Disney promoting obesity

[Uncleromulus]

This isn't exactly a new subject so let's try to keep this "clean", shall we??

 

[elastigirl]

But it's not just Disney, is it? Last time I went to Applebee's (or almost any other restaurant), the portions were v. large, and the servers are trying to upsell you on alcohol, appetizers and desserts. I don't think Disney dining has any social obligation to break from industry standard - 3 course meal - in it's dining plan. I can't imagine Disney saying "Appetizers aren't included in the plan, and it's for your own good!" Individuals make their own choices, and if one of those choices is to "Get their money's worth", that's a personal decision and has nothing to do with Disney.

And I'm usually not in the business of caring (judging) what the table next to me is doing.

 

[lisaviolet]

In fact, Disney Dining is one reason why I am refusing to purchase a DVC timeshare..there are others, but that dining plan is a large part of that reason

GGG's MOM

???? DVC members can purchase the DDP. In addition, they don't have to buy any passes to do so. So if you are buying non-expiry MYW passes and you have days remaining you don't have to buy a one day pass to be eligible like the other WDW resorts.

However, DVCers can not stay at DVC resorts and take advantage of the periods of "free dining".

Also, you mentioned no MYW discounts. True and unfortunate but there is a substantial AP discount.

 

[travellady]

For me personally, and my family, we don't get the DDP because it costs us more overall. Last time we went to WDW, this past April, I totalled all we ate for the 5 day trip and it was less than what DDP would have cost us. We didn't impose any restrictions on ourselves - ate what, where, and when we wanted. We rarely eat appetizers and when we do, we share. Often only 1 or 2 of us get dessert and then we share.

During the 5 days we ate 4 TS meals and the rest CS. We always ate on Disney property as we didn't rent a car this time so were totally dependent on Disney transportation.

We saved about 50.00 by not having the DDP. Some may argue for that 50.00 more, we could have gotten much more food overall had we been using the DDP. I won't argue this point, we probably could have. But, honestly, I suspect much of it would have been partially eaten with a heap thrown in the trash.

Obesity issues aside, it's this feeling of "you don't have to eat it all" that really floors me. I don't want to teach my kids that it's OK to throw away that which you don't want. I'd much rather teach them to take only what they know they can eat. If still hungry, I'll gladly order more.

 

[faindrops27]

All i have to say is. I cannot wait to be able to gorge myself on 3 courses and snacks.

 

[SimbaNoodle]

These discussions have become like a car wreck for me, I know that nothing new will be discussed or resolved, yet I keep reading them. LOL!!!!

 

[Tissa]

These discussions have become like a car wreck for me, I know that nothing new will be discussed or resolved, yet I keep reading them. LOL!!!!

Me Too!

 

[Kath2003]

51 weeks of the year, I count calories, carbs, fat grams....

So yes, for the one week each year I'm on vacation I am going to make the most of it. I had four plates worth of food at Crystal Palace (I'm 5'4" and 125lb). I had two items from the bakery in France, and THEN nachos.

Yes, it was more food than I was supposed to be eating but, so what?

 

[kkevcamsmom]

We were going to add the DDP but have decided against it, mostly because we don't eat that much, we rarely order appetizers or desserts. Often DH and I spilt a meal or one of us will split with DD15.

Our boys will normally share a meal too. Yes the DDP would save us tons of money, IF we ate that much to begin with.

Lori

 

[jodifla]

For the record, I actually think it's fine to gorge yourself on vacation, if you really would like to. I think I'd feel physically ill trying to eat all that food every night, although I certainly could for a few nights of vacation a week.

My true concern is that the DDP is a terrible shell game that Disney is playing. They are giving people artificially low prices for food to get them to stay and eat on property. And if folks don't eat most or all the food that they order, than that's just pretty darn wasteful.

WDWwon't be able to sustain this...heck, they already can't sustain it, as witnessed by the menu changes and the service complaints.

 

[Lizziejane]

I don't think you can say disney promotes obesity - obese people are the way they are before they get there!

If people were only gorging themselves one week a year while at WDW (and why not? you're on vacation!), they likely are not obese. People are obese because they take in more calories than they use up, 365 days of the year. Period. DDP has nothing to do with that.

It's like blaming Wendys and McDonalds because they've supersized everything. A person can always say no, can't they?

 

[Lisa F]

I think it's funny and kind of ironic that on one hand I'm reading a lot of reports about how horrible it is that disney has cut portion sizes, especially on appetizers, due to DDP. On the other hand here is a post talking about how there is a ridiculous amount of food on DDP and everyone is gorging themselves. So only the people on DDP are gorging themselves and people who pay OOP for everything are getting the shaft with smaller portions? Which is it?

We're looking forward to giving DDP a try on our first trip in a couple of years that is coming up (we are DVC members). Our typical pattern is to order an appetizer to share, each order our own entree (and sometimes finish it, sometimes not finish it) and share a dessert. So now with appetizer portions shrinking, we'll get to try two appetizers and maybe we won't finish our whole entrees. I'm not a big dessert person but I do love a bite or two of something sweet after a meal and will often order a dessert just for a couple of bites. I like that DDP will allow me to do this guilt-free and I like that I can even order something with coffee in it since DH hates coffee and I am limited to what he likes if we share.

Also, sometimes the portions of stuff comes out way larger than you expected. I now know that DH and I can easily split an average counter service meal but I didn't always know that, I learned from experience. Last night I went out to dinner with my parents for my mom's birthday and my parents each ordered the "King cut" prime rib dinner, which had to be a couple of pounds of meat (they were at least 3-4" thick and very very large pieces). They always order the larger size because it's a couple of dollars more than the smaller size and they bring the leftovers home for the dogs. Of course if someone had been so bored with their own dinner and their own tablemates as to be looking at my parents, they would have thought them to be awfully gluttonous. They each barely made a dent in their prime rib and our whole table burst into a fit of giggles when the server brought them out, they were so ridiculous, but I'm sure if the OP were there she would have vomited on her table.

I love it how eager people are to pass judgement on others based on a quick snapshot of their lives. I do have to admit that I generally am enjoying myself so much at WDW that I don't notice what other people are doing (or even if I notice, I don't care).

 

[tink2020]

...

People are obese because they take in more calories than they use up, 365 days of the year. Period. DDP has nothing to do with that.

It's like blaming Wendys and McDonalds because they've supersized everything. A person can always say no, can't they?

I agree 100%!

 

[DisneyGirl4188]

I haven't read all the responses yet, but I wanted to respond. First, it doesn't matter what anyone else is eating. Second, just because someone orders something, doesn't mean they have to eat it all.

We just returned and loved the DDP. I loved ordering anything I wanted without looking at the price. Some places have smaller servings (Le Cellier for one). Usually we would take our desserts (CS) with us. We used a lot of our snack credits on water. Disney isn't promoting obesity, because you don't have to eat everything.

 

[JVL1018]

I've never been a memeber of the "clean plate club", and I am looking forward to using the meal plan to try different things, but I am sure I will finish nothing.
I've also looked at the menus and have already decided to have a salad at a few places as my appy-that will actually have me eating less calories/fat than usual, because I'll eat less of my entree.

I am also another one who watches my weight 50 weeks a year-I don't worry about it on my two weeks of vacation a year-it's always worked for me-I keep my weight down, and am healthy.

 

[Mrs.Prince]

No offense but I would care more about enjoying my vacation than being uptight and looking at what other people are doing.

 

[Lady V]

but when we go to WDW we indulge on the plan...and you know what, no one has ever come back with a weight gain larger than 2 pounds. We usually lose a few pounds because we are very active on our trip.

We all drink diet soda, and we save the snacks during the trip (though we may get the ocassional diet coke), usually will have 25 or so snacks to take home (we like the Mickey head shaped rice Crispie treats) and those will last anouther 2-3 weeks at home.

What I like about the plan is that I'm a widowed mom of 4 and Disney Dining allows me and my children to try new things and eat more exotic foods or elegant meals than we do the rest of the year (we only eat out 3-6 times a year..usually Red Lobster or Crackerbarrel) and do so affordably. In fact, Disney Dining is one reason why I am refusing to purchase a DVC timeshare..there are others, but that dining plan is a large part of that reason (like no discoutned multi-day park hopper tickets etc). I believe they may have some out with a competeing plan, but why ruin perfection? lol

Even though we take the Disney Dining plan every time we go to Disney, we still opt for healther choices when we order and we'll spend most of our meals at places like Mitsokoshi or Coral Reef (yes, I know that their desserts are a killler! LOL). Our favorite lunch spot is the food court at The Land...they have some very delicious AND healthy choices there!

GGG's MOM

you can get DDp with DVC and you don't have to purchase a one day ticket either.

 

[SunshineOR]

Raising hand here... We'd be the family with the big pile of food on our table. People have different ways of vacationing, but we LOVE food and love to try different restaurants and foods on our vacation. It's an important part of the experience for us. I've never done a before and after weigh, but we're walking so much on a theme park trip that I think we burn all the calories on the spot. And yes, we eat healthy at home and are really active and are not overweight. However, I'm imagining someone who didn't know us would just look at us doing the appetizer/meal/dessert/piles of food and tsk tsk that we're what's wrong with society today!

 

[nanadeb]

My husband and I are both diabetic. He uses insulin and I do not. This past September we stayed on property for the first time so we could have the free DDP and try places we never would have if we had paid out of pocket. When we eat out when we are home, we usually take home doggy bags. It makes for a nice lunch the next day. At Disney, we tried Le Cellier, the Restaurnt Marrakesh, Chef Mickey's, Boma, and the Crystal Palace. At each TS, we carefully chose our meal items with diabetic exchanges in mind. At Le Cellier, I had the tomato apetizer (with spinach. the funky spinach with the extra bacteria!) and my husband chose the shrimp. Both were lower in calories. I chose the filet mignon, which kept the portion size and carbs down. We both chose the blueberry cobbler. Thankfully, Le Cellier portions were smaller than is usual. The buffets were our best choices. We loaded up with salads and veggies and took tiny portions of the other things we wanted to try. We hardly ever used our snack credits during the park visits, and when we did, we split whatever we bought. We took a lot of things home for gifts. We shared some CS meals, which gave us meal credits to use on our last day there. Breakfasts were a piece of fruit and either an oatmeal bar or the dessert from the previous day's CS meal. We bypassed the really sugary and fatty things. All sodas were diet. You don't have to gorge yourself on the DDP, and you don't have to waste food. We were both quite happy that the portions were smaller than they used to be. Anything over our daily limit of exchanges was walked off. The DDP plan made it possible for us to choose what we wanted regardless of the price. Frequently, the more healthy choices were also the most expensive. We both really liked the freedom that the DDP gave us.

 

[bicker]

No, Disney CHOOSES to cut back; Disney does not HAVE to cut back. And maintenance is a different allocation from dining.

And in reality, nothing of the sort is happening. Disney "cuts back" not because they arbitrarily and cavalierly choose to, nor because of the Dining Plan. Rather, Disney cuts back because companies are obligated to investors, and because guests are not adequately valuing the things that Disney is cutting back. If guests actually made purchasing decisions based on the things that were cut back they wouldn't be cut back, or would be quickly restored.