[00:00:00] Dana Stanley: So to get into it, Seely, welcome to the Laid Back Magic Way podcast. I wanted to ask you what made you start safe Disney food?

[00:00:10] Dana Stanley: Like, is that something that happened organically? Was there something that spurred it all on? I would love to hear more about that.

[00:00:18] Seely: Yeah, so, my oldest kid, who has food allergies, several of my kids have food allergies, in 2015. I thought the world was ending. Like, I didn’t know how to handle food allergies. There wasn’t as much awareness as there is now. And, there was this Facebook group, and it was like something like Disney chefs rock food allergies, and there was a person in that group who called herself the queen, and she would go and like find all the ingredients that you couldn’t find, right?

[00:00:46] Seely: ’cause nobody was doing what I was doing at the time. And I thought that was so cool, but it was still very limited. Like, I still had to do a lot of research when I went to the parts. And in 2018, so at that point I had two allergy kids, and my mother-in-law was a full-time wheelchair user.

[00:01:02] Dana Stanley: wheelchair user.

[00:01:04] Seely:

[00:01:05] Dana Stanley: ,

[00:01:06] Seely: we had planned a, a trip in the spring and we postponed it ’cause we were worried.

[00:01:10] Seely: We were like, how do we do this with food allergies and a wheelchair? And we postponed it four times and, and then she died and she died November 5th. Yeah. And by Thanksgiving, I, I was totally,

[00:01:22] Dana Stanley: totally

[00:01:25] Seely: I was, I was fully enmeshed in the food allergy world, and I said, I, I missed my chance and I’m not gonna miss any more chances with my kids, and I’m not gonna let anybody else miss their chances.

[00:01:35] Seely: And I, I just never stopped.

[00:01:37] Dana Stanley: never stop.

[00:01:38] Dana Stanley: Wow. I’m so sorry. I think about that a lot. I mean, me and my husband say this all the time of like every Disney trip with the family, like our in-laws, it’s like you just don’t know. I’ll get emotional, but you don’t know when it’ll be the last time. And I don’t really like, . I don’t, I never wanna sound like, oh, just take the trip in the sense of like, just put it on a credit card and like worry about it later.

[00:02:03] Dana Stanley: I just mean if it’s something you really wanna do, don’t wait. And that is so cool. Yes. Make it a priority, figure it out. And it’s so cool that you created this and made it just so much easier. I remember like that 2015 website. Like internet era because that was around the time I was researching to bring a date a baby to Disney World.

[00:02:31] Dana Stanley: And it, there’s, there just wasn’t a lot like there is now, which is like a blessing and a curse. So I can’t imagine having, like we kind of chatted before the episode of like, you need very important information like. Not to be dramatic, but like lifesaving information when it comes to allergies versus just maybe trivial things of where to find a character or how to not wait in line.

[00:02:58] Dana Stanley: Like I think it’s just very important and I really wanted to chat with you because I don’t have a lot of firsthand knowledge of this and I know a lot of my lead, a lot of my lead back magic members ask me about this. So I think this is gonna be just an awesome episode to. Point people to, which is very

[00:03:19] Seely: to be here.

[00:03:21] Dana Stanley: Yeah. Do you feel like Disney World or maybe like we could even expand to Disney in general? , I’m obviously like a Disney world girly, but do you feel like they handle allergies better or worse than other places you have visited in the world?

[00:03:38] Seely: Yeah. So, so let me set the stage for maybe somebody who’s new to food allergies. When you go to your hometown restaurant and you say, Hey, I have an allergy request. A lot of times they kind of like look at you funny or they blow you off, or the chef comes out after 10 minutes and says, yeah, we can do like salad with chicken.

[00:03:54] Seely: And you’ve got, you know, your 4-year-old who wants chicken tenders and it’s, it’s very hard and it can be very confusing to navigate. So when you go to Disney. It’s different because they have procedures in place, they have training in place, they have, you know, allergy options that they store and that they curate because they’re constantly changing to, you know, better fit the allergy community.

[00:04:16] Seely: , and that’s something you don’t find everywhere. Now,

[00:04:19] Dana Stanley: Now,

[00:04:20] Seely: I think the, there’s an important distinction between Disneyland and Disney World. Disney World is far superior to food allergies because they have the space.

[00:04:29] Dana Stanley: they have the

[00:04:30] Seely: Whereas when I’ve gone to Disneyland in the past and I’ve talked to them, they say that they struggle because their kitchens are so small because of like how, how it was designed back when it was first built, versus Disney World has so much more space to store the extra allergy

[00:04:44] Dana Stanley: they learn as they go. I’m sure like as they start expanding, they’re like, oh, we need like two kitchens.

[00:04:50] Seely: Right, right, right. Yeah. So di, so Walt Disney World is the more improved version. And so you can find options at Disneyland. Like, I, I never starved when I’ve gone but it’s nowhere comparable to how Disney World has so many modifications and so many options. Like you’re overwhelmed at Disney World in a good way.

[00:05:07] Seely: You’re underwhelmed at Disneyland in a not so good way.

[00:05:11] Dana Stanley: Okay. That’s good to know. I wouldn’t have necessarily thought that, because I know Disneyland has like a lot, not a lot more food offerings, but they, the food I think is just a little bit better in Disneyland, but I never thought of that in terms of allergies.

[00:05:27] Dana Stanley: Can you tell me what food allergies you and your kids have or like, like what are the big ones that you’re always looking out for?

[00:05:35] Seely: Mm-hmm. Yeah. So for somebody who’s not familiar, the top nine is wheat, egg, soy, dairy. Peanut tree nut fish shellfish. And then in 2 20 24, they added sesame so my kids

[00:05:48] Dana Stanley: kids

[00:05:48] Seely: at one time were top 14 free. Then they moved to top nine free. So we were avoiding all top nine I currently avoid for celiac with gluten wheat, and then I have a soy protein and a pineapple allergy that’s anaphylactic.

[00:06:02] Seely: , and then my kids have various allergies, including some outside of the most common, like things like anato that they can’t have because of the illness called F PIs so we manage celiac, f PIs and anaphylaxis.

[00:06:19] Dana Stanley: Ana. Okay. The, I feel like those are all good things to know, just if someone’s listening and wants to wrap their mind around, ’cause I’m sure there’s people in your shoes.

[00:06:30] Dana Stanley: I know that like when I go to Disney World. I know not even from having talked to you or anybody else, that Disney World is good with allergies because when I, a non allergy person sit down at any restaurant, the first thing I’m asked after like, hello, can I get your drink order? Is, does anyone have allergies?

[00:06:52] Dana Stanley: And I’ve noticed that more and more. I can’t really say. That I remember being asked that much, like maybe even like 10 years ago. Whereas now it is just like a standard. And they’ll ask me multiple times too, where I’m like, no, like you’re good. Like there’s no allergies. And they’re like, are you sure? And I’m like, I, I think so.

[00:07:13] Dana Stanley: I, I don’t think we have, you’re making me nervous. Nervous so I know we touched on that Disney World is, has a good reputation for that. But what does that mean? Like what makes Disney World good with allergies? I know we talked about the kitchens and the procedures. How does that look like from like the time you sit down to the time you get your food?

[00:07:39] Seely: You brought up a really great point. So what makes Disney good with food allergies is that they’re constantly testing things and changing.

[00:07:45] Dana Stanley: things

[00:07:46] Seely: So one of the things they’ve been testing in October and November is they aren’t asking at the table now if you have food allergies at some locations and I, again, I think that’s a test that they’re trying to see, like, are we missing people?

[00:07:58] Seely: Are we catching people? And because I go to the Parks weekly, I’m, I’m constantly finding all these little tests and things that they’re doing. I mean, they have a full test kitchen where they test allergy products they’re constantly updating their menus. They’re trying to find items. ’cause a lot of people have.

[00:08:13] Seely: , they might have like two or more allergies. So for example wheat and egg or wheat and dairy. And it can be hard to find something that matches those needs. And what Disney has really done is find products like a burger bun and a pizza crust that covers all top nine allergens. So that way, no matter what combination you have, you’re able to enjoy that.

[00:08:35] Seely: And I think that’s really cool and not something that a lot of people do, like they might. Focus more on like being dairy free or being wheat free. And Disney’s like, no, we’ll cover all top nine and gluten. So that way whatever combination you have, you’re able to enjoy it when you are sitting down at, at a sit down restaurant you can talk to a trained allergy cast member.

[00:08:59] Seely: , you can typically ask for them from the server. Sometimes your server is the trained allergy cast member. ’cause it’s a certificate that people at Disney World cast members can get and they’ve been very encouraged to get it. Yeah. So the more I was just talking to somebody two days ago about how they had just finished their certification.

[00:09:16] Seely: We were at Cosmic Race and she was very excited. She’s like, I’ve been here four years. And it’s, you know, they, they want, they wanna see that Disney wants to see you get that certification and I think that’s fantastic ’cause the more people that are aware of it, the less time we have to wait when we’re ordering and the better the procedures are because, you know there’s a lot.

[00:09:36] Dana Stanley: somebody.

[00:09:37] Dana Stanley: They can just handle it

[00:09:39] Seely: And there’s less there’s less worry because if a server’s not trained, they might grab a tray versus if the server is trained, they know to wait. Like, let’s let the chef bring it out. Let’s let, let’s reduce the risk of cross contact or delivering this to the wrong table. It, it, it just flows better because of the training that Disney has implemented.

[00:09:57] Seely: , when. So Disney changed. So two years ago they stopped saying Chef, and they started saying trained cast members. So you could go to a sit down restaurant and never speak to a chef, but still get all of your information that you need because you’re talking to somebody who’s trained, who has the ingredients, who knows how it’s made.

[00:10:15] Seely: You can ask about shared fryers and equipment versus, you know, at a lot of other places you might, you know, not find anybody who’s aware of the information they might have to go play. You know, phone tag with somebody and call and say how do we make this? Which is very concerning, so I like that.

[00:10:31] Seely: Dizzy streamlines the process.

[00:10:35] Dana Stanley: that’s really cool. I saw on your Instagram and I. I don’t know if this is the same thing, but when you’re talking to a trained cast member, is that considered a consult or is it like a certain terminology that you have to say to someone like, I would like a consult, and is that something that someone should do?

[00:10:58] Seely: Right. So Disney has this really cool thing. So let’s back up real quick. Disney has a special diets department, and if you have four or more allergies in the top nine or any allergies outside the top nine, you can contact them and get a lot of really good information for sit down restaurants, including possibly special ordering desserts or items from other restaurants around the parts, depending on how many days you’re there.

[00:11:18] Seely: Like they, they really walk you through it

[00:11:21] Dana Stanley: you, the restaurant and you do that ahead of time. Like you can call

[00:11:23] Seely: you did that with.

[00:11:24] Dana Stanley: trip.

[00:11:25] Seely: Right. So somewhere around two weeks before your trip if you only have one or two allergies you get really mixed reviews. They’re not quite as helpful. They also don’t do snacks. So I share a lot of snack information ’cause people need that.

[00:11:38] Seely: .

[00:11:38] Dana Stanley: for people

[00:11:39] Seely: But so the special diets department, you know, has all these, all these p and procedures and that has bled into what is called a consult. And a consult is this little notebook that’s like this carbon copy of a couple sheets of paper. And who, whoever you’re talking to, your trained cast member will fill out your name, the date, their name, your allergies, what you ordered.

[00:11:58] Seely: And they’re gonna keep that, they’re gonna keep that for several months because that’s part of their paperwork. So, if you have questions about how it’s made, how fryers are done, you know what equipment if the product was, you know, made on shared lines, whatever, that’s a consult and you’re saying, Hey, I have extra questions.

[00:12:14] Seely: If you decline the consult, you’re saying, I don’t wanna talk to anybody. I’m just taking this at face value and I accept the risk. And so one of the things that I really love to educate people on is to always accept the consult. Because if there was an issue, you would be able to have a, a legal paper trail that said that you did your due diligence.

[00:12:32] Dana Stanley: You did new. Yeah. I feel like you should always get that, because I think I saw on your receipt it marks it too

[00:12:41] Seely: Yes, it does.

[00:12:43] Dana Stanley: that you’ve had a consult.

[00:12:45] Seely: Yes. And so I’ve gone back in the past, especially with my kids, if it just says the kind consult, I will say, Hey, we actually had a consult, you know, and I have a kid with severe food allergies, and I wanna make sure that the, you know, record is correct in case something were to happen. And I, I don’t think it’s going to happen.

[00:13:01] Seely: But I mean, unfortunately there have been instances of, you know, people getting their allergens at Disney, and I think it would just be especially in the position that I’m in it would be irresponsible to not accept the consult when I know the risks.

[00:13:17] Dana Stanley: when I know the well.

[00:13:19] Dana Stanley: And your pineapple allergy makes me a little nervous. Your

[00:13:23] Seely: Me too.

[00:13:24] Dana Stanley: pineapple allergy. Like,

[00:13:27] Seely: But I still, I.

[00:13:28] Dana Stanley: , I still, no. What were you gonna say? Go ahead.

[00:13:33] Seely: I was gonna say, it’s, it’s funny ’cause like I still eat at like the Ian resort, even though there’s a lot of pineapple there. ’cause the chefs, I mean, they’re wonderful. It’s, it’s, it’s so freeing, like the reduced mental load to just know that you can eat somewhere without concern.

[00:13:48] Dana Stanley: enjoy your food is there. Well, so you love the Polynesian. I love the Polynesian and all their food too have you eaten at the New Wa Lulu Grill at

[00:13:59] Seely: Yes. Multiple times. Yeah,

[00:14:01] Dana Stanley: times. Yeah. Was it delicious? Did you love it?

[00:14:04] Seely: was, I think they have the best gluten-free chocolate cake on property.

[00:14:08] Dana Stanley: based on property.

[00:14:09] Dana Stanley: Ooh, good to know. I feel like that’s like a little bit of a hack. What are some of your other, like favorite, I mean. I am not gonna get into like all your favorite snacks and things, but if you had to pick kind of like a general, like a park or maybe a resort that has the most accommodating food or like a lot of the food that you like, what would you pick?

[00:14:29] Dana Stanley: What’s your favorite?

[00:14:30] Seely: Ooh. I, I think I’d go with a resort and I’d go with Port Orland Resort because they have the beignets they have a table service restaurant. They have two quick service restaurants they have a lounge or two lounges that can serve you. Allergy food. It’s just, it’s, it’s easy.

[00:14:46] Dana Stanley: Oh, it’s easy. I would not have expected you to say that. I was gonna guess like animal kingdom area, just because I feel like there’s a lot of, I like Asian inspired things, so they kind of lend themselves to be more gluten-free.

[00:15:04] Dana Stanley: I feel like. I don’t know if you find the same thing. I just, I love animal kingdom food.

[00:15:09] Seely: all of the Disney resorts have food allergy options for gluten-free and top nine I like the animal kingdom areas, especially Animal Kingdom Lodge

[00:15:18] Dana Stanley: ,

[00:15:19] Seely: like if I’m with my kids, it’s definitely poor Orleans because. There’s just so much to eat and there’s so many modifications. You know, they have a top

[00:15:27] Dana Stanley: have like more

[00:15:27] Seely: cupcake.

[00:15:28] Seely: Yeah. Like they have desserts, they have ice cream, they have beignets. It’s,

[00:15:31] Dana Stanley: have,

[00:15:32] Seely: it’s enjoyable.

[00:15:33] Dana Stanley: it’s enjoyable. Okay. That’s good to know. And I, now, I wanna try that chocolate cake because I shouldn’t be eating gluten. So if I, if it’s gluten free, that’s just like bonus points for me.

[00:15:44] Seely: Yeah, exactly.

[00:15:45] Dana Stanley: All right, let me back up and see where I was. Okay, I’m gonna touch on the the party.

[00:15:52] Dana Stanley: I saw that you were at Mickey’s very merry Christmas party like maybe two days ago, and it got my wheels turning about allergies at these parties because I mean, it’s based a lot around snacks. Like Nikki’s not so scary. Halloween party, you’re trick or treating. And then the Christmas party, they’re doing free cookies and hot chocolate.

[00:16:17] Dana Stanley: What does that look like when you have food allergies?

[00:16:20] Seely: Yeah. So in my mind I split Disney into like two parts. I split Disney into like the everyday parks and snacks and sit down restaurants, and then I split it into, split it into special occasions. So the parties and the festivals and , the, the dessert parties that you can do at Magic Kingdom, those all fall under that special occasion brella, which can be trickier, right?

[00:16:42] Seely: So at the Halloween party they have two allergy trick or treat stations. They have a wide selection of candy that is top nine free and no gluten. So of course no dairy, no soy, no egg, no nuts and also a dye-free option. And then at Mickey’s Berry, Merry Christmas party, at each of the cookie stops, they have an allergy cookie option.

[00:17:05] Seely: , and those cover again, the top nine and gluten. Now the drinks get a little sticky because some of them have dairy, some of ’em eggs, some of them soy. And so of course you’re constantly having to ask and so when I go to the parties, I spend the whole party time from, we, the party starts at seven, but I can start around six asking at food till midnight, just canvassing.

[00:17:23] Seely: I go to every location and check all of the exclusive party options. ’cause Disney doesn’t have an allergy list for that, but Disney does have an allergy

[00:17:32] Dana Stanley: that seems crazy.

[00:17:33] Seely: It does well, they have a, they have a list for the Epcot festivals. So I’ve always kind of wondered when are we getting a list for, you know, the holiday parties?

[00:17:43] Seely: , knock on wood, that’ll happen soon but I, I spend the whole time canvassing. I get the list, I compile it, I share it with my audience because you do, you wanna enjoy the party options and they always have a couple of allergy options that include the top nine. And also, you know, something that be like glu, gluten-free or dairy free, or soy free or nut free.

[00:18:04] Seely: , and, and then also like I was just doing yesterday, gingerbread cookies the contemporary and we have three options there that are gluten-free. One is top nine free, so no dairy, egg, soy, nuts and so you can go to those things and still participate, you know, with your family who might be able to eat the common items.

[00:18:24] Dana Stanley: be able to keep.

[00:18:26] Dana Stanley: That’s so good to know and I want everyone to know. That on your Instagram you have a highlight saved. Because I was going through that too from Mickey’s Christmas party and I learned so much just from going through the highlight. It was such, no, she’s really great with like docenting everything. With the Halloween party, do you feel like, like can the kids get as much candy as they want of the allergy free candy Just as much as the other trick or treat stations?

[00:18:53] Seely: Yes, to a degree. So I find that if I go two times at the end of the night, or if I go four times throughout the party and with about the same amount of, of candy and it’s a, it’s a full bag you know, a little bit spilling over some people really gain the system with the regular lines and they can, you know, leave with a full backpack.

[00:19:14] Seely: , but I mean, they’re, they’re missing out on everything else. They’re missing out on the parades and the shows, and so, yes, I would say for the average person, the allergy experience is gonna be exactly the same.

[00:19:25] Dana Stanley: exact. Okay. For someone who’s not trying to be like crazy and like,

[00:19:29] Seely: Yeah. Yeah. But I mean, if you’re, if you’re trying and I feel like I get my money’s worth. ’cause the allergy candy is always more expensive, like when you’re shopping at, you know target or Sprouts and so I come home with a giant bag and then that’s, you know, we did a switch witch and that’s what my kids get for their Halloween.

[00:19:46] Dana Stanley: their holiday. Yeah, that’s awesome. Because when you think about they are probably like twice the cost of like. The brands of the other candy of just like the M and mss Mars, you know, whatever brand.

[00:19:58] Dana Stanley: So that’s great. I would asse that, at least for me, when I imagine it, ’cause we mobile order a lot, we, I think we do a good mix of quick service and sit downs and I feel like a sit down restaurant, I would feel more comfortable. Because I can talk to someone versus a quick service. Nine times out of 10, I’m mobile ordering.

[00:20:23] Dana Stanley: So like how does that work? If you have a food allergy, am I better off just getting in line so I can talk to someone or does it kind of depend on like how severe the allergies are?

[00:20:35] Seely: That’s a really good question and it’s, it is nuanced, so it’s gonna come down to how many allergies someone is managing so I like both sit down and table or sit down the table. Service and the quick service option. When you do mobile ordering, there’s only an option for one allergy. So I have gluten and soy.

[00:20:53] Seely: So I can only pick gluten or soy. I can’t pick both. There’s no com, there’s no combination. So what I like to do is I like to just do gluten. I like to pay for it. And instead of clicking on here, I walk up to the mobile order counter say, Hey, I have an allergy order. I just wanted to confirm before I press I’m here, somebody comes out, make sure it is free for gluten and soy and Val, and then I’ll press I’m here and they’ll still make it.

[00:21:17] Seely: . So, yeah, mobile ordering is still an option and most of the mobile order places have a food allergy menu. ’cause not all quick service have a food allergy menu, but all table service that is owned by Disney, ’cause there’s several at Epcot that are not all of those owned by Disney have a food allergy menu.

[00:21:35] Dana Stanley: a food allergy menu. All right. So that’s good to know. And for anyone who’s listening that hasn’t done mobile order before, there’s kind of like two steps. Like you place your order as in like you buy it and put it in the cart, and then you, when you get to the quick service location, there’s a little button that says, I’m here.

[00:21:53] Dana Stanley: And that’s when they’re actively making it. And of course I don’t wait until I’m there. I usually do it. On the way. But for a food allergy, it sounds like you should wait until you get there. Acknowledge and confirm before hitting the like make my food button. That’s really good to know.

[00:22:10] Seely: Yes, if If you have more than one, if you just have one, like if you’re just dairy free, mobile ordering’s a great option and I would recommend that.

[00:22:17] Dana Stanley: and I would, alright. All right. Awesome. Good to know. There was something that I was just about to ask ’cause of what you sh said and now I’m forgetting what it was. Dang it. I’m like writing the minute down so I can edit this out.

[00:22:30] Dana Stanley: It’s about quick service. It might come back to me later that’s gonna bug me. I was like a question of something that you said that wasn’t on here. I wanna ask you if someone wants to be more flexible. With their food and this is overwhelming. Imagining like food allergies. Do you have any advice, I know it sounds like just the fact that you’re in Disney World is gonna take a lot, like you said, the mental load off.

[00:23:04] Dana Stanley: Is there anything that you do as like just another layer of. Laid backness, like, do you pack your own snacks? Do you eat at the resort? You’re local. So I know it’s a little different, but if you were doing like a staycation, are there any little things that you would do just to kind of have a little bit of a parachute?

[00:23:23] Seely: Yeah, we always bring food ’cause we like to do staycations ’cause it’s, you know, one of the places where my kids can be kids and , not have to worry about food allergies and always bring snacks because you never know. You could be, okay, I wanna go to this restaurant and there’s a huge wine, or I wanna go here and, you know, I’m getting a really bad vibe.

[00:23:41] Seely: , and snacks are definitely the parachute I would say that

[00:23:46] Dana Stanley: that

[00:23:47] Seely: you need to know what locations have allergy menus. So not all quick service have allergy menus. So we’ll take Magic Kingdom, for example. We’ve got Pico’s bills, we’ve got Colbia Harbor House, Spinna, Kija, cosmic Ray, and then Casey’s. So those five locations have an allergy menu.

[00:24:03] Seely: , Casey’s has like a half menu ’cause they can’t do some things ’cause they’re a smaller restaurant but then you look at the other technical quick serves that don’t have an allergy menu. So that’s like the launching pad, storybook treats, friars, nook. They don’t have an allergy menu. They only have a binder and it can be hard to talk to someone there.

[00:24:20] Seely: You’re gonna be waiting longer but if you know which locations have a food allergy menu, it’s easier to kind of, you know, blend them into your day as you’re, as you’re moving along and kind of, . Not over planning your, your trip versus if you don’t know a lot of people at Disney, if you ask the cast members, they are also not going to know which locations have food allergy menus.

[00:24:44] Seely: They’ll direct you to the app and you can look but that’s an extra level. So, you know, five, 10 minutes of your time before you go to make sure that you know which locations have an allergy menu can make a big difference.

[00:24:56] Dana Stanley: And I’m not trying to do like a plug right now, but is this all in your gluten-free guide or on your website?

[00:25:03] Seely: I have a food allergy guide, so I have ’em separate. So I have a gluten-free guide, and then separately, a, a top nine food allergy guide for wheat, dairy, eggs, soy, and nuts, and sesame and yeah, and I, I put that all

[00:25:13] Dana Stanley: was like, wait a second.

[00:25:14] Dana Stanley: I’m like, wait a second. I feel like she has this information somewhere. So it sounds like the, so the top nine, it’s two separate guides, top nine, and then also gluten-free.

[00:25:23] Seely: Mm-hmm.

[00:25:25] Dana Stanley: All right. That’s awesome. I’m like links in the bio guys for on in the show notes. Link in the show notes for the guides. I remember.

[00:25:33] Seely: as possible.

[00:25:34] Dana Stanley: Yes. I love that. I’m a big fan of guides of any kind. I remembered what I was gonna ask you. We were talking about mobile ordering. It occurred to me about the phase is that not to, not to like totally make this like a three hour long episode, but I’m assing that’s almost like a whole other bucket, right?

[00:25:56] Dana Stanley: When it comes to food allergies and protocols, how do you find, do you find it better, worse, easier, the same?

[00:26:04] Seely: , it, it’s so funny ’cause buffets really come down to the chef. So when you go to a buffet of course you can select your allergies beforehand on your reservation. They give you this little piece of paper that has all the items on the buffet and all of their allergens, and they kind of direct you to like, walk around and use your little paper guide and, you know, grab the items.

[00:26:22] Dana Stanley: grab the items.

[00:26:23] Seely: But cross contact, which is sometimes people refer to as cross-contamination, can happen with something as small as a piece of glitter. So if there are other people at the buffet line and they’ve mixed spoons around, or their kid has touched something, that’s a risk for cross contact. So I always like to write down all the things that I’m interested in and then ask the chef to grab the items from the back.

[00:26:42] Seely: , and I’d say like one outta 20 times. ’cause I’ve, I’ve eaten at Disney thousands of times. I’d say like one outta 20 times at a buffet. I have a little bit of an issue, and if I had to pinpoint one thing that people had the most issue with at Disney, it would be up face.

[00:26:55] Dana Stanley: be Okay. So they’ll, if you asked. You know, I want, you know, the mac and cheese and the chicken and the blah, blah blah from the buffet.

[00:27:05] Dana Stanley: They can just give you like a big full plate from the back.

[00:27:09] Seely: Yes. And more importantly, they have a lot of secret menu items, which is a whole other thing. And one thing I really like to cover on social media as I find them there’s a lot of things that Disney has available to them, or at an adjacent restaurant, you know, that’s 20 steps away that they don’t advertise.

[00:27:24] Seely: But if you talk to a chef and you say, Hey, these are my allergens. I’d really like, I don’t know, dessert or bread rolls, oftentimes they can find those things for you.

[00:27:31] Dana Stanley: be friends with, that’s awesome. I was like, I wanna a plate from the back. It’s, it’s probably fresh, like fresher and less like picked at and gross it. Again, it depends on the buffet, but most, most of the buffets are good.

[00:27:45] Dana Stanley: But that makes sense to me that, that would be the hardest because you have, like you said, like so many people. And the food is, it’s all next to each other, and then you have all the different tongs and spoons and things making a mess, so that makes total sense. You had mentioned that you do staycations in Disney because it’s like one of the places that your kids can be kids and you don’t have to worry and they can kind of feel like other kids or they don’t have to stress about that.

[00:28:18] Dana Stanley: What would you say to families. Who are going to Disney with kids with allergies, like how to kind of not let that be the center of attention. Do you have any advice and so that they can feel the magic as much as possible?

[00:28:38] Seely: Yeah I would say that knowing your snacks ahead of time and kind of planning those out because then you can kind of, especially if you have other children who don’t have food allergies, it’s kind of more comparable or you know, that you can like split up or you can explain to your food allergy child, like, this is something you can’t have, but we’re going to get this thing in, you know, 30 minutes.

[00:28:58] Seely: , I find that really is very helpful to kind of set expectations, but expectations come from you kind of being aware of what the options are and so while there is a mental load to food allergies, it’s almost more beneficial to, you know, spend 20, 30 minutes looking ahead of time and kind of making a list of, of five snacks and, .

[00:29:19] Dana Stanley: ,

[00:29:19] Seely: Packing your own snacks, so that way it’s more manageable and it’s less stress and the other thing too is that the, all of the Disney owned resorts so minus like shades of green and then the Coronado Quick Serve, they’re all owned by Disney. So they have allergy menus they have breakfast, lunch and dinner options.

[00:29:37] Seely: They have snack options and, you know, go check them out when you first get there. And so that way, you know, right off the bat if you need to place an order from Amazon or Instacart, so that way you have stuff at the hotel. . Then also when you’re at the parks,

[00:29:51] Dana Stanley: the cart,

[00:29:52] Seely: I always try to emphasize that we’re there for, you know, we’re there for Mickey, we’re there for rides, we’re there for fun.

[00:29:58] Seely: And when they do get kind of discouraged about food, I just remind them like, Hey, I get it, but I didn’t want you to stay at home. I want you to come with us. I want you to hang out. And so this is what we’re gonna do and these are the snacks I’ve brought. And you know, just setting appropriate expectations is very helpful.

[00:30:12] Dana Stanley: Very helpful. Yeah, I really like that. And remind them like why you’re actually there

[00:30:18] Seely: Yeah, we’re here for

[00:30:19] Dana Stanley: and Yeah.

[00:30:21] Dana Stanley: I didn’t even think about having an allergy kid with a non allergy kid. Is there something that you, I mean, you kind of mentioned that you. Like you say, like, you can’t have this, but we’re getting this in 30 minutes. Is it ever an issue for, so do you have one kid that doesn’t have any allergies or did I

[00:30:46] Seely: Now. Yeah, now she’s, she’s grown out of allergies. Yeah.

[00:30:49] Dana Stanley: Oh, nice. Is that ever, like, does she ever get bmed out or. Whiny about like maybe she wants something that, or a place you she wants to go that isn’t conducive to the rest of the family or where you just kind of get her own treat and each kid gets its own their own thing.

[00:31:12] Seely: Yeah, so just this year Disney revamped their snacks with character line, and that’s a full allergy line. And so everything in that line is gluten-free. And then most of the items are dairy free, egg free, and soy free and then they’re all nut free. And so when we get to the parks, we oftentimes purchase those snacks with characters right off the bat.

[00:31:31] Seely: So, you know, I’ve got a gluten-free rice crispy for one kid. I’ve got the regular rice crispy for the other kid and that definitely helps. And then I think the other thing too is like, yeah, your kids are gonna whine, like it’s overstimulating. The weather can be

[00:31:45] Dana Stanley: my gosh. I know,

[00:31:46] Seely: Yeah. People are loud and I always

[00:31:50] Dana Stanley: Oh yeah, they’re, they’re whining for other, they’re

[00:31:53] Seely: Other reasons?

[00:31:54] Seely: Yeah. Well they’re, or they’re finding, you know, they’re uncomfortable about sitting in line. So like, okay, well the next thing on the list is let’s complain about this next. . I always joke that I have to pack extra patients. I’m like, where did that patience go? I forgot to pack it.

[00:32:07] Dana Stanley: I know I packed it. Where

[00:32:09] Seely: I, I know it’s gotta be here somewhere.

[00:32:11] Seely: , yeah, so like for example, there’s , gluten-free churros and then the, then there’s the common churros. And you know, I, we kind of talk about how we’ll get the gluten free hur as our animal kingdom. So we go to animal Kingdom to get the gluten-free churros and get the common churros so that way the kids can have toros at the same time.

[00:32:29] Seely: Or, you know, within

[00:32:30] Dana Stanley: I love those churros, those gl, the gluten-free churros are so good.

[00:32:36] Seely: And you can order them from the bar.

[00:32:39] Dana Stanley: Oh, good

[00:32:40] Seely: do a walkup. You don’t have to have a reservation.

[00:32:42] Dana Stanley: a reservation. Okay, I’m gonna have to do that because this ties into my little fun fact story. We two times, we’ve done this two times where we bought single passes for flight of passes, like one for me, one for my husband, and we do ride or switch while eating at Nommed Lounge and.

[00:33:05] Dana Stanley: We always forget how early Animal Kingdom closes. So we’re vibing at Nomad Lounge and either I forget what we did the first time, but I think my husband went first to go ride, and while he was gone I ordered the churros and they kind of take a while. Just like side note, the gluten-free churro is like.

[00:33:27] Dana Stanley: Take a while for them to come up and I always order them too late and I’m just having a great time eating my churros. He comes back and I go to ride flight of passage and literally we missed it because the park was closed

[00:33:41] Seely: Oh

[00:33:41] Dana Stanley: and we, and, and I’m not kidding, we’ve done it two times. Like I’m walking towards flight of passage and I’m like, where is everyone going?

[00:33:48] Dana Stanley: Because I’m just living my best life in Animal Kingdom and completely forgot. And then the second time I rode first because I was still upset about missing mine. And then my husband missed his ride because we just, I don’t know, I we’re even, but I need to like a lot in my mind that Nomad Lounge is like, it’s like this other dimension that we go into and we don’t get out.

[00:34:13] Seely: I know. You’re by the water and it’s so peaceful and it just

[00:34:17] Dana Stanley: I know. And the kids, we get those like little booths with the three

[00:34:21] Seely: The, the couches. Yeah.

[00:34:22] Dana Stanley: yes. And the kids are happy and I don’t know, time just goes out the window. We need to like rope drop nomad lounge next time.

[00:34:30] Seely: Exactly.

[00:34:31] Dana Stanley: Yeah I think so. I’m gonna skip the rapid fire questions.

[00:34:38] Dana Stanley: I do wanna ask you what your favorite treat is. But you mentioned the, the gluten-free chocolate cake at wa lulu, which sounds really good. Are there any other of like your favorite?

[00:34:53] Seely: Yeah. So while the reservation now, they just changed it but the beignets

[00:34:57] Dana Stanley: I’m actually kind of excited about that.

[00:34:59] Seely: Oh, me too. I’m very excited the beignets at, for Orleans at Scat Kat’s Lounge, those are top nine free, gluten-free, made and dedicated fryer made a dedicated area those are fantastic. Aaron

[00:35:11] Dana Stanley: fantastic.

[00:35:12] Seely: at Disney Springs is a dedicated gluten-free and food allergy bakery.

[00:35:16] Dana Stanley: and food allergy

[00:35:17] Seely: So I take my kids there every birthday and we go a lot for holidays because we have a lot of holiday, holiday treats I mentioned the snacks with character line is Disney’s allergy line that you can find in the stores and shops. And then of course dull whip because there’s no gluten, dairy, egg no soy.

[00:35:33] Seely: There’s coconut oil, but most people don’t have reaction to that.

[00:35:36] Dana Stanley: coconut oil, but Oh yeah. I forgot that. Do whip’s vegan. Isn’t the popcorn vegan too? Like dairy

[00:35:43] Seely: It is, yeah. It only has, it only has coconut oil.

[00:35:46] Dana Stanley: yeah. It only has, it only has coconut oil. That’s awesome I remember like finding that out and being very excited. Even though I am not vegan, I feel like for the vegans out there, or dairy free.

[00:35:59] Dana Stanley: Dole Whip and Popcorn. Those are like my two favorite treats.

[00:36:03] Seely: They’re so easy to find, like they’re everywhere.

[00:36:05] Dana Stanley: They’re so easy. And then get the gluten-free churros at Nomad Lounge. Just look at the thyme and you’ll be good.

[00:36:13] Seely: and there’s a gluten-free calamari in Epcot at

[00:36:17] Dana Stanley: at,

[00:36:18] Seely: what’s the one in Morocco? The sit down?

[00:36:21] Dana Stanley: Sit down Spice Road Table.

[00:36:23] Seely: Yes. Spice Road table.

[00:36:24] Dana Stanley: Ice Rose Na. Is that like the standard? Because I ate that and it was delicious, but I didn’t know that it was gluten-free or is it like an option?

[00:36:33] Seely: I think it’s the standard because I’ve had it for the last two years and they just used rice flour and a, and a dedicated fryer and. Yeah. ’cause the kitchen’s real small, so I’m pretty sure it’s the standard option.

[00:36:45] Dana Stanley: It was really good. I like SP Spicer a table. I’m a fan.

[00:36:48] Seely: me too.

[00:36:49] Dana Stanley: Now I feel better knowing that I wasn’t having gluten that night. I was being so healthy. This was awesome. Thank you so, so much for coming on. And where can everyone find you?

[00:37:02] Seely: Yeah, so I’m on all social media at Safe Disney Food, and then on my website, safe Disney Food. And then of course I have. Guides for gluten-free and top nine F analogies covering dairy, eggs, soy, wheat, nuts, sesame fish, and shellfish to make money easier.

[00:37:17] Dana Stanley: Amazing. And I’m gonna have all of those linked in the show note description so everyone can go. Let go ahead and follow Seely. Thank you so much.

[00:37:25] Seely: Thank you. This is

[00:37:26] Dana Stanley: Oh yeah. So I’m going to stop recording, but we’re still gonna be here, if that makes sense. Okay.