Walt Disney World Dining with a Peanut Allergy

By. Andrew

Disney World is, undoubtedly, my favorite place in the entire world. The food there is no small part of my love for the resort, especially the sweets. Despite my love for all the foods of Disney, having a peanut and tree nut allergy has put a few barriers in front of me. While the obvious being that I can’t have any nut-related foods, the issue of cross-contamination also prevents me from having otherwise harmless foods. After my most recent visit to Walt Disney World, I felt like I should record my experiences, both as a guide for others with my allergies, and as a suggestion for Disney to improve.

Before I go into some issues I experienced, I wanted to first say how amazingly accommodating Disney was for me, and for nearly every other allergy. When planning my vacation, I made sure to include a notice that I had an allergy for peanuts and tree nuts. Because of this, every restaurant I had reservations for was given prior notice that I had an allergy, and made sure to give me a specialized menu, which listed every food that was safe for me. The head chef at some restaurants would even visit my table to inform me that they were aware of my allergy and were going to make sure I am safe and happy. In addition to this, some restaurants made me entirely unique desserts, for the rare occasion that there was nothing safe for me on the menu.

Pictured above is my specialized dessert at Be Our Guest. Now that the menu is a prix-fixe menu, the dessert is the same for everyone: a white chocolate “Chip” filled with “The Grey Stuff,” a raspberry macaron, and a chocolate dipped cherry with hazelnut crumbles. For me, the chefs were kind enough to give me two chocolate cake pops instead, and removed the edible pearls from the Grey Stuff. Not only were the cake pops absolutely delicious, but I felt very cared for by the cast members, and that made me extremely happy.

This was my dessert at the Hoop Dee Doo Revue. Like with Be Our Guest, there is only one dessert option here: Strawberry Shortcake. While there were not any nuts in the cake, the chef felt it was better safe than sorry, and made me a personal serving of allergy-friendly strawberry shortcake. Not only was it delicious, but it was shaped like Mickey! It’s the small things like this that make Disney a cut above any other vacation experience.

And now, I want to discuss a few drawbacks to having an allergy in Disney. Nothing is worse for me than finding something that is nut free, but being informed that it was made alongside something with nuts, and so it was cross contaminated. This is something I encounter all the time, but it hurts more than usual when I’m looking forward to a specific dessert or snack. A few examples of when this happened to me was in the Karamell-Küche in Epcot’s Germany pavilion. I love Mickey Rice Krispies, so having one dipped in chocolate and drizzled with Werthers caramel was something I was looking forward to trying. Unfortunately, everything in Karamell-Küche is made together in mass quantity, so literally nothing was safe for me there, aside from the packaged Werthers caramel. This was disappointing, especially since Disney is usually very inclusive. I just wish they had a separate shelf for nut products, and made them in a devoted oven. This same issue happened to me in the Main Street Confectionary, which also had treats in a bakery counter, the nut free products right next to the nut products. This prevents me from having some Disney staples like the mickey candy apples, and the mickey cake pops. That being said, I found plenty of things I could have, such as the goofy gummies, the packaged Mickey Rice Krispies, and the Ice Glacier slushie!

Overall, Disney has done an exemplary job of protecting those with a food allergy, while also making sure not to diminish their experience as much as possible. That being said, I think there are a few easy ways to make foods even more accessible to those with allergies, such as making allergen products separately, and storing them/displaying them isolated from each other. My advice to someone with a similar allergy, or any other, is to inform Disney before arriving on vacation. The sooner they are aware, the better equipped they are to accommodate you. Rest assured that Disney World is one of the safest places for anyone with an allergy, and you will have a magical experience no matter what!

Disclaimer: All photos are taken by me, and cannot be reused or edited without my permission.

Allergy Information: My personal allergy consists of the consumption of peanuts and tree nuts. Airborne allergens are safe for me, as well as touch (so long as I don’t touch my mouth). For these reasons, it is important to know your allergy, and apply it to your vacation as needed.

Thank you so much for reading my article! I hope you enjoyed it! If you did, feel free to check out some of my older articles, such as my discussion on the removal of Stitch’s Great Escape , and some of my favorite Disney Food !