peanut allergy

[mickey#1fan]

I have a two year old going on the western cruie june 03 who has a peanut allergy. I need help. I know they use peanut oil in cooking and disney will provide him with special meals BUT what about the rest of us.
If you are not familiar with the allergey you should know that many ethnic foods use peanut oils like mexican and asian. We CAN NOT eat foods cooked with peanut oil at the same table as my son. I am really worried. Just the aroma of peanuts could cause a major problem for himIts a life threating food allergy.
I really want to go on th cruise but I am also very worried if this could cause him to have a reaction and then cause an emergeny trip to the hospital by helicopitor.
I know there are many parents out there who deal with this allergy and hopefully someone can help me.
I reall yneed to know if I can actually take this trip or not. Please help me. I am so confused and don't know what to do!




Thanks.
Tammy
Western cruise june 03

 

[MelissaE1]

Hi Tammy,

I can't help you directly, but this is one I would definitely call DCL about. I can't imagine they haven't dealt with it before, but I know I would want to hear what they had to say before I went out on the ocean with my child.

I have a friend who has a son with the same severe allergy (he once had a violent reaction just from someone opening a bag of peanuts near him on a plane). He was in my son's first grade class and our scout group, so I have some idea what you must face. Peanuts can be hiding places you would never suspect.

Maybe a call to DCL will help you decide whether they are equipped to handle a young child with such a severe allergy.

 

[mickey#1fan]

Thanks for the reply. i did talk to soemone at DCL and they told me to get a medical clearance form filled out by the pediatrician. Which is all well and good but there are other areas of concern for him. Maybe i will give them a call again andtry to get all the questions answered. Anyone have the number?
Thanks again.

Tammy
western cruise june 03

 

[MelissaE1]

Hi Tammy,

The number is 800-951-3532. I don't think the CM's that answer the phone are usually equipped to deal with this sort of thing. "Get a medical clearance" sounds like a stock answer to me. Maybe if you made them understand that this is a life-threatening issue and not merely an inconvenience they could put you in touch with the people who staff the medical team, or someone else who could give you the parameters in place for dealing with this kind of special circumstance (or the lack thereof).

Good luck!

 

[PiperG]

Hi,

Our DS 5 is allergic to nuts, and I must say we were very happy with the entire park/ship experience. The ship itself is not nut-free, but the staff was very knowledgeable about was items were risky for our son. The key was identifying what items are made on the ship versus which are made off site. The "famous" choclolate chip cookies you hear so much about are not made on board, and DCL does not guarantee they are nut free.

I have been copying over key pieces of information found on this board into a Word document. Below are some important findings. I hope they help.
_________________________________________________
I am also allergic to tre nuts. Pine nuts, almonds, and cashews can be deadly to me. Cross contamination is a HUGE issue. Here's a few things I've found out:

Disney uses canola oils for frying and baking. They do not use any nut oils for this purpose.

They will not guarantee anything not baked pr prepared on premises.

The baking powder bisquits are Pillsbury, and are nut and cross contamination free.

Cookies are a sticky issue. You're better off asking for Rice Krispies Treats if they are available, and request that they be cut in the kitchen with a "Clean" utensil and brought out fresh to you.
I've spoken to several chefs at WDW, as well as a few executive chefs in their banquet and catering departments. They have all told me the same thing, and said that this is cross company (in other words at WDW, DL, and DCL)
In general, the cooks fry and bake with canola oil, not soy. But when I asked about the famous chocolate chip cookies, Ali said although they are baked with butter, he cannot guarantee the contents of these cookies because they are purchased on land and he can?t be certain that the label is perfect (e.g., sometimes they contain nuts and the label might not say so).

 

[mickey#1fan]

I did get in touch with DCL she was VERy helpful. I am waiting to hear from the speical services coordiantor.
They did say that DCL does use peanut oil in some foods but not all. i was already aware of that. I know they can help me out but it very stressful already trying to get all the info I can but thats what it is like living witha peanut allergy. Getting info all thetime. Just stressful cause we have no control over all this food unlike at home where we do.

 

[MNmom]

Mickey#1fan-

I am also very interested in this thread!!

We just booked the Magic for Jan.17 2004 and I have a DS (2.5) with a severe allergy to milk, eggs AND peanuts! He has had one anaphylactic shock incident with some ice cream and now we are very paranoid. I guess I have been kind of in denial about the cruise since we have over 14months to go. And a part of me was planning on bringing a lot of his foods with us--soy milk(small boxes like juice boxes), soy nut butter, safe crackers and cereal. (THis may even be against DCL policy-- I don't know yet).

I would love to hear how your experience goes. Please keep us posted. This is a very important issue for those of us dealing with food allergies. Good Luck!

Happy Cruisin' MNmom

 

[ducklite]

A lot of the things in Piper's post were written by me. I'm the one with the severe nut allergies (but not to peanuts though--just to clarify).

First off, the servers are WONDERFUL at the sit down meals. Just make sure they are aware. I would also talk to the Dinig room captain when you board and explain the severity of the situation. AVOID TOPSIDERS LIKE THE PLAGUE!!!! There is no one there to answer questions, because it's a buffet there is a huge cross contamination problem, etc. I would also avoid the evening dessert buffet for the same reason.

There are nuts/peanuts for the ice cream at Scoops, and in many pastries at breakfast.

The health center is first class and well staffed to handle this type of emergency.

The key is to talk to special services before you board. Several times. And to remind the servers over and over. If you do'nt think they are understanding you due to a language barrier, ask the dining captain to step in.

Anne

 

[PiperG]

Anne,

I thought those were your comments in my notes. . . .I could not remember if they were exclusively from you or compiled from others.

I felt our entire WDW/DCL experience was great relative to DS 5's allergy. Since this is a cruise board, I don't often mention our experience at the parks and the Poly, but everyone their was very knowledgable and caring.

It was good to see you on the board again!

 

[FOJMO]

Our daughter's friend was along with us last November and she is allergic to nuts. She is not as sensitive, though -- it's only it she ingests them. She is a teenager and knows what to avoid, but to play it safe, we mentioned it to our servers.

Also, when we took a tour of the ship's galley, I was pleased to see that the ingredients of everything they make is posted for all to see. They also have a board that pinpoints specific allergies, e.g., nuts, milk products, etc., and what dishes include these items. Very smart!

 

[Wishing on a star]

Okay, this is a little off of the topic of nuts, but I am concerned about my husbands allergy to yeast.

You all seem to be such experts, I just wondered if anyone had noticed if yeast was on any of the allergy/ingredient lists? Boy, it might just be worse than the nuts in the fact that it is added to almost everything! To bad that products aren't labeled for it like they are for nuts, milk, wheat, etc....

Thanks!