Disney Cruise with Food Allergies Guide
Are you and your family thinking about sailing a Disney Cruise with food allergies? I’m here to help and share our experience with you.
For me and so many other families, a huge part of the magic of Disney is how well they acccommodate guests traveling with food allergies. Whether it is in the parks or onboard one of their stunning cruise ships, Disney’s protocols are some of the best in the industry.
As a travel advisor and food allergy mom myself, I understand firsthand how important it is that food allergies are handled with care. Disney is one of two cruise lines I regularly recommend to clients traveling with food allergies.
Our Disney Wish Experience
In May 2025, we sailed on Disney’s absolutely gorgeous ship, Disney Wish. Right when you walk into the Grand Hall, you know that you are about to experience a beautiful and unforgettable cruise.
Cinderella hosts the Disney Wish and the lobby is truly fit for royalty. The artwork and Disney details all throughout the ship make it exciting to explore. There is so much to do between the shows, dining experiences, lounges, pool deck, the food—we never wanted to leave.
For this trip, our travel party had people navigating food allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, wheat/gluten, dairy, eggs as well as a food intolerance to peppers (chilis, bell peppers, etc.).
Pre-Disney Cruise with Food Allergies Prep
The food allergy protocols begin before you even set foot on your Disney ship. Right when we book your beautiful Disney Cruise, I will enter your family’s specific food allergies needs into a special requests category in your reservation. This documents those food allergy needs ahead of time so the crew has it in their system. I also give Disney Cruise Line a quick call for documentation on their side as well.
From there, you will receive a checklist from me on specific steps to be taking ahead of your cruise which include things like, checking epinephrine expiration dates and questions to ask your allergist.
For our family and friends, we had our emergency care plans and epinephrine ready to go to set sail on Disney Wish.
Once Onboard
Once onboard you will be able to speak with the dining team about your specific needs. At each sit-down restaurant, we reconfirmed everything with the culinary team and enjoyed each of our rotational dining meals.
Rotational Dining
Disney Cruise Line does rotational dining. What this means is that you will rotate through different themed dining experiences each night of your cruise. The best part, your serving team rotates with you! We love the rotational dining experience with Disney because you get to work with the same serving staff each time so you don’t need to re-explain allergies with new people.
This continuity is invaluable for families with food allergies. Your server team becomes familiar with your specific needs, preferences, and comfort levels. They remember which child has which allergy and can even anticipate questions before you ask them.
The rotational dining restaurants on Disney Wish—Arendelle, Worlds of Marvel, and 1923—each handled our allergies with the same level of care and attention. Our serving team would ask what we would prefer for dinner, and then they would submit that request to the chef team. If the chefs could not safely accommodate that menu item for us, they would let us know and we would select something else.
Buffet
Buffets can be the most challenging dining experience for families with food allergies due to cross-contamination risks. Disney has this figured out beautifully.
For the buffets, we would notify the staff and a chef or dining manager would come out to take the order and prepare the food so that it was separate from the buffet.
Our absolute favorites were Mickey Waffles for breakfast and chicken tenders and fries for a lunch or snack.
Room Service
One of my absolute favorite parts of a Disney Cruise is the 24/7 room service. We were able to call in room service and notify them of our allergy needs as well.
Specialty Dining
One of the best specialty dining experiences on a Disney Cruise ship is Palo. This was no different on Disney Wish and I HIGHLY recommend the Palo Brunch. This is an adults-only experience and it does book up quickly. I highly recommend making advanced reservations and I can assist you with this.
For food allergies, we spoke directly with our server who, similarly to our experience with rotational dining, would ask what we would prefer to eat, and then the chefs would confirm if it could be accommodate or not.
Cafes/Lounges
I am a coffee lover and besides having my morning coffee delivered to my room for me to enjoy on the verandah overlooking the ocean, I also really enjoyed visiting the coffee shops on Disney Wish! I particularly liked the Enchanted Sword Cafe which is themed after the Sword and the Stone.
On lattees, hot chocolates, and cappuccinos, your barista can add an extra bit of magic, a print of a Disney character!
Over the course our sailing, we got Ariel, BB8, Darth Vader, Mickey Mouse, Nemo, Elsa, Stitch, and Chewbacca!
We were unsure if the print would be safe for one of our kids’ food allergy needs. The Wish team went above and beyond to take the time to track down ingredient labels for the print so we could check.
Turns out, the ingredients were ok for us and my kiddo got to enjoy a hot chocolate with the iconic Mickey print on top! These little touches, this extra care and compassion, is pure Disney magic and it really sets Disney apart in the industry.
Excursions
On our Disney Wish itinerary, we had a day at one of Disney’s private islands, Castaway Cay. Our serving team took our order for lunch the night before with our specific food allergy needs.
On Castaway Day, we went to Cookie’s BBQ for lunch and instead of going through the buffet line, there is a separate window for food allergy orders from the ship. We were able to pick up our order and enjoy our lunch on the island! There are two Cookie’s locations on Castaway so you do need to confirm which one you will pick your order up from. It has always been the first location near the family beach for us.
Disney Cruise With Food Allergies – Beyond The Dining
Besides the wonderful care we receive from the culinary team, there are a couple of other factors that set Disney apart when sailing with food allergies.
The first is that Disney Cruise has epipens onboard the cruise ship in the health center. You can read about this here. Although you should always carry your own epinephrine, this is huge. Every ship has a health center onboard and there is also epinephrine on Castaway Cay.
The Youth Clubs are also able to administer epinephrine injectors in the event of an emergency. There are specific forms to fill out to authorize this that need to be signed and I can direct you to these forms.
The Disney Cruise Experience
Experiencing Disney at sea is truly its own magical experience. More than once, we would be walking down the hallways and happen across a character—Goofy, Pluto, Minnie, Mickey, Chip & Dale, and of course princesses. Captain Hook and Smee even made an appearance on Pirate Night and several members of our group were beyond excited to see Spiderman!
These spontaneous character encounters create those unplanned magical moments that make Disney cruises so special. The ship’s design encourages exploration, and you never know when you’ll turn a corner and find a photo opportunity with a beloved character.
The broadway-style shows are next level entertainment for the whole family and the kids clubs are in a league of their own.
Disney ships are stunning and incredibly well-kept. Our room was turned down twice a day and the common areas on the ship were incredibly clean. There are hand-washing stations prior to entering dining areas and the staff does monitor this.
Disney’s private islands are absolutely gorgeous paradise escapes and we had the most incredible beach day at Castaway on this last sailing.
We are already counting down until our next Disney Cruise!