Traveling and Dining with Food Allergies: Legoland California

We took our first family vacation since our son was diagnosed with food allergies this past spring break.

To say I was nervous traveling with a child under two years old with multiple food allergies is an understatement. His list of food allergies is longer than his list of safe foods and I knew feeding him on the go would be challenging.

With some careful and proactive planning, I can honestly say we had an amazingly safe and smooth food allergy experience at Legoland California.

Safe dining with food allergies at Legoland California

With this being our first vacation since our baby was diagnosed with multiple food allergies, I started researching and planning how we would feed our baby with multiple food allergies and keep him safe early. My first stop, was the Legoland California website.

Legoland California lists all of their restaurants on a clean, food allergy friendly and interactive website. As you click on each restaurant you will find buttons to the right detailing if the menu includes dairy free options, egg free options, gluten-free options and more.

Legoland California also provides a Dietary Guide with a list of safe foods available at each restaurant. This list is categorized by gluten-free foods, nut free foods, dairy free foods, dairy and egg free foods, vegetarian foods and vegan foods.

Additional help for those with special dietary needs at Legoland California.

The following message is printed on the bottom of the dietary guide on the Legoland California website:

Please ask our staff to view ingredients lists. We are happy to offer a variety of dining choices for our guests with specific dietary concerns.

If you have any additional special dietary needs or concerns please don’t hesitate to email us 72-hours in advance of your visit and our Food and Beverage team will be happy to advise you on your available options.

I admit I snickered a bit when I saw this message because I can’t count the number of times I’ve e-mailed or called a company about my son’s special dietary needs and never heard back. I know so many food allergy moms who have had the same experiences, and it’s sad and unfortunate since we’re just trying to keep our babies safe.

I did however give Legoland California the benefit of the doubt and e-mail them 72 hours before our visit with a list of our son’s multiple food allergies, requesting help in finding the safest restaurant for him to eat at with the safest food options for him, along with the dates we were visiting the theme park.

The morning of our visit, I received an e-mail from Paul Geasland, who’s the Executive Chef, Food and Beverage at Legoland California, with a direct number to contact him to make sure we had a food allergy safe visit for our son while at the park.

When I called Paul, he was genuinely concerned about our son and his allergies and helped us find the safest places for him to eat with his multiple food allergies. With Paul’s help, we were able to find food allergy safe protein, fruits and even some food allergy safe french fries cooked in a dedicated fryer for our son to eat.

I am completely overjoyed with the safe food allergy experience we had at Legoland California. With the help of the Legoland staff, especially Paul Geasland, we had a worry-free family vacation that we will remember for years to come.

Best of all, our baby tried new foods which he now loves. He was able to feel included and dine on special treats with his brothers which wouldn’t have been possible without Paul’s help.

Thank you Legoland California, and Paul Geasland, for making our vacation at Legoland California amazing!