Nutritional Information

[Alice2020]

I am a diabetic on an insulin pump. This means that I have to count every carbohydrate that goes into my mouth VERY carefully and dose my insulin based on what I am eating.

Last fall, I called Disney Dining in advance to request carbohydrate information be prepared so that I could pick healthier meals and be able to dose my insulin appropriately. I foolishly thought that since all fast food restaurants have pre-printed pamphlets listing nutritional information, that Disney (know for guest accomodation) would have similar information. I spoke to multiple Disney Dining CMs including a gentleman overseeing Dining Special Requests (Sorry, I don't have his name handy). I was told due to legal liability, Walt Disney World WILL NOT provide carbohydrate information to ANY guests. The logic is that Disney can not guarantee the serving size and they don't want to be responsible for any guest dosing his or her insulin based on their numbers.

As the podcast mentioned, not only is it legal, it is MANDATORY to provide nutritional information in many areas of the country. Walt Disney World is not one of those areas (I checked with the State of Florida prior to my arrival). I was given a few helpful hints to determine what you are eating and avoid going into insulin shock while at WDW.

1) You can request the recipe for any dish at WDW. Using a home program such as MasterCook, you can add the recipe to your database and it will calculate the nutritional information for you.

2) Anything that is prepackaged must have nutritional information on it. All of the bags of snacks sold in the parks and resorts has information on the packaging somewhere.


I strongly believe that Disney is ignoring the needs of a considerable chunk of their guests. Diabetics MUST know what they are eating to stay healthy- but they are not the only group. Dialysis patients must know detailed information on what they are eating or they will die. Many other medical disorders require following a strict, detailed diet in order to improve their condition. Anyone who is trying to eat healthy needs and deserves detailed information so they can choose appropriately.

I encourage all of the DIS listeners who care about their health to contact Disney Dining in writing and express your disappointment that Disney is using legal liability as an excuse to not provide nutritional information to its guests.

I will step off of the soap box now- I don't often post but this topic is something that I feel very passionate about.

-Kelly

 

[wdwfreeksince88]

Thank you for posting this. I am the person that called that voice mail in. We are not diabetic but have just began watching what we eat to stay healthy. Thank you for this information that you had already gotten from Disney. I will mention this next time I talk with Disney Dining that they need to provide this information. If it is mandatory in other parts of the country or Florida Disney shouldn't be an exception.

 

[jeanigor]

I also am an insulin dependent diabetic with an insulin pump that counts carbs. It is challenging at times. But I try to do handle theme parks the same way I handle a family restaurant. Make smart choices in what I order, and then use a guide book, iPhone app, or other tool to guestimate, to the closest of my ability, the number of carbs in my meal. My insulin to carb ratio changes while on vacation, too.
Trying to have set carbohydrate information for a menu that has so many variables would be unreasonable--even for a company with the resources of Disney.

 

[daneenm]

Frankly I am always torn on this issue, and while I "care about my health" and that of my family, nutritional guides are not essential for me to do that. They are HELPFUL but not essential.

As the Mom of an 8 year old with T1D, who is also pumping, I consider myself very adept at judging the carbs in most foods just by sight. As you well know, this is a necessary skill for people with T1D (and others of course). As the Mom of two growing children who I would like to see live a healthy lifestyle, I can judge pretty well what is good for them and what is not without seeing nutritional specifics.

All this to say, I appreciate your passion, but to infer that this should be an equally passionate issue for anyone who "cares about their health" is not quite on target. I am torn because I know that even if these were provided, depending how your food is prepared on that day or by whom, they are still only directionally correct (unless the food comes from a package and is prepared by machine that can guarantee portions of each ingredient).

I guess there are other things that I would like to see Disney spend their money on first - this does not top my list.

 

[trekkie2]

I also use as pump and while it makes life easy when you can just plug in your info from a printed guide, I would hate to see Disney standardize their meals which is what they would have to do to provide nutritional info. If I want pre packaged fast food, I will do McD's, but when I'm at disney, I want the variety that comes with a good restaurant meal.

I just use my itouch app to guess carbs, order carefully, and if I am a bit high after a meal, take a little bolus and If i end up too low, I get a mickey bar I have a app now that I can enter custom foods, I may try to calculate some of the recipes from disney and enter before the next trip just for fun.

 

[Alice2020]

I am trying very hard to write this in a non-inflammatory way, but I do disagree with some of the points made above. I respect everyone's right to their own opinion. If you don't agree with what I am saying, then don't do anything- Disney will continue to operate as they always have. I just know that I am not the only person out there frustrated with Disney's refusal to provide nutrtional info.

I understand Disney's point that the serving size in a restaurant may vary from location to location- my frustration is centered on the fact that they have the ABILITY to provide basic nutritional info, they choose not to do it. If every chain restaurant in my area can provide info (Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Pizza Hut, etc.), Disney can also provide me with nutritional info.

It would not cost Disney a lot of money to make nutritional information available. They already have recipes for all prepared foods available- they must have that info to know what each kitchen needs in their store rooms. There are several nutritional programs out there that would calculate nutrional value based on recipe and serving size. Given all of the attention chefs give to providing Gluten-Free or allergy friendly food, I would think Disney could also spend the time to make a database of nutritional information for guest who want to know what they are eating.

I think all people should be given full disclosure on Carbs, Fat, Sodium and Total Calories in the food they are eating. I know that there are a lot of people out there who would make smarter choices if they were aware of what they are eating. That is why I think that anyone who cares about their health should be paying attention to what is in his or her food.

 

[klam_chowder]

When I heard the question on the show, I immediately thought of the legendary Nathan's on Coney Island. When we went to NYC for the July 4 w/end last year, I was surprised to see all the eateries had calorie counts posted.

Check out the total calories for 1 meal

Yes, we still ate there

cheers,

 

[daneenm]

When I heard the question on the show, I immediately thought of the legendary Nathan's on Coney Island. When we went to NYC for the July 4 w/end last year, I was surprised to see all the eateries had calorie counts posted.

Check out the total calories for 1 meal

Wow! How big are the fries in the large combo??

 

[klam_chowder]

I didn't take a pic of it but regular folks were ordering the stuff!

cheers,

 

[wishspirit]

When I heard the question on the show, I immediately thought of the legendary Nathan's on Coney Island. When we went to NYC for the July 4 w/end last year, I was surprised to see all the eateries had calorie counts posted.

Check out the total calories for 1 meal

Yes, we still ate there

cheers,

Where's the nearest salad??? Most of those meals are my allocated daily amount of calories! I would be getting very hungry the rest of the day!

I can see how it must be frustrating, but I can see Disney's side. Unless they completely standardise their food, they can't give guestimates in case someone takes it as law, then doesn't give themselves the correct amount of insulin etc. The last thing Disney wants is another law suit, as they do have a great big target on their forehead! However they should be able to give out this information as 'estimated nutritional values: warning may not be exactly as quoted', but if it isn't correct, is there any point in having the information?

I do think Disney does try and do its best, its just so focused on the target on their forehead to try and do the right thing.

However if everyone told you how many calories like in the picture above, it would defiantly guilt me into that salad!

 

[daneenm]

However if everyone told you how many calories like in the picture above, it would defiantly guilt me into that salad!

Awww, come on Kate, wouldn't you order just once to know what 2300 calories in ONE meal tastes like?!