As a mom to a 2.5 year old with multiple (13!) food allergies, I understand that it can be overwhelming trying to go on a vacation when you or someone in your party has food allergies. This is why I love going to the Disney Parks! I feel just as safe there as I do at my own house.
In November 2014, my then 14 month old, was diagnosed with multiple food allergies. At this time, his allergies were: peanut, wheat, dairy, egg and we had a feeling, banana. At age 2, we got wheat, dairy and egg back but added: almond, sesame, uncooked carrot, we think peas and about 8-9 fruits. As Disneyland Resort locals, we go a lot and with his list of allergies, most of the time, the cast members don’t even bat an eye. The process is very easy, no matter if you are at a quick service location or a sit down restaurant, just let the cast member know and they will give you an allergy friendly menu, or get a chef to come talk over the options with you. However, I would give yourself a few extra minutes for your meal to be prepared.
Oliver enjoying Big Thunder Ranch BBQ
Where are the best places to eat at the Disneyland Resort? Here are some of my hits and a mini miss, (although you really can’t go wrong!).
- Rainforest Café in Downtown Disney – we had heard good things about Rainforest Café so we decided to try there and we were not disappointed! My little Mouseketeer had rotisserie chicken and corn! He was also able to have some of my French fries. This was our first meal out after his first diagnosis and the staff quickly put me at ease.
- Goofy’s Kitchen at the Disneyland Hotel – We went for my son’s second birthday and it was awesome! He loved his plates of breakfast foods including, potatoes, bacon, fruit and of course, his very own Mickey Waffle! His favorite part was seeing all of the characters!
So much safe food at Goofy’s Kitchen!
- Café Orleans at Disneyland Park – So.much.food. My son had a cup of gluten free pasta with marinara sauce (you couldn’t even tell the difference), a small chicken breast and fruit (grapes and strawberries)! I was shocked this was a kids meal because the portion was so big. We had enough for a meal the next day. Our food was great too!
- Lucky Fortune Cookery at Disney California Adventure Park – finding Asian food is often a problem with our allergies but this place is great! My little Mouseketeer had chicken with brown rice and mandarin oranges, along with a gluten free teriyaki sauce.
- Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe – this could have been a miss because I had to explain what was needed to be done to a cast member, however, she was new and still learning so that’s understandable. We had a turkey wrap and if I thought Café Orleans gave us a lot, we had enough turkey to last us THREE meals!
- Carthay Circle Restaurant – my at the time, 1.5 year old had his own salmon fillet. Enough said. They also had an allergy menu but he had too many allergies so we saw a chef.
- Redd Rockett’s Pizza Port – this was my one mini miss but not because the food was bad (we got a Daiya cheese pizza and my little guy loved it) BUT the pizza took so long to get out that by the time it was out, everyone else was done eating.
- Lastly, SNACKS! – Dole Whip! It is safe for dairy, wheat, egg, nuts. I was so excited about this! My son has since added a pineapple allergy so unfortunately, that is no more for us. Also, the cotton candy is surprisingly safe. My husband is modeling the yummy grape flavor below. Beyond this, the Disneyland Resort has a great array of allergy free snacks at multiple locations!
Cotton Candy at Disney California Adventure Park
I hope I have given you a good look at some of the food options at the Disneyland Resort and have eased your mind if there was any worry! Have a magical trip!
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This is fabulous information! Disney is always so great to work with people suffering from food allergies.
Thank you so much for this information. My son and I have multiple food allergies between us and I was afraid of being stuck with plain salad with vinaigrette. I love that they let you talk with the chef. We have allergies to dairy, gluten, egg, coconut, nightshades. Reading this has put my mind at ease for eating at Disneyland when we go this summer.
Thank you for all of the wonderful information! We are traveling to Disneyland in a month with my 6 year old daughter who is allergic to dairy, tree nuts, and peanuts and I’m happy to see that there are so many options available!