Buffets and Food Allergies

[dizcrazee]

Hi there, I was wondering if anyone with food allergies in their party has eaten at the many buffet-style restaurants at WDW? We normally avoid buffets, but I would love to take my PA/TNA daughter to some of the great buffets at WDW. How do they handle food allergies at the buffets - will they bring out that individual's food straight from the kitchen to avoid cross-contamination?

 

[mtlmom]

We will be there in August with my 5 year old DD who is allergice to peanuts, treenuts, legumes, and possibly seafood (going for testing on Wednesday).

We have a reservation at Chef Mickeys for brunch and I am also hoping they can accomodate her allergies.

Any advice would be great as this is our first time there as a family.

 

[MrsJackSparrow]

DH has peanut and shellfish allergies. We have dined quite easily at Chef Mickey's, Ohana (breakfast), the Biergarten, Cape May Cafe (breakfast), and Crystal Palace.

I have them note on all of our ADRs that DH has allergies. Every restaurant we eat at, a chef comes out to go over DH's needs. They do suggest you call ahead if you have really special needs, but most places we just need to know what DH should avoid rather than having something special plated for him. He carries Benadryl and an EpiPen but has never had to use either at WDW.

The chef at Chef Mickey's was by far the very best. He pointed out that in several dishes DH thought he could eat, they contained a shellfish or peanut ingredient in the sauces. He did prepare a special ice cream dessert for DH because most of their pastries were prepared on machinery with nuts and Disney couldn't confirm that there was no cross-contamination. There's really no worry at all at Biergarten for DH as it was all German food so no nuts or shellfish. The other places were breakfasts, so it was easy to take advantage of character buffets and not worry so much about dangerous foods. We really enjoyed Cape May, which does serve a shellfish buffet every night. Everything in there was meticulously clean and fresh.

I hope you have a fantastic trip!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Hi and to disABILITIES!

If you click on where it says "disABILTIES" at the top of this page it will take you to the Index. One of the top items is the "disABILTIES FAQ" which will gives lots of useful information. Post #3 has a lot of links and information, look in the section on dietary needs.

Normally a chef will come out and discuss what is safe and what may not be safe. Depending on the allergy and the chance of cross-contamination they may make up items specially in the kitchen.

I know that Boma is absolutely one of the best places. My understanding is that many people have not been happy with San Angel in Mexico.

Or, if you want an easier route, click on the link in my signature.

 

[Hook's Girl]

I've been to Crystal Palace with a little girl who had a gluten allergy. The chef came out and walked her and Mom through the buffet, and then went ahead and make a few special things, like rolls, for her. It was very smooth and painless process, the chef's are very used to this.

When you make a reservation, tell the person on the other line and they will mark it on the reservation. You also want to let the person at check-in and your server know when you sit down!

 

[Selket]

The chefs are *usually* good with the buffets. My younger son is PA/TN and has eaten off of the buffet usually. If there was some dish the chef felt might be a question they sometimes prepared a different version for him in the kitchen.

I would only recommend Boma for PA/TN IF Chef TJ is there that night. If you can get him he is absolutely the BEST - the most wonderful chef for those with allergies on the entire property. Others have reported mixed results when Chef TJ wasn't the chef for their Boma dinner.

The experience REALLY depends on the chef you get. We had a bad experience (disappointing - annoying) at Chef Mickey's. I won't go into it but the chef was the reason.

As for Biergarten they do have nuts on the cookies - and maybe something else. I have gotten different chefs there but I have had some of them tell me that it was definitely unsafe to eat the desserts off the buffet for the "may contains" risk. The last chef we got was awesome and brought my son a huge assortment of great things (including Divvies). Other chefs weren't so great for the desserts - but the food we really love.

I had a chef this past time at 1900 Park Faire tell me that the chocolate chip cookies made with Nestle chips were safe. Every bag of Nestle chips I've seen is a "may contains" and I told him that. He was like...."oh well.....just don't eat them then." This was after he told me they were safe. So....comfort level not so great there. My son stuck with his usual foods and there was some dessert he really liked that I felt ok about.

Anyway - buffets should be fine. Be prepared to get some wonderful chefs and mostly good chefs and maybe a bad chef.

 

[dizcrazee]

Thanks for your replies, everyone. WDW is the only place that we are really comfortable with eating in restaurants because they seem to be so well informed and cautious, but I've always been wary of the buffets due to cross-contamination issues (like the serving spoons getting crossed, etc.).

These are the places that I'm considering for this trip (we'll pick from this group), please let me know if you have any thoughts on any of these places or foods as far as PA/TNA. We will be going to EPCOT and MK only this time. I would love to go to Akershus in Epcot, but I see on the menu that they serve PBJ - I don't care how safe they are, that just scares me too much!

I will get the Brenda Bennett info too before we go (our trip is in Oct.).

EPCOT

Coral Reef

Le Cellier

Harry Ramsden's Fish and Chips

Rose and Crown

MAGIC KINGDOM

Tony's

Liberty Tree Tavern

Crystal Palace (my one buffet experiment)

Casey's Hot Dogs

Turkey Legs

Dole Whip

RESORTS

Wispering Canyon

California Grill

 

[james'mommy]

I have PA/TNA and haven't had problems at any of the buffets, Boma rock, the chef and the waitstaff are great. The only place I've had a problem was San Angel Inn.

 

[BeckyScott]

At the buffets we went to, the chef came to the table, walked me thru the buffet line and I loaded up a plate as we went along, and also brought out rolls for Justin.

dizcrazee, of your list, we ate at Liberty Tree and Tony's and both were really nice about it. Justin is allergic to nuts and other stuff too. At Liberty Tree it's served family style, so he was his own "family" the other three of us got the standard food and he got his own plate. At Tony's the chef did the usual routine.

 

[kaffinito]

These are the places that I'm considering for this trip (we'll pick from this group), please let me know if you have any thoughts on any of these places or foods as far as PA/TNA. We will be going to EPCOT and MK only this time. I would love to go to Akershus in Epcot, but I see on the menu that they serve PBJ - I don't care how safe they are, that just scares me too much!

I will get the Brenda Bennett info too before we go (our trip is in Oct.).

EPCOT

Coral Reef - We ate here towards the middle of our stay. The chef came out to speak with me before the meal and he went over my menu choices and my possible dessert choices. They were careful there.

Le Cellier - First restaurant we ate at, so I was pretty cautious. The chef came out and spoke with me before hand and advised me not to eat any of the pastry desserts since he said they were made off site and they couldn't vouch for the contents. He was very cautious.

Harry Ramsden's Fish and Chips

Rose and Crown - Same as above, although I didn't deem it necessary to speak with the chef that night, it was towards the end of our stay, and I had the drill down by then.

MAGIC KINGDOM

Tony's - Second restaurant we ate at. I spoke with the chef who went over my menu choices with me.

Liberty Tree Tavern

Crystal Palace (my one buffet experiment)

Casey's Hot Dogs

Turkey Legs

Dole Whip

RESORTS

Wispering Canyon

California Grill

The other places we ate at the drill was the same. It was noted on my ADR's that I had a tree nut allergy, and when we arrived I told the hostess/host that I had a life threatening tree nut allergy. When we were seated, if the waitress didn't bring it up, then I would. I felt a little silly being so adamant about the life threatening/possible death thing, but it was worth it so I could eat in peace.

After the first few days, I would give the waitress two choices for my meal, and then ask for them to double check with the chef to see that they were safe. Otherwise, it would take up to 45 minutes to get the chef out to our table, and I usually didn't feel like waiting that long.

The only problem I had was with the CS places. No one there has any idea at all if something contains tree nuts or not. Some of the servers don't even speak much English. It was really tricky, so I just stuck to burgers or chicken fingers and fries.

 

[kaffinito]

Whoops! Totally forgot. We also ate at Hollywood and Vine, which is a buffet at DHS. The chef walked me through the buffet, and also offered to cook me separate foods. The only danger for me was the green beans with almonds, so once I made sure that the beans were cooked with other vegetables on the other end of the kitchen, then I felt safe to eat. I ate everything but vegetables that night. Good food by the way!

 

[dizcrazee]

Thanks so much for your input - it really helps!

I can't wait!

 

[TrixyA]

I am allergic to wheat and have eaten at buffets without incident. The chef comes out and discusses the offerings. They offer food prepared in back and brought to me, but depending on what I'm getting and the appearance of the food line, I'm usually OK with taking food off the line. Eaten at: Crystal Palace, Chef Mickey, Grand Floridian breakfast buffet, Restaurantasaurus.

At WDW, the only allergic reaction I've had after speaking with the Chef was at Marrakesh. I think there may have been a communications breakdown with the servers as they brought me food and 15 minutes later, the Chef showed up with my "approved" plate. I've gotten very cautious about trusting a server that doesn't speak english well.

 

[hildarumpole]

DD10 and DS6 are peanut/tree nut/shellfish allergic. We ate at Biergarten, H&V and Crystal Palace without incident. The chefs each came to the table and discussed safe options. Desserts, except for soft serve ice cream at H&V were all off limits. Dinner rolls had "may contain" warnings. The chef at Crystal Palace was the nicest, in terms of personality and the amount of time he took showing us everything, but they were all helpful and professional.

 

[dizcrazee]

Okay, I've made my reservations - this is what I decided on:

1900 Park Fare (a little nervous here because of the cookie incident mentioned, but we want to see Cinderella and gang - we won't eat the desserts)

Le Cellier

Rose and Crown

Cape May Cafe

Crystal Palace

Liberty Tree Tavern

Wispering Canyon

Chef Mickey

We will also eat the turkey legs and Casey's hot dogs. For desserts, I will bring some of my daughter's faves in an insulated bag (homemade cookies and brownies) that we'll eat when we leave the restaurant. Maybe they'll have a dessert that she can eat, but I'll bring that as a back up.

By the way, the CM that I spoke to was very nice and reassuring!

I love WDW!

 

[Selket]

Do not let my cookie story at 1900 Park Faire scare you. William did end up eating some of the other desserts there but I cannot remember what. I always question them about WHERE the dessert is made - is the entire thing made in their kitchen or brought in? If the darn chef actually made it and it doesn't contain any items I'd usually question (like chocolate) then I will let him have it. William has never had a reaction so far.

There *are* safe brownies and cookies at WDW. The cookies for sure - are choc. chip and are Divvies. Some of the resorts sell them and the Main Street Bakery has them. We often got extras to carry with us. The brownie might be sugar-free (my son is also a type 1 diabetic) - so that is trickier to track down. I would suggest that you call ahead of time to make sure they have a dessert available that your child can eat and will like. This has been our biggest problem. You could request that they provide Divvies, for example. Or a Mickey bar or Itskadoozie, etc. The chef at the Biergarten brought him an enormous platter of choices - including some prepackaged items like Divvies that we took with us for later.

With our experience at some places (they tell us they have nothing - like Chef Mickey's or they bring out a cup of Tofutti and he does not like that - he also doesn't have a milk allergy) - so he has to sit there with his little cup of yuck (in his opinion) and watch us eat dessert. Believe me....you don't want to eat dessert in front of your little kid when you have all these choices and he has none. I have learned the hard way to make sure they bring him something that he likes!! - especially at the buffet places where dessert is included. Or that the chef makes something special for him - Chef TJ at Boma - you would not believe the dessert he made. It was about a foot tall and turned heads as he walked out with it to our table. William could only eat part of it but it was so special and cool and just for him - that is what he loved the most.

We haven't dined at all of those places except Cape May - without major problems.

 

[alotachips]

Both my children have severe milk allergies. Are there any restaurants that you can suggest for my kids that carry dairy free foods (ex. chicken nuggets, waffles etc. ). I am having the most trouble finding restaurants for CS meals

 

[dizcrazee]

Selket, thanks so much for the very useful information! This is very helpful!

 

[kaffinito]

Both my children have severe milk allergies. Are there any restaurants that you can suggest for my kids that carry dairy free foods (ex. chicken nuggets, waffles etc. ). I am having the most trouble finding restaurants for CS meals

Try Peco's Bills over at MK. They all spoke English there and were able to answer my questions. Also, if you go during the off times it isn't crowded at all, so you can take your time choosing foods. At Epcot, try one of the places in England or the American Pavilion. I found that if are persistent you can get the answers you need. Once I found the CS places in POR and MK I just made sure I ate there rather than take a chance elsewhere.