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28 Comments

  1. This is such a great post! Thank you for taking the time to check all of this out and to share it with those of us who need to be careful about allergens. My son has a tree nut allergy and this will really help on our upcoming trip to Disneyland!

  2. Thank you Sharon for your post! It is very helpful. I am just starting to prepare for our first trip to Disneyland in October with our 7 year old son who has peanut, tree nut (except almonds and coconut) and dairy allergies, plus several food sensitivities (reacts with itching and eczema). I am pleased to see (through your diligent research!) that there will be good food options in the parks. I was wondering if you experienced any of the character dining meals and if there were good options there as well?

    1. My kids have not tried the character dining meals as it wasn’t an option for a quick school trip. If you contact Disney’s special diets office, they can help you. They are so willing to help! Have a great trip.

    1. Thanks, I didn’t ask specifically because I know that’s not something my son would like. You might want to email speciality diets, they can help.

  3. Thank you so much for his comprehensive list! We are going to Disneyland in a couple of days with our tree-nut allergic 3 year old and while we tend to being a lot of our own food, it is so great to know we have options!

  4. Hi Sharon, thanks so much for all the good info! One thing that we discovered when we were at Disneyland in May 2017, that was unexpected, was that for a lot of the carts and really quick service places (like for corn dogs and Dole Whips), they prepare a lot of the food in one small kitchen where there is a very high chance of cross contamination for most food allergens. My poor daughter was really looking forward to trying one of their famous corn dogs, but we didn’t feel comfortable chancing it.

    Also, we discovered that some restaurants like Boardwalk Pizza and Paradise Garden Grill that are near each other actually share parts of their kitchens, so there’s a chance of cross contamination across the two restaurants, so you have to check both restaurant menus. Better yet, just talk to the cast member at that location that specializes in special diets.

    Glad to hear he had a good time!

    1. Ordering food from a cart is definitely riskier so it’s highly recommended by Disney to speak with a special diets trained cast member. Some of the ingredients might come from a central kitchen and these menus could change at anytime, so I would definitely recommend talking with them before ordering. Thanks for sharing your observations!

  5. Thank you so much for this post! We are headed to Disney month and I was getting anxious about meal planning.

    1. Have a great time! I think that the chefs at the sit down meals do a great job of accommodating for food allergies but if you need quick meals, I think there are some workable solutions if you plan ahead. 🙂

  6. Sharon: Thanks so much for your detailed article. I trust you son had a wonderful experience at Disneyland? My daughter is eleven so we have unchaperoned overnight trips in the near future. So scary!!

    I’ve started doing research for a family trip to Walt Disney World this summer. We visited about five years before so I was reading their web site to see what changes they are made. I came upon this statement and I just don’t know what to make of it. Was wondering your thoughts. I did e-mail Disney but I thought the response was a little off as well. I can send you the e-mail responses, they are very long…

    “Please also note that our allergy-friendly offerings are reliant on supplier ingredient labels, and we cannot guarantee the accuracy of the contents of each food item. Allergen advisory statements (e.g., “ may contain”) are not regulated and therefore not taken into consideration when developing allergy-friendly meals. It is ultimately up to your discretion to make an informed choice based upon their individual dietary needs.”

    1. He did have a great trip, thanks for asking. I saw similar disclaimers on the menus at Disneyland as well. My feeling is that they’ll try to work with you as much as they can on site but I’m not sure they can control how each manufacturer handles their allergens or choses to label allergen advisories. I think that is probably true whenever we dine out, right? Perhaps you can try narrowing down which restaurants and which dishes you think your child would enjoy and go from there to see what’s appropriate for your family. You still have time to figure it out, good luck!

  7. Thank you for the in-depth research! I loved being able to read the menus to have an idea of whether or not there are enough options for our kids. We go to Disney World in about 2 months so this is great knowledge to have. Thanks again for all the hard work! Hope your son has a safe and enjoyable trip!

    1. Thanks, Angela, I’m so glad this helps you out. I hope you have fun at Disney World, we would love to go someday. Be sure to reach out to the Special Diets team and let me know how the trip goes for you. 🙂

  8. We visited Disneyland in September of 2015 and I could not have been happier about their reaction to my daughters food allergies! (Peanut, tree nut, mango) Every restaurant we visited was so helpful and made my daughter (then 12) feel so comfortable and confident about her dining experience. We still always had snacks on hand in case, but it made the trip even better knowing that she didn’t feel pointed out as being the oddball in the place. Hope your son enjoys his trip!

    1. As our children’s parents, it means so much that virtual strangers care so much to make a 12 year old girl with food allergies feel comfortable and confident about dining. That is a priceless experience for our children so that they can continue to grow in confidence to manage their food allergies as adults. Erin, thank you for sharing. <3

  9. Wow, what a great summary of all the options, and I love seeing all the menus! My little guy is allergic to dairy, eggs, nuts and sesame, but I saw a few options that might be safe for him if we ever visit Disney.

    1. Thank you, Kathryn! I hope my post is a good starting point to figure out a few options. Maybe you can make a trip work out with 1 meal at a sitdown restaurant, some safe snacks or quick serve items, and one safe meal off-site. The whole point of going to Disney or any vacation destination is to make happy memories and not let food allergies get in the way. <3

    1. No, I haven’t had a chance to call and my son’s trip is still a month away (procrastinator, yes!). I would feel better if you called them yourself so that you can decide first hand if it’s safe and also so that Nestle knows that allergen safety regarding this product is important, the sku # and phone number are included in the photo. 🙂

  10. This is great, thank you! I am sure we will be in this boat in a few years with band! I knew this article was for me and my freak-out tendencies, when I saw you listed the mileage at 396.4 miles!

    1. You’re welcome! I had a feeling that likeminded moms or dads would relate to 396.4 miles, thank you. I am not one to want to cut the apron strings as I prefer apron springs! I love my babies even though I am preparing them to be independent adults.