Disney Dining

We just got back from our Thanksgiving vacation at Walt Disney World in Florida, where we enjoyed fun at the Magic Kingdom and EPCOT (though the kids were pretty unimpressed with the giant "golf ball").  We stayed on property for the very first time, at the wonderfully whimsical Art of Animation Resort, and enjoyed the added benefit of the Disney Quick Service Dining Plan.  Since my son is under the age of 3, he was not afforded his own meal plan, and so was expected to share meals with either myself or my husband.  Because my son has severe food allergies, I did my homework and talked to the customer service reps at WDW several times to determine just how I needed to ensure that he was not ingesting something that could make him very ill.  I was assured that all I needed to do was to notify a cast member and they would verify that the food he was being served did not contain any of the potential allergens.    Easy peasy, right?  Well.....almost.

Our resort had a restaurant called "Landscape of Flavors", which offered a fairly large variety of foods for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  It was a Luby's or Furr's (anybody remember Furr's?) style service with an open kitchen behind the serving staff.  I was fairly impressed to see that they offered tandoori oven cooked foods, including freshly made naan bread, in addition to the more expected fare of pizzas, pastas and burgers.  All this food was served in fairly rapid pace to the teeming crowds that seemed to fill the space almost to capacity for every meal time.  The first time I stepped up to the serving counter to order a meal that was to be shared by my son and by my husband, I told the cast member that I had a child with food allergies.  She smiled in a strange way and pushed a button behind the counter, actually stopping the serving line for me and my request.  (I am sure the people behind me were really pleased to see this happen, but I did not dare turn and face their hungry wrath.)  After about five minutes, a "chef" cast member arrived and assured me that the meal I was ordering did not have any of the allergens I needed to avoid.  I was served the meal and moved on my way to feed a "breakfast sandwich" of naan bread, spinach paneer and curried cauliflower to my son (who enjoyed it, thank-you-very-much.  That kid ate A LOT of naan bread during our stay at WDW.)

That same day, we decided to lunch in the Magic Kingdom at a restaurant in Fantasyland.  I made my way through the line, ordered our food and then made the mistake of trying to verify that the Caprese-style flatbread I had just ordered to share with my son did not contain any of his allergens.  The cast member actually dressed me down, saying, "You should have told me this before you ordered.  I can't answer any of your questions and I would have to call a manager."  (*without actually offering to call a manager*) I was very flustered and with the beginnings of tears in my eyes, waved her rudeness away with an, "I am sure it is fine."  (I should also point out that we had gotten VERY little sleep the night before and I don't do well AT ALL when I am that tired.)  I overheard the woman, literally the next person in line after me, say, "I have a little one with food allergies", to which my nasty new friend replied, "Ok, honey.  Let me call a manager over and we will get that taken care of."  I.  Was.  Pissed.  I fumed and kvetched throughout my lunch, which I ended up eating by myself anyway, as my son completely rejected the food by throwing the offered bites on the floor.  As most of us were finishing our meals, my husband took my son outside, where he apparently ran into another cast member asking how his meal was.  He told her that she should "talk to [his] wife", which, without knowing that I was the person he referenced, she did, almost as soon as we stepped outside and I started complaining about my experience.  I told her exactly what happened and she made notes on her tablet.  I don't know if anything I said was actually recorded or will make any difference, but I will tell you that it made all the difference in my day to just feel like someone heard and responded appropriately to my complaints.  (Of course, this made for a new family joke as we all decided that the Disney Happy Police will descend upon you, should you dare to be less than mirthful whilst in the "Happiest Place on Earth".)

After that lunch, I decided to just follow their ridiculous allergy protocol, so whenever I needed to order something that I was unsure of (french fries, in particular), I said clearly, without daring to order preemptively, "I HAVE A CHILD WITH FOOD ALLERGIES!"  Most of the time, it worked out well.....it always took a looooonnnnnggggg time to get our food, but at least I was certain that they made sure nothing had been contaminated by those three big, nasty allergens (eggs, nuts, and fish).  Here's a word to the wise though, Disney (and I will be sharing this when I do my "guest survey" in a minute): just freaking print the allergens on your menus.  Make it EASY for children/parents/people with food allergies.  I was trying to be responsible and as the mother of a child with food allergies, I know what is in most foods and I know which foods could be potentially dangerous because of the ways in which they are cooked.  I know you are doing some major CYA, but for goodness sake, shift some of the responsibility back to the people ordering the food.  I promise it will make our lives easier and the lives of your cast members easier as well.

Anyway, all in all, it was a good trip.  The food wasn't spectacular, but it wasn't bad either.  My son got his fill of allergy-free naan bread, supplemented with milk, grapes, the occasional banana or random bite of meat, french fries and strawberry yogurt.  Not the world's best diet, but doable for a few days.  The rest of us are a bit burned out on tandoori food, pizzas and, as my oldest daughter said, "no more chocolate chip pancakes!"  This week is about returning to our regularly scheduled diet.  Disney was fun and I would totally do it again, but not any time soon.