cmph
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2016
amazing. of course. So tempted to buy into DVC there!!! Best trip ever.how was it?
-
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Spring Break at Aulani, April 10-15, 2016 Trip Report (in progress)
- Thread starter jtba
- Start date
Aulani Day 5, Thursday, April 14, 2016, Part 2
So 2 p.m. found us in line for Donald, Chip & Dale, and Goofy. The first two were on that island with the bridge, and we met up with Goofy in the shallow end of the lazy river. By now DH was not really into all the photos, so he was not very excited about. Goofy sensed it, and kinda crossed his arms and made fun of DH, who kinda just waved him off as he wanted to be done with the whole thing ASAP.
In my notes I wrote that we were done with all three by 2:28, and were on our way to the bathrooms before we go seek out the turtles next door at Paradise Cove!
This time, armed with the tips from fellow DISers, it took us only 10 minutes to go to the parking lot and find the opening to the beach. Here are the directions:
1. go to the lobby and walk all the way down the street.
2. with your back to aulani, turn left and head towards the traffic light across the street from monkeypod.
3. cross the street towards four seasons hotel, heading north.
4. keep walking until you come to the driveway for the paradise cove parking lot:
5. turn left onto the parking lot and walk towards the ocean, towards that white sign at the opening:
close-up:
6. walk down that path:
7. and you'll see this:
and this is what we saw:
These turtles were not shy at all. We knew we weren't supposed to get too close to them, so we would stand still or even back up when they came by, but they seriously swam right up to us and had no fear at all. I never understood why. Nobody was feeding them, so it's not like we were giving them anything of use. It felt as if they were as curious about us as we were about them. I learned later that it's been the same two turtles who have been there for the past 15 years. Wow! They probably swam by 5-6 times during the hour we were there, maybe more. Kinda lost count after a while. Another trip report said one time there was a monk seal there too.
At 3:45 we started walking home because we really want to squeeze in more time at the pools, lol! DH and I went separate ways--he took DS to the infinity pool while DD and I went to check out the koi fish in the pond. Then she wanted to try out at the Menehune Bridge. Of course when we actually go there she decided there was too much water after all, and refused to go in. But that's OK, we just went into the lazy river and went for a few more rounds.
Met up with DH and DS back in the hotel room at 4:45 as we had a dinner reservation at Ama Ama at 5. DH reported DS said he did not want to go home! Well neither do I, actually. This has been such a relaxing vacation, and I've enjoyed every minute of it so far.
Which leads me to my least favorite part of the trip.
So 2 p.m. found us in line for Donald, Chip & Dale, and Goofy. The first two were on that island with the bridge, and we met up with Goofy in the shallow end of the lazy river. By now DH was not really into all the photos, so he was not very excited about. Goofy sensed it, and kinda crossed his arms and made fun of DH, who kinda just waved him off as he wanted to be done with the whole thing ASAP.
In my notes I wrote that we were done with all three by 2:28, and were on our way to the bathrooms before we go seek out the turtles next door at Paradise Cove!
This time, armed with the tips from fellow DISers, it took us only 10 minutes to go to the parking lot and find the opening to the beach. Here are the directions:
1. go to the lobby and walk all the way down the street.
2. with your back to aulani, turn left and head towards the traffic light across the street from monkeypod.
3. cross the street towards four seasons hotel, heading north.
4. keep walking until you come to the driveway for the paradise cove parking lot:
5. turn left onto the parking lot and walk towards the ocean, towards that white sign at the opening:
close-up:
6. walk down that path:
7. and you'll see this:
and this is what we saw:
These turtles were not shy at all. We knew we weren't supposed to get too close to them, so we would stand still or even back up when they came by, but they seriously swam right up to us and had no fear at all. I never understood why. Nobody was feeding them, so it's not like we were giving them anything of use. It felt as if they were as curious about us as we were about them. I learned later that it's been the same two turtles who have been there for the past 15 years. Wow! They probably swam by 5-6 times during the hour we were there, maybe more. Kinda lost count after a while. Another trip report said one time there was a monk seal there too.
At 3:45 we started walking home because we really want to squeeze in more time at the pools, lol! DH and I went separate ways--he took DS to the infinity pool while DD and I went to check out the koi fish in the pond. Then she wanted to try out at the Menehune Bridge. Of course when we actually go there she decided there was too much water after all, and refused to go in. But that's OK, we just went into the lazy river and went for a few more rounds.
Met up with DH and DS back in the hotel room at 4:45 as we had a dinner reservation at Ama Ama at 5. DH reported DS said he did not want to go home! Well neither do I, actually. This has been such a relaxing vacation, and I've enjoyed every minute of it so far.
Which leads me to my least favorite part of the trip.
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Aulani Day 5, Thursday, April 14, 2016, Part 3
As I mentioned previously, DD was medically diagnosed to have a number of food allergies, including gluten, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, and seafood (fish & shellfish). You're probably wondering how I cook for her or dine out on trips. Yes, it's a challenge, but so far we've been able to get by (albeit with a few relatively minor incidents here and there). There are lots of gluten-free options these days, and in general it's not horrendously difficult to avoid foods that doesn't contain her allergens. My deepest fear is actually with cross contact with other people's foods, such as when a cook doesn't wash his pot between making dishes. I don't know how prevalent this really is as I've never worked in a commercial kitchen, but I sometimes have a hard time trusting mom-and-pop type restaurants because of that.
Now, remember, we had a great experience just two nights ago, so I was very relaxed sitting there in the big pavilion room, thinking we were going to have another lovely dinner. It was a different waitress this time, but like the one we had on Tuesday, she was very friendly and warm. We told her about DD's allergies, and we had dined there recently and enjoyed our meal, blah blah blah. We placed our orders, then chatted among ourselves. Our bread arrived first, then we waited and waited and waited for the gluten-free bread the waitress said she would bring for DD. Finally at 5:36 it appeared (our reservation was at 5).
Normally we carry our Benadryl and Epipen with us everywhere. That particular evening I actually left them in the hotel room by mistake (since I didn't bring my purse with me and only had my room key), but ten minutes after sitting down I suddenly remembered I didn't have them and was about to tell myself we probably don't need them because this is Ama Ama / Disney, and they are excellent with food allergies. But then I thought about our experience on the Disney Alaskan cruise last year (when DD also had two reactions in the dining rooms on board), and decided it was better to be safe than sorry, so I asked DH to go back to our hotel room to get it.
Then our main entrées appeared as well. The waitress served DD some steak with mashed potatoes. I asked her, "Are those mashed potatoes dairy-free?" She answered that yes, it was safe because the chef prepared it for DD, then she left. DD happily spooned it into her mouth; she very rarely gets to eat mashed potatoes as they're usually cooked with butter or cream.
A few minutes later, the waitress re-appeared and said, "Oh I'm so sorry, the mashed potatoes were actually meant for your son because it has dairy. Your daughter is supposed to have the steak with rice." What?!? Didn't I just ask you whether they were safe and you said yes? If you weren't sure, why did you tell me yes??? I didn't blow up at her, but was furious inside. Is it really that hard to make sure your guests get the correct dish? Seems like a special red cloth pin, or something, would've done the trick! I watched DD like a hawk, and sure enough, within a few minutes her lips turned red and a little puffy, and she said her tongue felt weird. *sigh* I quickly gave her the single-dose liquid Benadryl, then waited for her reaction to subside. It pretty much ruined the rest of my meal.
The manager appeared shortly thereafter, apologized profusely, and said they would bring us a replacement dish and comp it as well. DD got a sorbet dessert so she was happy. But when the bill appeared, her dish was not comped. I was going to ask for the manager, but DH advised against it. His reasoning was that they did replace her meal. I was too angry and tired to fight, so I just let it be. But here's the bill:
Grrrrrrr.... It's now been almost two months since our return, and I still haven't written to Disney officially about this even though I had every intention to do so when it happened. I did fill out Aulani's guest survey and mentioned the incident, kinda half hoping someone would call me back, but so far, nothing. I had planned to write Special Services (who take care of food allergy issues for guests) a separate email, not so much to ask for anything, but to urge them to please train their kitchen and wait staff better. So far I have not been able to gather the energy to do this.
I understand it's a one-off situation--they always are, aren't they? I have heard story after story of amazing service at Disney properties from other food allergy families, of how well taken-care of they were by the CMs, etc. I know DD has lots of food allergies, but in this case, all we asked was some simple steak cooked with salt, and a plate that doesn't have butter. The kitchen staff prepared it, but the waitress gave DD the wrong dish. I am still sad thinking about it. Good thing DD did not go into anaphylactic shock from this, but people can and DO develop serious reactions, and many have had to go to emergency rooms when something like this happens to them. What then? Everybody will be sorry, but it will be too late. :\
Ok I'm going to start a separate entry because this particular part is dredging up all the unhappy memories of that meal.
P.S. @MomoMama here's the incident. :\
EDIT: Guest #2 shows the same food allergies--that was for me, but I do not have any food allergies. The waitress suggested doing that so DD could share my lamb.
As I mentioned previously, DD was medically diagnosed to have a number of food allergies, including gluten, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, and seafood (fish & shellfish). You're probably wondering how I cook for her or dine out on trips. Yes, it's a challenge, but so far we've been able to get by (albeit with a few relatively minor incidents here and there). There are lots of gluten-free options these days, and in general it's not horrendously difficult to avoid foods that doesn't contain her allergens. My deepest fear is actually with cross contact with other people's foods, such as when a cook doesn't wash his pot between making dishes. I don't know how prevalent this really is as I've never worked in a commercial kitchen, but I sometimes have a hard time trusting mom-and-pop type restaurants because of that.
Now, remember, we had a great experience just two nights ago, so I was very relaxed sitting there in the big pavilion room, thinking we were going to have another lovely dinner. It was a different waitress this time, but like the one we had on Tuesday, she was very friendly and warm. We told her about DD's allergies, and we had dined there recently and enjoyed our meal, blah blah blah. We placed our orders, then chatted among ourselves. Our bread arrived first, then we waited and waited and waited for the gluten-free bread the waitress said she would bring for DD. Finally at 5:36 it appeared (our reservation was at 5).
Normally we carry our Benadryl and Epipen with us everywhere. That particular evening I actually left them in the hotel room by mistake (since I didn't bring my purse with me and only had my room key), but ten minutes after sitting down I suddenly remembered I didn't have them and was about to tell myself we probably don't need them because this is Ama Ama / Disney, and they are excellent with food allergies. But then I thought about our experience on the Disney Alaskan cruise last year (when DD also had two reactions in the dining rooms on board), and decided it was better to be safe than sorry, so I asked DH to go back to our hotel room to get it.
Then our main entrées appeared as well. The waitress served DD some steak with mashed potatoes. I asked her, "Are those mashed potatoes dairy-free?" She answered that yes, it was safe because the chef prepared it for DD, then she left. DD happily spooned it into her mouth; she very rarely gets to eat mashed potatoes as they're usually cooked with butter or cream.
A few minutes later, the waitress re-appeared and said, "Oh I'm so sorry, the mashed potatoes were actually meant for your son because it has dairy. Your daughter is supposed to have the steak with rice." What?!? Didn't I just ask you whether they were safe and you said yes? If you weren't sure, why did you tell me yes??? I didn't blow up at her, but was furious inside. Is it really that hard to make sure your guests get the correct dish? Seems like a special red cloth pin, or something, would've done the trick! I watched DD like a hawk, and sure enough, within a few minutes her lips turned red and a little puffy, and she said her tongue felt weird. *sigh* I quickly gave her the single-dose liquid Benadryl, then waited for her reaction to subside. It pretty much ruined the rest of my meal.
The manager appeared shortly thereafter, apologized profusely, and said they would bring us a replacement dish and comp it as well. DD got a sorbet dessert so she was happy. But when the bill appeared, her dish was not comped. I was going to ask for the manager, but DH advised against it. His reasoning was that they did replace her meal. I was too angry and tired to fight, so I just let it be. But here's the bill:
Grrrrrrr.... It's now been almost two months since our return, and I still haven't written to Disney officially about this even though I had every intention to do so when it happened. I did fill out Aulani's guest survey and mentioned the incident, kinda half hoping someone would call me back, but so far, nothing. I had planned to write Special Services (who take care of food allergy issues for guests) a separate email, not so much to ask for anything, but to urge them to please train their kitchen and wait staff better. So far I have not been able to gather the energy to do this.
I understand it's a one-off situation--they always are, aren't they? I have heard story after story of amazing service at Disney properties from other food allergy families, of how well taken-care of they were by the CMs, etc. I know DD has lots of food allergies, but in this case, all we asked was some simple steak cooked with salt, and a plate that doesn't have butter. The kitchen staff prepared it, but the waitress gave DD the wrong dish. I am still sad thinking about it. Good thing DD did not go into anaphylactic shock from this, but people can and DO develop serious reactions, and many have had to go to emergency rooms when something like this happens to them. What then? Everybody will be sorry, but it will be too late. :\
Ok I'm going to start a separate entry because this particular part is dredging up all the unhappy memories of that meal.
P.S. @MomoMama here's the incident. :\
EDIT: Guest #2 shows the same food allergies--that was for me, but I do not have any food allergies. The waitress suggested doing that so DD could share my lamb.
Last edited:
Aulani Day 5, Thursday, April 14, 2016, Part 4
Sunset today was to be at 6:51 (hence our early dinner reservation at 5). We paid our bill at Ama Ama, then left at 6:30 to take the kids to the bathroom before heading down to the beach for our sunset photos. There were several photographers milling around with small groups of people near them. We managed to find one who was finishing up with one family. It would be our turn next. But hey, this mom and son just cut in right in front of us, hmph! Sheez. I didn't want to be Angry Mom Who Blew Up At Fellow Vacationer, so I just let it be. Oh well. They were done soon anyway, so we got our photos taken at 6:48. No one else lined up behind us, and we were able to take our time with the photographer.
Afterwards we went to Aunty's to return the kids' magic bands. Yes, it would've been fun to keep them as a souvenir, but they already had their menehune necklaces, and knowing them, the magic bands would've just been tossed into a corner of the house gathering dust. There's enough junk around the house that I don't need two more! And no, I do not want to pay $12.95 x 2, or whatever the amount it was to keep them.
At 7 we went to the community room to check out an iPad so we could finally do the scavenger hunt. There are several options, but we were on a time crunch because the room would close in an hour and we needed to return the iPad before that. We chose the outdoor options, which took us to 10 (?) different locations, in the garden, around the pools, near the "volcano", etc. It was good to do this after we had been here for a few days and knew most of the locations pictured or via the clues given. Still, it took much longer than I thought, and we never finished it anyway. Some of the banters in the videos were silly and unnecessary. Perhaps Aulani could consider editing them into a shorter version in the future.
At 7:50 p.m. we returned the iPad to the community room, then I sent DH and the kids up the room to watch the Starlit Hui from our room while I to check out our Photopass pictures on the kiosk in one of the gift shops.
Because this was our first experience with Photopass, I didn't realize you had to have all (or in our case, two) your Photopass cards with you in order to retrieve your photo. I mean, in retrospect that makes sense, right? How duh of me. So I saw the photos from the second card I had been carrying for the past few days, then went up to the room to retrieve the card that I used on the first morning.
Back downstairs, the CM helped me gather all the photos digitally, including the ones that were taken of DD and DS while they were in Aunty's, and there were LOADS of them. I had to go through screen after screen after screen to select the ones with my kids. The total process probably took about 10 minutes. Oh and remember that mom and son who cut in line during our sunset photos above? Someone they appeared in one photo that was assigned to us, lol! I told the CM to please remove them from our batch, which she kindly did. Then I browsed the merchandise while she burned the CD for me. All in all a very easy process.
Up to the hotel room I went again, prepared some fruit for the kids. They were done watching the Starlit Hui by then. Seemed like a great way to enjoy the show, right from the comfort of our balcony. The kids were in bed by 9:20. When I kissed her good night, DD said, "Can we please stay one more day?" Oh sweet baby, I would love to! But there are other people who want to use this room too, so it's their turn. But we will be back again, I promise.
DH and I spent some time packing before heading for bed.
Sunset today was to be at 6:51 (hence our early dinner reservation at 5). We paid our bill at Ama Ama, then left at 6:30 to take the kids to the bathroom before heading down to the beach for our sunset photos. There were several photographers milling around with small groups of people near them. We managed to find one who was finishing up with one family. It would be our turn next. But hey, this mom and son just cut in right in front of us, hmph! Sheez. I didn't want to be Angry Mom Who Blew Up At Fellow Vacationer, so I just let it be. Oh well. They were done soon anyway, so we got our photos taken at 6:48. No one else lined up behind us, and we were able to take our time with the photographer.
Afterwards we went to Aunty's to return the kids' magic bands. Yes, it would've been fun to keep them as a souvenir, but they already had their menehune necklaces, and knowing them, the magic bands would've just been tossed into a corner of the house gathering dust. There's enough junk around the house that I don't need two more! And no, I do not want to pay $12.95 x 2, or whatever the amount it was to keep them.
At 7 we went to the community room to check out an iPad so we could finally do the scavenger hunt. There are several options, but we were on a time crunch because the room would close in an hour and we needed to return the iPad before that. We chose the outdoor options, which took us to 10 (?) different locations, in the garden, around the pools, near the "volcano", etc. It was good to do this after we had been here for a few days and knew most of the locations pictured or via the clues given. Still, it took much longer than I thought, and we never finished it anyway. Some of the banters in the videos were silly and unnecessary. Perhaps Aulani could consider editing them into a shorter version in the future.
At 7:50 p.m. we returned the iPad to the community room, then I sent DH and the kids up the room to watch the Starlit Hui from our room while I to check out our Photopass pictures on the kiosk in one of the gift shops.
Because this was our first experience with Photopass, I didn't realize you had to have all (or in our case, two) your Photopass cards with you in order to retrieve your photo. I mean, in retrospect that makes sense, right? How duh of me. So I saw the photos from the second card I had been carrying for the past few days, then went up to the room to retrieve the card that I used on the first morning.
Back downstairs, the CM helped me gather all the photos digitally, including the ones that were taken of DD and DS while they were in Aunty's, and there were LOADS of them. I had to go through screen after screen after screen to select the ones with my kids. The total process probably took about 10 minutes. Oh and remember that mom and son who cut in line during our sunset photos above? Someone they appeared in one photo that was assigned to us, lol! I told the CM to please remove them from our batch, which she kindly did. Then I browsed the merchandise while she burned the CD for me. All in all a very easy process.
Up to the hotel room I went again, prepared some fruit for the kids. They were done watching the Starlit Hui by then. Seemed like a great way to enjoy the show, right from the comfort of our balcony. The kids were in bed by 9:20. When I kissed her good night, DD said, "Can we please stay one more day?" Oh sweet baby, I would love to! But there are other people who want to use this room too, so it's their turn. But we will be back again, I promise.
DH and I spent some time packing before heading for bed.
bcwife76
DisneyMomma
- Joined
- Dec 10, 2014
So glad you got to see the turtles in the end!! Magnificent creatures!!
Oh my gosh, I am steaming mad on your behalf at that dinner!!!!
They had all the information and yet they STILL gave her the wrong order!!! Your poor DD!! But bless her, even after all that, to hear at the end of the night she wanted to stay one more day....awwww 
That was like my youngest DD - by our 3rd day in Maui, her mantra every day onwards was "we are never leaving, we are living here!" Ha - I wish baby girl!
Oh my gosh, I am steaming mad on your behalf at that dinner!!!!
They had all the information and yet they STILL gave her the wrong order!!! Your poor DD!! But bless her, even after all that, to hear at the end of the night she wanted to stay one more day....awwww That was like my youngest DD - by our 3rd day in Maui, her mantra every day onwards was "we are never leaving, we are living here!" Ha - I wish baby girl!Oh my gosh, I am steaming mad on your behalf at that dinner!!!!
yeah... it was something totally avoidable, which is why it was so maddening.
"we are never leaving, we are living here!"... i love it!!!
crystal1313
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 25, 2012
I am so sorry about your dining experience! I think you should definitely write to Aulani about what happened to you. What if it happens again, and this time the child goes into anaphylactic shock? I would write to as many place as you can to get some attention on this major mistake! And again, so sorry this happened!
My DS8 is allergic to dogs, where he breaks out in hives and his eyes swell up. It's gut wrenching watching him suffer through a reaction. I know his allergy is not as severe as a dietary allergy, I am not trying to compare at all, I just understand how infuriating this was for you. They put your child at risk. Not acceptable!
I am glad that you got to see the sea turtles! I cannot wait to go to that cove! That might be our adventure on more than one day. =)
My DS8 is allergic to dogs, where he breaks out in hives and his eyes swell up. It's gut wrenching watching him suffer through a reaction. I know his allergy is not as severe as a dietary allergy, I am not trying to compare at all, I just understand how infuriating this was for you. They put your child at risk. Not acceptable!
I am glad that you got to see the sea turtles! I cannot wait to go to that cove! That might be our adventure on more than one day. =)
cmph
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2016
I'm kicking myself that I didn't remember to chat about your daughter to the Ama'Ama staff!! "Vacation brain"? I totally meant to bring it up! You know, that's weird about the bread, too... b/c DH got his like 10, 15min before the rest of us got our regular rolls. I remember thinking that was unusual. You guys have bad luck getting her food quickly with Disney!!
We didn't get around to going to look for the turtles until our last day, and of course they weren't there. It was a pretty little area anyway, with a nice view up the coast that you don't get from the Aulani beach. We spent the majority of our time there telling DS to get off the rocks, b/c the last thing we needed was a fall or cut right before departure. Oh well, something for next time! That, and actually taking the art and grounds tours (never managed to fit either in), and the outdoor menehune hunt. We did the lobby one, which was fine, but yeah, the kids got a little bored. They loved activating things and hunting, but they didn't care what the characters had to say. And one of the stations spit out a prize for the kids, which is nice, but one prize, two kids... They didn't care to prioritize doing the outdoor one later on.
We didn't get around to going to look for the turtles until our last day, and of course they weren't there.
It was a pretty little area anyway, with a nice view up the coast that you don't get from the Aulani beach. We spent the majority of our time there telling DS to get off the rocks, b/c the last thing we needed was a fall or cut right before departure. Oh well, something for next time! That, and actually taking the art and grounds tours (never managed to fit either in), and the outdoor menehune hunt. We did the lobby one, which was fine, but yeah, the kids got a little bored. They loved activating things and hunting, but they didn't care what the characters had to say. And one of the stations spit out a prize for the kids, which is nice, but one prize, two kids... They didn't care to prioritize doing the outdoor one later on.thank you. i'm sorry to hear about your DS... that does not sound like fun at all. DD had the same hives and swollen eye thing twice in preschool this year. we never figured out exactly what it was, but suspect it was probably the teacher-made play dough (which contained wheat flour) that she may have rubbed into her eye somehow. the strange thing is she's played with it many times at school, but only reacted to it twice over the course of three years. so maybe it was something else. dunno.
what do you do when your DS gets a reaction? do you give him benadryl, or just wait it out?
yes, the turtles were really awesome! try not to wait too long to see them. we probably should've gone on day 2, but didn't want to leave the grounds of aulani!
I'm kicking myself that I didn't remember to chat about your daughter to the Ama'Ama staff!! "Vacation brain"? I totally meant to bring it up! You know, that's weird about the bread, too... b/c DH got his like 10, 15min before the rest of us got our regular rolls. I remember thinking that was unusual. You guys have bad luck getting her food quickly with Disney!!
We didn't get around to going to look for the turtles until our last day, and of course they weren't there.
we have indeed not having the greatest of luck in getting her food with disney! which is why it's so much more disappointing. so many food allergy families say they have the best experience at WDW/DL/DCL, and yet look what happened to us... i know part of it is probably due to the sheer number of her food allergies, but... *sigh*
oh i am so sorry you didn't get to see the turtles! but you know what it means, right? yeah, you said it yourself--just gotta go back again, and soon!
oh boy. one prize for two kids... i can totally visualize it because i know exactly how my two kids would react!
crystal1313
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 25, 2012
thank you. i'm sorry to hear about your DS... that does not sound like fun at all. DD had the same hives and swollen eye thing twice in preschool this year. we never figured out exactly what it was, but suspect it was probably the teacher-made play dough (which contained wheat flour) that she may have rubbed into her eye somehow. the strange thing is she's played with it many times at school, but only reacted to it twice over the course of three years. so maybe it was something else. dunno.
what do you do when your DS gets a reaction? do you give him benadryl, or just wait it out?
yes, the turtles were really awesome! try not to wait too long to see them. we probably should've gone on day 2, but didn't want to leave the grounds of aulani!
Yes, we give him benadryl and it usually subsides within 20-30 min. Last time he had a reaction he didn't even touch a dog, but gave my sister in law a hug, and she had been holding her dog earlier in the day. He broke out in hives on his face where he had come in contact with her shirt! He loves dogs too
He never had a reaction until he was almost 2. It was very scary as he could not tell me if he could breathe or not and the way he was swollen up, I thought his throat would do the same! He has terrible allergies and takes a prescription chew-able pill nightly, a RX nasal spray, and we bring benadryl just in case they get worse.eeek. :| that must've been so scary to watch at such a young age!
let's hope the researchers find some sort of cure (or at least a way to detect allergens better) in our kids' lifetime. right now i cannot imagine how DD would fare going to college and eating dorm food...
crystal1313
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 25, 2012
It was SO scary! I was alone as my DH was in Europe for work, and I had an infant and my son who was almost 2! We had just pet a neighbors dog outside, and came in the house. I changed my youngest DS diaper, turned around to change oldest DS diaper, and his face was all swollen! Happened so fast. Luckily my parents live near by. I called them in a panic saying I was going to the ER and my dad rushed up to the local pharmacy and got him over the counter allergy meds and rushed to my house. Within 5 minutes you could see a change, by 25 all gone. Beyond terrifying.
I certainly hope they come up with to help their allergies as well. It would help SO many.
Looking forward to your next entry! =)
i was going to "like" your post but retracted it due to the scary allergic reaction!
i'll try working on my next entry sooner...
happymommy
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2006
My son had his first anaphylaxis to milk at 8 months old - it is scary! Gave him a bit of yogurt. He swelled up and was vomiting, crying, his ears looked like balloons, hives all over his body. Thankfully the paramedics on base gave him epinephrine right away, but stupid military docs sent us home! He should have spent the night in the hospital - instead gave us instructions on benedryl every 4 hours at home for the next 24 hours. Idiots! Live and learn.
Sorry to sidetrack your wonderful trip report!
Sorry to sidetrack your wonderful trip report!
not at all, and i can only imagine how scary that must've been (even worse than @crystal1313 's DS at 2 yrs old!). aaarrgh!
i think this just goes to show that food allergies are more prevalent than most people think. 1 in 13 people has a food allergy, if i recall the stats correctly. that's two in every classroom. i was pretty clueless until my own daughter was diagnosed.
i'm not saying we need to ban all allergens and all that. far from it. just would like people to be more careful, that is all.
happymommy
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2006
My son was among the first 14 kids in the the milk oral immunotherapy study at Johns Hopkins years ago - I learned a lot about allergies from Dr. Wood there. He's been seeing him since my son was 2 when we moved to Maryland. I never expected any special treatment, but once we found how Disney is with allergies, we felt safe travelling there, and that's one reason we've been so many times. Dr. Wood even is impressed with Disney.
cmph
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2016
DS used to see Dr. Wood!! Small world.
He was diagnosed with milk, egg, and peanut allergies in infancy, before he was even on solids. I won't give his entire medical history, but in brief - the peanut allergy was the only one to stick around post-infancy, and eventually his levels were low enough to do a challenge - and he was declared allergy-free after it (and I'm glad I never have to sit through a scary peanut challenge again!!). DH was diagnosed with celiac disease shortly before then, so at least that was one less food to worry about!happymommy
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2006
My son originally had milk, egg, peanut and sesame allergy. He outgrew peanut and sesame, thankfully! Challenges sucked.
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