>I plan on visiting Disney
>soon and thought maybe some of you might have a few tips on eating there.

My son Josh had such a wonderful experience that he said "at Disney, it's
better to have food allergies."

In general, I'd advise staying away from "booth food" and the cafeterias.
They are generally quite crowded, and the staff is generally not good at
identifying food ingredients.

In contrast, the Disney restaurants are *wonderful*. When you make your
advance reservations for dinner (you must, to get in), ask the
reservationist to note on the reservation that your child has food
allergies, and specifically to what. When you arrive (early), the
restaurant will be ready for you. In one case, the waitress at the
"character breakfast" came up with the idea of making Josh a BLT, since he
couldn't have any item on the breakfast menu (eggs, milk). She delivered a
plate piled high with bacon to an appreciative 9-yr-old.

In our most wonderful experience, the chef at the Norway pavilion in Epcot
came out and had an extended conversation with Josh (not us) about what he
can eat and what he likes to eat. In about 15 minutes, a *huge* platter of
food arrived at our table, piled high with foods that Josh likes, and
arranged beautifully. The expression on Josh's face made an indelible
impression on us, and made any expense at the restaurants and at Disney
well worth it.

From our perspective, the Disney trip, although expensive, was the best
vacation that we've ever had. Rather than worrying about where we could
safely feed Josh, our biggest concern was where we wanted to eat.

By all means, take your own snack foods and drinks; you'll save money and
you won't have to worry about those items. Also, if you're staying outside
of the park, look for one of the places like Embassy Suites that serves a
free breakfast buffet. That way, not only do you save money on the room,
but you'll also save on food. You can usually get away with a big (free)
breakfast, a snack for lunch, and spend the bulk on your money on one of
the feasts at a Disney restaurant.

If you stay in the park, you'll be able to make reservations at the
restaurants a bit earlier, which can be an advantage.

Granted, it never gets *easy*, but Disney made it much easier.

Mark

____________________________________________________________
Mark Feblowitz                  GTE Laboratories Incorporated
[log in to unmask]              40 Sylvan Road, Waltham, MA 02154-1120