About Me
Welcome to Young, Scrappy, and Hungry in Disney! My name is Ramsey, and I am a 14-year-old 8th grader from Connecticut.
Food allergies can be tough. I know because I have 24 of them, including
- Peanuts
- Tree Nuts
- Brazil Nuts
- Cashews
- Macadamia Nuts
- Hazelnuts
- Pistachios
- Pine Nuts
- Walnuts
- Pecans
- Dairy (Milk)
- Eggs
- Shellfish
- Shrimp
- Crab
- Lobster
- Clam
- Legumes
- Chickpeas
- Black Eyed Peas
- Lupin
- Black Beans
- Red Beans
- Lentils
- Soy Protein (Lecithin and Oil are okay)
- Seeds
- Sesame
- Mustard
Yep.
Not a lie. Because of this very long and unfortunate list, I've grown up my whole life without the pleasure of being able to eat out at table service restaurants, simply because their service is not good enough and they are not careful about cross-contamination. Therefore, I have always brought my own food or ate my incredibly talented and smart mom's food at home. (She's gluten-free herself!) She has cared for me as well as a mother can and has been very protective of me and my food allergies. But that all changed in the summer of 2015...
It was a normal Sunday. I had eaten breakfast, finished my homework, and was now sitting in the living room with all of my family. That's when my parents told me and my two brothers that we were going to Orlando in June and July! We were going to visit Legoland, Universal Studios, SeaWorld, but most importantly, Disney World. She had printed itineraries packed with fun for each and every day of our long trip. I had wished upon a star for a trip like this, and my wish came true.
Eating Mickey Waffles in Whispering Canyon Cafe, 2015
For every day on that trip, my family had reservations at restaurants for all of the meals. I got to go to so many restaurants and I loved them all. It was truly magical to work with the hard-working chefs who were so accommodating, smart, and just plain out awesome to make huge plates of food for me. I thought it was incredible to see how far they'll go into making your experience I loved every second of it, and I never wanted to leave.
Every night, with my Stitch-themed pen, I would write an entry in a notebook of my day, mostly focusing on the incredible meals so that I could relive them over and over in the future. I loved writing about the fantasies I experienced.
The fact that there was a place that actually existed where the chefs were so good and I could eat their food was a dream come true. It showed me that Walt Disney World was the happiest place on Earth. It still is!
In 2017, our family went to Orlando again, but this time, just Disney World. We all knew that it had by far the most fun and exciting parks out of the all the ones in Florida. I was mostly excited to go for the food. And when we got there, it was everything I imagined. The chefs seemed to be even nicer, smarter, and more talented than the chefs that cared for me in 2015. When it comes to life, food is a bare necessity. But when it comes to food allergies, Disney is a bare necessity.
When we were at Disney that year, my parents and I came up with an idea. Instead of just writing down my experiences in Disney, I should keep a blog of the restaurants I go to and review them. It was too late into the trip to get one started, so I claimed that I would do it next time we come down to Disney.
Fast forward to 2018. It's the beginning of July. I've already been signed up for camps throughout July, and my parents are leaving August "open" so we can "visit family" during it. As you may have guessed, it turns out that we're going to Disney for the third time!
My first thoughts are hunger. Why? I'm craving all the steak, salmon, waffles, pancakes, ice cream, chicken, pasta, bacon, and fruit that I have had the privilege to enjoy throughout these last few years. And I get started on my blog the next day.
And here you are! This blog contains reviews about the chefs and restaurants of Walt Disney World, all done and through the eyes of a math-loving, basketball-playing, Marvel-watching, and Disney-obsessing kid, me!
Now cut to June 16, 2019. I'm called to our living room in Connecticut for an important family meeting. How important? Well, the topic is that we're moving to Florida. You tell me!
Over the next few weeks, my family is crazy stressed from working so we can be prepared for our move to East Orlando. I'm thinking about how I'm going to miss my friends so much but also how excited I am to be living in my happy place. Now that we're less than an hour from Disney World, I'll be able to update my blog consistently and keep up the hard work I put into it. Now, I live in Florida, and it's all that and a bag of chips.
The Incredible Chef Matt of Boma, 2017
The purpose of this blog is to help out those with questions about safe dining in Disney World. That's where my motto, "Ask, don't assume", comes from. I know what it's like to be so used to an issue in your life that when a solution is offered, you can't really believe it. And that's why I'm here - to give honest reviews on restaurants that I dine in so you can gather more knowledge before you make a reservation. Because while I may be a kid, I have 7 of the top 8 food allergens, I am responsible and self-advocating for my allergies (especially in new restaurants), but most importantly, I enjoy helping people. That's also why I'm part of FARE's (Food Allergy Research and Education's) Teen Advisory Group, a national board of teenagers who create projects and provide a voice for kids and young adults in the food allergy community. With TAG, I hope to continue my advocacy of food allergies for years to come, even more than this amazing blog-making hobby.
The Spectacular Chef Jenn of Sassagoula's, 2017
Now, be my guest and go to the menu on the left or click a button below to experience the whole new world of dining in Walt Disney World! If you have any questions, please email me at hungryindisney@gmail.com.
Disney World is nothing but blue skies and sunshine, guaranteed. You won't be disappointed.