Good afternoon. Several of you asked me to post about meals in Disney. We returned yesterday from a magical four days. How hard it was to leave the high 70's to return home to the low 30's with rain. This was my first vacation since my LC diagnosis so I was more than a bit nervous about eating most of our meals out. But Disney was great! I took hemp protein powder along for breakfast and then had a banana mid-morning. For lunch I took Bumble Bee Premium Wild Pink Salmon in a pouch along although I only ate it once. I was able to get a plain burger and steamed broccoli in most of the quick service restaurants in the park. I also took Epic bison bars along. They were very good and gave me a dose of protein when I needed one. There was always something gluten free that I could order for dinner in the parks. One night I ordered gf breaded chicken tenderloins. While that was something that I would not have eaten before my diagnosis, I enjoyed being able to eat what everyone else was eating (minus the french fries.) The highlight of our trip was the dinner package for the Processional at Epcot. We ate at the Biergarten which was a buffet. The chef came out and walked me through the buffet line to show me what was safe to eat. GF would have been easy, but I can't have dairy, either. I was still able to eat much more than I normally do. When I sat down with my plate my husband was amazed. He said later that he wanted to cry (I did, too.) I did not have bad reaction to anything that I ate, in fact I didn't have any "movement" until we returned home. While that wasn't the best, I was thrilled not to have to worry about D hitting me when we were in a park. Our last evening we attended Mickey's Merry Christmas Party which had complimentary cookies & hot chocolate throughout the Magic Kingdom. They had Enjoy Life chocolate chip cookies for me to enjoy. The fact that I couldn't have the hot chocolate didn't bother me at all. They are so cautious with food allergies that when my husband asked for gf cookies for me one of the cast members said that he had to get a manager. My husband told him that they are already packaged but the cast member said "with allergies I must get a manager." So needless to say it was a wonderful experience and I would not hesitate to go back again. Sorry this is so long but hopefully it will help someone else. There is a Facebook group "Disney Chefs Rock Food Allergies" which was some very helpful reading before our trip.
This is great news, Marcia! I bet you had a wonderful time and a nice break from the crummy weather.
I have found that the chain restaurants and larger enterprises, like Disney, do a good job of taking food allergies seriously. It pains me to say this since I support local, independent food establishments as much as possible. In fact, I was chef/owner of 2 restaurants in my day. BUT, you can develop a relationship with a local eatery by explaining your proclivities. Sometimes they are very willing to work with you and treat you like a queen when you patronize their establishments. There is a local ice cream store that stocks coconut-based ice creams for the asking, at no extra charge.
That's great, Chris. I live in a small town that isn't very progressive but there is hope. When we go out to dinner in neighboring cities they are much more in tune with special dietary requests. I haven't tried dairy-free ice cream yet. They did have it in Disney but the ice cream store was too full so we didn't stop in.
Marcia you must be in my neck of the woods as we're looking at a messy mix of snow, sleet, and rain tomorrow as well. My DH and I are headed to Jamaica in less than 2 weeks and I CAN NOT WAIT!
Yes Jean. I'm in Maine so we are supposed to start out a mix and then get 1-2 inches of rain on top of the icing. I hate this mixed precipitation stuff! I so wish it would just snow. My driveway is already an ice skating rink and it's treacherous to walk.
Before I moved to Vermont 10 years ago I lived in Portland, ME (not Portland Oregon, which is what people seem to assume when you say you live in Portland). One of the major weather events that I have experienced in my lifetime is the ice storm that pummeled Maine in the 90's. I went out to eat with a friend for lunch (that was also when I still could go out to eat without worrying too much) just as the storm was starting. By the time we finished our meal it was nearly impossible to walk or drive. I really do hate ice when it falls from the sky, coats the roads and sidewalks and makes walking and driving treacherous. Maybe we should start a PP snowbird branch, a kind of cooperative winter living arrangement, complete with gf, df, sf, ef kitchen for those of us who get easily sick of winter.
Jean, love the co-op idea, but here we have all been complaining about the impending Northeast storm (my area, too). I think we need to prevail on some of our warm zone potty colleagues to start the coop as our winter retreat! I'd pay, of course, and I'm pretty handy in the kitchen!
Chris
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
This was my first vacation since my LC diagnosis so I was more than a bit nervous about eating most of our meals out. But Disney was great! I took hemp protein powder along for breakfast and then had a banana mid-morning. For lunch I took Bumble Bee Premium Wild Pink Salmon in a pouch along although I only ate it once. I was able to get a plain burger and steamed broccoli in most of the quick service restaurants in the park. I also took Epic bison bars along. They were very good and gave me a dose of protein when I needed one. There was always something gluten free that I could order for dinner in the parks. One night I ordered gf breaded chicken tenderloins. While that was something that I would not have eaten before my diagnosis, I enjoyed being able to eat what everyone else was eating (minus the french fries.) The highlight of our trip was the dinner package for the Processional at Epcot. We ate at the Biergarten which was a buffet. The chef came out and walked me through the buffet line to show me what was safe to eat. GF would have been easy, but I can't have dairy, either. I was still able to eat much more than I normally do. When I sat down with my plate my husband was amazed. He said later that he wanted to cry (I did, too.) I did not have bad reaction to anything that I ate, in fact I didn't have any "movement" until we returned home. While that wasn't the best, I was thrilled not to have to worry about D hitting me when we were in a park. Our last evening we attended Mickey's Merry Christmas Party which had complimentary cookies & hot chocolate throughout the Magic Kingdom. They had Enjoy Life chocolate chip cookies for me to enjoy. The fact that I couldn't have the hot chocolate didn't bother me at all. They are so cautious with food allergies that when my husband asked for gf cookies for me one of the cast members said that he had to get a manager. My husband told him that they are already packaged but the cast member said "with allergies I must get a manager." So needless to say it was a wonderful experience and I would not hesitate to go back again. Sorry this is so long but hopefully it will help someone else. There is a Facebook group "Disney Chefs Rock Food Allergies" which was some very helpful reading before our trip. 
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