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.

Lunch and The City: Sorelle Bakery & Cafe

I have been dying to try Sorelle Bakery & Cafe on my lunch hour.  I walked by it a few times and it looks so inviting.
This past Thursday was a really nice day so I walked over.  This one is located at 282 Congress Street (Boston).

It looked like most people were taking their orders to go, but you could sit and eat, which if I wasn't in a hurry I would have.  The sun was shining in the big windows...soothing music playing...very nice atmosphere.

There was so much to choose from and everything looked amazing.

I decided to be somewhat good and got a Mediterranean Salad with chicken and it was really good, perfect actually.

But couldn't stop thinking about all of their desserts!

www.sorellecafe.com

Shopping and Bar Hopping in NYC

My favorite hotel, The New Yorker, is having special 35% off sale.  This is a great deal for a great hotel with a perfect location.  Book now for a stay from now until September!  Sale ends today 3/9, so don't miss out!  Check out their shiny new website www.newyorkerhotel.com

I've mentioned my love for this hotel in a past post, but I also went back to stay there again the week before Christmas with three of my very best friends.  NYC is exciting anytime of year, but Christmas time is magical!

Our Trip:
Words cannot describe how excited we mamas were to go on this little trip!
We took an (extremely) early Amtrak train from 128 Westwood Station.  I did this last time and it worked out great.  Not much traffic and really easy to park--$12 a day.

We were able to check-in early!  The New Yorker Hotel lobby was decorated for the holidays.  Once again this hotel was perfect.

We scored a "Cyber Monday" deal that was a steal for Christmas time in NYC.

Our room was very nice and quite spacious...and as I have mentioned before the beds are so so comfortable.

The view from our room

We freshened up and then walked to Times Square.

We had a few celebrity sightings...one was real...Nick Lachey

and one was made out of wax...lol

Heather and faux Tony Bennett

We decided to see the sights by way of a Grey Line double decker bus!  You could get on and off all over Manhattan all day.  We were bundled up so we sat in the open air up top, it was awesome.  Kerri was our photographer...

Me and Heather on the double decker bus

Here are some things Kerri captured along the way...

cool black and whites suitable for framing

Empire State Building

Washington Square Park

We got off the bus for a late lunch in Soho/Little Italy.  We happened upon this lovely place, The Grey Dog.  So cozy inside.  The wine was 1/2 off after 4...of course we stayed until after 4!  It goes down in history as one of the best lunches ever...so relaxing, lots of laughs, good food and of course wine.  

It was dark when we left, Little Italy was all lit up...

We bought dozens scarves and pashminas on Canal Street and in Little Italy.  We hopped back on the bus...very cool riding on the top or the double decker at night...a little chilly but worth it.

Housewives of NY fans?  This is Jill Zarin and her
 husband's fabric business

Rockefeller Plaza

Home of the Rockettes!

We got back to the hotel and got ready for a night on the town!

View from our hotel room at night.

We started with a fancy smancy dinner at Ruth's Chris.  Excellent!

From there we went to a few bars/pubs and ended up at The Mean Fiddler--dancing and foolishness ensued until the wee hours.  Our last stop of the night (morning) was the Tick Tock 24 hour diner...this city really doesn't sleep!  I shall not reveal what time we finally put our heads on the pillows.

The next day (later that morning) we got huge coffees, thankfully Dunkin Donuts was right on the corner.  We checked out of the hotel but were able to leave our luggage locked up until we were ready to take the train home later.

Our plan was to walk to Rockefeller Plaza.  We saw some landmarks and shopped/haggled with  various street vendors along the way.

In the Fashion District they were selling some dresses on the street.

I got this one for 20 bucks.

Rockefeller Plaza was bustling with holiday excitement.

Woody was a little creepy and smelled like pee--sorry, just a warning

After one last stop at the Tick Toc Diner we headed home on the train back to Boston.  We had an absolute blast, but we were ready to get back to our kids and get some sleep.

Maureen said it best on her facebook status that evening "heading home from the city that never sleeps, to get some sleep"

Some of my loot

scarves and pashminas