Our First Quick Service at Disney
There's lot of chatter about food allergies and Disney World Chefs.
But what about Disney Quick Service?
We weren't sure it was safe enough with our milk and nut allergy, but something magical happened on our first trip.
If you're headed to Disney anytime soon, check this out!
IMPORTANT NOTE
IMPORTANT NOTE: Even at Disney with chefs and staff trained in food allergies, those with severe allergies must still utilize due diligence. Always talk to staff, inquire about ingredients, double-check the food, use your best judgement, and take any other precautions necessary to make sure you stay safe while eating out.
Our family recently went to Disney World with food 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.
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.
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!
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.
See more posts about Disney and food allergies here!
I know I am late to the party. I just wanted to comment how great Disney is with Allergy needs, my son has a nut allergy and can scratch until he bleeds with products that have milk and egg in them. We met a wonderful lady named Allie that took a liking to my son. She was the Manger for Contempo Cafe on the Disney Resort located in the Contemporary Resort Hotel. I was not sure what to order my son for breakfast and she made him the Mickey waffles with no milk or eggs. He was over the moon then she gave my son 2 allergy friendly cupcakes that were also dairy free. We we supposed to go back this year but can't with what is going on in the world. We will look her up again when we go back. She is no longer there as they rotate after so many years. Looks like they cater to us parents that need allergy friendly food for our kids.
Oh Kyra, I love this story!!! Let's go back!
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!
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.
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.
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
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!
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!!
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.
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!
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!
Trisha, I believe it! Thanks for attesting to the amazing character and work ethic of your friend. So glad we got to meet her!
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.
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
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!
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
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!
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!
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!!!
Thanks, Troy, for coming here to post those. Great reference because I'm determined we are going back. 🙂
I forgot about Cosmic Rays in Magic Kingdom, and we also did the QS at Blizzard Beach. Along with our Resort POP Century.
Try Flame Tree at Animal Kingdom. Our daughter who is dairy, egg, and all nuts loves it!