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I’ve been asked many times about food catered to people with allergies in the Tokyo Parks, so I decided to go do some research. This information is based on the Tokyo Disney Resort Japanese website and from phone calls that were made to the resort.
I wrote a blog post before about vegetarian options at Tokyo Disney Resort. Tokyo Disney needs to improve on that front. Sadly, it doesn’t get any better with food catered for those with allergies.
There are some restaurants in Tokyo Disney Resort that serve up dishes that do not include the 5 major food allergens in Japan. That is berries, soba, egg, milk and peanut. Tokyo Disney calls this Low-Allergen food. Notice the word “low”. Not zero, but low. Why? They can guarantee that they don’t use those ingredients when cooking, but they cannot guarantee that the finished dish will not contain those food allergen. Hence, low allergen food. Yes, that is a disclaimer to protect themselves in case anything happens. Please, bear that in mind.
If you are allergic to any other food products not in that list of 5, they urge you to inform them about your allergies before you get in line to enter a restaurant or buy your food. Also, for those with allergies, you can bring your own food to the restaurants to eat, but at least one member of the party has to order food from that dining establishment. Some restaurants at the parks provide microwaving services and boiling services.
Without further ado, here is the list of restaurants that serve up Low-Allergen foods. All of these restaurants serve up Low-Allergen foods that cater to children 8 years or younger.
Tokyo Disneyland = Plaza Restaurant, Queen of Hearts Banquet Hall, Eastside Cafe, Center Street Coffeehouse, Hokusai, Blue Bayou Restaurant, Polynesian Terrace Restaurant, Crystal Palace Restaurant (Character Breakfast), Plaza Pavilion Restaurant, The Diamond Horseshoe, Hungry Bear Restaurant, Grandma Sara’s Kitchen.
Tokyo Disneysea: Vulcania Restaurant, Casbah Food Court, Yucatan Base Camp Grill, Cafe Portofino, Zambini Brothers’ Ristorante, Magellan’s, Ristorante Di Canaletto, Restaurant Sakura, S.S. Columbia Dining Room, Horizon Bay Restaurant.
All of the restaurants listed above provide boiling and microwave services. Sadly, out of all the restaurants listed above, only two from each park serve up Low-Allergen food portioned towards adults.
Tokyo Disneyland: Hungry Bear Restaurant and Crystal Palace Restaurant (Character Breakfast)
Tokyo Disneysea: Horizon Bay Restaurant and Casbah Food Court
That’s it folks. To wrap things up, I feel that those of you with food allergies should plan accordingly and take extra precaution. When in doubt, just ask a cast member before you place an order. I will also suggest heading to Guest Services when you first enter the parks to ask for further advice on this issue.
PS: I am so thankful to one of our readers, Jay Farmer. He wrote in to us to share about his experience in Tokyo Disney Resort. This is what he has to say,”My family has done a yearly trip to Tokyo Disney during the Christmas Holidays for the past 14 years, and are gearing up for this year’s trip now. Three years ago, I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease, and we have found that just asking a server about gluten-free options at any of the Tokyo Disney Resort restaurants will usually result in a very swift visit from the manager, who will go over everything that will meet your needs. Of course, I’m referring only to the full-service restaurants. We’ve not had any problems getting great meals at the Happiest Place On Earth.”
Before I became a father, I didn’t know of this store’s existence. Heck, I didn’t take notice of many things before I became a father. I was drinking way too much and all I thought about was music. If I was not writing or recording music, I was out partying. Yes, I was living the life of a rock star, or at least I thought I was. The only thing that could tame me at that time was a trip to Tokyo Disney Resort. Whenever I visited Tokyo Disney, I would all of a sudden cut down on my drinking, sleep early, wake up early and head to the parks. I remember once, a few friends and I traveled to Tokyo for 5 nights. They were out drinking and partying for most of the nights. Me? Noooooo. I was drinking loads of water, sleeping early, hoping not to fall sick and visited Tokyo Disney for 4 of those days. My friends were really confused about my behavior. I know for a fact that if there was a Disney Theme Park in Singapore, I would have had a totally different youth.
Fast forward a few years and I am married to an amazing lady with two beautiful kids. Now, instead of writing a rock tune about lust, I am writing about diaper changing and feeding. Instead of spending hours at the recording studio, drinking, hanging out with the band, recording, I am spending hours in stores, restaurants, surveying products and food, writing about them, hoping to find you value, so that you won’t waste time or money the next time you visit Tokyo Disney. I’ve always been passionate about Disney and now, I am able to share my passion with all you guys through cyberspace. It’s beautiful. I feel like I just won the Miss Universe pageant. Now, I can run my fingers through Donald Trump’s hair and uncover a modern mystery. Hair or toupe? Whoa, hold your horses!!! Before we venture into the realm of Donald Trump’s scalp, we have a review to write.
Baby Mine
Baby Mine Entrance
Baby Mine is a store that sells…… ? Go ahead, make a guess. Booyah!!! Baby products. Couldn’t see that coming, could you? Baby Mine sells products for newborns all the way to pre-teens. Most of it’s products are catered to newborns and infants, though.
Baby bibs
Baby shoes
Mickey Kids T-shirts
As we walked through Baby Mine, we found many cute products, but nothing stood out to us. We were looking for Tokyo Disney exclusive products for our kids, but we didn’t find anything special. A lot of products had the Disney characters on them, but nothing that shouts, “Tokyo Disney Resort.” I can get similar products with Disney characters printed on them at a lot of baby stores around Tokyo for way cheaper. This shop is a missed opportunity by Tokyo Disney. Instead of just having the words “Tokyo Disney Resort” on some of the products, they could have used the attractions to their advantage. I would have definitely spent money on baby products themed to The Haunted Mansion, for example.
Tokyo Disney Baby Gift Set
Before I became a father, I didn’t know of this store’s existence. Now I do, but, it doesn’t make a difference. This store is a waste of time. If Tokyo Disney would have just invested a little bit of creativity into this store, it could have been a hit. Until then, I will not spend one yen in this store. Why spend 5,000 yen on something when I can get a similar product for about half the price, somewhere else? A wasted opportunity. Anyways, forget about Baby Mine. Let’s focus on more important stuff. So, what do you guys think? Hair or toupe?
PS: If you would like do some more shopping in Tokyo Disney, KM recommends heading to The Home Store and Monsters, Inc. Company Store.
Finally, finally, finally, a popcorn flavor that I am excited to write about!!! So far, we’ve reviewed Soda Popcorn and Strawberry Popcorn which were both disappointing. Neither of them was worth 310 yen. I’m most upset about them taking up unnecessary space in my stomach. That space could have been filled with more fulfilling Tokyo Disney goodies like a calzone from Ristorante Di Canaletto or Mr Swordfish from Queen of Hearts Banquet Hall. Learn from my mistakes, beautiful people of the world. I am your Tokyo Disney Resort lab rat and here’s a little secret….. I LOVE IT!!!
Most of you might already know that I was born and bred in Singapore. Food in Singapore is brilliant. I miss it a lot. So many different races and cultures living together in one little island. Lots of different spices and flavors coming together. My taste buds were pampered on a daily basis when I was living in Singapore. If you ever get the chance to visit Singapore, please EAT, EAT, EAT!!! Jalapeno & Cheese coming together reminds me of food from back home. This should be good.
Jalapeno & Cheese Popcorn
Surprisingly, Jalapeno & Cheese popcorn was not as spicy as I thought it would be. It did not have that full flavor that you would expect when two strong flavors like Jalapeno and Cheese come together. Like a lot of foreign food here in Japan, it’s been made milder or as I would like to say, “It’s been Japanized!!!” Don’t get me wrong. I still enjoyed it. I just wished that the flavor would have been stronger, a little less toned down. I kinda wished that it would blow my mind and create this little explosion of flavor in my mouth, but it didn’t. I get this same feeling whenever I go to any South-East Asian restaurant here in Japan. Japanized!!!
Little Mahina enjoying Jalapeno & Cheese popcorn.
On the upside, kids will also be able to enjoy this flavor of popcorn. Little Mahina enjoyed it. We found a place to sit down and shared the popcorn. Of course, Little Mahina had the majority of it, but we did enjoy some quality, family time together with our Jalapeno & Cheese popcorn.
Overall, I would recommend you to have a go at this flavor of popcorn. I felt that it was worth the money. If our paths ever cross in the future, I wouldn’t mind shelling out 310 yen again for it. Don’t worry about the spice level. Everyone should be able to enjoy it. I just wished that it was not Japanized. Finally, finally, finally, a favorable popcorn review.
KM gives Jalapeno & Cheese Popcorn a 7/10.
PS: You can read about some other reviews of popcorn flavors here. Soda Popcorn and Strawberry Popcorn.
Huey, Dewey and Louie. 3 little pranksters. They remind me of my 2 sisters and I when we were kids. Love those times. I’ve been to Toontown many times, especially after Little Mahina came into my life. We would often visit Toontown to go visit Mickey’s House. Many a time, that was it. Visit Mickey and bye bye Toontown. This time was a little different. Prior to visiting Toontown, we had lunch at Center Street Coffeehouse. Throughout lunch, Little Mahina was napping. The heat knocked her out for a couple of hours. Little Mahina was wide awake and hungry when we were in Toontown, so we headed to the closest available option.
Huey, Dewey and Louie’s Good Time Cafe
Step right up. The famous Mickey Hand Sandwich awaits.
Good Time Cafe’s menu
We ordered the Roasted Chicken on Chinese Bun and a Lemon Cream Pie for Little Mahina….. Why are you looking at me like that? My daughter is a growing girl and she eats a lot….. OK OK, you got me!!! The Lemon Cream Pie was for myself….. WHAT?! You’re still not satisfied? Tough crowd….. Truth be told, I wanted to get a little bite off that Roasted Chicken on Chinese Bun. It’s not my fault. Blame it on social media. I’ve seen so many pictures of it floating around on Facebook and Twitter. At that moment, my stomach said no, but the glutton in me went, “Hayatt, you have to try it, otherwise you will not be accepted by the masses.” Eventually, I gave in and ate ALL of the sandwich and the Lemon Cream Pie….. #idratherdiefatandfullthanslimandhungry
Roasted Chicken on Chinese Bun AKA Mickey Handwich
Lemon Cream Pie
Just in case, you guys are thinking, “How could you let your daughter starve like that?” I did buy her another sandwich. Mahina finished that sandwich faster than you can say, “Bad parenting.” So, how was the food? The sandwich was not bad. It’s definitely not Kua Aina good. Taste-wise it was a little better than a sandwich you would buy at a convenience store.
Is it worth 550yen? If you have kids, this sandwich is definitely worth it. If not, no. I would not go out of my way to get it if I was not a parent. Parents out there will know that it’s TOUGH to get a 2 year old to sit down and focus on their meal. Once they get distracted, the meal is more or less over. This sandwich got Little Mahina super focused. The distraction was the sandwich itself. She sat down and concentrated on devouring Mickey’s hands. Let’s go Mahina, let’s go. With regards to the Lemon Cream Pie, I felt that it was nothing to shout about. Tokyo Disney needs to figure out a way to do desserts right. Definitely not worth 350yen.
Good Time Cafe’s seating arrangement
Overall, I would recommend Huey, Dewey & Louie’s Good Time Cafe to parents who happen to be in Toontown with a hungry kid. If you guys can buy more time, I would recommend skipping this and heading over to Queen of Heart’s Banquet Hall. Also, there is no air-conditioning at Good Time Cafe. It’s all outdoor seating. Uncle Scrooge would not loan the boys extra money to build an air-conditioned restaurant. It was super hot and muggy when we were there and that played a part in our dining experience. For my family, we will only visit Good Time Cafe again if we are in a “shouganai” situation.
Shouganai (Japanese) = It cannot be helped
KM gives Huey, Dewey & Louie’s Good Time Cafe a 3/10. All 3 points go to the Mickey Handwich for being able to hypnotize little kids.
PS: If the weather is nice and you would like to dine outdoors and people watch, China Voyager would be a better alternative.
In a previous blog post, we ventured into one of my favorite stores, Monsters, Inc. Company Store, in Tokyo Disneyland. As I have mentioned in that post, there are only a few places whereby I like to go shopping. I talked about shopping at Disney theme parks and Factory Outlet Malls.
Actually, there are a few other places where I love to shop at. Once in a while, I would take my family and head to Shin-Misato. Shin-Misato is a town that’s kinda close to Tokyo Disney Resort. Forty minutes via train and voila!!! One day, I hope to buy a house there and call it my home. You might be wondering what makes this Shin-Misato place so special? Why do I like it so much? I have two reasons….
Wife-chan and I at Costco, Shin-Misato
Costco and IKEA!!! Furniture, home appliances and grocery shopping. Love it!!! I love looking at furniture so much, sometimes, I get musical inspiration from walking around in IKEA. A bass line or a vocal melody would magically appear in my head. That happens with household appliances too. I start imagining how it would sound to use some household appliances as percussion instruments and from there I get inspiration.
So, naturally, I am super excited to write about The Home Store. Household appliances coming together with Disney. Brilliant!!!
The Home Store
Whenever I enter The Home Store, I start to dream. I dream about my future home. I start envisioning how each individual room will look. A lot of merchandise from this store will definitely fit into my dream home. Wife-chan and I always get excited talking about our future home when we visit this store.
Rice Scoop: 500yen
Tokyo Disney Resort plate: 1000yen
Alice in Wonderland Crazy Teapot: 4,090yen
Alice in Wonderland Tea Cup and Saucer set: 1,540yen
Chip Tea Cup: 1,575yen
Mickey Japanese Plate: 1,700yen
The Home Store is a really unique store. I highly recommend visiting this store when you are in Tokyo Disneyland. I am very sure that there’s something in here that will be able to complement your home. As for me, I know that I’ll be returning to this store when that dream home of ours is built. Costco, IKEA and Disney. It doesn’t get much better than that.
PS: If you are looking to buy some unique merchandise from Tokyo Disney Resort, you might also want to check out this post on Underwear at Tokyo Disney Resort.
After visiting Tokyo Disneyland countless times, once in a while, this park still finds a way to surprise me. This day was hot. Little Mahina was enjoying her Strawberry Popcorn, a pregnant Wife-chan was trying her best to keep upbeat and I was slowly melting away from the heat and humidity. All of us were sweating profusely. We were at World Bazaar and wanted to walk to Grandma Sara’s for lunch, but it was too hot. So, we made a u-turn and headed towards Grand Emporium for some A/C. While walking back towards Grand Emporium, we noticed that there was no line for lunch at Center Street Coffehouse. It was a super hot summer’s day at a super packed Tokyo Disneyland and there was no line at an air-conditioned, sit-down restaurant during lunch time?! Was this a mirage? This must have been a sign. Center Street Coffeehouse was calling out to me saying, “Come in and review me. I’m ready for ya!”
Center Street Coffeehouse
Center Street Coffeehouse is one of those places that I have known about for years, but it never really appealed enough for me to enter. It reminded me of any normal “Family Restaurant” here in Japan, like a Gusto or a Royal Host. Nothing in the menu screams out to you. There’s nothing fancy on the menu. Safe bets like Spaghetti with Meat Sauce and Hamburger Patty with Rice fill the menu at Center Street Coffeehouse. The menu reminded me a lot of Saizeriya’s menu, but of course, this being Disney, prices are more than doubled.
Center Street Coffeehouse Menu, Soups & Salads
Center Street Coffeehouse Menu, Main Dishes (A)
Center Street Coffeehouse Menu, Main Dishes (B)
Center Street Coffeehouse Menu, Desserts and Beverages
Center Street Coffeehouse Menu, Kid’s Menu
I ordered the Omelet over Rice with Beef and Demi-Glace Sauce set while Wife-chan ordered a Spaghetti with Meat Sauce set. We got a small plate of side salad, the dish itself and free flow of drinks with this set. If you ever wanted to find a place to chill out for an extended amount of time without breaking the bank, look no further. Free flow of drinks!!! Mahina took a nap while we were eating. A really long nap too. The heat must have got to her. Wife-chan and I spent about two hours here having a variety of drinks, chatting and reminiscing our past while Little Mahina ventured off into dreamland.
Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
Omelet over Rice with Beef and Demi-Glace Sauce
Before heading into Center Street Coffeehouse, I came to a point which I thought I would never reach. I came to a point whereby I would have hated a trip to Disneyland. Weather plays a huge part in enjoying the parks. Plan your trips accordingly. Center Street Coffeehouse saved me. I was Snow White, the weather was The Wicked Witch and Center Street Coffeehouse was the Prince that nobody notices. I’ll leave you guys with that thought for a while…
… Alright back to this review. I have good news and bad news. Let’s start with the bad news. The atmosphere in the restaurant was similar to a “Family Restaurant”. A Japanese “Family Restaurant” is sorta like a Denny’s. Theming in this restaurant is nothing to shout about. The theming seemed lazy to me. For a while, I almost forgot that I was in Disneyland. Good news? The food was brilliant. Yes, the menu is boring, but the food was really good. Yes, it was more than double the price compared to a “Family Restaurant”, but it tasted doubly good. Good food and a free flow of drinks. I love value and I feel that Center Street Coffeehouse delivers on that front.
KM gives this restaurant a 7/10.
Seating arrangement at Center Street Coffeehouse
PS: If you are looking for another restaurant to escape from the crowds at Tokyo Disneyland and chill out, KM would also like to recommend Dreamer’s Lounge at Tokyo Disneyland Hotel.
I’ve never liked shopping. In fact, I hate it. Shopping, for me, is knowing what I want beforehand and going out to get it. It’s a really short process and I like it. It limits time wasting and I’m able to spend that time on other important stuff like taking a shower or napping. However, there are exceptions to this hatred. There are some places that are able to turn my hatred into an exciting adventure. These places are able to hypnotize me into thinking, “It’s ok to splurge once in a while. We don’t get to do this so often. We can always make that money back.” It’s diabolical. These few places are able to turn me into something that I’m not. Factory Outlet Malls and Disney Theme Parks turn me into Lindsay Lohan.
Monsters, Inc. Company Store
Monsters, Inc. Company Store is one of the stores that we frequent a lot when visiting Tokyo Disney. It seems to have a magnetic pull on my family. We love the movies and Little Mahina loves the characters. The theming of the store is brilliant. The Imagineers did an amazing job with the level of detail in this store. You can find a lot of “Easter eggs” from the movies here. If you are a fan of Monsters Inc, this store is a must visit.
Inside the Monsters, Inc. Store
Dress code at Monsters, Inc
Sully’s trophy case
Notice Board
The products in this store are super cool. Some of the products in this store would give the underwear sold at Tokyo Disney Resort a run for their money. We have spent quite a bit of coin in this store. A lot of money has been transferred from my wallet to Mike & Sully’s. I would say that Mike could have taken Celia to Harryhausen’s at least 3 times with the money I’ve spent there. Harryhausen’s! That’s a lot of money folks. Oh no. Am I a shopaholic?! Do I have self discipline issues?! Arrghhhh. I can’t help myself when I’m in Disney! I’m losing it. What’s happening to me?! Get a hold of yourself, Hayatt!!! Take deep breaths and say this aloud 3 times, “It’s ok to splurge once in a while. We don’t get to do this so often. We can always make that money back.”
Sully Tissue Box cover: 3,200yen
Mug: 1,300yen
Chopsticks: 600yen
Fork and Spoon set: 1,300yen
Black T-shirt: 2,600yen
White T-shirt: 2,900yen
Monsters, Inc. Company Store is a must visit for anybody who is a fan of the movies. Apart from having loads of great merchandise, the store itself, tells a story. The level of detail incorporated into this store is amazing. Even if you are not looking to buy anything, you should just visit the store and read the notice board. My wife and I shared a few laughs together, reading that. However, if you do purchase something here, I am sure that you will not regret it. Just remember this phrases, “It’s ok to splurge once in a while. We don’t get to do this so often. We can always make that money back.”
Tokyo Disney Resort’s underwear. I love it. Their one of my favorite products in the entire resort. In fact, I own quite a few pairs of them, myself. I would model them for you, but my “amazing” physique might be too much for you to take. Here’s a mental picture. My friends used to call me E.T because I have a big head and a beer belly. There you go. Now, let your imagination run wild.
A wide selection of underwear
Now, that’s a lot of underwear on display. I remember coming to Tokyo Disney Resort once with my friends many years ago and they had only a few pairs. Now, they have multiplied, much like Kanye West’s ego. Their price range from 1,000 yen to 2,000 yen. They’re pretty expensive if you factor in the fact that not many people will actually get to see you in them. However, the confidence you will get when you put them on is unparalleled. Whenever I don a pair, I always feel like David Hasselhoff. It’s an amazing feeling. You should “Hoff” it up too. Below are some of my favorite designs.
Mickey underwear 1,050 yen
The Wicked Witch underwear 1,400 yen
Ursula underwear 1,400 yen
Toy Story underwear 1,800 yen
Monsters Inc underwear 1,800
Tokyo Disney Resort’s underwear can be found in some shops in the parks and Bon Voyage. From my visits to the parks, I’ve noticed that the biggest selection is in Grand Emporium, in Tokyo Disneyland and Emporio, in Tokyo Disneysea. In my opinion, this is a must get souvenir for everyone visiting the resort. Two words. David Hasselhoff. How can you pass that up?
When I think of strawberries, I think of the Beatles. I don’t know why. That’s just the way my mind works. Strawberry is probably one of my favorite fruit. Pineapple, Fuji Apple and Strawberry would be in my list of top 3 favorite fruits. Tokyo Disney Resort, can you hear me?!! I’ve got a few ideas on new popcorn flavors. I want a cut if you choose to accept my super creative ideas of Pineapple and Fuji Apple popcorn flavors. 10% of total sales should be enough to wet my beak.
Strawberry Popcorn Cart
Naturally, with strawberry being one of my favorite fruit, I was excited to try it. It smelled really good too. Sorta like cotton candy. Then, I grabbed one popcorn and slowly put it into my mouth. I felt like one of those models in a hair commercial. You know how they put on the shampoo, rinse it off and move their head from side to side to dry out their hair, all in slow motion? Sounds sexy, doesn’t it? That was the effect I was going for. After that, I started chewing and waited for the popcorn to blow my mind. Hold up!!! Something’s wrong here. It didn’t blow my mind!!! Wait, let me try it one more time. This time a handful. Hmmmm, still not mind blowing. What’s going on here!!!??
Strawberry Popcorn
I was really disappointed by this. Almost to a point of depression. I felt empty. It was almost as painful as the time when Guns N’ Roses broke up. I’m distraught to say that Strawberry Popcorn is not on my list of top 3 popcorn flavors at Tokyo Disney Resort. It would have been cool if it was in my top 3 list, so that I could align it with my top 3 fruits. That way, I could have told the world that I LOVE STRAWBERRY ANYTHING!!!
Mahina chomping down Strawberry Popcorn
So, I did what any awesome parent would do. I passed my disappointment on to my child. Little Mahina chomped it down like a champion. Overall, Strawberry Popcorn was disappointing. It definitely did better than Soda Popcorn, but then again, any flavor of popcorn would have done better than Soda Popcorn. Little Mahina might have given this a higher score, but for me, Strawberry Popcorn did not do enough to get placed on the medals podium.
KM gives Strawberry Popcorn a 4/10.
Konnichiwa Mickey 