Food allergies—Disney’s luau

[drcoulsey]

At all Disney World restaurants, food allergies are handled so well by all the chefs. My son feels confident that his daughter will be safe eating in any Disney restaurant.
This summer i will be bringing my family to Aulani for the first time. I would love it if we could all go to the Aulani luau, but will it be safe? Does anyone know if the chef can accommodate my granddaughter’s severe food allergies?

 

[hswillia07]

I believe they can! We are planning a trip there and my daughter has many severe food allergies. If you join the group 'Disney Chefs Rock Food Allergies' on Facebook, you'll find lots of people who have been and can tell you all about their experiences It does take a little while to be approved to join the group, just because they really try to ensure that people are there for the right reasons. Good luck! I'd love to hear how your experience goes this summer as we're planning for 2019!

 

[thedogatemyhomework]

Depending on how severe (hopefully not so severe traces of it in the air cause a reaction) they should be more than able to do something. They handle allergies pretty much like any other disney run resort/hotel...as long as you tell them about the allergy when making reservations (or the hostess if you’re doing a walk-in) they send one of the chefs out to figure something out with you. I’ve seen them do a steak with just some salt for someone with a lot of allergies at makahiki, so I’d imagine something similar would be done for the luau (and it was a sizable steak...looked like about a 1 lb. cut or so...and thats a very conservative guess)

 

[drcoulsey]

Thank you for these responses. All the WDW chefs have always been so accommodating with people with severe food allergies. I now feel more confident that the chefs at Aulani will be the same. I guess my concern was not for the regular Aulani restaurants, but for the buffet at the Luau.

 

[Fuhnuh]

DD17 has severe allergies to egg, dairy, tree nuts, and peanuts. We have not been for two years, but have visited 7 times, so we are familiar with the options. The Luau did not have a buffet then, but we were accommodated at all the restaurants on the property. Depending on your allergies, I imagine they will work with you. We were especially impressed with the Chef at Makahiki for both breakfast and dinner. We also have had good experiences at Sushi Yuzu across the street. We ate at Monkey Pod whose menu wasn't ideal for DD17's allergies, but they were also accommodating. I know there is not much additional content to this information, but I thought you might like to hear some additional experiences.

 

[drcoulsey]

My DGD9’s allergies include eggs, all dairy, tree nuts, peanuts and just recently, most fruits. That really limits what she can eat in restaurants, especially for breakfast.

 

[thedogatemyhomework]

Typical luau items are things like kalua pork, lau lau, poi, various fruits (typically pineapple at a minimum).

From the sounds of it the fruits (as well as whatever normal pastries and desert items) would probably be out, lau lau would be problematic if one of those allergies included leafy greens (probably spinach, and possibly cooked in ti leaves) Its likely that poi and lau lau would be “x factor” type items as its not likely your DGD has ever encountered ti leaves or taro (be cautious if you try either.) coconut aka haupia might also be something to look out for (not sure if its similar enough to a tree nut.)

Fortunately most traditional hawaiian dishes have no eggs, dairy, or tree nuts (barring coconut) so if the buffet doesn’t add modern twists it should mostly be safe...but best to check with the chef.

 

[Happiest.Haunt_999]

Typical luau items are things like kalua pork, lau lau, poi, various fruits (typically pineapple at a minimum).

From the sounds of it the fruits (as well as whatever normal pastries and desert items) would probably be out, lau lau would be problematic if one of those allergies included leafy greens (probably spinach, and possibly cooked in ti leaves) Its likely that poi and lau lau would be “x factor” type items as its not likely your DGD has ever encountered ti leaves or taro (be cautious if you try either.) coconut aka haupia might also be something to look out for (not sure if its similar enough to a tree nut.)

Fortunately most traditional hawaiian dishes have no eggs, dairy, or tree nuts (barring coconut) so if the buffet doesn’t add modern twists it should mostly be safe...but best to check with the chef.

Taro is referred to as Kalo in Hawaii. Just FYI.

 

[Fuhnuh]

My DGD9’s allergies include eggs, all dairy, tree nuts, peanuts and just recently, most fruits. That really limits what she can eat in restaurants, especially for breakfast.

DD17 has all of these allergies but the fruit. She generally does not eat fruit because she has an aversion towards sweetness. For breakfast at Makahiki, they were able to make her "allergy waffles" absent any of her allergens. She had that with bacon and I believe they made her some fried potatoes. It's hard for me to remember because after the first trip, we have rented a 1 br DVC unit that had a kitchen. We've eaten breakfast at Ama Ama also, but I don't remember if she had special waffles (her other go to is oatmeal). Maybe someone else has some info on this. Most Kalua pork that I've run into on the island is okay for her also, but we always check because some like to add dairy to traditional non-dairy Hawaiian dishes. It was a little more difficult to get info at the quick service and pool restaurant, but we were always able to get something pretty plain from those places also. I hope everything goes swimmingly for your family and allergic DG9!

 

[drcoulsey]

Thank you for all this positive info. Since most fruits are also an allergy issue, especially pineapple, my DGD9 will have to be extra vigilant because many sauces have pineapple juice in it, including BBQ sauce.

 

[Fuhnuh]

Thank you for all this positive info. Since most fruits are also an allergy issue, especially pineapple, my DGD9 will have to be extra vigilant because many sauces have pineapple juice in it, including BBQ sauce.

Sounds like you are on top of it! I forgot about the prevalence of pineapple in sauces. DD17 likes things so plain, that the only sauce she will use is soy sauce. She has had good luck getting plain chicken, rice, pasta, and vegetables with olive oil and salt (oh, and french fries). We were worried about macadamia nuts when she was younger, but they just happen to be one of the 3 nuts that she isn't allergic to. Good luck and happy travels.

 

[wuzzles]

My DGD9’s allergies include eggs, all dairy, tree nuts, peanuts and just recently, most fruits. That really limits what she can eat in restaurants, especially for breakfast.

Mention the allergies when making the reservation. They will discuss the specific allergies with you or your son. They may end up addressing it by having her forgo the buffet and just bringing her her own plates of food.