1. Chef Mickey's: Contemporary Resort: Chef Bob came out and took us around the buffet to let us know what our son could and could not eat. He also gave us some options that we could request from the kitchen if we needed a different type of food. The buffet was really good – BBQ chicken and ribs, salmon, roasted turkey, cheese pasta, salad, cheese, bread, potatoes, mac and cheese, chicken tenders, pizza, and fruit. They also had a dessert bar with cheesecake, lemon cake, brownies, and ice cream. For our celebrations (our son's birthday and our anniversary), our waitress – Amy, who was awesome – brought out cupcakes with a candle for us. Our son even got a special one that was safe for him. Then, because he was still hungry, the Chef brought out some Tofutti ice cream for him as well.
2. Tokyo Dining: EPCOT World Showcase: Here, our son got the teriyaki chicken, sans the teriyaki (since it contains whey and he doesn’t really like it anyway), rice, carrots/green beans and a fruit cup. The only option for dessert were some oranges (which he doesn’t like either).
3. Sunshine Seasons: EPCOT Future World: Originally our first choice for dinner, however, nothing catches our eye, and nothing is safe for our son to eat except the chicken, and he doesn’t want it. So we ate at the Electric Umbrella instead, where our son was able to have a burger, fries and grapes.
4. The Tusker House: Animal Kingdom: Chef Francisco did an excellent job of telling us what foods were safe for our son – he went through the whole buffet with us, and then decided to make a HUGE plate of food for him in the back that was completely safe. He had chicken drumsticks, couscous, rice, green beans, corn, orzo pasta, sirloin, a huge pickle spear and some potato wedges. Of course he didn’t eat all of it, but he made a pretty good dent in the pile of food. Overall, there were all sorts of delicious things to eat at the buffet – breads, cold salads, multiple kinds of couscous, fried plantains, pork, beef, curry chicken, jasmine rice, samosas, etc. The dessert selection was great as well. There were coconut macaroons, lemon bars, pecan bars, carrot cake, bread pudding, strawberry mousse, etc. For our son for dessert, they brought out Enjoy Life chocolate chip cookies and a strawberry frozen fruit bar.
5. End Zone Food Court: All-Star Sports Resort: It’s your typical fare of food – nothing too spectacular. Our son was very hungry, and we didn’t want to wait for a manager to come out since it was very busy, so we went with what we knew he could have: hot dog, fries, applesauce and a Silk Vanilla soy milk. The cashier says that the soy milk isn’t a drink option on the dining plan, and Daddy tells her that Alex is allergic to regular milk. So she calls a manager over to see if we can do that – he says, “Well, we’re not supposed to, but we can do it just this once. This type of milk is very expensive.”
6. Sunshine Seasons: EPCOT Future World: I talked to the chef to make sure that our son can have the chicken drumstick and rice, and we’re good to go.
7. Biergarten: EPCOT, World Showcase: Chef Jeff came out to walk us through the buffet – overall, he seemed pretty disinterested, and went through the buffet fairly quickly. He didn’t offer to make anything special for our son, so I had to ask if he could make some plain salmon in the back for him. He brought out a ginormous piece for him, and he ate the whole thing! He also had some sausage, watermelon, grapes and fruit compote for dessert.
8. 50’s Prime Time Café: Disney’s Hollywood Studios: Our son ended up having salmon, green beans and fruit salad after talking to the not-so-enthusiastic chef about what he could eat. He ate most of it, and then got a safe brownie for dessert. They also brought out a not safe cupcake for him since he had on his birthday pin. He got a bit upset that he couldn’t eat the cupcake, but he had had a lot to eat already and didn’t need another dessert.
9. End Zone Food Court: All-Star Sports Resort (Breakfast): The Chef (whose name escapes us), made our son four small Mickey waffles that are safe for him. He also has strawberries and a huge sausage. He also gets two drinks – an apple and an orange juice – and doesn’t like the orange juice (weird, because he drinks it at home).
10. Liberty Tree Tavern: Magic Kingdom: The food is Thanksgiving-style, and brought out in large portions to share – there was turkey, ham with glaze, beef, stuffing, potatoes and gravy, macaroni and cheese, green beans, bread and apple crisp with ice cream for dessert. Chef Kawa was nice, and made our son a plate with turkey, ham, beef, mashed potatoes, safe gravy (his first time EVER having it, and he loved it!) and green beans. He also brought out a raspberry sorbet with fresh fruit for his dessert that he loved! He ate a TON, and the staff even came out and sang Happy Birthday to him. The table was also decorated with Mickey confetti, so that was cute and a nice touch. While the boys made a bathroom stop, the waiter came and asked how we were doing with our son’s allergies. I told him we didn’t know what to expect the first time we took him to Disney in 2008, but that they’ve exceeded our expectations, and we love how accommodating all the restaurants are on property. He said that they get so many people with food allergies all the time, and they take them very seriously. He was glad that we were having such a positive experience.
11. Wolfgang Puck’s: Downtown Disney: Our waiter, Buc, used to be a chef for 10 years, so he’s really knowledgeable about food allergies and the ingredients used. He was absolutely outstanding and super intuitive to our son’s needs – Buc could see he was cranky and hungry, so he offered to bring out a bowl of carrots for him to munch on while our food was being cooked. Our son had spaghetti and smiley fries, and for dessert some Mango sorbet that he really didn’t care for, but it was okay because he was full from his dinner. We would DEFINITELY eat at Wolfgang Puck’s again.
12. Kona Café: Polynesian Resort: Our waitress is Lori, and although she’s friendly, she’s very slow. The Chef was pretty disinterested too – we told him what our son wanted, and he just wrote it down. He didn’t offer any suggestions, but did let us swap the macaroni that came with the chicken for the rice (that usually comes with the fish). He also had green beans and carrots and a fruit salad with his meal. For dessert, he had a build your own sundae with soy ice cream, and he also got some cotton candy with it, which he was super excited about.
Overall, we had a really good experience with Disney, and I would definitely recommend this vacation spot as a place that is very allergy-friendly. Our favorite food place on this trip was Wolfgang Puck’s in Downtown Disney for the outstanding service that Buc gave – very knowledgeable and intuitive to a child’s needs. Second place goes to The Tusker House in Animal Kingdom for making sure our son was VERY well-fed with a variety of foods.
No comments:
Post a Comment