Have you heard?!
Our family recently went to Disney World with foo allergies for the first time.
And ATE OUT!
If you live with food allergies, you know what a big deal this is.
While we’ve already posted about our experiences at the reservation restaurants, I had to make a separate post about our one quick service experience.
It was so wonderful and deserves its own post.
We Weren’t Going to Do It
Our plan was to not eat at quick service, the word for “fast food” at Disney.
But after three successful reservation restaurant days, I was ready to explore this quick service thing.
An hour before close at Animal Kingdom, I wondered off by myself to see if I could recognize any food place from my research.
When I saw Restaurantosaurus around the corner, I was drawn in.
The place was empty so I told the cashier I was a food allergy mom just exploring.
He then immediately pushed the button on his register to call the manager.
And within minutes, this adorable manager named Jessica appeared ready to help.
I apologized to Jessica, telling her we weren’t really going to eat there.
I was just looking around.
She asked our allergies,
proceeded to tell me how there were only nuts in their brownies and showed me where the brownies sat,
told me about separate fryers with just soy oil,
explained that she would cook allergy-safe food herself
and walked it around to the front, and get this…
Jessica said that she really hoped we would decide to come eat before the park closed and let me borrow the menu to make the case to my husband.
Jessica was not only confident, but she had the knowledge we allergy parents want backing up that confidence.
She definitely knew what she was talking about.
Wanting to cry happy tears, I thought it would be an amazing end to our trip if we managed even quick service successfully.
After all, Miles still had chicken strips on his bucket list and it was our last night.
In a private conversation, Jeff was convinced.
I didn’t want to get Miles’s hopes up, after all, if Jeff didn’t concede.
But We Did It!
So off we headed to Restaurantosaurus, asked for Jessica again, and she hooked us up.
She kindly made Miles chicken strips and fries and offered prepackaged Enjoy Life cookies for dessert.
When I had to figure out ketchup, Jessica willingly offered to go get packages in the Cast Member break room but then realized they had closed for the night.
After inspecting the ketchup dispenser and checking the ingredient box with another manager, I pumped ketchup right into his cardboard dish.
And Miles was safe and sound.
To avoid any contamination at the soda fountain, we brought in our own prepackaged soda from a kiosk nearby.
Jessica wasn’t a chef, but she was a knowledgeable and caring manager whom I will never forget.
She took genuine interest in knowing Miles’s name and the name of our blog and showed willingness to take a photo.
She then proudly accepted the thank-you note we made for her while eating.
To say our son was ecstatic would be an understatement.
Just look at that smile!
Maybe we just got really lucky with this quick service stop, maybe not.
I would certainly recommend that allergy parents do a little exploring and see what you think about trying it once!
One very helpful resource in my research, which gave me the confidence to try quick service, was this Podcast with Pixie Lizzie on Special Mouse.
Liz explains how quick service and restaurants are catering to food allergies and all about their allergy binders.
I’ll be honest, I don’t think we could live on quick service three meals a day at Disney.
But we’ll definitely be willing to grab quick service during slow hours with a caring manager next time if we need to.
Hopefully we will see Jessica again!
If you’d like to read more about our first Disney experience with food allergies, check out this full report.
Eating at Disney Restaurants with Food Allergies
Get our free printable chef thank-you cards, as shown above, immediately in your email.
We are happy to share them with you!
And if you have your own Disney quick service experience to share about, please leave a comment and let us know.
We’d love to hear!
2018 UPDATE
We did see Jessica again during our 2018 Disney Trip and she made Miles his favorite chicken fingers and fries again.
PLUS, she cut up fresh cantaloupe for him upon request and beat him at a game of ski ball in a nearby arcade.
Disney is amazing, friends.
We hope you get to experience the allergy-friendly magic Walt Disney World, too!
Troy says
Try Flame Tree at Animal Kingdom. Our daughter who is dairy, egg, and all nuts loves it!
Troy says
I forgot about Cosmic Rays in Magic Kingdom, and we also did the QS at Blizzard Beach. Along with our Resort POP Century.
blogging says
Thanks, Troy, for coming here to post those. Great reference because I'm determined we are going back. 🙂
Trishatruly says
We know Jessica personally, as well as her beautiful,loving parents and her brother. This is a super family, with the BEST values possible. It does not surprise us that she took the best care of you and your family possible. That's the kind of young woman she is and we are very proud to know her.
We're SO glad you visited and had such a good experience!!!
Anonymous says
I know Jessica's parents. They are incredibly proud of their daughter and so am I! They are amazing parents and it shows in their daughter. So happy you had a great experience!
Alesha C. says
My old work location!! Jessica was my manager there during my DCP and she is amazing!!! Glad you had a great experience at Resto! I miss their black bean burgers!
Jill Kulwicki says
Thank you for writing such a nice article. Jessica is our daughter and your comments about her made us even prouder than we are every day.
Sincerely,
Jill and Walt Kulwicki
blogging says
Oh Jill, my heart is so happy that your family saw this post! I'm hopeful then that Jessica knows how much her kindness and hard work meant to our family. My son just had an allergic reaction to a store-bought cookie that was just recalled for milk. We don't take safe food for granted here! Jessica is a gem. We can't get there soon enough because I would love to see her again. 🙂 If she goes anywhere else, can you let us know? You can even email me at info at milk allergy mom dot com anytime. Thank you for raising a real sweetheart. I hope Disney sees this, too.
Jessica says
Hey Jamie! It’s Jessica! I just wanted to reach out to you all and hope everything is going great! This entry still brings happy tears to my eyes. I was recently moved over to the restaurant at All Star Music Resort, just a heads up for your next trip! 😉 Tell my buddy Miles that I hope to see him and the entire family real soon! Send me an e-mail if you guys plan another trip! Jessica.kulwicki@disney.com
Jamie Kaufmann says
Jessica! I secretly hoped you would come say hi, so glad you did and thank you for the update!!! Can you tell us every time you move, ha ha! I’m trying desperately to fund another trip this year…through blogging. Talk about motivation! We would absolutely come see you. Thanks for the email. Miles is tickled that you said hello. You are so sweet and deserve all the accolades in this post. You’re the best!
blogging says
Trisha, I believe it! Thanks for attesting to the amazing character and work ethic of your friend. So glad we got to meet her!
blogging says
Alesha, black bean burgers?! I should have gotten that! I rarely ate because I was so nervous and excited watching my son eat. Seriously, I didn't order that night, lol. Disney was awesome!
blogging says
Anonymous, thank you! It was really amazing. I'm sure Jessica is bound for bigger things in her life but boy do we hope she can help us out again someday! 😉 Someone please keep us posted so we can find her, ha ha!
regretnothiing says
almost every single quick service restaurant on disney property has some sort of allergy friendly menu, typically with multiple options depending on the allergy. you just need to ask a cast member for an allergy menu.
Pixie Lizzie says
Thanks for the shout out!!! I love your post and that Jessica's parents, colleagues, and friends were able to see the joy that she brings to guests everyday!! She is as magical as the big mouse himself!!
blogging says
Our pleasure, Pixie Lizzie. You are an invaluable resource and we appreciate it. I would have been a wreck at Disney if it weren't for helpful people like you!
Christina says
What a helpful post. I feel your joy! We are thinking of visiting Magic Kingdom with our children, one has a few severe food allergies. Finding safe food is so important to us!! Glad I found your post.
Jamie Kaufmann says
So glad this helped, Christina! Thanks for the sweet comment. It was life-changing for us, really. Inside our private support group, we are planning yearly meet-up’s among our allergy members so we can eat together at Disney! We are getting help from Allergy Free Mouse. We’d love to have you join us someday! Here’s info: http://www.subscribepage.com/MAMgroup
Jennifer says
Hello! Very happy to see your blog. We will be going to Disney World in June for our 9th trip as a family. My daughter Natalie is 15 and has severe food allergies (multiple). We have never taken a chance on buying quick service food (or any food for that matter) for her instead opting to pack all of her food. It would be a dream come true for her to be able to eat the chicken strips and fries your son was able to eat. Do you know if Jessica fixed his food in clean oil? I was told that the oil at all restaurants is recirculated and could be contaminated with allergens. You mentioned you saw her again in 2018, is she back at animal kingdom? Thank you so much for your wonderful encouraging blog!
Jamie Kaufmann says
Jennifer, I’m so glad it worked! At the moment, Jessica can be found at All Star Music. 🙂 Hope you get to meet her and told her we sent you.