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  • On Jan 17, 2012
    Tara Asked Note: This answer was provided prior to the change to planDisney and may still contain references to Disney Parks Moms Panel.

    Experiences, policies, pricing and other offerings are subject to change and may have changed since the date of this answer.

    We will be visiting Animal Kingdom in a few weeks with my 3 year old son, who has a severe peanut allergy. I am wondering if they use peanuts / peanut-contaminated food at the Affection Station petting area? Thanks!

    Hi Tara,

    The goats and sheep at the Animal Kingdom's Affection Section are incredibly tame and well-behaved. They'll let little kids hug and cuddle them with nary a baaaa or nip. At every other petting zoo I've been to, the goats were incredibly aggressive, jumping and biting.

    I once asked a keeper at the Affection Section what made the animals there so calm. Her response was, "We don't allow guests to feed them." The animals are only fed backstage, in their own pens and housing units. There is no feed available for guests to give them. The animals don't fight or beg for handouts, because there are none.

    So the answer to your question is, there is no peanut contaminated food at the petting area. There is no food at all in the petting area. Nice!

    However, I can tell you that inside Conservation Station, there is a window where you can watch keepers prepare food for other animals. As a display, there are a few dishes of animal pellets which a curious guest could touch. These pellets might possibly be peanut contaminated. (Unlikely, but possible.) To be on the safe side, you should keep your son away from this area. It is inside the building, whereas the petting zoo is outside the building.

    If you're interested in seeing photos of the pellet display, you can go to an independent website called DisneyFoodBlog.com and look for an article called Disney Food for Families: Feed the Birds and Other Creatures Too. (Full disclosure, I wrote the article.)  

    Good luck with your planning. Please let us know if you have additional questions.
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Meet the Panelist: Erin, New York

I have three teenage daughters. We're DVC members obsessed with Disney travel. We've been to Walt Disney World countless times and have visited Disneyland & Disneyland Paris. We've taken several Adventures by Disney and Disney Cruise trips. Learn More About Erin

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