Visiting Disneyland with Food Allergies
Dietary magic at Disney.

Our Disneyland adventure began because my son Alec was very resistant to potty training. We had tried everything, including bribery with M & Ms, books, and videos, but he refused to give up his diapers. We were running out of diaper sizes and with a new baby in the house, diaper duty was getting out of hand. That's when grandma promised Alec a trip to Disneyland if he learned to use the toilet. "If you are a big boy, with underpants, I will take you to Disneyland," she said. Initially, even that didn't work. I was still buying size 5 diapers. But Grandma persisted, gently reminding Alec with every phone call and at every visit. "You can't meet Mickey Mouse in diapers or pull-ups," she said. Finally at the ripe age of 4 years and 3 months, Alec proudly sported underwear, and no accidents. It was time to ante up.

Celiac Meets Mickey Mouse
Alec has celiac disease, a hypersensitivity to the gluten in wheat, rye, barley, and possibly oats. Diagnosed when he was three, Alec and the rest of the family were still adjusting to the lifestyle changes his gluten-free diet dictated. Paying off our little bribe presented me with some logistical concerns. I wondered what kinds of accommodation, if any, Disneyland would make for a gluten-free little boy (and his anxious mother).

I checked out Birnbaum's Disneyland Resort: Expert Advice from the Inside Source and read it cover to cover. It had nothing about restricted diets but did contain tips and descriptions of rides that proved invaluable. I cruised Disney's website - no restricted diet info there. No menus, either. So I hit the "contact us" button and asked how to get menus for the food concessions in the park and if each stand and restaurant had a list of ingredients.

Within 14 hours, I received a response advising me to contact the park chef and giving me his telephone number.  I called and got a cheerful voice mail message.  Chef Chris called back promptly. Chef Chris is knowledgeable about the issues of a gluten-free diet - no need to fret about cross contamination here.  He talked me through each area of the park, telling me which restaurants were best and which products were gluten free.  He advised me to ask for the manager at each place we ate and to explain what Alec needed.  If desired, they would bring the product labels to me.  (Every eatery keeps an updated book that lists the ingredients of items served.)  Chris even gave me his pager number, encouraging us to contact him when we arrived so that he could meet us personally.

Helpful and friendly, Chef Chris has an encyclopedic knowledge of the park's menus and products.  He was on target about gluten-free eating at Disneyland.  My sense is that he and his staff are very well versed on most types of dietary restrictions and are able and willing to accommodate guests to the very best of their ability.

Having the Best Day
My son never felt left out of any experience at the resort.  From Adventureland, where the Bengal Barbecue offers gluten-free chicken skewers, to the Harbour Gallery at Critter Country where the McDonald's sponsored booth features french fries and nothing else (so no cross-contamination concerns), to Redd Rockett's Pizza Port, which stocks rice noodles, Disneyland is a safe place for those on special diets.  At Redd Rockett's, for example, Alec's rice noodles marinara came in the same Mickey-shaped plate that his sister's did.  The manager hand-delivered his food to our table, while his sis had to pull hers off a cafeteria line.  There are perks to being special. (The food isn't cheap, however - $2.50 for those gluten-free fries.)

We spent one very long day in the park and did not carry any of our own food.  This was a first for our family since Alec was diagnosed over a year ago, but I wanted to see if it could be done.  Alec told us before we entered the gates to the Magic Kingdom that morning, that this "was the best day of the world."  We stayed for the nighttime parade and, as Mickey Mouse pulled up the rear of the fantasy parade, my son began to dance in the streets.  He looked just look the commercial.  Part of me wanted to be cynical, thinking of manipulative marketing, but part of me was very grateful for this experience and for a rich, full, day in the life of someone on his way to becoming a big boy. 

This article was featured in a past issue.
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