Diabetes at WDW

DHSsenior007

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jan 3, 2004
Messages
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My friend and I (both 16 YO) are going to WDW in March, and she had Type 1 Diabetes. She pretty much knows what she can and cannot eat, and we know to tell the CMs whenever we make a PS that we have a diabetic with us, so I'm just wondering if there are any restaurants at WDW that you've had any experience diabetes-wise there. Good, bad, indifferent, or anything!

Also, if you tell tell the CMs upon making the PS, will they make a limited menu for that person or what? What exactly do they do?

Any advice, comments, stories are much appreciated! Thanks!
 
Your freind should be able to manage her condition by ordering her entrees off the regular menu at pretty much every restaurant. She can call 24 hours ahead to have a sugar free dessert ready at all full service restaurants. Many offer fresh fruit as an alternative to fries or sugary desserts.

I would avoid some of the most popular restaurants during peak times (Chef Mickey's and 50's PT come to mind) as even with a PS you can wait 45 minutes for a table. Make sure she keeps crackers and a juice box with her for times like this. All the parks have first aid centers which will store her insulin if she's not on a pump, and give her a quiet and private place to test her sugar and give herself her injections, as well as providing sharps disposal.

At your resort call housekeeping when you arrive and they will bring a sharps disposal container to your room.

Have a great trip!

Anne
 
My cousin and I are both dibetic but he was 3 when he went last to Disney and CM was assume they accomadated to every need for him my aunt ask for. But Disney is great for all this.
 
My mom is insulin dependent and she had no problems at Disney. We got a free refrigerator at ASMu for her insulin, we just asked for it at check in. All the restaurants have cards listing all the ingredients in each dish you can look at too. Also, most of the ice cream carts have sugar free strawberry bars, even if they aren't listed on the menu board. Have a great time!
 

I would make sure your friend always has her basic supplies with her as well as some juice and another carb...we take fruit for our son. We leave his lantus in the frig in the room as it needs to be refrigerated and he only takes an evening injection of it. I pack his Humalog in a cool pack with a frozen blue ice.

But as far as the restaurants....when you make your PSs, the CMs will give you direct #s to call if your friend wants to talk to the chef and arrange for any special meals. Most likely though, she will find plenty of choices on the regular menus and as Anne said if she wants sugarfree desserts, the restaurants can do that with advance notice. We never do that as our son is really not used to desserts and even if they are sugarfreee, they still have carbs and calories.

But the big problem is counting carbs if your friend is on such a regimen. For many years, we just counted exchanges and it was easy to do that at WDW or elsewhere. But when he switched to Humalog/Lantus, we needed to count carbs only and give him the appropriate units of insulin from the carb count. This is not easy to do in restaurants (except for fast food chains which do have carb counts). So find a carb count book. The restaurants at WDW can not give you carb counts the last time we tried.

Also, I would never leave his insulin in the first aid centers. We were told to never give him his Humalog until he had his food in front of him. Unlike some of the older insulins, Humalog begins working immediately. You do not want to risk an insulin reaction if that is the kind of insulin your friend is on.

Finally, when you arrive for a PS if your friend is getting "low", tell the CMs. If they can't seat you right away, they will bring you a roll or juice, etc.

Have fun with your friend!
 
Ellester said:
My mom is insulin dependent and she had no problems at Disney. We got a free refrigerator at ASMu for her insulin, we just asked for it at check in. All the restaurants have cards listing all the ingredients in each dish you can look at too. Also, most of the ice cream carts have sugar free strawberry bars, even if they aren't listed on the menu board. Have a great time!
I am a diabetic who is on a very agressive low carb diet. Do you know how many carbs are in the sugarfree strawberry bars, or do you know where I can find that info?

/Jim
 
My friend John is diabetic and he came down to Disney with me just over a year ago. He had no problem finding stuff to eat (keeping in mind what he could eat) and in those instances where he had concerns the CMs were very helpful. We're going back in just over a month, so I guess that says he can find stuff to eat.
 
My son has type 1 diabetes (he just turned 3 years old) and there is no reason your friend shouldn't be able to eat off the regular menu. As someone mentioned the sugar free items often have as many carbs as the regular versions. The hard part is figuring out how many carbs is in the item and giving a correct bolus. I think it is a good idea to have it noted in your PS that your friend is diabetic. Depending on the type(s) of insulin she is on waiting for a table can be a problem or no problem at all.

You are a great friend for helping out! I hope my son has a good friend like you to tour WDW when he is 16 :D
 


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