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How to Eat At Walt Disney World If You Have Dietary Restrictions

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5. Mobile App ordering privileges

A more recent addition to convenience in Disney dining is the online mobile ordering option via the MyDisneyExperience App. The way it works is by allowing guests to place food orders online at various quick service locations throughout Walt Disney World Resort, erasing the time spent waiting in long lines to place the same order. Mobile ordering comes in handy for sure, and to a certain extent, you even have the freedom to customize your meal. This is especially true when already ordering specific items already in the allergy category. However, I must add in my two cents based on personal experience. There is still plenty of room for growth and improvement when using the mobile ordering feature. I’ve found that the options for customizing are still limited in some fields, especially if you’re trying to request something, like a salad, without cheese or croutons and the customization field only lets you decide between whether to have dressing, no dressing, or dressing on the side. So in these cases, I find it’s still best to speak to a human being and make my requests known and understood even if it means standing in a line that’s longer than I’d like. So in conclusion, mobile ordering can benefit you if you are choosing from a clean-cut example from a specific menu or item, but there are still limits in customization, and speaking to a live human being is still always the best course to take.

6. Get your own groceries

Another suggestion that may benefit you depending on your individual needs is the act of simply purchasing groceries. That’s right, grocery shopping while vacationing at Walt Disney World is entirely possible, yet few know about it and even fewer have utilized such services personally. But it makes getting your specific and sometimes harder-to-find items ready for you to have when you need them. Also, if you’re staying in a family suite or villa with a kitchenette you plan to do a little personalized home cooking at, the reliability and helpfulness of Orlando-based grocery services cannot be denied. And in most cases, Walt Disney World Resorts are fully accepting and accommodating of your decision to utilize an Orlando-based grocery delivery service (with very few exceptions). Some of the most popular grocery delivery services to choose from include Garden Grocer, Orlando Grocery Express, Dizzy Dolphin Delivery, Gooding’s Supermarkets, WeGoShop, Shipt.com, Instacart, and so many others, along with Amazon Prime Now and other online methods that allow for shipping deliveries from home. Each service has its own conditions and delivery times, so be sure to review these and decide what works in accordance to your schedule and plan prior to utilizing any service. In most cases, you can arrange for deliveries to be dropped off with Bell Services, ever mindful and committed to keeping perishable items safely contained in refrigeration until you arrange to pick them up. There are also options for picking up your groceries off premises at designated drop off points or even arranging in-room deliveries at some resorts, particularly Disney Vacation Club Villas and the Cabins at Fort Wilderness. The long and short of it all is the fact that there are options for you if you require specific grocery items to do your own thing.

7. Helpful tips to remember

In my personal experiences I have made note of a few more helpful tips to remember. When a chef is accommodating your cuisine specifications to omit or substitute any ingredients, it is also imperative to specify preparation methods, like whether or not certain oils, butters, or stocks are being used in the cooking process, or whether something needs to be cooked in a different pan and away from potential contaminants that still have the means to affect circumstances you’re specifically trying to avoid. Also note that mealtime item substitutes can only be carried out if the requested alternate ingredients are available. For example, you cannot order vegan cheese and gluten-free crust pizza from a place unless you know they have those ingredients in-house. This is another reason why I stressed the point of making advance reservations and planning in accordance beforehand. Also keep in mind the fact that in most cases you may bring your own snacks and grab and go items into the parks with you, with few exceptions, like glass jars for instance. Even so, there are exceptions, like if you are bringing a jar of baby food, for example.

Conclusion

In most cases I have found dining at Walt Disney World Resort to be pretty accommodating on a whole to my specifications. But there are definitely certain places that I tend to favor more than others based on their cuisine choices and cast member commitment to carrying out my wishes and those of my family members. Just remember these key points I’ve highlighted here if you or someone you know also has significant food restrictions, and you’ll discover that the magic of mealtimes at Disney can still be yours.




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