Multiple dietary restrictions/food allergies

[Momma2PrinceNPrinces]

Thanks to a stupid tick, I have an allergy to beef, pork and lamb along with Lyme disease. I’m already on a very restricted diet due to intolerances from the tick bite (no gluten, dairy, fish, nuts, corn, soy, alcohol, processed sugars and grains), but the allergy to beef and pork wasn’t present last time we went to Disney. The gluten free thing I’ve done at Disney and had no issues, so definitely not concerned with that part.

So I can eat chicken and Turkey, but it can’t be cooked on the same grill or pan as any beef or pork. I can obviously have most veggies or eggs as long as they’re not cooked in butter or soy oil.

Yes I basically eat air (kidding but dang it’s so close to being the only thing I can tolerate now ). Am I going to starve at Disney?

 

[Miffy]

Yes, you are going to starve, but you'll be at Disney, so you'll be happy anyway.

But, seriously, of course you're not going to starve, but you are going to have to plan your food very carefully and I think a full-out grocery stop should be part of your plan. In fact, that should be your main plan. Anything else will be a bonus.

I don't know where you're staying, but if your accommodations included a kitchen that would be even better for you, since you'd be able to cook your chicken and turkey [edited from chicken--I realize you can't have chicken] and be certain nothing else was cooked along with them.

Good luck to you and I hope you have a great vacation.

 

[Momma2PrinceNPrinces]

Yes, you are going to starve, but you'll be at Disney, so you'll be happy anyway.

But, seriously, of course you're not going to starve, but you are going to have to plan your food very carefully and I think a full-out grocery stop should be part of your plan. In fact, that should be your main plan. Anything else will be a bonus.

I don't know where you're staying, but if your accommodations included a kitchen that would be even better for you, since you'd be able to cook your chicken and turkey [edited from chicken--I realize you can't have chicken] and be certain nothing else was cooked along with them.

Good luck to you and I hope you have a great vacation.

Unfortunately we won’t have access to a kitchen area. My husband is going for a conference and his boss is letting us tag along; most likely staying at either Swan or Dolphin. And if not one of those, it will be another on-site hotel (we’re still waiting to hear where they’re putting us). We won’t be able to upgrade to anything more than a standard 2 bed room either. So I’m really trying to see if eating out is going to be a possibility.

 

[MidnightMeeko]

Disney takes allergies very seriously. Every Table service and Quick service dining location will allow you to speak with someone about your allergy concerns. You can even note it on your dining reservations. It may even be worth it to reach out to the special diets contact ahead of time for advice. There isn't another travel destination that I would trust with that many allergies at once. So sorry you have to deal with this. Ticks are the worst.

Here's the email contact for Disney Special Diets: Special.Diets@DisneyWorld.com

 

[Miffy]

Unfortunately we won’t have access to a kitchen area. My husband is going for a conference and his boss is letting us tag along; most likely staying at either Swan or Dolphin. And if not one of those, it will be another on-site hotel (we’re still waiting to hear where they’re putting us). We won’t be able to upgrade to anything more than a standard 2 bed room either. So I’m really trying to see if eating out is going to be a possibility.

OK, then. I'll see what advice I can offer based on my own experiences, although my diet has never been quite as restrictive as yours is, but I'm a vegan, so I know how to be careful at WDW.

The very creative chefs at most TS restaurants at WDW will come out and talk with you to see what they can come up with. They're extremely careful about allergens, so when you speak to the chef (I think this person is called an executive chef), let them know that your chicken or turkey has to be cooked separately from anything else, for example.

I've had TS restaurants make me steamed veggies, even places that seem like they wouldn't be able to do that. And I think steamed veggies would work for you, although that's hardly a full meal since you can't have some kind of grain with it. But at least it's a start.

Can you have oatmeal? It's gluten-free but I'm not sure it fits your no-refined-grains requirement. If so, most places do have oatmeal, it's made without anything but water and some salt (maybe not even salt) and you could put some banana on it. If you could pick up oat milk at a grocery stop, that could go with your oatmeal, assuming you can have oatmeal. Assuming the oat milk would fit your other dietary requirements.

Even without a kitchen, there are coolers or mini fridges in the rooms and most fruit will keep without being refrigerated. I highly suggest getting groceries. I've had trips where I shipped myself certain nonperishable food items when I was on a particularly restrictive eating plan and you might consider doing this as well, assuming there are nonperishable food items that fit the bill for you.

From reading your post, I'm thinking that at home you most likely have something like grilled or baked chicken and steamed veggies for dinner. I think these are things that could be rustled up for you at almost any TS at WDW, although I wouldn't count on the World Showcase restaurants at Epcot to be able to do this for a variety of reasons, mostly because they're preparing country-specific food items so they might not have a variety of ingredients on hand.

You are going to have to plan. I'm sure you don't want to be caught wandering around looking for someplace to eat and not finding anything, and there's very little you can snack on (no popcorn, no pretzels), although all the parks have places where you can buy fresh fruit. But if you're nowhere near these places, you'll be doomed to walk another 3 miles to get there. Plan ahead.

You can bring food into the parks with you. Maybe put a couple of apples, for example, in your bag, so you have emergency, I'm-famished-and-I'll-scream-if-I-don't-eat-soon food handy.

I don't know if this has been a help. It's definitely putting a damper on your WDW trip but it can be dealt with. You just have to make certain concessions, definitely have a grocery stop, and plan ahead.

 

[RoseGold]

Disney has really upped the game on their plant-based options recently. I doubt the plant-based uses butter, but I can see soy being a problem. There are a lot of videos and blogs and all kinds of stuff for the soy allergy, I'd start there.

I don't see how you could know that the meat isn't contaminated.

 

[Momma2PrinceNPrinces]

OK, then. I'll see what advice I can offer based on my own experiences, although my diet has never been quite as restrictive as yours is, but I'm a vegan, so I know how to be careful at WDW.

The very creative chefs at most TS restaurants at WDW will come out and talk with you to see what they can come up with. They're extremely careful about allergens, so when you speak to the chef (I think this person is called an executive chef), let them know that your chicken or turkey has to be cooked separately from anything else, for example.

I've had TS restaurants make me steamed veggies, even places that seem like they wouldn't be able to do that. And I think steamed veggies would work for you, although that's hardly a full meal since you can't have some kind of grain with it. But at least it's a start.

Can you have oatmeal? It's gluten-free but I'm not sure it fits your no-refined-grains requirement. If so, most places do have oatmeal, it's made without anything but water and some salt (maybe not even salt) and you could put some banana on it. If you could pick up oat milk at a grocery stop, that could go with your oatmeal, assuming you can have oatmeal. Assuming the oat milk would fit your other dietary requirements.

Even without a kitchen, there are coolers or mini fridges in the rooms and most fruit will keep without being refrigerated. I highly suggest getting groceries. I've had trips where I shipped myself certain nonperishable food items when I was on a particularly restrictive eating plan and you might consider doing this as well, assuming there are nonperishable food items that fit the bill for you.

From reading your post, I'm thinking that at home you most likely have something like grilled or baked chicken and steamed veggies for dinner. I think these are things that could be rustled up for you at almost any TS at WDW, although I wouldn't count on the World Showcase restaurants at Epcot to be able to do this for a variety of reasons, mostly because they're preparing country-specific food items so they might not have a variety of ingredients on hand.

You are going to have to plan. I'm sure you don't want to be caught wandering around looking for someplace to eat and not finding anything, and there's very little you can snack on (no popcorn, no pretzels), although all the parks have places where you can buy fresh fruit. But if you're nowhere near these places, you'll be doomed to walk another 3 miles to get there. Plan ahead.

You can bring food into the parks with you. Maybe put a couple of apples, for example, in your bag, so you have emergency, I'm-famished-and-I'll-scream-if-I-don't-eat-soon food handy.

I don't know if this has been a help. It's definitely putting a damper on your WDW trip but it can be dealt with. You just have to make certain concessions, definitely have a grocery stop, and plan ahead.

This was SUPER helpful! Thank you so much!

 

[Miffy]

This was SUPER helpful! Thank you so much!

You're very welcome. I understand your dilemma and hoped I could help. Lyme is a hard thing to deal with, but you will recover eventually.

 

[TwoMisfits]

Unfortunately we won’t have access to a kitchen area. My husband is going for a conference and his boss is letting us tag along; most likely staying at either Swan or Dolphin. And if not one of those, it will be another on-site hotel (we’re still waiting to hear where they’re putting us). We won’t be able to upgrade to anything more than a standard 2 bed room either. So I’m really trying to see if eating out is going to be a possibility.

I would try to figure out what shelf-stable and non-cook items I could buy from a grocery pick up that would meet my needs and get me through the park days. I'd also desperately try to get a room with at least a mini fridge.

I'd also figure out where hard-boiled eggs might be available on snack carts (since that would be a good as-is item you can't cook, but Disney can).

I'd skip all CS - no way they can accomodate except as mentioned for snack carts with eggs or fresh whole produce. If I wanted to try one TS place, I'd book an expensive ala carte TS that has turkey and chicken (and rice/potatoes) and see if I could order 2 meals - one to enjoy and one to go for the next day for my fridge (yes, I'd pack a container, so you don't need to worry if Disney has one), if they could make it.

Vegan foods will mostly be out - almost all rely on either gluten, soy, corn, or nuts in some way (I always get screwed by that last one), so I wouldn't look for them on menus...again, I'd look for places with chicken or turkey already listed.

 

[TwoMisfits]

OK, then. I'll see what advice I can offer based on my own experiences, although my diet has never been quite as restrictive as yours is, but I'm a vegan, so I know how to be careful at WDW.

The very creative chefs at most TS restaurants at WDW will come out and talk with you to see what they can come up with. They're extremely careful about allergens, so when you speak to the chef (I think this person is called an executive chef), let them know that your chicken or turkey has to be cooked separately from anything else, for example.

I've had TS restaurants make me steamed veggies, even places that seem like they wouldn't be able to do that. And I think steamed veggies would work for you, although that's hardly a full meal since you can't have some kind of grain with it. But at least it's a start.

Can you have oatmeal? It's gluten-free but I'm not sure it fits your no-refined-grains requirement. If so, most places do have oatmeal, it's made without anything but water and some salt (maybe not even salt) and you could put some banana on it. If you could pick up oat milk at a grocery stop, that could go with your oatmeal, assuming you can have oatmeal. Assuming the oat milk would fit your other dietary requirements.

Even without a kitchen, there are coolers or mini fridges in the rooms and most fruit will keep without being refrigerated. I highly suggest getting groceries. I've had trips where I shipped myself certain nonperishable food items when I was on a particularly restrictive eating plan and you might consider doing this as well, assuming there are nonperishable food items that fit the bill for you.

From reading your post, I'm thinking that at home you most likely have something like grilled or baked chicken and steamed veggies for dinner. I think these are things that could be rustled up for you at almost any TS at WDW, although I wouldn't count on the World Showcase restaurants at Epcot to be able to do this for a variety of reasons, mostly because they're preparing country-specific food items so they might not have a variety of ingredients on hand.

You are going to have to plan. I'm sure you don't want to be caught wandering around looking for someplace to eat and not finding anything, and there's very little you can snack on (no popcorn, no pretzels), although all the parks have places where you can buy fresh fruit. But if you're nowhere near these places, you'll be doomed to walk another 3 miles to get there. Plan ahead.

You can bring food into the parks with you. Maybe put a couple of apples, for example, in your bag, so you have emergency, I'm-famished-and-I'll-scream-if-I-don't-eat-soon food handy.

I don't know if this has been a help. It's definitely putting a damper on your WDW trip but it can be dealt with. You just have to make certain concessions, definitely have a grocery stop, and plan ahead.

This was great advice - I do want to caution that I drink oat milk, and most major brands sweeten their product to make it taste like milk, so it probably wouldn't work for the Op on the oatmeal.

 

[Her Dotness]

Disney has really upped the game on their plant-based options recently.

That they have likely won't help the OP, unfortunately.

Most plant-based foodstuffs on Disney's menus are not only highly processed but loaded with sugars and grains in various forms.

Oddly, I think, Disney offers lots of fake meat in plant-based dishes. Nevermind that many dedicated to vegetarianism or veganism would far rather have vegetables and fruits prepared only as much as necessary to be digestible. (Okay, off that soapbox...)

I suggest checking the official Disney allergy-friendly kids menus for various TS restaurants. Those may list plain grilled chicken as an alternative to all the sauced dishes Disney seems to have anymore. They also will indicate what plain vegetables may be available.

I do enjoy the fact that gluten-free, dairy-free often gets me a mound of delicious berries as dessert.

Rely on the chefs to come up with foods you can enjoy safely. They're fabulous for those of us with more than a single must-avoid.

 

[Miffy]

This was great advice - I do want to caution that I drink oat milk, and most major brands sweeten their product to make it taste like milk, so it probably wouldn't work for the Op on the oatmeal.

I wondered about that. I drink unsweetened soy milk, but that's out for the OP.

 

[Her Dotness]

I do want to caution that I drink oat milk, and most major brands sweeten their product to make it taste like milk, so it probably wouldn't work for the Op on the oatmeal.

Another concern will be that dairy-free milks often contain chemical stabilizers to prevent separation and enhance shelf-life. Those may be problematic for the OP.

Oats are often processed on machinery used for other grains. While oatmeal or oatmilk may be designated gluten-free, the possibility of cross-contamination from other non-gluten grains is a risk I myself would hesitate taking.

 

[TwoMisfits]

If I were to pick a Disney restaurant to try to accomodate you (in a way you'd safely and want to actually eat), I'd probably pick Brown Derby.

They have griled chicken and spit roasted turkey available for their Cobb salad. It is probably easy to alter the salad into something great (swap bacon for chicken, remove blue cheese, and go for olive oil and vinegar or lemon dressing) and that's an excellent "to go" dish for a next day dinner.

Then, I'd see if they could do me a plate with either the spit roasted turkey or the grilled chicken for my current meal. They have a lot of fresh produce on the menu that it seems they could work from without you having to wait 2 hours to eat as this menu seems like it could work with little accomodation (like the grilled pork sides of roasted sweet potatoes and brussel sprouts could just become the sides for your protein).

But I would try to get in contact with Disney or that specific restaurant before making a res, just so you know if something is on those products that seem safe, that would still make it impossible...

 

[Donald - my hero]

I have 15 safe foods and I'm able to eat safely at Disney - the only place other than my own house. I suggest looking at menus (just ignore the allergy ones, they are only good for people with a single common allergen to deal with) and scrolling down to the kids section. There you will see what basic proteins & sides are available in the kitchen since most children want their food plain. When you make your dining reservations click the "Other" box on the dietary restriction section and when you check in to the restaurant be sure to tell the CM at the desk that you have complicated restrictions that require speaking directly with the chef. Some servers & managers will insist they can handle your meal but just politely repeat that you need to speak with the chef. I would suggest printing off cards with your no-go foods, safe foods and suggestions of what you like to eat and hand those to the chef. Be very clear that you can't handle cross-contamination in the prep area and they will in fact use clean pans, utensils, prep station. They do NOT have separate allergy kitchens on-site but they are more than willing to safely prepare your food. Disney uses a lot of canola oil (it's cheap and has a high smoking point), not sure if that's a problem for you or not (We live in Canada, the home of CANola so I use it freely) I have the opposite allergy from you, poultry of any kind is out - can't even tolerate egg yolks - and it is often the first thing that's offered when I say I need freshly prepared foods with no spices so it's safe to assume that most table service locations have that in the kitchen.

BE SURE to carry safe snacks with you to help with the hangry attacks if you run into a chef who's having a bad day, end up at the back of a park and don't have a reservation anywhere. Look at resorts for meals mid-day, they tend to be quieter and you can get some great food while taking a rest from the parks. I agree with the poster who said be very leery of EPCOT, there are only 3 table service restaurants that are owned by Disney and use the proper protocols - Le Cellier (heavy on beef!), Coral Reef and Garden Grill.

Side note - if you're craving baked goods look for Cassava flour. You can use it 1:1 in any recipe, it's not a grain, has a slightly earthy taste but I'm able to make some decent flat breads and brownies!

 

[Her Dotness]

But I would try to get in contact with Disney or that specific restaurant before making a res, just so you know if something is on those products that seem safe, that would still make it impossible...

I'll disagree a bit because the TS chefs are well-versed in handling multiple and uncommon allergies. They'll most likely prepare the OP's meal from fresh raw ingredients and will do so with every possible precaution.

Just do as the pp suggested, flag your ADR with Other allergen and politely demand to consult with a chef.