Enjoyed reading your trip report. We leave in 2 days for WDW with our 2 year old son who also has peanut, tree nut and egg allergies all on the high side. Our little guy tends to be a "bit" busy so I am hopping he does well. I am expecting out bursts and such. He does not like characters at all!!!
I am a bit nervous about the eating part. I did all the emailing and such with Disney, I was very glad to learn about the waffles they will make him. I never heard this before you mentioned it. He is a very small eater so we shall see. Thanks for the report.

[Goofy4TheWorld]

I am expecting out bursts and such. He does not like characters at all!!!

My DS2 loved the characters and liked the fireworks (aka "popcorn!"), but developed a never-before-seen paralyzing fear of the dark that really screwed the trip plan up. He hated Pooh, wouldn't even try Pan (through he loved Small World) wouldn't sit through Monster's show or the Animation show, nothing dark at all, not even a semi-enclosed line (which is why he wouldn't try Pan, and we had to carry him through the Safari line while he was whining "back outside"). He was scared of the dark, but loved Barnstormer (and the Safari).

The only food-related stress we had was that he threw his (or Mom's or Dad's) drink on the floor at EVERY single meal we had. Even if we used a sippy, he would manage to get it open or spill it somehow, and ALWAYS on purpose. I spent my week on my hands and knees cleaning up drinks. I was ready to cancel every ADR we had after 2 days, but we stuck through them all (and were miserable through almost every single one of them).

Don't worry about the allergy stuff, it really was just about as smooth as Disney could possibly make it.

Have a great trip!

[Mickey'sGirl]

What a great description of the efforts Disney made for the egg and peanut allergies! This will be so useful for other Intercottees for sure!

Your experience at Le Cellier is very much like ours was when our youngest was about 2. We shift ate ... one eating inside with our older son, and the other outside entertaining our fireball! It does get easier, so don't give up! :hug:

[Goofy4TheWorld]

Your experience at Le Cellier is very much like ours was when our youngest was about 2. We shift ate ... one eating inside with our older son, and the other outside entertaining our fireball! It does get easier, so don't give up! :hug:

Somehow I missed this post until now. I loved the 'our fireball' line:D, that is my DS spot-on.

I am glad we were not the only ones to ever eat Le Cellier separately. It didn't really bother me anywhere near as much as it ruined the day for my wife.

Thanks for the encouragement!

[Girly Girls]

As a fellow parent with a food allergic child, your comment "but for now my wife and I are focusing on figuring out what to do with our TERRIBLE TWOs son. We experienced an explosion of bad behaviors at WDW that we had never seen" really tugged at my heart. We had horrible issues with my daughter from 3-4 years of age. (She is corn, dairy & beef allergic) After trying numerous parenting tactics, with no success, I started to analyze her diet. Reluctantly, I decided to pull all wheat products. Within two weeks, her behaviors changed. She was not as impulsive or disruptive, she began to focus and stay on tasks for longer periods of time. She is a changed child, which makes traveling much easier! Sometimes, I need to remind myself that food allergies present in different ways.

[waymickey]

Just got back from 10 day trip and no food problems at all. My DD is allergic to all fish shellfish, tree nuts, apples, peaches, strawberries ...the list goes on and on. We had a great time and she was able to eat most anything she wanted. The chefs were great and the waiters/waitresses were excellent. WL did a great job as did all the parks.

[CanadaLovesDisney]

One good thing to consider is that things WILL get better. As an allergy sufferer with a sister who has SEVERE nut, seed, treenut allergies I know things do get better. Now we have more trouble eating in our home town then we have at Disney World. After visiting many times you come to know which restaurants are a good idea and which arent for your specific allergy situation. We always avoid all the Asian theme restaurants (even though the rest of the family loves them) so that we do not risk contamination with sesame seeds. When we go to the mainstreet icecream parlor we tell them about the allergy and the manager comes out and personally scoops the icecream with a cleaned scoop and from a clean container. Sure there are a few places we have gone the managers can be a littly "iffy" with what might be in the meals but then we know to avoid that place next time.

Just know that things will get better =)

[Goofy4TheWorld]

As a fellow parent with a food allergic child, your comment "but for now my wife and I are focusing on figuring out what to do with our TERRIBLE TWOs son. We experienced an explosion of bad behaviors at WDW that we had never seen" really tugged at my heart. We had horrible issues with my daughter from 3-4 years of age. (She is corn, dairy & beef allergic) After trying numerous parenting tactics, with no success, I started to analyze her diet. Reluctantly, I decided to pull all wheat products. Within two weeks, her behaviors changed. She was not as impulsive or disruptive, she began to focus and stay on tasks for longer periods of time. She is a changed child, which makes traveling much easier! Sometimes, I need to remind myself that food allergies present in different ways.

We were so distraught during our trip that during nap time each day my wife would read a lot of information on the Internet about what I think was red food color or something like that. We gave serious consideration to cutting out whatever it was she was reading about, but once we got home (with the comfort of our child-proofed home) we dealt with our son much better, even though things are still VERY stressful. If he doesn't grow out of the two's by the time he is four, we will be considering a wide range of options, including yours.

Thanks!

[buzznwoodysmom]

I'm glad you were able to find a good number of things for your son to eat while on vacation. My DH has seafood allergies, and my oldest DS has poltery and seafood allergies. Talk about hard to find decent food for him, as he loves chicken and most of the children's menu items involved chicken. But in the end we always have wonderful dining experiences in WDW!

I'm thinking that for enjoyment of future trips maybe you should lay light on TS meals. Both of my kids went through periods were eating out with them just wasn't fun. And with both of them we went through almost a year of not eating in restuarants with them because they just did not behave well enough. I don't think it necessarily has to do with allergies, but more of a phase some children go through at this age. We love so many of the TS places in WDW, but none of them are worth it if we, and those around us, can't enjoy the meal because of our child acting up. You can still have a wonderful vacation without all the fancy meals. And I do feel for you because of all the rides he didn't want to go on. However, when we started bringing our kids to WDW we were always ready for the possibility that we wouldn't be able to do what we did before we had kids. You just never know what a child that age is going to decide once you are there. I do hope you can give WDW another chance. And as others have already said, hang in there, it will get better!

[MomTo3Tiggers]

That was an interesting read - thanks for posting all the info. Our experiences with food allergies/celiac at Disney over several years have been very good except for one bad meal (which was unfortunately a birthday meal for two of my kids). I have one dairy allergic child, one dairy-beef-peanut-sesame, and I'm a celiac with quite a few other sensitivities. TS is always amazing, although the dairy and gluten make counter service really hard for us.

That said, I still find myself tensing up every time I start planning for meals at Disney. It's great to read other people's successes.

[Goofy4TheWorld]

I'm thinking that for enjoyment of future trips maybe you should lay light on TS meals. Both of my kids went through periods were eating out with them just wasn't fun. And with both of them we went through almost a year of not eating in restaurants with them because they just did not behave well enough. I don't think it necessarily has to do with allergies, but more of a phase some children go through at this age. We love so many of the TS places in WDW, but none of them are worth it if we, and those around us, can't enjoy the meal because of our child acting up. You can still have a wonderful vacation without all the fancy meals.


We knew TS meals were going to be risky (especially booking them 180 days out), but the ONLY reason we made a single ADR was because we knew, based on what I had read on Intercot, that TS Chefs would accommodate our allergies diligently. The information from Disney, and here on Intercot, was much murkier on Counter Service foods, so we were scared to depend on CS foods not knowing what was okay for him and us to eat, since Mom and Dad never eat egg around him because his Octopus arms would have landed on our plate for sure. If I had known that Hotdogs and Pizza were both okay BEFORE we arrived, we would have had 1 or 2 character breakfasts and nothing else. Knowing what I know now, it will be CS or bust for us!



And as others have already said, hang in there, it will get better!

I lost count how many ladies (well, mostly ladies) leaned over to my wife and I and whispered to us that very same line, especially while we were riding the bus! :blush:

[peemagg]

Just a quick idea that might help with the fear of dark rides is a small flashlight that can be pointed down so as not to disturb others. At age 2 you or Mom will probably have to hold it for him. If you have one with batteries that are getting low, that might be the one for him since it won't be so bright. I also would not use one that was a LED type. Those things are too bright. Just an old fashioned one might do the trick.

[Jennifer_and_Chris]

Hey "Allergy" buddy!!!!!!!

I just read your report and I'm glad to hear how places were good to you.


When we brought our oldest dd for her 2nd trip, she was turning 2 and I was prego with dd2. Boy can I totally relate. My oldest was on overload and took it out on us all. We didn't get into an acceptable rhythm for her until 1/2 way through our trip. We even ended up in the urgent care because we just knew that she had to be sick or something since this was NOT the child I left home with!

Last year w/our dd's at age 5 and 2.5, it was perfect! Great age for both of them. I think that subconsciously, we waited until my oldest was a little bigger before bringing the younger one. The younger one just fed off of the older one. it was much better!

It will get better!:thumbsup:

[BellesRose]

I know how frustrating food allergies can be, especially on vacation or away from home. My mom is allergic to sunflower seeds and oil, and for some reason, they just don't understand that at Beaches n Cream. They always seem to mess up her order or "forget" that she has allergies. It's hard to deal with sometimes.

[Susan A]

My daughter is allergic to tree nuts and I find it amazing how many people who work in restaurants don't understand that there is a difference between tree nuts and peanuts. :confused:
It's also interesting how some wait staff give the response, "Oh, it is probably ok (to eat)."
I'm glad to know that when I take my daughter to Disney (someday soon?) that I can plan ahead of time and speak directly to managers and chefs. Thanks!