How to eat at Disney with IBS Help!

[psycgirl]

I am planning a trip to disney world in 6 weeks and I'm having quite a flare up with my IBS the past few months. Every time I eat out I get sick within an hour and I'm stuck in the bathroom for hours. Eating at home with bland food that I prepare helps manage these flare ups but I'm very nervous about being in Disney for 7 days.

How do others handle this. I'm trying to plan ahead by looking at all the menus and picking the blandest, plain food I can to order - trying to not eat much dairy, no grease, no high fat high sugar items and not much oil. It's very difficult. Need ideas on what to eat at counter services at Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom and at the following restaurants that we have ADRs for. I reserved all our meals for our 4 person party and I may have to sit there and watch them enjoy it while either not eating or ordering something very plain. I'm considering not eating at the buffet at all and I'm really concerned about Ohana's given that I can't eat meat that is too greasy or I get really sick.

On another post someone said something about being able to get a meal prepared at the buffets. I need to see if that is possible or would it be better for me to just let them eat there and I could grab a sandwich or wrap at counter service.

I would also love to get food to make sandwiches and get some fruit there for my room but I won't have a rental car to go to a store off site. Any suggestions there?

ADRS
1900 Fare Cinderella's Happily Ever After Dinner

Epcot Rose and Crown and Le Cellier

Ohanas

MGM - 50's prime time cafe and sci fi diner

Please give any suggestions you have. I'm willing to consider every option. I just don't want to get sick from food and then not be able to enjoy the rest of the time in the parks and I want the rest of my family to enjoy these places that I have reserved for them without my IBS issue impacting them.

Thanks

psycgirl

 

[Tricia1972]

I am NOT a Dr - Just play one on the DIS. But I thought I'd mention this since it's affected our family so profoundly. My mom suffered from IBS from years. The IBS diet didn't help her much, but Dr after Dr told her that she had IBS so she continued to treat IBS with the IBS diet. It helped some, but her IBS never really went away and she was always sick.

A freak episode landed my mom up in the ER. The Dr suggested she go Gluten Free for 10 days to see if that helped.

Help? It did more than help. Her IBS is no longer, and lots of her other health issues cleared up as well.

I'd never mention this to anyone who the IBS diet was working for, and you may not have an aversion to gluten at all. However, if the IBS diets aren't working for you, maybe IBS isn't the root of the problem.

Just something to think about.

 

[heidia]

I have IBS as well and eating out always means I'll be spending some time in the facilities soon after. I'm sure its not the greatest thing to do on a "regular" (haha, I'm funny) basis, but when I'm on vacation and want to enjoy all the yummy stuff everyone else is having, I just take Immodium an hour or so before eating and that seems to do the trick. I also try to eat a breakfast that has lots of fiber (which I do normally at home anyway). Extra fiber really helps keep my attacks at bay.

Other than that, I try to be very aware of where all the bathrooms are.

 

[JenKatt]

We go to WDW often and while I have IBS, it's not bad at all. I find all the walking really does help, I drink a boat load of water and absolutely NO caffeine (which really sucks). But I agree with PP, I'll deal with the ramifications and eat and be happy. But I would just take Immodium with you and always have a park map with where the bathrooms are.
Good luck. No one knows how much IBS sucks unless they have it.

 

[LovinPooh]

IBS... ugh! Always need to know where the bathrooms are
Thanks for the gluten tip, I am going to try that!
I was thinking of try some of the OTC meds. I have to admit, that when it comes to vacations, I dont behave and take my chances.

 

[texasteacher35]

I have Crohn's Disease and diet doesn't seem to bother me too much! But...when I am having a flair up, I try to just eat less spicy and less dairy. At WDW, I usually just go for it and pay the concequences later (HAHAHA), but really, I haven't had too much of an issue...I just make sure I know where the bathrooms are (just like the pp).
Good luck! Maybe the gluten free will help!!

 

[bitohoney]

Oh I know how you feel, although I don't have any food suggestions.
I have IBD and am still figuring out what foods to eat/not eat. I've only had 2 flare ups and they were horrible, and both before a Disney trip! Luckily they were kinda almost over by the time I left.
While at Disney, I DID NOT watch what I ate. I tried, but by the end of my flare up, I'm starving! I do make sure I go to the bathroom as soon as I get the urge .

 

[princesspiglet]

I have IBS also but I have never had any problems while at WDW, thankfully.

First off, do you know your trigger foods? It took me 3 months of intense watching and recording everything I ate and the sysmptoms I had directly after, an hour later and 3 hours later, to figure out what my triggers are. My triggers are caffeine and fried foods. As long as I stay away from those items, I am perfectly fine. I haven't had a flare up in more than 7 months.

From what my gastro told me, most people's triggers are caffeine (#1 culprit), fried foods and dairy.

The meat at ohana's is not greasy, it is juicy. They cook it over an open fire pit, so no extra grease involved at all. When we ate there, I ate everything but the sticky wings, wontons and the ice cream on the dessert and I was good to go. I also drank lots of water every day and walked alot, which I think helped. At counter service, I stayed away from french fries/onion rings/chicken strips, anything deep fried in oil. I did have a hamburger and a hot dog with no problems. At the buffetts, I gravitated towards the salads and fruits, but I did partake in pasta dishes without cream sauce and any meat or side that wasn't fried. Also, I had lots of dole whips and was perfectly fine with them!

Like the others have said, take some immodium with you and know where the bathrooms are, just in case.

 

[loganpaulsmom]

If you are really worried about it you can call the restaurants that you are going to and I think pre-plan your menu.. I work in a restaurant and not too long ago pretty much switched my entire diet and stopped eating the food at the restaurant that I was working in.. with the exception of the foods that I knew were low fat, low sodium etc.. You can always get a grilled piece of chicken pretty much anywhere you go..
As someone who just had 3 stomach surgeries my body is just now accepting food again and being able to digest.. I try to take it easy, but it definitely is harder when you are on vacation and want to eat all the yummy foods that everyone else is eating.. Good luck!

 

[ocalla]

I do have stomach issues especially while on vacation. While there I made the mistake of having a burger and fries.....................boy was I in trouble!!!

For the rest of the vacation if I didn't feel up to par, belive it or not I ordered a kids uncrustables PB&J with carrots and grapes!!! It was just what I needed!!

 

[njcarita]

I also have IBS..... for me that helps is limiting amount of food I eat.... not overeating and not eating late at night.....

 

[mamaprincess]

Uggh. IBS sufferer here. I can eat something one day and suffer the wrath, then eat the same thing the next day and be fine but my DH did notice that I am prone to suffer when I eat late so I won't be doing that on this trip. I've been really flaring up lately and waking up in the middle of the night in distress. Our last trip I was really good. I took probiotic tablets every day and I think they must have helped because I ate everything but maybe I wasn't going through a flare. I'm going to use them again this year and see if I am lucky again and bring some immodium as we.

 

[koolaidmoms]

I too have IBS and my triggers are high fat foods and extreme temperature changes. So I try to eat as light as possible at WDW as I cannot avoid the temperature changes (ie. going from really cool air- conditioned building to the hot outdoors is excruciating).

At the buffets I can stick to salads, vegetables and lean meats pretty well. If you know what can irritate you and you need something different they are very accommodating as I also have a GF/CS/Soy free child.

Hope you have a great trip!

 

[j&j620]

Uggh. IBS sufferer here. I can eat something one day and suffer the wrath, then eat the same thing the next day and be fine.

I am exactly the same way!

Fortunately, I only got sick once during our last trip. We were at Le Cellier and I knew I probably shouldn't try the cheddar soup, but I kept reading about how great it was. I only ate about 3 spoonfuls and, sure enough, 15 minutes later I was in the bathroom. On the plus side, the restrooms in Le Cellier are very nice!

 

[Lynne M]

Try posting on the DISabilities board......WDW restaurants do an amazing job of catering to people with special dietary needs, and the gang over on DISabilities will know all the ins and outs.

If you know what foods are 'safe' for you, or at least less likely to cause a flare-up, you can call ahead to restaurants and discuss your needs with them. If at all possible, they'll gladly make a special meal for you.

For getting food for the room, check out one of the grocery delivery services. Lots of people here have used gardengrocer.com and wegoshop.com. Or, if you'd rather shop yourself, you can always get a cab from your resort to one of the nearby supermarkets.

Good luck!

 

[Chickkypoo]

I find that taking an immodium shortly before I eat something that I know will bother my stomach helps a lot.

I find my stomach is generally better at Disney. I think being stress-free and the extra exercise helps.