I think what the other poster was just trying to say (and how I read it) was that TS might not be your best option at this point. Just the simple fact that TS restaurants might always leave you feeling the way you felt - sad and crying and hoping something would work but having nothing work. In the end you know best what your child can eat, and if that means bringing your own food, or eating in your room or whatever, you know best how to keep your child safe and healthy . If Disney won't cooperate then just find some way to do it yourself, the way you do it at home.
You cannot let a restaurant make you upset and ruin your trip.
I think the issue becomes that kids who have serious and complex food allergies will never be able to eat like everyone else. There just isn't any way around it. And unfortunately no restaurant can always accommodate every allergy especially when things are vast like your child's. A restaurant is under no obligation to provide anything different than what's on their menu. And yes, Disney does make some claims which perhaps they cannot meet. And they're going to have to deal with that. But in the end, you're the mom. You always ALWAYS know best.
I researched and researched. We have taken many, many trips to Disney and have not eaten in any restaurants. My research told me Disney could handle it; based on so many positive posts and Disney itself. I do not consider my child to have 'severe' or vast allergies at all. Although I guess one could say any allergy is severe. He can't have grains, peanuts or seeds. (It's certain seeds but we just stay away from seeds at disney to make it easier) He can have dairy, cheese, eggs, meat, fruit like apples and oranges, veggies like broccoli and carrotts,potaoes: I could go on and on. I did not think he was complex and how would I know if we didn't give it a try. I did give it a try, it was awful and I have stated our next trip will not include TS which is unfortunate unless I see Disney has made a change and then we will try again. Being a family of eight, I can't make reservations last minute as we would never get in.
I did not let it ruin the trip completely. But if you have spent over $2,000 and all the time and research that goes into it, and the excitement in your childrens eyes, and to go through what my family did, I think there is no one in this world who would not feel upset and that it put a damper on things. And really no on really knows how bad it was because you were not there and it's hard to type it all in one post. My husband says for those who say it isn't about the food, their trip, why in the world do we have the popular dinning plan and something to eat every ten steps! Most people who vacation do enjoy special treats when they are out.
Disney doesn't state that if you have one food allergy we can handle it but if you have three you are out of luck. I wanted to post my experience because it is important for others to know what we went through.
On a funnier note, not funny at the time, we had our bag of food confiscated one day. They even called out the bomb squad! We had our bag in an umbrella stroller with disney coffee cups in one side and our duffy bears on the other. We went to eat at Le Cellier. (the bag had our snacks and dinner) It was pouring rain so we parked the stroller by the tables for the kid cot stations undercover. The lady running kid cot didn't say a word and I didn't ask. We have done this before with no issues and were not the only one there at the time. We had a very long and not so good time at Le Cellier and were inside for over two hours. When we came out our stuff was gone. Long story short, an overzealous cm called it in as a suspious package. We had already unpacked the bag at bag check and had removed each container. It took almost an hour to get it back. Security had taken it to the front of the park somewhere. They had the dogs come out and everything. I can see the dogs now smelling my grilled chicken salads and going crazy! My guess is duffy gave us away! LOL We felt like we couldn't win for losing. The rest of the trip I was so paranoid about our food.
For those with children that have allergies like my son, who can not enjoy meals out, I sympathize with you all. We spend hours planning food to bring, having to pack it each morning, and sometimes my other children pay for his allergies by missing out on experiences. My son did not develope allergies until the age of four and it has taken us six years to figure it out completely, so I know the difference. And for those that have had a positive experience at Disney I am so glad for you and I hope it continues so that all families can have the same experience. I hope Disney takes any of these negitive experiences and makes them better. I am not mad at Disney. I already have another trip planned to try and wipe away some of the negitive of this last trip. But, they could do better. If you have stayed with me thus far, thanks for reading my book!
he simply doesnt produce any insulin, we're not trying to utilize it better, he does that just fine, we simply have to replace it, the way anyone with a missing body part replaces.
So for kids, I'd imagine it's about a million times harder!
