Here Now : & Very Upset, advice please

[Lynn CC]

to make a very long story short my 2 grandsons had to be taken by ambulance to our the hospital after given the wrong food at Tusker. They had a severe reaction after speaking to the chef about the seriousness of their allergies. They spent the day in the emergency room & because of the steroids they have to stay on for a week now are not feeling good. It was a scary incident for all of us to see my older grandson struggle to breathe. Needless to say our vacation was ruined.
They left for home after feeling the boys were stable enough.
DH & I are at Yacht Club till tomorrow afternoon.
I’m wondering if anyone knows of a person I can talk to about this situation. I only get to see my family once/ twice a year, we live in CA they in Austin.
I feel awful for so many reasons but mostly because the boys were looking forward to fun time with Nana & Opa & now that has been taken away.

I’m so happy they will recover but at one point the 5 yo oxygen level was so low he was in serious trouble. I thought my son was going to pass out with fear. I had to be the strong one for everyone, until I broke down after they were taken to the hospital.
There must be someone here I can sit down & talk to about this.
On a cute note my 2 yo grandson said ... I don’t want to eat Mickey waffles anymore

Feeling sad in the happiest place on earth

 

[sk!mom]

My goodness, I'm so sorry!

What did they eat that they are allergic too? My nephew is highly allergic and carries an epipen. He's never had a problem at Disney but I'd like to know what to look out for.

How long was your trip? How many days did you lose? That would be a factor for me in what I would expect Disney to do to rectify the situation. At the very least, I would expect Disney to cover the medical cost if they were aware of the allergy and told you that the food didn't contain the allergen. I would also think that they would reimburse you for unused hotel and park days.

As far as who to talk to, I would start with CS at the hotel and move up the chain from there depending on how far you want to go and what you want Disney to do as an apology.

 

[BrianL]

First of all, I'm glad the kids are okay. That must have been very scary.

You should absolutely speak to Disney about this. I'm not exactly sure who to contact, but Guest Services would be a start. I would try to gather an idea of exactly what happened and when. Document this. I know Tusker House is a buffet, so the chef should have walked you through and pointed out which foods were safe. Could any other food have ended up on their plate or could there have been a cross-contamination issue? Just try to have all of these variables straight in your mind. Since this is such a serious matter, there is no doubt the restaurant will also have their story well-documented (I'm not insinuating that they will try to cover anything up - just that they will review what happened meticulously). You may want to go over it with your entire family first, just so everything is clear. You should be forthright and firm in your interactions and let them know what you expect from them to make it right for you. I hope everything gets worked out. Good luck.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

How terrifying! That’s awful

 

[Jennasis]

Similar thing happened to my nephew at Sanaa. Luckily they didn't have to go to the hospital but he had an allergic reaction to something even after discussing allergies with the chef.

Glad your grands are on the mend. I'd start with talking to your hotel concierge.

 

[robinb]

First of all, I am very sorry this happened to them! Poor kids. That must have been very scary for them and for you.

No one has contacted you from Disney already? I’m a little surprised they did not if they were taken by ambulance from AK.

If I were you, I would have an idea in mind of what I wanted in compensation. I would start with medical bills. Maybe a refund for at least part of your stay. Disney gets very cover-their-butts over things that are serious so be prepared for some polite push back when it comes to taking responsibility.

I would start with the front desk (in person) and ask to speak to a manager to get the ball rolling.

 

[mjkacmom]

I’m so sorry your vacation was ruined. I’d try to find out how this happened, was it misinformation, or could it have been cross contamination. We don’t eat at many buffets, but when we do, we know it can be risky, one of my kids has celiac, and has been glutened eating out. Fortunately her reaction isn’t life threatening. When we cruise, we eat breakfast at the buffet, but order dd’s breakfast the night before and have it delivered.

 

[Lynn CC]

Chef Richard prepared a special meal for them, and get did not eat from the buffet. I always book a character breakfast every morning of our Disney trips & never had a problem the chefs have been wonderful.
Our trip was from the 13-21
This happens on Wed. Morning
Chef Richard said it was the Mickey waffles he gave the kids & was very apologetic
I feel badly for him too, everyone makes mistakes.

 

[Lynn CC]

I should add at first aid in Animal Kingdom where they first took the children there was a police officer taking notes & another legal lady interviewing & documenting everything.

 

[edk35]

I am so glad they are okay. HOW SCARY!!!!

I agree with the others. Start with the hotel and move from there. You should and will get compensation for this. I am so sorry. All three of my kids (grown now 27, 24 and 19) all have peanut allergies and older son is also tree nut allergic. We have over 35 trips under our belts and so far so good. We always note the ADR for allergies and the chefs always do a great job. We always have epi pens on us too. Good luck and keep us posted. Again, so sorry for everyone involved.

 

[jdb in AZ]

I should add at first aid in Animal Kingdom where they first took the children there was a police officer taking notes & another legal lady interviewing & documenting everything.

Bummer about your vacation, but glad the grand kids will be o.k. I hope WDW offers you a do-over when everyone is healthy again. That's the very least they should do. If they balk, you could offer to contact the Orlando Sentinel.

 

[neverlandsky]

So sorry and glad they are ok. The reality is that with eating out there’s always a greater risk even if you talk to the chef with food allergies. The only way a restaurant is truly safe is if it’s zero allergen. Free of allergen doesn’t mean zero allergen. Found out that free allergen = acceptable ppm of allergen. Where zero allergen = zero ppm of allergen. I have a sesame seed allergy.

Gosh I hate myself for saying this and not trying to be salty, yet please remember it’s not entirely Disney’s fault.

Talk with hotel. Hopefully you also invested in vacation insurance and you should definitely be eligible to file a claim. Again so sorry. This is a no win scenario for everyone involved.

 

[BrianL]

Chef Richard prepared a special meal for them, and get did not eat from the buffet. I always book a character breakfast every morning of our Disney trips & never had a problem the chefs have been wonderful.
Our trip was from the 13-21
This happens on Wed. Morning
Chef Richard said it was the Mickey waffles he gave the kids & was very apologetic
I feel badly for him too, everyone makes mistakes.

Okay, so that's a little different than the buffet scenario. It sounds like you already have the corroboration from the chef that he made a mistake. Try to get copies of any of the documentation that was made. Other than that, it's just a matter of talking with Disney about your expectations here. They actually may only speak directly the parents in the case of the medical issues, but since your trip was also affected, I would think they will be open to compensating you for that.

 

[mbgrace]

I know that this may not be a popular opinion, but your family members should consider contacting a lawyer. Disney has an entire legal department, and according to you, a Disney employee has already admitted responsibility for a mistake that resulted in what could be substantial medical bills for your family. I’m not saying that they should be looking for a payday, but they should be made whole for all of the costs that you incurred, including medical bills, the cost of travel changes, and for the vacation that wasn’t used.

 

[cabanafrau]

Chef Richard prepared a special meal for them, and get did not eat from the buffet. I always book a character breakfast every morning of our Disney trips & never had a problem the chefs have been wonderful.
Our trip was from the 13-21
This happens on Wed. Morning
Chef Richard said it was the Mickey waffles he gave the kids & was very apologetic
I feel badly for him too, everyone makes mistakes.

Very glad to know the kids are recovering.

What outcome are you looking for by talking to someone from Disney at this point? You've already stated the chef knows what the issue was and has admitted he was the culpable party. It seems likely he is highly motivated to make sure he never makes the same mistake again.

I'm not suggesting compensation is out of order here, but beyond that why do you feel the need to speak to anyone? It's likely Disney will want to take the matter up with your son as the injured party, not yourself.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

I would start Guest Relations/Services and also bring it up with your resort management and see where things go. I don't know what it'll get you, but it should be addressed.

Beyond that, I think any of us who live with food allergies in our families have this fear. I know the Disney kitchens and chefs usually do so much to keep everyone safe with what they eat, but I'm thinking from a legal standpoint, they don't have to and can defend themselves by showing how much they do to try and keep guests safe...which is far more than most places. Not trying to play devil's advocate...just running through everything that goes through my mind every time we dine out with my older one (peanut/tree nut allergic). Like what legal recourse do we have if we inform them of her allergies and she gets sick or Heaven forbid...

I've had Disney mess up a few times with her and I've been fortunate enough to be able to catch it. I also had a situation last trip where a chef didn't understand my concern with something on their allergy menu...which really bothered me. Most of my complaints have fallen on deaf ears...like we do our best and we're sorry you had a bad experience. I'm so sorry you are all going through this and glad they are doing better. Accidents happen, but sometimes the consequences are too severe to leave it at that. At the very least, I hope Disney and the restaurant looks into how all of this happened so that it doesn't happen again.

 

[Lynn CC]

I should add at first aid in Animal Kingdom where they first took the children there was a police officer taking notes & another legal lady interviewing & documenting everything.

Very glad to know the kids are recovering.

What outcome are you looking for by talking to someone from Disney at this point? You've already stated the chef knows what the issue was and has admitted he was the culpable party. It seems likely he is highly motivated to make sure he never makes the same mistake again.

I'm not suggesting compensation is out of order here, but beyond that why do you feel the need to speak to anyone? It's likely Disney will want to take the matter up with your son as the injured party, not yourself.

yes they took my sons phone number so I’m sure they will be contacting them.. I just wanted to talk to someone face to face to let them know after months of planning & a lot of expense our vacation ended abruptly

 

[sjrec]

I’m so sorry-I know you’ve been looking forward to this vacation for a long time. What a nightmare.
I’m thinking medical expenses would be taken care of-have they spoken with your son? If they left with days remaining on their tickets and hotel stay I would hope they would reimburse them.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

I'm sorry that happened.

Definitely speak to Disney about it.
They can't get your time with your grandchildren back but they could give you monetary compensation which you can then use to do something fun with your grand kids next time you are able to see them.
Perhaps comping a night of your room would be possible.

I wouldn't go so far as to say your trip was ruined though.
You did get to spend several days together

Sometimes you just have to make the best of the situation.
Heck last time we all went as a family my 5 year old nice had to go to urgent care and found out she had strep and scarlet fever and then 2 days later my 10 year old had to go and she had the same.
2 days we were supposed to do something we ended up just sitting around.
And 2 other days we had kids that were on antibiotics for 24 hours so they were no longer contagious and wanted to go to the parks but did not fully enjoy their days and we have pictures that reflect it.

Another trip when I was about 10 was basically the trip from hell lol.
I got lice the day we were driving down.
By the time we got to Florida we all had lice and were doing treatments in a hotel room.
My dad chipped his tooth on a hard cookie so we had to find a dentist.
The car alarm wouldn't stop going off so we had to take it to be fixed.
My dad then broke his toe on a roll away cot.
We all got the flu and my parents could barely drive 2 minutes down the road to get something for us to eat.
My one sister threw up in front of the castle. My other sister threw up in line for It's a Small World and it started running down the ramp.
We were comped the day on our ticket and escorted out.
And finally I got some kind of blister on my foot and my dad lit a match to sterilize a needle so my mom could poke it and somehow he burned a hole in his shirt.
Yep all in the course of 14 days.
It was a trip to remember.

My point in all that is... stuff happens and you can't let it ruin what you did get out of the trip.

 

[katie01]

I am so sorry. I teared up just thinking of how scary and awful it would be to see your grandkids struggling to breathe.

I would think at the very least they would pay medical expenses and reimburse you for a new trip. Hoping your grandsons are feeling better soon!