I can share my experience, although every diabetic's needs are different, of course.
I'm T1, therefore insulin dependent, but I do a HUGE amount of my blood sugar control with diet. In fact, I often only take my overnight, long-acting insulin because I eat few enough carbs to not need the fast-acting, mealtime insulin. But I can and do adjust insulin levels for special occasions like a vacation.
I've done Disney with the dining plan twice--once for a long weekend trip and most recently for a five day trip this October. I was able to manage very well on the
DDP, and I never even adjusted my insulin over what I would consider my "normal" dose. I would almost always rather give up the bread, rice, potatoes, etc. in order to have a great dessert/treat, so that's my usual tactic at a TS restaurant. I've never had a problem switching around starchy sides for non-starchy and have never had trouble finding something on a TS menu I could eat. The CMs have always been very accommodating. Just check out menus ahead of time on allears.net.
CS meals are more challenging but not impossible--again, it's best to check out the offerings in advance of your trip to decide what will work best for you. I avoid all of the burger and pizza places! In MK, Columbia Harbor House has some great selections (the broccoli chicken salad and the shrimp platter with broccoli and cole slaw are my faves) and the chicken platter at Cosmic Ray's (extra veggies, nix the potatoes) is also quite good. I've even had some CS places that were willing to swap my dessert for a non-starchy side dish. Tangerine Cafe in Epcot is also great (I get the shwarma platter and leave off the bread).
Just about every restaurant has a "sugar free" dessert option, but, as you know, sugar free does not mean carb free. These items can impact your blood sugar as much as--or more than--their sugary counterparts. I tend to avoid these and just save my daily carbs for something I really enjoy. (Although I do really like the SF mango gelato at Cosmic Ray's).
Another thing to consider is the massive amount of walking you do at Disney! I tend to actually NEED some of my snack/dessert credits to counter low blood sugars just due to the many miles I walk in the parks. We've found that bringing some type of storage containers--Ziplock bags or small Tupperware boxes--and taking some of our desserts/snacks back to the room can be very helpful. Then if you hit a nighttime low, you have something on hand.
In the past, Disney has not been forthcoming with carb counts--you just have to make your best judgement. But that is changing. The new Be Our Guest restaurant offers full nutritional information on every item served at lunch (you view this on the ordering kiosk).
The DDP is absolutely more food than anyone in my family can possibly eat in a day! We always end up taking snacks (and sometimes desserts, depending on what they are and how we travel) back home with us. But I feel that we get a good value for the money, and we like having everything taken care of before we get to Disney.
You CAN do the DDP as a diabetic. It just takes some research, knowing your own body and a little bit of self-control--so, basically your average day as a diabetic.
