Disney World Counter Service

[brownie]

Headed to Disney.  We've been there multiple times but usually have a kitchenette.  This time we only have a microwave and microfridge so we need to eat some food in the park beyond our usual 1 or 2 sit down meals.  We need counter service.  The list Disney sent me was pathetic.  No burgers, hotdogs or fries anywhere on the list.  Just chicken tenders.  They list safe buns though!  Udi I think??!

Is this just an oversight because they are listing the items of most concern?  I emailed them back but would like some suggestions here.  We are pretty much dealing with PA/TNA (possible shellfish and black beans).  We don't touch cross-contam (had an accidental rxn to that just this past summer) or even made in a facility.  I'm very conservative, but we've let the kids eat everything at Chef Mickey's breakfast bar twice before.

Any suggestion for the safest counter/options in each park?

Brownie

[hezzier]

We went a two years ago and that's all DS ate was hamburgers.  Most of the time we had to switch out the bun due to sesame.  They had a large book at the counter service that the manager came out with and it listed all the meals and their components so we were able to switch to a different bun.

I know we ate at: flame tree bbq in animal kingdom, peco's bills, not sure where else, but could have skipped lunch on the day we had chef mickey's.

[maeve]

We haven't been for 6 years but DD ate hot dogs both times we went without issue. 

[brownie]

Well they replied and said that the list was only "specialty items", so I think it is substitutes they can make only.  I would love to have a better idea of where to eat.  Not fond of waiting in line only to decide I don't trust them.  Thank you for the ideas.  Does anyone recall whether the regular chicken tenders were safe for PA TNA?  I know we ate them last time in the dinosaur area at animal kingdom but I can't recall if I decided the regular ones were safe or not.  I know we discussed it with the manager.  Brownie

[Macabre]

Egads.  I hope they have more than fried chicken, hamburgers and hot dogs that are safe  We're going this summer. We haven't been since DS was in Kindy--before he was a vegetarian. I should start looking at food now. We will eat in the parks while we're there.

[starlight]

I ate at Pinnochio's in February. Part of the 'adult' Disney experience for me was all the awesome restaurants, so the only counters I ate at were Pinnochio's, a couple wine stands, and a couple funnel cake stands. At the sit-down restaurants, usually the only things off limits for me, aside from the things with blantant nuts, were the rolls, due to cross-contamination in the facilities.

[brownie]

They do have plenty to eat in the restaurants, but we will be sitting down only once during the week.  I need quick, kid-friendly food, and while the restaurants will bring out a well-educated chef to speak with you, I am betting they are not quite as well-versed at the counters.  I would like to have planned out where we can grab a bite ahead of time.  I am looking for a safe burger, hot dog and chicken fingers in every park!

[maeve]

Well they replied and said that the list was only "specialty items", so I think it is substitutes they can make only.  I would love to have a better idea of where to eat.  Not fond of waiting in line only to decide I don't trust them.  Thank you for the ideas.  Does anyone recall whether the regular chicken tenders were safe for PA TNA?  I know we ate them last time in the dinosaur area at animal kingdom but I can't recall if I decided the regular ones were safe or not.  I know we discussed it with the manager.  Brownie

IIRC, the ones in the dinosaur section of Animal Kingdom are McDonald's.  I know that there's a McD's stand at Epcot between where Turtle Time with Crush is located and the first country on your right as you enter that area of the park. 

Every counter service place that we went to at Disney had a notebook of the ingredients and they were always very nice about getting that information for us.  We deal with egg allergy, so chicken tenders are not usually something we would think of as being safe. 

The last time we went, we'd been informed by our allergist's office to completely eliminate soy and sesame in addition to egg, peanut, and tree nuts.  We were informed of this just a few days before our trip.  We stayed on property at Disney and did not have a kitchenette.  We were able to feed DD just fine.  With just PA/TNA to avoid, things should be a bit easier.

[spacecanada]

I had a nice reply and it got deleted when the power went out.  Let's try again...

We went to WDW last May with TN/PN allergies (and vegan) and had no trouble finding safe food to eat.  Almost every quick service location had binders with ingredients and knowledgeable and helpful staff.  We were able to get veggie burgers and fries from Restaurantosaurus in Animal Kingdom (Dinoland USA).  It took a little while to get our meal as they had to make everything on a separate grill and dedicated fryer, but it was worth it.  They had special buns too which were okay.  We visited Sunshine Seasons (The Land Pavillion) at Epcot A LOT, so much so that we even took the monorail there from Magic Kindgom.  They made special plates in the back and had a wide variety of Enjoy Life chocolates and safe treats.  The Main Street Bakery in Magic Kingdom (Main Street) as well as the food court at Pop Century had some cookies that were safe for PN/TN and a few other allergens.  We had a poor experience at Pizza Planet in Hollywood Studios as they took a really long time to tell us what would be safe, said there were no nuts on the premises, and then later told us they had cupcakes with nuts on them.  Not cool.  Every other quick service place we went to was great though.  Oh, and the burrito place outside Mexico at Epcot could make PN/TN-free burritos too.  Sometimes they have nuts there, so it's not safe, but most of the time they are PN/TN-free!  There was also vegetarian chilli somewhere, but I cannot remember where.  I've also been told that turkey legs and pretzels are safe for most allergens, so it's worth checking out.  We also were told that Dole Whip was safe but we couldn't find any the past two times we were there - so sad. 

We had a very bad experience and way too close call on one of the tours that included lunch.  I was terrified to see whole nuts in my meal that was specifically labelled PN/TN-free!  I was traumatised for the rest of the day.  Disney apologised profusely, refunded our tour ($200/person), and told us they would revamp their whole allergy policy for tour groups - and they did!  My mother went back a few months later and when she booked her tour with allergies they told her they had new allergy procedures in place.  It was like night and day compared to my trip.  She had a wonderful time on the tour and had a great lunch free of her allergens.  Their new procedures reflect the allergy attention we expect from Disney, so I'm happy that has improved dramatically. 

Otherwise, we had incredible service at all the sit down restaurants we went to, as well as the Pop Century food court.  It was heartwarming to hear chefs tell me 'it's my pleasure to make something special for you', 'that's an easy accommodation' and 'I love taking special requests'.  That's some real Disney magic! 

You should be fine.  There are a lot of safe foods and treats for PN/TN allergies.  Have a great trip!

[Macabre]

Thank you for posting spacecanada--especially about having a vegan's dietary needs met.  My vegetarian teen should do well it seems. Question--is your vegan also PA/TNA?

[hezzier]

Sunshine Seasons was the other place we ate.  That's the place that we would not do again.  We had a hard time finding a "meal" for DS to eat.  All the bread was off limits, so I think he ended up eating a yogurt, grapes (a la carte items) and a snack that I was carrying.  It worked out fine, but I don't think any of menu items appealed to him.

[spacecanada]

Thank you for posting spacecanada--especially about having a vegan's dietary needs met.  My vegetarian teen should do well it seems. Question--is your vegan also PA/TNA?

Yes, we are both vegan and I have PN/TN allergies.  Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and Disney Cruise have all been great for us. 

[brownie]

thank you thank you for the specific suggestions!

BTW, we looked it up last week and it seems that McD's has pulled out of Disney entirely, so no safe McD's fry stands anymore

[hezzier]

See if they have a gluten free menu, at restaurants we are often able to find safe (and really good) fries from a dedicated gluten free fryer.  A cut up potato fried tastes so much better than the frozen french fries that they serve to everyone else.

[SweetandSour]

I ate at the turkey leg stand. It's a must.
Also a quick service in Mexico in epcot,pizza planet in Hollywood studios, Rosies in Hollywood studios,  somewhere in magic kingdom in frontier land.