Eating Dairy Free and Gluten Free in Resort Hotels at Disneyland Paris

If you were to ask me which Disney character I most resemble, although I would like it to be something more glamorous (like Elsa from Frozen), if I were perfectly honest, it would have to be this chap:

Eeyore!

It may well come across to you that way, as I share about our experiences of eating at Disneyland Paris, but I'll leave that to you to decide.

The thing is, I'd heard such good things about the Disney resorts in the States, that I assumed/hoped/expected that Disneyland Paris would deliver the same goods - especially as its based in a country that prides itself on its gastronomy. 

You'd certainly expect good things if you read this, on Twitter:

There are a lot of places to eat, at Disneyland Paris, it is true, and we didn't investigate all of them. We did experiment with eating out in well-known franchises, such as The Rainforest Cafe and also in the Resort's restaurants and hotels. But, as for those sixty allergies?? Well I saw sixteen mentioned in the allergy guide, so I'm a bit puzzled about that one!

As it happens, we soon came to understand (it was spelled out to me by staff at one of the resort's restaurants) that the truth is that although they can provide safe food for those with allergies, the choice is not on a par with what I hear about Disney in the States, from other bloggers, such as Nicola. 

What follows is our experience... staying half board. We could have stayed elsewhere and travelled in each day, or stayed in self-catering. Both of these later options will inevitably make your day longer, as you will have further to travel to get in to the parks. Which is why we had opted to stay within the Resort. Hopefully, this post will help you decide which option would be best for you and your family, if food allergies happen to be an issue.

If you look at the website for Disneyland Paris and investigate allergies, you should find this in pdf form, see here.

Hmm!

It outlines the options for those with food allergies at Disneyland Paris. If you are your child is at risk of an anaphylctic shock from exposure to food allergens, you may well be grateful to see this booklet. I can see it would be very reassuring. Planned by a dietitian, it may well be nutritious and balanced, and there appears to be some choice, but when you speak to a member of staff about food allergies and you get handed this:

Yes, that is ice! It's frozen! 

a box of frozen food (I kid you not)! Words fail, even me! 

And I'm not usually stuck for words.

'Baby' loves Frozen, the movie, but not frozen food! This was no place to 'let it go'!

This was in a resort hotel restaurant.

Please note, there was no starter and definitely no choice. It was that box of food or nothing - or so I was led to believe by the staff member I spoke to. He spoke limited English and I even less French. Lack of language skills or no lack of language skills, one thing was made clear - there was no room for manoeuvre!

Absolutely none!

La Cantina

As we were staying half board, we had vouchers we could use at resort restaurants - one for each person, for each day. 'La Cantina' is the name of the restaurant which serves the resort hotel 'Santa Fe.' The hotel 'Santa Fe' is themed around the Disney 'Cars' film characters. 'Baby' loves this film. We had considered staying at this hotel, before opting for the New York, which had a swimming pool, whereas the Santa Fe did not ('Baby' loves swimming). 'Baby' had been disappointed that we weren't staying at the 'Cars hotel,' so the next best thing, we decided, was to visit for food. 

It was a good job there was a small play area, in the dining room, to which 'Baby' was drawn like a magnet, because that deflected slightly the fact that her mother was holding a frozen meal and wondering what to do with it.

It was another guest at a nearby table who noticed my distress, as I explained things to The Hub, who pointed me in the direction of the microwave by the side of the room. 'I think you're supposed to use those,' she said (or words to that affect - English wasn't her first language). 

Meanwhile The Hub, who is not a demonstrative type and does not normally like to create a scene, had attracted the attention of some staff member or another and in his frustration was banging the frozen meal on the table, in order to demonstrate that in its current state it was completely inedible.

The staff member made some half-hearted attempt to heat the meal, but we had to finish heating it up ourselves, as it was still covered in ice particles, when it was handed to us.

I was completely flabbergasted that a paying guest was expected to heat their food for themselves... and in a microwave that worked only in 45 second bursts... and then eat it out of the plastic tray it came in. I might as well have bought some food from Ilumi and heated it myself!

I am guessing that the hands-off approach of the staff was to prevent cross-contamination, but to have to heat food in a microwave that other people presumably heated baby food and milk in? Who knows what splatters of cross-contamination lurked inside - that might then be transferred to the plastic tray?? 

La Cantina served food buffet-style

I helped myself to a clean plate from the servery (it turned out 'La Cantina' served food from a buffet) and scraped the food off the plastic tray and onto the plate. Once heated, it looked a little dry, but it wasn't too unappetising. However, it wasn't a large portion by any means! Being a pre-schooler, she doesn't need too much, but bear in mind that these portions would be served to the allergic child or adult alike.

We took a risk and supplemented the food with boiled rice from the buffet (luckily we were some of the first to arrive, so it was relatively untouched).

Beef with olives (plus rice).

'Baby wasn't that keen. It was a good job that she didn't have siblings to contend with, who had unlimited choice. As it was she helped herself to some ham from The Hub's plate. I wasn't happy, as I know that some cooked hams are cooked with dairy, but thankfully she survived!!

I ate the beef with olives. Despite looking dry, the beef wasn't tough and it actually tasted alright.

Dessert was interesting! 

I had to approach the staff again. 

I was pointed in the direction of this, 'apple compote':

Apple sauce anyone??

Yes, that's right - the apple sauce placed bang smack between two options containing dairy.

Perhaps not! Cross contamination risk, from people slopping it about, maybe??

Thankfully, there was another option:

Safely sealed in their own packaging!

Also thankfully, and to my complete surprise, 'Baby' who doesn't always like bananas was more than happy to eat one on this occasion.

The Hub, mindful of 'Baby's lack of choice, skipped dessert.



The Manhattan
The following night, we opted to eat in a restaurant at our hotel. The Manhattan Restaurant.

It certainly looked nice!

We hoped that as it appeared to have a more plush appearance, there might be a better experience.

Well, we had table linen and table service and we didn't have to heat it ourselves, but the food was straight out of the allergy menu, once again!

There was a pile of bread on the table. It looked very appetising. Not knowing what was in it, I had to keep 'Baby' off it. She wasn't impressed! Luckily, we had some ciabatta left over from our trip on Eurostar, I'd brought it down to the restaurant, to keep her busy, whilst waiting, so she had some of that, instead.

Lovely looking bread - but only The Hub could eat it

Bearing in mind that this restaurant was the same at which we had eaten breakfast, I was disappointed not to be offered some of the allergy free bread that we had at breakfast, instead.

This time we were offered one of the starter's from the allergy menu. There was only one option (rather than the two indicated on the menu). It came like this:

Straight from the fridge

Et voila!

It was cold. 'Baby' wouldn't touch it. I ate it purely for the experience. It was very tomatoey. I wouldn't recommend it, unless you were desperate to top up your 'five-a-day'.

For the main course there were two options this time (there's four on the allergy menu). Thinking swiftly, I ordered the meatballs and rice for 'Baby' and the sausages for me - I didn't mind which I had, but thought there was more chance of 'Baby' eating something if she had a choice between the two. 

Baby's meatballs

She did actually stick to her own choice, she seemed to enjoy it but she did tail off after a bit! I sampled some and it tasted better than it looked, but the meatballs were a bit rubbery.

Mine came like this: 

Attractive?

An improvement on the day before in terms of presentation, to some extent - at least there was a plate!! However, the sausages tasted bland and rubbery. The mash was bland too. Without any vegetables, I considered it rather unbalanced as meals go. Good job I ate that starter!

Looking better!?

Meanwhile The Hub was served this:

A simple chicken dinner

He couldn't understand why we couldn't have been served something similar, to this, may be without the gravy.

Dessert was this, for 'Baby':

Cold apple compote

Or this, for me: 

Cold caramelised pear

Both cold again. The apple was basically stewed apple. It was quite grainy in texture and very sweet. Obviously commercially produced, it had none of the flavour you'd get from home made stewed apple. I only got 'Baby' to sample it by bribing her with a dairy free chocolate lolly.

The 'Caramelised Pear' was basically small chunks of pear in a sugary syrup -just like you can buy fro the supermarket. I ate it purely to balance out the lack of vegetables in the main course! You could tell it was real fruit, because small fragments of peel remained on some of the pieces.

The Hub opted for this:

Anyone for fruit?

Again, we failed to see how that couldn't be served to people with allergies, as long as the staff were properly trained in the right kind of protocols.

I looked around. Other kids were eating chips and ice cream. Fortunately I don't think 'Baby' noticed! When we got back to our hotel room, I had a sneaky suspicion she was still a bit empty. Good job I had brought these:

Plastic spoon courtesy of Starbucks

Oh, I forgot to say that the value of the voucher for the meal was €33. 

We discovered, in fact, that the allergy menu would be presented to us at pretty much all of the resort restaurants, no matter how much the meal cost. Even if we booked a table at the Disney Princesses restaurant, Auberge de Cendrillon (which is pretty pricey), as we had been planning to, we discovered that the same meal would have been served. The Hub was not happy about the idea of paying that kind of money for what amounted to a reheated ready meal (however safe it may be), while other little princesses, at close proximity, would be noshing on other delights.

As we discovered you could have a picture taken with a princess for free (well you have to pay for the photos, although you can take your own), by booking a slot at the Princess Pavilion in the park (it's by the 'Small World' ride - you need to queue for a ticket, first), we decided to pass that one up. 'Baby' not knowing about the existence of the Disney Princess restaurant was blissfully unaware of our decision - we made no mention of it, just in case it didn't work out. Which was just as well. If she was a bit older, or had older siblings, or if we went with her cousins, I don't think we would have got away with it.

As for me, as an adult, who could reason about the need for safety - over the lack of choice, the experience was completely dispiriting. I would go as far as to say that it ruined my holiday. I tried to be grateful that I had something safe to eat, but having had much better experiences of eating in hotels and restaurants at home in England. I failed miserably. It was a good job that we had the fireworks and light show to look forward to at the end of the day. It was an amazing experience and I was glad not to miss it. But would I do it this way again? I think not. I'd prefer to save my money for now and go to the States.

The actual thing was spectacular - pictures do not do justice!

So am I an Eyeore, or not? 

Compare our experience, with that of Nicola's (see here) or to get a fuller picture, her blog (here), at Walt Disney World in the States, before you decide...

Related Posts: 



Travelling with the Dairy Free Baby



Breakfast at Disney



Travelling Eurostar with the DFB



Why we're lovin' McDonald's... at Disneyland Paris



Eating Dairy and Gluten Free at Walt Disney World


Further reading:

An American blog post about eating with allergies at Walt Disney World in America

A daily Mail article on how to get a better deal, at Disneyland Paris if you're a UK resident

An article from The Independent on how Disneyland Paris is trying to lure the Brits

I said, 'What about Breakfast at... Disney?'

A little background...

There are various ways to 'do' Disneyland Paris. You can stay completely outside of the Disney Resort, and be completely independent; you can stay in a Disney 'Partner' hotel, or you can stay in one of the Disney Resort Hotels. 

Having heard reports that Disney could cater for those with food allergies, The Hub suggested that we try one of the resort hotels - in order to save time as much as anything. The Hub, being self-employed (every day he takes off work for holiday he is basically losing money - so each day costs him twice over), was prepared to spend the extra - so we could make the most of our short time there. 

Big gulp! 

I agreed, but must admit to feeling some trepidation about putting our food fate in the hands of unknown others!   

The four star hotel we chose, New York, was about as close to the Disney Village and Parks as you could get. The only hotel closer to the attractions was the five star Disneyland Hotel - which is basically built right over the entrance to Disney Park. 

Our deal included half board: breakfast (eaten in the hotel) and vouchers for dinner that could be redeemed in resort restaurants/hotels, as well as a voucher for a refreshment break. This could, apparently, be exchanged at a number of venues within the parks, for a hot or cold drink and cake.

Now you might think that paying extra entitles you to a better quality of food, but it would appear not!

Back to Breakfast...

Mickey Mouse place mats! 

You are expected to book a time for breakfast! No rockin' up at whatever time you choose! You have to tell them at check-in. We opted for an early-ish hour, just before it was due to get busy - that way we thought we'd get more choice.

It was nice and fairly empty, at the time we chose...

WRONG!

If you have an allergy, you need to mention it to the staff who seat you. You then get presented with this - every morning!

A basket of Free From

A basket of Valpi Form products. That's it!

Everyone else gets buffet tables loaded with all sorts of stuff to choose from.

Put quite simply, Disneyland Paris Resort Hotels do not negotiate over food with anyone. If you have an allergy, or are coeliac, Valpi Form is all they're prepared to give you for breakfast. It stays in it's packets and you help yourself - presumably to reduce the chances of cross-contamination. 

That's great if you have multiple allergies, and are anaphylactic, as you know exactly what you are getting, but then you've got to hope that the last person to handle the packets had clean hands too - that weren't smothered in your allergens!

I mean, someone else with no milk allergy might have handled the boxes with buttery fingers - you just have no idea.

However, if you have just one allergy or are OK with 'may contain traces' you might wish for a bit more flexibility. When you compare this experience with our breakfast at Beefeaters in England (read about it here), you might feel a bit hard done by! 

What's in the basket...

1. One serving (two slices) of gluten free and milk free bread (wrapped). This appears to be soya free, but doesn't state anywhere that it is. Also it is made without egg but may contain traces of egg. No mention of nuts!

See the English Ingredients label?

This bread was quite hearty. It was quite moist, not too crumbly and not at all holey (unlike some gluten free breads I could mention). I liked it.

It was a good job that I liked it, as I had to eat it as it was - the toaster on the buffet table was (inevitably) used by anyone and everyone.

The other problem was that there was no margarine provided in the basket. There were individual sunflower margarine servings on the buffet tables, but there were no ingredients labels on them. So, The Hub Googled them. 

The only information The Hub could find online was for larger tubs of sunflower margarine by the same firm, which did contain milk. Now, sometimes products of different sizes/packaging contain different ingredients and these could have been okay, but because we couldn't tell, we just stuck to straight jam or honey on our toast (you could check the ingredients list of these, because they were on the side of each jar)! 

2. One box of Crac Form (the name made me laugh) which is a bit like Crackerwheat crackers. You can clearly see what it's free of on the front: 

Love the free from labelling on the front!

I must admit, this stuff doesn't float my boat - it's not at all filling and feels like you're eating some form of polystyrene!! However, if you're egg free, well, there's not much else you can have!! It came in two large packs inside the box - so basically, if you weren't the first person opening the packet (and you wouldn't want a whole one) you ran the risk of other people having handled it.

3. One box of Chocolate Chip Cakes (individually packed, within the box).

Individually wrapped

These were gluten, dairy, soya and peanut free, but not much good if you can't have egg!! They were quite nice as free from cakes go - they were soft and not dry or crumbly. Not my usual breakfast fare, but... needs must!

4. One box of Marble Cake (individually packed, within the box). These seemed quite popular, but were basically the same as the chocolate chip cake, without the chips!

5. One box of Chocolate Chip Cookies (in packs of three, within the box).

Not much translation skill required here :)

These tasted like standard chocolate chip cookies, so were quite acceptable, but... I wouldn't have biscuits for breakfast. However, when there's not much choice...

The ingredients. Bit blurry, I'm afraid!

so what can you do??

These were gluten, milk, soya and peanut free. No mention of egg in the ingredients, but no indication why not.

5. One box of Shortbread Biscuits (in smaller packs of about three or four, within the box).

Sorry, not the best shot!

The packet just said 'gluten free' and 'lactose free' but there was no other mention of milk or indeed of soya, so we took a risk and both 'Baby' and I seemed fine with them. They did actually taste quite nice.

Taking a chance...

However, not entirely satisfied with what was on offer, and being less risk adverse than myself, when it comes to feeding 'Baby,' The Hub sourced some bacon and fried potatoes for her, from the buffet table. I wasn't exactly happy with this, but it happened whilst my attention was elsewhere and she was happily tucking in, before I realised what was happening!

From time to time The Hub does this - uses his own man logic. To him, it's logical that bacon is cooked in fat. He is not so aware as I am, dealing with 'Baby' day-to-day of cross-contamination issues, although I do try to 'educate' him. 'Baby' is very sensitive to traces of milk, but not anaphylactic, so it's never fatal, but it's still unpleasant for her. Sometimes it pays off, but there are other times when it doesn't. 

Risks taken and survived (on this occasion), I risked the bacon (visual inspection revealed that they were served in big metal trays, in which they may well have been cooked, with nothing drippy served either side), but not the fried potatoes, as processed potatoes (which these clearly were) are often coated in wheat flour of some kind to make them crispy. Having no idea if this was the case, I steered well clear!

'Baby' loves her bacon!

'Baby' didn't come to any harm from eating either these or the honey-coated cereal, that was also available from the buffet table. Although, I must admit, The Hub did Google the cereal ingredients first! These were served from large plastic dispensers.

'Baby' eats her cereal dry!

'Baby' often eats her cereal dry, although there was actually no need for her to do so, as soya milk is available, on request,  from the hotel. We, in fact, brought our own milk for 'Baby' as she is extremely fussy. Being long-life, it was OK to pack, and once open, was stored in the fridge at hotel reception!!

It turns out you can store stuff there as long as you package it appropriately (we tied 'Baby's' milk inside a plastic bag, and wrote our name all over it). You also have to sign a form to say that you are leaving it there at your own risk (there was a small fridge in the hotel room, but it was stuffed full of hotel refreshments, so we didn't use that).

There were a few other items on the buffet table that we helped ourselves to - fruit and drinks. However, the coffee needs a mention!

Pour moi!

I don't know about you, I NEED coffee in the morning - first thing! 

But... this coffee was served from a machine - the kind that also dispenses coffee with milk, or hot chocolate!! Not to be recommended for those with milk allergies, or who are breastfeeding an infant with milk allergy, then!!

You could however have bottled water or fruit juice.

Good job we passed Starbucks on our way to the Parks each day, then!!

Some reflections...

If you're gluten free, you'll be fine with a Euro Disney breakfast. It may not be what you're used to, but you won't starve. You'll also be fine if you're dairy free and okay with soya. Beyond that, you may want to bring your own bread/muesli/dairy free milk/whatever. 

I took some Genius dairy, gluten and soya free brioche in my luggage, and some almond milk for me, but it wasn't necessary - there was bread and cake for me and as I couldn't eat any cereal and usually drink my coffee black, the almond milk was useless.

All in all, although I know the restaurant staff are probably fairly low paid and possibly low-skilled in terms of food preparation, I can't help wishing that the hotel was more flexible in terms of catering for food allergies. It shouldn't be that hard to make sure that bacon or fried egg was gluten, dairy and soya free, at the very least!! And as for the coffee... pfft!!

If I'd known how generally inflexible and ill-informed the staff at Disney were, I'd have taken 'Baby' some bread rolls from good old Angleterre, as by the end of the week, my lil' wheat eater was begging for bread. Although bread in the UK is generally milk free, I had no idea about French bread, so wasn't giving in to her desperate pleas. Who'd have thought that something so simple as bread would have been such a sticking point?? It's hard when they're little and don't understand. I'm just glad she didn't have any non-allergenic siblings, to make her jealous!!

My conclusion is: Beefeater definitely did it better - for us, anyway!!


Related Post: 



Travelling Eurostar with the Dairy Free Baby and Me