airborne cinnamon allergy-what to avoid?

[rutheart]

My daughter has a severe airborne cinnamon allergy. If you can smell cinnamon in the air, her airway swells up and she breaks out in hives. We carry an Epipen for her.
For example, she can't eat at Burger King because they now carry Cinnabon and the cinnamon smell gets trapped in the air of the restaurant. However, she can shop at our local mall, even though there is a Cinnabon in the food court, as long as she skirts around that section of the food court.
I have not been to Disney World since the late 90s, and we're planning our first family trip there in early December. Other than Mickey's Philharmagic, what other places/restaurants do we need to avoid for my daughter's safety?
Is the Philharmagic the only attraction that pipes in a cinnamon scent?
What closed air restaurants smell like cinnamon due to their dessert menu?
Will there be any parades to avoid in December?
I know many hotels put up gingerbread houses in their lobby during December. Is the Pop Century usually exempt from this tradition?
Obviously, as the time gets closer to our reservation, I'll be on the phone with the special diets department, but I'd like to do some pre-planning before that point, so I have an idea of where to get dining reservations, and plan a general itinerary for the trip.
Thanks in advance for any information to keep my daughter safe and out of the ER during our vacation!
Ruth

 

[rewardsinlife]

Sorry I can't be of more help..but something else you need to stay away from..that you didn't mention are the carts that sell churros! I would say maybe the best way to do the restaurants is have a person from your family..obviously not your daughter...go into the restaurant first and do a sniff test . If cinnamon...stay outside..no cinnamon..should be okay!

 

[RubySlippers]

I am pretty sure that most of the resorts sell some form of cinnamon rolls for breakfast as well as many of the in park restaurants...sit down and table service....the churro carts are scattered around the parks as well as the cinnamon glazed nut carts and pretzel carts ( some have cinnamon and sugar)

You might want to avoid the funnel cake kiosk in Epcot and the Ghirardelli Ice Cream Shop in Downtown Disney I think they make their own waffle cone and I thought it smelled a little cinnamonny.

I hope that helps... and I hope you all have a great vacation!

 

[Random Ninja]

As the PP mentioned, you aren't going to be able to avoid cinnamon in the parks because of all the churro carts and the bakeries that pump out the smell to attract customers. If your DD is that sensitive, you may want to consider having her wear a medical mask in the parks. I know it isn't the "cool" thing to do but it's better then an allergic reaction. I have to wear one all the time due to airborne allergies to mustard and tapioca and it really does help.

 

[jmartinez1895]

Stay away from the Christmas shops. I do not have an allergy like your daughter, but the smell of strong cinnamon ( and a few other things) will trigger a head ache for me. I have never been able to go inside of any of the Christmas shops ( MK, DTD). I have not had a problem in the restaurants, but I did have a problem in Germany at EPCOT once in there shop because someone was opening and spraying something they had for sell there. I

 

[mistysue]

I would be careful going to the places that feature African food... when I think of Boma (we go for dinner) I smell cinnamon. It seems to creep into a lot of stuff at Tusker house as well. As PP's have said I think it is mostly going to be a breakfast thing, outside of Animal Kingdom I wouldn't expect it to be a factor. You may want to specifically request that chefs for your ADR's call you- make clear that you need to talk to them to ask about how much it is used at the locations. I get the impression they used to call more, last fall out of about 15 locations I heard from one.

 

[LilyWDW]

So, if someone orders a dessert in the restaurant that has cinnamon in it, that will be an issue? During fall/winter, cinnamon seems to be a very popular spice for desserts at many table service locations.

I honestly think this is one of the most difficult allergy questions I have seen just do to the type (airborne) and how many places at Disney use cinnamon. There are even open air carts in MANY places that sell nuts glazed in cinnamon, churros, funnel cakes, and other treats. Plus, many places that serve coffee with have cinnamon as a possible topping, especially at that time of year. And places that serve teas like Chai... I can always smell the Chai tea from the tea carts.

And breakfast buffets will have cinnamon for their oatmeal out on the buffet.

I would jump on allears and look at menus to see where you can find cinnamon based products in the parks... and then go from there. Thought menus can change at any time, especially desserts, and especially seasonally.

For example, Animal Kingdom alone (based off of allears menus) has 10 locations of 34 that specifically have cinnamon based products specifically on their menus (or have coffee/chai tea). Some are open air carts spread through out the parks. Tusker House and Yak and Yeti would both be out (cinnamon based desserts or on the buffet).

I wish I could be of more help. I wish you and your daughter the best.

 

[rutheart]

Thank you everyone for helping me think through how to keep my daughter safe. All of your warnings/suggestions are really helpful.

We have dealt with a lot of food allergies in our family, but the airborne cinnamon has definitely been the most challenging. At one point, my husband had anaphylactic reactions to airborne egg, but that was still easier to deal with than the cinnamon, since cinnamon aerosolizes so readily, and it's also used for potpourri in addition to food. Since she was a baby, my youngest always broke out in hives when in contact with cinnamon, but she just started having airborne reactions this last summer, just after her third birthday, and we spent most of this November and December secluded in our house, since cinnamon was so prevalent in all the stores and everyone's houses. Her older sister has declared herself the official cinnamon sniffer of the family, and always enters new places first to figure out if it's safe for her little sister.

We were planning to skip Animal Kingdom altogether for other reasons, and
we were planning on eating breakfast in our hotel room anyway, so that will cut down on a few issues.

I was thinking that outdoor seating would be a good idea wherever possible, since even if a nearby diner orders something with cinnamon, it will dissipate into the surrounding area. Is there somewhere I can find a list of restaurants that have outdoor seating available?

 

[jmartinez1895]

I also want to warn you of Mexico in EPCOT. My DH is Hispanic and we visit that pavilion on every trip. We bought some cinnamon oil for my MIL while there ( she uses it for cooking). I do not recall smelling any, but if someone where to open it then I could see where it could be a problem.

 

[Emagine]

How would she be if someone is walking around with something with Cinnamon? Lots of desserts and foods have it in them. I know my kids love to walk around with the Cinnamon Pretzels and Churro. I know I have seen other ppl walking around snacking and carrying back things on the bus. We always take Cinnamon Rolls back to the room for breakfast in the morning.

 

[Stitch_lover_Sith]

I would say think about how sensitive she is and plan accordingly. Most of the parks around Christmas have the air effects of Cinnamon and other stuff. Christmas time is one of the worst times to bring her. You will have to avoid all the parades, most of the eateries and Hollywood studios Christmas lights sections. If she can be exposed to cinnamon with a mask without issue then I would say go ahead. If she cannot, December might not be the best time of year.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Turf Club at SSR has outdoor seats as well as Oliva's at OKW, POFQ, Mara, Captain Cooks at the Poly, Old Port Royal at CBR, Wolf Gang Pucks Express. Most of the QS places have outdoor seating. I think the Brown Derby at DHS has outdoor seating.

 

[SueM in MN]

Interestingly, I am working on a new post in the disABILITIES FAQs thread about allergies.
There is a bit about allergies currently in post 3, including links to the allears.net and wdwinfo.com restaurant menu pages. I would suggest checking both - because menus change fairly frequently, one or the other may be more up to date at any given time.

This is the first time I have heard of an airborne allergy to cinnamon though. I'm curious if they have talked about any possibility of doing desensitization. Since cinnamon is pretty common and her allergy is severe, it sounds like it might be reasonable to consider trying.

One other place to be aware of is Downtown Disney - there are 2 Wetzel Pretzel locations. One is in the Marketplace area, near to the stage, along the water. it is to the left of the stage as you face the stage.
The other is in the West Side area and is on the water side, close to the Characters in Flight balloon, as you come from the Pleasure Island area into Westside.

 

[PatsMom]

I noted you are going in early December. If you go to the Christmas party, you might want to avoid the parade. Unless it has changed the bake shop in the parade has what most find a lovely scent! But if I am remembering correctly, it is cinammon at least partly. Might not be good for your daughter.

Talk about a challenging allergy! People will be walking around with desserts, etc that have cinammon so you've gotten some good advice.

 

[Schmeck]

Main Street USA - how are you going to get past that bakery? Can she go through the Emporium safely, since it is on the opposite side of the street?

 

[SueM in MN]

Main Street USA - how are you going to get past that bakery? Can she go through the Emporium safely, since it is on the opposite side of the street?

It's possible to go partway down the shops on the opposite side of the street as the bakery, but I think there is not an inside connection to Casey's which is on the corner, close to being across from the bakery.

They could look at the things on the entrance end of Main Street and then take the train to Frontierland or the Storybook Circus area. To get out of the park, they could get on the train at one of those stations and get off at Main Street.
That would effectively bypass the bakery.

 

[Random Ninja]

It's possible to go partway down the shops on the opposite side of the street as the bakery, but I think there is not an inside connection to Casey's which is on the corner, close to being across from the bakery.
.

There is an inside entrance to Casey's from the Emporium. I hae to wear a mask in the last shop because it's connected. (I have to wear a mask in the street too but I'm extremely sensitive to my allergens.

I still recommend getting a filtering medical mask. You can get decorated, colorful ones that look cool. It may not be possible to avoid cinnamon in the parks.

 

[SueM in MN]

There is an inside entrance to Casey's from the Emporium. I hae to wear a mask in the last shop because it's connected. (I have to wear a mask in the street too but I'm extremely sensitive to my allergens.

I still recommend getting a filtering medical mask. You can get decorated, colorful ones that look cool. It may not be possible to avoid cinnamon in the parks.

Thanks. I thought there was someplace along there tht was not connected. Maybe before Casey's if not there.

 

[livndisney]

Thanks. I thought there was someplace along there tht was not connected. Maybe before Casey's if not there.

You can enter at Casey's and walk the length of Mainstreet (exiting near the Barbershop). All the shops are connected on that side. It is the other side is not fully connected.

 

[MSSANDRA]

We have been in December and honestly, you will want to avoid all the gift shops too. So many of them have special Christmas products and goodies. I think most of the Deluxe resorts do the gingerbread houses and they really do fill the air with fragrance so you would need to avoid those. Really it might be a bad time to go. Bless her heart, she makes our PA allergy look so easy.