Beginning August 4, guests with food allergies and intolerances visiting Disney’s Animal Kingdom will have an easy way to learn about meal options in the park that can accommodate dietary restrictions – and pick up some healthful, prepackaged snacks.
The kiosk, located on Discovery Island next to Adventurers Outpost, is called the Gardens kiosk. Here guests can stop and chat about food allergies or intolerances such as gluten or wheat, lactose or dairy, peanuts and tree nuts, shellfish, soy, fish, eggs and corn. And while you’ll be directed to the best restaurants to accommodate your needs, it’s important to still speak with a manager or chef at the restaurant – but you’ll already know exactly what the restaurant can accommodate before you begin your meal.
You can also pick up snacks at the Gardens, including popcorn, desserts, chips, hummus with vegetables, granola bars and a gluten-free beer. Vegan sweets from Baby Cakes also will be offered – all-natural, organic goodies that are made without wheat, gluten, dairy, casein and eggs.
The Gardens is open daily from 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
While this is the only park with a kiosk, guests with food allergy concerns can always speak with a manager or chef at many Walt Disney World Resort restaurants, who will do their best to accommodate. For more information, visit Disneyworld.com to review special dietary requests, or send an email 14 days prior to your visit with specific needs to special.diets@disneyworld.com.
Comments
This is also great for people trying to watch their diet!
I reviewed the list of common food allergies on the Disneyworld site, but unfortunately the one I’m looking for is not included. My husband cannot tolerate MSG (monosodium glutamate) and this is something we always need to ask about whenever we eat out. Is there any way Disney could include MSG on their list of common food allergies? We would be much more likely to eat more meals at the parks during our visit if we had this information ahead of time.
Great start – but as an insulin pump wearing Type 1 Diabetic – why can’t you post the carbohydrates? I have looked everywhere! That would help so many guests who need to calculate the carbohydrates so they can take the appropriate insulin or use their insulin pump….just sayin’
Can I ask, are the hours of the Kiosk going to increase when the park is open later? 3pm seems a bit early for those looking for dinner
Thanks!
Very excited about this!!!!
This is a perfect example of why Disney is the place to bring the family! My son has a life-threatening peanut allergy, which always makes eating out difficult. This is an ingenious way to help those with allergies, and not making those without feel slighted in any way. The Disney Think Tank rocks! Thank-you – can’t wait to come back to WDW and check it out
Thank you so much for accommodating all of us with food allergies. My five year old has peanut & tree nut allergies. We are making her 5th trip next month. Every chef and manager have always been so helpful on past trips. Being allergy friendly is one of the main reasons we keep returning. Thank you from this mom!!!
I am so happy Disney has added this. I need to stay gluten and dairy free and many times it is a challenge unless I am in a sit down restaurant and the chef is able to assist me. I hope they can do something similar at the Food and Wine Festival. It is so difficult to wait at each Kiosk for the chef to come and let us know what foods we can eat. It would be awesome to have everything listed in one place so we can plan our day accordingly. Thanks you Disney!!
Both of my parents have eating restrictions, my mother goes into Anaphylactic Shock with the majority of hers. We love coming to the Disney parks, although we have only been to Disneyland, because no matter what they are accommodated. We cannot normally eat out at restaurants because people see them as a nuisance. I am excited to hear of how the kiosk does and I hope it is implemented at each Disney park. It is a great resource and makes family meal outings possible for everyone!
As a regular, I find Low-fat dining to be rather challenging. Often I have order the kid’s meals since I get tired of just salads (no dressing)all the time.
Thank you, thank you! We have a son with Autism who must be on a special diet to keep his symptoms under control. It’s things like this that make Disney such a great escape for our family:) We always speak highly of our Disney vacations and this will just add to making our family’s experience that much better:)
Wow what magical timing for me to read this post! I just returned from the allergist where my 3 year old daughter was tested for a couple of allergies. This makes me very, very happy! Thank you for sharing this great news Pam Brandon 🙂 We will definitely check out the Gardens kiosk.
Thanks for this. As a vegan with a spouse who is wheat and dairy intolerant, I have always found Disney extremely accommodating to special food needs. Thank you for continuing this in such a wonderful way.
As a Type1 Diabetic, these are nice steps in a direction. But, there are still, very few options, for dining/snacking with my condition.
I agree with one of the earlier posts…I have a gluten allergy, and the restaurants throughout Disney World (and Disneyland) are the only places that I feel fully comfortable eating, knowing that every step was made to make sure that my meal is gluten-free. I never have to be the only one making the decisions on where my family eats when dining at Disney World, because I can always find something good (and safe) to eat wherever we go. Just another aspect to Disney that makes me love them even more – so thank you!
This is excellent!!!! Thanks for adding yet ANOTHER thing for me to be excited about for my next trip! 🙂 It would be great to have a Gardens kiosk at the other parks too.
This is great! I hope this will be available at all the parks. It was great to have snack options in Seasons in Epcot when we were there in June. You are the BEST when it comes to recognizing that many children (and adults) have food allergies. Disney World is the only place I feel safe in a restaurant with my daughter. Keep up the great work! It’s what makes you truly magical!
We love Surf Sweets jelly beans and so does the Easter Bunny! I look forward to checking out the offerings! My only allergy is to mushrooms, but these are some great snacks that anyone can enjoy! Nice work making the food options even more inclusive.
Erin
LoveDisneyRun
for the love of Disney running
This is a fantastic idea! I hope it is implemented at every Disney Park. It should make it much easier for those with family members having to cope with food allergies and intolerances(especially those with small children)to be able to enjoy the many wonderful dining options Disney has to offer. Keep up the good work!
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