Dining with Allergies at
Walt Disney World

When you think of Disney you not only think about all the rides, experiences, characters and fun but also about all the yummy food! Disney is full of fun snacks and wonderful places to eat where you can even meet your favorite character!

When you have a food allergy or an intolerance, eating out can be nerve wracking and anxiety inducing to the point that you just don’t want to do it.

Before a couple years ago, I didn’t worry much about going to Disney World with an allergy. I personally have a pork allergy and it’s pretty easy to navigate. I knew chocolate cake and Tonga Toast didn’t have pork in it and that is all I needed… right?

Things changed for my family when my youngest son developed food allergies out of the blue. He got real sick for 6 months. We had no idea he had food allergies until an endoscopy was done. He ended up being allergic to beef, pork, and dairy. We had to change the way we ate and what I cooked. The most difficult part was navigating restaurants. My son does NOT like attention and was so horrified that everyone made a big deal out of it at restaurants, that he refused to go.

Imagine how he felt when I announced we were going to Disney! I know, what kid is horrified going to Disney? But all my son could think about is what could he eat and how difficult it would be. He didn’t want to go and told me to leave him with his Grandpa and Grandma. We have been to Disney a zillion times but this is the first with an allergy (besides mine). I started researching to see how Disney was with allergies. They seemed to be on top of it but little did I know just how on top of it they are!

With Table Service restaurants, reservations are made prior to going to Disney either by you or your wonderful Beeline Agent. This is where you can start the process of identifying that someone in your group has a food allergy. When you arrive to the screen to finalize, you can scroll down where it says Food Allergy or Special Requests. Here is where you can add the allergy and have it attached to your party. If your Beeline Agent is making dining reservations for you, we make it easy to let us know about a dietary concern on our waiver form that you fill out!

What if you have an uncommon or many allergies? Disney has a special diets department that you can contact. They ask you do this at least 14 days prior to travel. The email is special.diets@disneyworld.com and the phone number is 407-824-5967. The wonderful people over at special diets can assist you. You can also always consult with the Chef or restaurant manager when you get to the restaurant as well. My personal experience was fantastic. When we arrived for our reservation at Cape May Cafe, the server promptly came over and asked which one of us had the beef, pork and dairy allergy. He made a special note of it and showed us what my son would be able to have.

Some of the restaurants also have special menus showing what items are ok. They were very mindful of my son and didn’t make a big deal out of it. In fact, it was like they do this all the time! It made my son feel very comfortable. At Hollywood and Vine , we were given a menu while we were waiting which showed allergy friendly food. My son loved this because he could look at it with all the attention while we were waiting to be seated. He was prepared on what to order before our server ever came over. At every restaurant we ate at, the server already knew someone had an allergy from our advanced reservations and was the first to say something.

You can also look up a lot of the table service restaurants on Disney’s website to prepare. If you scroll all the way down, you will come to the Allergy friendly section. They even divide them up between appetizers, entrees and desserts!

Counter Service restaurants are a little different since you don’t make reservations. It is recommended to talk to a Cast Member to help guide you. They usually will show you the menu or tell you which items would work. You can also always request to speak to the chef.

We ate at quick service locations without much issue. If there wasn’t a menu or the cm wasn’t sure, the chef or food manager came out to talk to us. Disney also has mobile order now and it has a great feature. You can choose the “Allergy-Friendly” icon. When you tap this icon, it takes you to a more specific page where you can choose your specific allergy and it will then list the items that fall under this allergy. It makes it so much easier!! Disney even has prepackaged Allergy friend snack at some counter service locations. Disney lists the most common types of allergies. If you happen to have a complicated situation, an allergy not on the list, or just want to talk to someone feel free to contact the special diets department.

I am sure they will help you navigate the best way to deal with your situation. My son is now quite fine with going to Disney. He is not made a spectacle of and we have felt very comfortable and happy with how Disney handles these situations.