Diabetes - How about a carbohydrate counting thread?

[jayandstacey]

Yeah, honey will do better than a stick. Just seems odd that we have to WAG carb counts in Disney of all places, where they bend over backwards for so many other things (and when so many other places DO provide the info.)

 

[Talking Hands]

It is because they do not understand carb counting and the hows and whys of it and it is up to us as diabetics or parents of diabetic children who use this way of controlling our diet to educate them. They are probably still back in the age that used the exchange system. I don't worry so much on carb counts for plain meats and vegetables or even plain rice, potato or pasta as in dishes that are a mix of ingredients. Even if we are given a carb count it is still up to us to decide how much is 1c, or whatever it is measured from. Same with those who are also concerned with fat grams. And for myself it is also important for me to know the type of artificial sweetener as well.

 

[jayandstacey]

It is because they do not understand carb counting and the hows and whys of it and it is up to us as diabetics or parents of diabetic children who use this way of controlling our diet to educate them. They are probably still back in the age that used the exchange system. I don't worry so much on carb counts for plain meats and vegetables or even plain rice, potato or pasta as in dishes that are a mix of ingredients. Even if we are given a carb count it is still up to us to decide how much is 1c, or whatever it is measured from. Same with those who are also concerned with fat grams. And for myself it is also important for me to know the type of artificial sweetener as well.

I dunno. I find ti hard to believe that a corporation the size of Disney doesn't know why carb (or any other dietary) information would be important. I tend to believe the legal risk argument - that they don't want liability if the info is slightly wrong.

And it is precisely due to the mixed dishes that we could really use the info. Even if they put all kinds of legal disclaimers like "serving size assumed to be 1 cup - your size may vary" - at least we could work from that carb count.

I just booked a $5K vacation there - and the dietary restrictions on my DD5 will be more than if we just went to McDonalds, as we avoid mixed foods, unknowns, etc. That doesn't seem right.

 

[jayandstacey]

And to add -
The exchange system would at least be something. I think a carb exchange is like 15 or 17 carbs - I can work with that. My big fear is that we eat something and totally miscalculate because of some missing information - for instance, we get low carb bread without knowing it and give insulin for the higher carbs. DD5 will crash and lose hours to recovering from the low.


Don't get me wrong. Disney is perfect in virtually every other way, we're going, and we WILL have a good time! It is just frustrating, that's all. I'd love for us all to take a vacation from diabetes and not worry about carbs in Disney. But that's the one piece of magic Disney can't quite pull off.

yet.

 

[jayandstacey]

My one voice - email just sent to Disney:

I understand that WDW dining facilities do not provide carbohydrate information for the food served, except when the food is pre-packaged (such as an ice cream bar or bottle of soda).

My 5 year old daughter has type 1 diabetes and relies on such information to calculate insulin intake and stay healthy. As the menus are static enough to provide such data, please reconsider the policy and have dietary information available upon request. Many other places from McDonalds to PF Changs to high end dining establishments do so.

It is unfortunate that our vacation booked for November now needs to be 'special' for my daughter. Special as in "no, you can't eat that" and "sorry, we can't stop in that place." While we look forward to our trip, we must plan around this when outside WDW the information is readily available in most places.

WDW food is consistently wonderful. Please consider collecting the dietary information and at least having it available via a database that a castmember can access. It wouldn't cost much and would be very helpful to kids (and adults) like my daughter who really rely on such info.​

 

[Selket]

And it is precisely due to the mixed dishes that we could really use the info.

Just trying to think to the counter service - I can't think of many mixed dishes. I can think of several at sit-down places of course.

I think perhaps that William is FAR more constrained by his peanut allergy than the diabetes when it comes to eating out at restaurants. If something is safe for him to have I never say no to it just because I don't know the carbs. He isn't much of a casserole eater to begin with - he is just 4 yrs old. And he cannot have ANY of their baked goods unless they are specially made so it rules out pretty much everything there you see. Disney chefs did make him some special desserts and baked goods - some with quite a few carbs - but we were just thankful he could have something special. I suppose I've become the Queen of WAG

So anyway, all I'm saying is that when dining out I have to look through the lens of both food allergies and diabetes it is the food allergy one that has a FAR greater impact on how William can eat.

I would bet, thinking about it, that the CWD folks provide the carb info for Disney. They have a very good person on staff who deals with dietary needs at all their conferences (with the peanut allergy I got to know him well). Perhaps he does have them purchase items with the nutritional info and he does the cards up himself.

Thanks for writing Jay - where is the address? I will send something along too as any carb info they can give us would be very helpful.

 

[jayandstacey]

Just trying to think to the counter service - I can't think of many mixed dishes. I can think of several at sit-down places of course.

Yeah, except even a burger can vary greatly depending on the bun and condiments. A piece of fried chicken (or chicken fingers) depends on the type and amount of breading. And pizza is all over the map. I can do a pretty good WAG - but why should we have to?

I think perhaps that William is FAR more constrained by his peanut allergy than the diabetes when it comes to eating out at restaurants. If something is safe for him to have I never say no to it just because I don't know the carbs. He isn't much of a casserole eater to begin with - he is just 4 yrs old. And he cannot have ANY of their baked goods unless they are specially made so it rules out pretty much everything there you see. Disney chefs did make him some special desserts and baked goods - some with quite a few carbs - but we were just thankful he could have something special. I suppose I've become the Queen of WAG

Agreed. A peanut allergy would have me militant! And yes, with our daughter, she'll pretty much eat whatever and we'll compensate. The frustration lies with the continual compensation - at home, we'll eat at a diner on the weekend and lose control a little bit. But then we're back to our normal weekday routine and tight number range. We're going to Disney for 10 days and will never have that "return to earth". Should be OK, but I do envision a point where we only have white bread and cheese stix for dinner

So anyway, all I'm saying is that when dining out I have to look through the lens of both food allergies and diabetes it is the food allergy one that has a FAR greater impact on how William can eat.

I would bet, thinking about it, that the CWD folks provide the carb info for Disney. They have a very good person on staff who deals with dietary needs at all their conferences (with the peanut allergy I got to know him well). Perhaps he does have them purchase items with the nutritional info and he does the cards up himself.

Thanks for writing Jay - where is the address? I will send something along too as any carb info they can give us would be very helpful.

I just went to the WDW website and clicked "contact us" - who knows where it went And maybe I'll check into the CWD folks.

It's just frustrating. WDW restaraunts are SOOO extremely efficient. Huge volumes, precise delivery every time, relatively static menus that change only to tested dishes - which makes it all so easy to provide carb information. Oh well!

 

[bettybeth]

Op'er here. Great comments everyone! I'm just bumping this back to the top for more comments!

 

[Ladybugsy]

I'm so happy to have found this thread. I'm the mother of a 14 year old type1 daughter. Set to start pumping on the 9th of this month. We're so excited, but also a little nervous as our Disney vacation is a month away. I'm so thankful for the comments on this thread. I'm hoping for better BG numbers even if it means being more attention to Jordan's plan.
I'll be watching!

 

[Zurg]

My one voice - email just sent to Disney:

I understand that WDW dining facilities do not provide carbohydrate information for the food served, except when the food is pre-packaged (such as an ice cream bar or bottle of soda).

My 5 year old daughter has type 1 diabetes and relies on such information to calculate insulin intake and stay healthy. As the menus are static enough to provide such data, please reconsider the policy and have dietary information available upon request. Many other places from McDonalds to PF Changs to high end dining establishments do so.

It is unfortunate that our vacation booked for November now needs to be 'special' for my daughter. Special as in "no, you can't eat that" and "sorry, we can't stop in that place." While we look forward to our trip, we must plan around this when outside WDW the information is readily available in most places.

WDW food is consistently wonderful. Please consider collecting the dietary information and at least having it available via a database that a castmember can access. It wouldn't cost much and would be very helpful to kids (and adults) like my daughter who really rely on such info.​

Nice job! How about sending a copy via snail mail too, This is the guy who told me he has not heard one person ask for carb counts for T1.

Mr. Mark Jones
Walt Disney World Services for Guests with Disabilities
Box 10000
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830

 

[jayandstacey]

I dunno. Like talking to a brick wall. Here's the response I got, which doesn't help much. I will post my reply. -Jay

Dear Jay,

Thank you for contacting the Walt Disney World Resort.

We are excited to know your family will be visiting us!

Your concern is greatly appreciated. The chefs and managers in our full-service restaurants are always happy to provide information regarding the ingredients of menu selections, and how items are prepared. In many instances, food may be specially prepared to accommodate particular dietary
restrictions.

If you have specific inquiries or would like recommendations regarding
the food served at our park restaurants, please feel free to call the executive chefs or Food and Beverage managers for our theme parks.

For your convenience, we have providing the telephone numbers listed
below. If no one is immediately available when you call, please be sure to leave a message and a telephone number where you may be reached.

Magic Kingdom Park: 407-824-5967
Epcot: 407-560-7292
Disney-MGM Studios: 407-560-1347
Disney's Animal Kingdom: 407-939-7536 (Please note Walt Disney World
Company operates no full-service restaurants in this park.)

We also have exceptions to our standard policy. Guests who have specific food allergies are welcome to bring their own small snack items with them into the theme parks. Picnic baskets, ice chests, and coolers are not permitted.

We hope this information is helpful. We look forward to your family enjoying our theme parks!

If you have questions or need further assistance, feel free to contact us.

Please include your full name, E-Mail address, and reservation number
if applicable on all
correspondence.

Thank you!

Sincerely,

Evelyn Johnson
WDW Online Communications​

 

[jayandstacey]

My reply:

Hi Ms. Johnson,

It has been a while, but I wanted to thank you for taking the time to reply. While I greatly appreciate that the full service restaurants are happy to provide preparation details, that doesn't help when all we need is the carbohydrate (carb) count for a burger from a counter service place.

To clarify, my daughter has no real restrictions on what she can eat - but all food must be accompanied by a dose of insulin, and that dose is determined by the number of carbs in what she eats. She is not a picky eater and doesn't have allergies. We'd like to eat all of our meals in WDW and not make them ourselves, but the lack of carb information has us concerned.

I mentioned McDonalds. They provide excellent information, such as found here:
http://www.mcdonalds.com/app_controller.nutrition.index1.html
And it is always available for the asking.

While the full service restaurants might be less likely to have such information (as the dishes are prepared to order) the counter service places should have such info. Your food suppliers can easily provide it.

We have reservations for 10 nights at the Beach Club from Nov 1-10. I'm concerned about going that long and having to guess at what my daughter eats at every meal. It is fairly easy at home, as we either cook ourselves or eat out and ask for carb info - and almost always get it.

In discussions with other parents of diabetic kids who've been to WDW, I'm getting the sense that Disney deliberately chooses to not provide this information - and I can't fathom why.

Thanks for hearing me out,
Jay​

 

[jayandstacey]

I'm so happy to have found this thread. I'm the mother of a 14 year old type1 daughter. Set to start pumping on the 9th of this month. We're so excited, but also a little nervous as our Disney vacation is a month away. I'm so thankful for the comments on this thread. I'm hoping for better BG numbers even if it means being more attention to Jordan's plan.
I'll be watching!

You'll love the pump. And you should be just fine - don't let my letters scare you. Having the data would make us not have to worry, and it would be so easy for Disney to provide. Doesn't make sense to me But it isn't the end of the world (disney or other!) that they don't provide it.
I haven't been to WDW in about 15 years and I CAN'T WAIT!!!

 

[Zurg]

Nice work Jay,

You got a reply that a lot more than I got for two years but like you say it a brick wall.

Once again I feel the need to quote Sundrome formthe Incredables, "Lame! Lame! Lame! Lame!"

It is all about getting on the radar of the brick wall. If we don't speak up they will not hear our needs.