Bariatric Sleeve Surgery Dining

[NandP]

Has anyone experienced dining in WDW after having bariatric sleeve surgery? Do restaurants make adjustments or allow shared entrees if requested?

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

With or without a sleeve, most restaurants will allow sharing.

You won't be about to share any "all you care to eat" meals. Or buffets. Often you can order a child's entree.

 

[MI_firefighter]

My wife was provided with a doctors not that allows her to order from the kids/senior menus at places. She never had to present it and they allowed her to order what she wanted. She did tell the server at 'Ohana about her surgery and the server checked with the manager who only charged us the child rate as she barely ate anything. Overall, they were very accommodating.

 

[Lisa F]

I went to disney 7 months after my sleeve surgery and I am pretty candid about my experiences in my dining report.

I did a combination of ordering appetizers, ordering off the kid menu, sharing with my kid and sucking up and dealing with food waste/high cost of character meals.

The way I look at it is that it used to cost me $xx to be full and satisfied and if it still costs that on vacation, I'm fine with it. Disney food is not a good value anyway so it's really just a matter of degree.

I just enjoyed my vacation and didn't stress over the value of every bite.

 

[kaytieeldr]

the server checked with the manager who only charged us the child rate as she barely ate anything.

Nice, but should not be expected.

 

[bumbershoot]

She did tell the server at 'Ohana about her surgery and the server checked with the manager who only charged us the child rate as she barely ate anything. Overall, they were very accommodating.

This is a fairly big variation from the norm, and you need to know that you were lucky. Most do not get such service.

Ordering from the kid's menu at Disney is pretty commonly allowed for *anyone*, as long as you're not at a non-disney-owned place while using the DDP, like at Via Napoli.

 

[TeresaWen]

My wife was provided with a doctors not that allows her to order from the kids/senior menus at places. She never had to present it and they allowed her to order what she wanted. She did tell the server at 'Ohana about her surgery and the server checked with the manager who only charged us the child rate as she barely ate anything. Overall, they were very accommodating.

All adults pay the adult price at buffet, AYCE meals, and fixed price (like bog). Being charged the child's price is so far off the norm I would not even call it pixy dust.

It would create such an unmanageable situation for Disney to allow this. It was a fluke.

 

[loves to dive]

While I have not had surgery I'm a very light eater and I can tell you that kid's meals at QS and appetizers are mostly what I eat. Even when I get a kid's meal for lunch, I normally can't eat it all and carry the fruit around with me for a snack later on. Sometimes my adult son and I will share an adult QS meal as well because a lot of them do have a lot of food and we have been known to share a TS meal when neither of us are real hungry but want to experience the place. I also eat at a lot of lounges because they have smaller plate meals. I never eat at buffets, I just don't get my moneys worth and it's not worth it.

 

[SarahC97]

I have had bariatric surgery and often share with my younger daughter when it comes to meals at Disney, but for the buffets and AYCTE character meals, I just (as others pointed out) suck it up and go in knowing that I will not get my money's worth at all. Share when you can, but enjoy your trip. For me, the experiences at certain restaurants outweighs whether or not I get my money's worth out of the meal. I've never even bothered to ask for a discount or different charge due to my surgery.

 

[MI_firefighter]

By no means was I trying to speak on behalf of Disney on what their policy is. This was just our experience at that restaurant on that day. To be honest, I didn't even want her to ask since I was fine paying for her as an adult. This was fresh off her surgery and it was all new to us.

 

[RangerPooh]

I'm 3 years sleeved. When we dine at Disney I share an entree with one of my kids or my husband. Occasionally I'll order a side item or appetizer instead. As for ordering a child's entree, I've done it. I've also swapped plates with one of my kids who was more interested in the adult entree options rather than child. There's also plenty of healthy options at both QS and TS restaurants, so no need to worry about food limitations.

As for character meals/buffets where the pricing is fixed, you suck it up. Only once have I been able to pay the child's price, but we were fortunate that our waitress was very knowledgeable about the procedure and had no issue requesting the adjustment. This said, I was prepared to pay full price.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

One thing you won't need, for sure, is a doctor's note.

 

[kiford]

I also eat at a lot of lounges because they have smaller plate meals.

This is a really great idea. I haven't had the surgery either but I can be a light eater especially if it's hot plus I don't eat a lot at a single meal. Sometimes we skip breakfast if we get up late and may just do a mid-day drink and snack at the lounges and that's sufficient for me until dinner. There are some really interesting lounges now both in the parks and at Disney Springs with some nibbles on their menus that look good.

 

[Debbie Jean]

Four years post-op, been to WDW too many times to count. All the suggestions you have gotten are on point. My go to are generally appetizers unless there is something tempting on the children's menus. Lounges are great! I have ordered from the regular menu and eaten what I could.. depends on where I am with my protein needs that day. That is the one area I try to be aware of all the time. While I have done buffets, they are a real waste unless there is value added entertainment... never had a server offer to let me pay children's price LOL

FWIW, I don't tell people about my surgery... ain't their business and they don't read notes in any event. But maybe that's just me. I've never had issues and always found servers to be accommodating.

 

[Lisa F]

FWIW, I don't tell people about my surgery... ain't their business and they don't read notes in any event. But maybe that's just me. I've never had issues and always found servers to be accommodating.

I'm right there with you. I hate always hated the idea of a note or making a big deal about it. I have found that no one is really interested, I order kids meals any place with decent ones where they allow it (red robin has no issue and the grilled chicken stickers with broccoli is one of my favorite things there!) and if they don't I share with someone (restaurants that have add on lobster tails and veggie sides are my current favorite, I just add it on to someone else's entree and share and those mini lobster tails are basically a perfect protein portion!) and if there's nothing I want to share I order an appetizer and if there's nothing that appeals I order an entree and take the leftovers home and eat for a few more meals.

Honestly I think people make a lot more out of it than it needs to be (though I did too when I was fresh out of surgery and everything was new). Plenty of people eat light for whatever reason and no one really cares either that they do or why. I've stopped associating quantity with value and I don't eat out much anymore so it's enough of a treat that I don't care about the value for that one week every year or two.

 

[TeresaWen]

I'm right there with you. I hate always hated the idea of a note or making a big deal about it. I have found that no one is really interested, I order kids meals any place with decent ones where they allow it (red robin has no issue and the grilled chicken stickers with broccoli is one of my favorite things there!) and if they don't I share with someone (restaurants that have add on lobster tails and veggie sides are my current favorite, I just add it on to someone else's entree and share and those mini lobster tails are basically a perfect protein portion!) and if there's nothing I want to share I order an appetizer and if there's nothing that appeals I order an entree and take the leftovers home and eat for a few more meals.

Honestly I think people make a lot more out of it than it needs to be (though I did too when I was fresh out of surgery and everything was new). Plenty of people eat light for whatever reason and no one really cares either that they do or why. I've stopped associating quantity with value and I don't eat out much anymore so it's enough of a treat that I don't care about the value for that one week every year or two.

You sound like you enjoy life! Attitude is everything! Never been a fan of buffets. I am a light & healthy eater. In Disney I have been known to hit up a buffet to make a big salad. You are correct. People eat light for many reasons. Enjoy!

 

[OhhBother]

I had gastric bypass surgery last October. I’ve been to Disney three times since. As others have said, sometimes I order an appetizer. Sometimes I share with my DH. And sometimes I just suck it up. I paid $55 for dinner at BOG because I wanted the experience. I really enjoyed what food I could eat, and I didn’t worry about the rest.

 

[Lisa F]

You sound like you enjoy life! Attitude is everything! Never been a fan of buffets. I am a light & healthy eater. In Disney I have been known to hit up a buffet to make a big salad. You are correct. People eat light for many reasons. Enjoy!

I like buffets because I can't justify that kind of variety until it's a sunk cost with how little I eat, lol. But I can literally eat one bite of several different things at a buffet. But I don't choose them to start with usually, but once I am there I enjoy the heck out of them. When I was in vegas I made the BF take me to a lunch buffet and I tried about 10 different things. It was heavenly! But I did NOT get my money's worth on quantity that's for sure!