Disney and Food Allergies

One of the reasons I initially wanted to take the kids to Disney World was I had heard they accommodate food allergies.  This is always a huge stress for me when we travel.

Disney has food allergy policies in place that really keep there guests safe and relieve some of the stress.  I made restaurant reservations on Disney's website.  When making the reservation I was asked to check off which allergies are in my party.  Then I was told to contact Special.Diets@DisneyWorld.com and they sent me forms to fill out.  Those forms were sent to each restaurant.  They then sent a confirming email and asked that when we got to restaurant to mention the allergies once again and the chef will come out and talk to us.  Here is the lowdown on our experience.

The first full day of our vacation we decompressed at the hotel pool and then headed over to Downtown Disney for a late lunch and a little shopping.  We had a reservation at The Rainforest Cafe

Rainforest Cafe had a really fun atmosphere for the kids.  You were surrounded by lifelike jungle animals and huge fish tanks.  Every 20 minutes or so there was a "thunder and lighting storm."

We informed our server, Shawn, that we had two kids at our table with food allergies.  He send the chef out.

Chef Richard assured us Nolan could have the chicken tenders and that he would make something special for Sean--two plain hamburgers and fries that would cooked in a separate part of the kitchen.

After a long day at the pool, these boys cleaned their plates---so did the adults, the food was good.

One of the main reasons I wanted to check out Downtown Disney was Babycakes NYC.  This wonderful bakery is peanut and tree nut free, egg-free, dairy-free, gluten-free, soy-free, sesame seed-free.

Sean could pick whatever he wanted... 

Sean ended up with two cupcakes, some chocolate chip cookies and chocolate frosted donut.  He has never had a donut!

We brought the box of treats back to the hotel and he saved one for each day.  He was so happy.  Mumma was so happy.

The first day in the parks we went to lunch in Magic Kingdom at The Plaza Restaurant.

This time two chefs came right out, armed with a book of everything they served and all the ingredients.  Nolan settled on a grilled cheese and Sean once again had a hamburger.  We were again assured that it would be cooked safely in a separate part of the kitchen.

sliced apples to start

Nolan with one of the chefs

 Sean could even have dessert.  They had Rice Dream ice cream, a dairy-free treat that he loves, with Enjoy Life cookies for ears!

The next day we had lunch in Hollywood Studios at The Backlot.

The Backlot was an express type restaurant, which I was apprehensive about.

When placing my our order with Cody, I informed him of our food allergies.  I have to say it was one of the best experiences.  Cody was so helpful and then Chef Christa came out with that magic book.  This time there were chicken tenders and natural cut french fries that Sean could have.  And more Enjoy Life cookies :)

Every restaurant, express and sit-down, has a food allergy book, as well as every snack stand.  Even the popcorn stand had a book.  Sean and Nolan could have the popcorn too.

All-in-all we had great experiences eating in Disney World.  Sean and Nolan eat like kings!


I received two complimentary Disney World Park Hopper passes to facilitate my reviews.

NYC & The Nate Berkus Show

I was lucky enough to score some tickets to the Nate Berkus Show.  I invited my Mom and some forever family friends of ours, Kathy and her daughter Andrea.  We made a mini-trip out of it.  We covered a lot in a short period of time.  It was so much fun!

We took at very early Amtrak train and arrived in NYC about 10:30AM.  If you take the train be sure to check out all the discounts Amtrak has to offer (AAA, senior rates, etc.).

Our hotel, The New Yorker, was within walking distance from Penn Station.  We went to the hotel thinking we would just have them hold our bags until check-in.  As luck would have it, they had a room ready for us!

The New Yorker Hotel is a well-known Midtown Manhattan hotel offering location, value and style.

This hotel is fabulous!  Great service and super comfy beds!
We got a "Facebook Special" rate, it was a great deal.  "Like" them on Facebook, click on "contact us" to receive special discounts or follow them on Twitter.  If you check-in on Foursquare you get free breakfast coupons for the Tick Tock Diner.  This is a 24-hour diner, we eat there twice it was so good.

The Nate Berkus Show wasn't until 2PM the next day so we had plenty of time to explore the city.
First stop, lunch!  We took about a 15 minute taxi ride to Little Italy.  There was so much to choose from, it's a bit overwhelming.

 On a whim we strolled into Cafe Napoli - OMG amazing!

I had the sole...beyond delicious

Mom, Kathy, Me and Andrea

After lunch we walked a block to Canal Street.  I got these fun scarfs for five bucks each.

It was a gorgeous day so we keep on walking and made our way to Ground Zero.  On the way we got a glimpse of "Occupy Wall Street".  Needless to say it was a little crazy.

We didn't realize we needed to reserve tickets to view the 9/11 Memorial, but we were able to see a little of it without tickets.

 It was very moving...

We had trouble finding a cab for some strange reason, it was the financial district after all!  My mother finally flagged one down (we were impressed with her skills!) and we slowly made our way back towards our hotel.  We stopped along the way at Chelsea Market.  Very cool.

Anything you could imagine to eat.  We needed an energy boost so we had gelato and cookies! 

Before we got in another taxi, we noticed a filming crew.  They were filming a movie called "Disconnect" starring Jason Bateman (love him!).

We saw his trailer.  I was hoping to for a photo opportunity, but it didn't happen.

We went back to the lovely New Yorker Hotel to regroup and figure out where we were going for dinner (yes eating again!).  The concierge informed us that we were not too far from Restaurant Row.  She suggested a few restaurants.  We ate at Joe Allen's and it was very good.

Then we walked over to Times Square!

 So awesome

The next day we headed over to CBS studios.  We were early so we had some refreshments at a nearby Irish pub.
Andrea & me

Kathy & Mum

While waiting to get in it started raining, but it didn't dampen our excitement.

We were not allowed to take pictures once the cameras started rolling.  We were able to sneak in a few before things got started.
The set!

It's even more bright and cheery than on TV

 All of us in the audience, we had great seats!

The show was so fun.  The woman who warms up the crowd was hilarious.  In between segments she had us doing dance contests and trivia.  My mother won a t-shirt for her dance moves!
Nate did come out in between segments and played trivia with us.  He is so cute!

The guest star was Linda Evans.  She was promoting her new cookbook/Dynasty picture book.  The other segments included House Proud, some frugal fashion tips and how to decorate if you are living paycheck to paycheck.  The show will air in two weeks.

We had a great trip.  It was time to get on the train back to Boston.  Goodbye New York...until next time...

Since our stay, The New Yorker Hotel awarded me with their #twotels award...check it out...
The New Yorker Hotel Blog

Lunch and the City: Food Truck Wars

I am so bummed I didn't venture out during my lunch hour yesterday.  When I was leaving work for the day this is what I spotted across the street from my building (Dewey Square, across from South Station at 600 Atlantic Avenue, Boston):

Four different food trucks!  Let's take a closer look, shall we...

The Clover food truck is here, faithfully, everyday.  I talked about this truck in a past post, it's really good.

Then there is this this $5 lunch truck, I've seen this one before but haven't tried it yet.

I haven't seen this one before!  BBQ Smith, sounds yummy.

And a cupcake truck?!  Are you kidding me?!  Kick Ass Cupcakes...I will just have to see how kick ass these cupcakes are!

Just around the corner (corner of Atlantic Ave & Congress Street) is this nifty little truck...again can't wait to try it.

So many new choices, I am so excited.  Then as I was crossing the street, this truck drove by - Grill Cheese Nation!  OMG!

Keep on truckin' (and eating!)