Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Allergy-Friendly Disney Restaurants

We just got back from a wonderful long weekend vacation in Orlando, FL. We didn't do the Disney parks because I think Cody is still a little too young to really enjoy them for the cost, and it's just a short car ride for us to get there.

We did; however, spend some time in Downtown Disney that has restaurants, shopping and entertainment. Parking and admission are free.

I heard that Disney was among, and possibly the best for food allergy awareness and accommodations in their parks and restaurants, so I was curious to find out about that. I was not disappointed. 

Cody is not eating in restaurants yet and we're not in a place where I'm comfortable to even try. Plus being the picky toddler that he is, he probably wouldn't even eat the food anyway. We take his food with us. As I've mentioned though, I am severely allergic to fish, so I am always able to find out how food allergy friendly a restaurant is based on my allergy.

We went to two restaurants while we were there. T-Rex Cafe and Splitsville. T-Rex Cafe is a dinosaur themed restaurant that Cody loved. He couldn't stop talking about all of the dinosaurs! And Splitsville is a restaurant and bowling alley.

I told the servers in both restaurants that I am allergic to fish. Both said they take allergies very seriously and would send someone over to talk to us. 

At T-Rex the chef came out to talk to us, asked about the severity of my allergy, went over our order, said that he would personally oversee our food from start to finish and to let him know if we had any questions. Wow! Keep in mind this is a very large and busy restaurant. 

At Splitsville the manager came to talk to us, asked about the severity of the allergy, went over out order, said he would oversee and discuss with everyone handling our food. After our food came out I asked for salad dressing. The person who brought it to me apologized that it took a while and said that they double checked the ingredients (salad dressings sometimes have anchovy) and she wanted to wash her hands after delivering food to another table. Again, wow!

I was so impressed and appreciative of the knowledge, training and effort.

Based on our experience, Cody's first restaurant will probably be a Disney restaurant when we are ready!

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