Allergic? Be Prepared, But Don't Stay Home

"I always like it when the cook comes out," he said. "It's a good sign that they're taking it seriously."

That kind of personal attention is appreciated as much by a well-traveled writer as it is by a mother taking her allergic son out to eat for the first time.

Gina Clowes of Cranberry Township, Pa., remembers taking her son, Daniel, then 3, to his first restaurant meal at Disneyland's Grand Californian. Daniel is allergic to milk, wheat, eggs, peanuts, and tree nuts.

"The chef came out and took our order. No rolled eyes. I had his full attention," Clowes, who founded the Web site AllergyMoms.com, said. "I was in heaven watching my 3-year-old take part in this 'normal' part of life that most of us take for granted."

Disneyland and Disney World have been featured in a number of magazines for people with allergies because of its accommodative policies for them, as well as vegetarians and people who keep kosher. (Disclosure: ABC News is owned by The Walt Disney Co.)

Caroline Barnes of Brookline, Mass., founder of Brookline Families with Food Allergies (BroFFA.org), said that Disney's policy is the reason why she is currently planning a trip to Disney World with her family; two of her three children have food allergies.

Turbulent Travel

Barnes, whose mother is French and whose husband is Australian, has traveled to Australia and Canada with her children, and has generally been able to find foods her children can eat.

But not all of Barnes's travel experiences have been so positive.

She recalls a 12-hour flight she took to Sydney to visit her father-in-law in Queensland, Australia, when her oldest son was 3. The airline had a standard in-flight snack of peanuts, and made the family sign a waiver before they would allow Barnes and her family to board.

"Instead of trying to work with us, their reaction was, 'Well, that's the standard snack,'" said Barnes.

She spent the entire flight in her seat afraid to take her son anywhere else on the plane. But, she recalls, the flight staff was very accommodating, asking those around her family to have another snack instead of peanuts.