Portion Sizes @ WDW Restaurants

[torianne31]

Some history: Dh and I are doing an adult trip to WDW next week. We found out 2 months ago he is type 2 diabetic. He is not overweight, is physically fit and eats right. He had his followup visit with his Dr yesterday and she said he is doing great. He tests his blood sugar regularly and exercises. The biggest lifestyle change we have made is portion control in our diets (yes, it was a change for both of us!!). Normally when we go to area restaurants, we split a salad as an appetizer and then split an entree. EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE we will split a dessert. We have a tendency to frequent restaurants we are familiar with, so this is pretty easy for us.

My question is this: We have ADR's for Hollywood Brown Derby, Chefs de France, Liberty Tree Tavern and the Rainforest Cafe. (all lunch reservations) Are the portion sizes at these restaurants generous, small or average? I don't want to order an entree to share and then need to order another one because we are still hungry. We also don't want to order two entrees and not be able to eat it all. We are staying at the Dolphin and even though there is a fridge in the rooms, who wants to eat leftovers on vacation?

TIA for any help!!

 

[Minniemama350]

I always have food leftover. Liberty Tree is a family style meal. The others range from average to big. If you are used to sharing, I don't think you'll have a problem. You can always order more if it is not enough.

 

[torianne31]

I always have food leftover. Liberty Tree is a family style meal. The others range from average to big. If you are used to sharing, I don't think you'll have a problem. You can always order more if it is not enough.

Thanks for your reply... ummm... but whas it a "family style" meal?

 

[Minniemama350]

They bring it in bowls and you serve your own portions. Usually this is also all you can eat.

 

[jdisnut]

The entree portions at most Disney restaurants are typically large enough to share between two people. My family tends to indulge a bit more on vacation, so we usually all order separate dishes. Considering how much we walk at Disney, we ultimately burn the excess calories. That said, we often have leftovers, so splitting sounds completely reasonable.

In response to an earlier post about Liberty Tree Tavern, only dinner is served family style. Lunch features a full menu and traditional service. At dinner, guests do not order off a menu. Instead, there is a set meal. Shortly after you arrive, your server will begin bringing large plates of different foods to the table, and you can ask for as many refills as you would like.

Hope this helps!

 

[dzneelvr]

We (DH,me,DS-22, and DD-20) think the portions are large to hugeDD and I always split an entree; if we get 1 appetizer or dessert it's big enough for all of us. Since we're resort guests we don't do "doggie bags" nor do we want to be stuffed when we walk away from dining. My suggestion: underorder at first and you can always add. eyeballing the ressies you have the only one to beware of huge portions would be RFC.

 

[arcticdisneylovers]

Generally we were stuffed at all our meals. You could definately share an appetizer and dessert and maybe get your own entrees. We're big eaters so I'm not sharing anything

 

[tink713]

You said you booked LTT for lunch, it is not "family style" at lunch time. However out of the restaurants you list, the portions at LTT are the biggest. DH is a big eater and he could barely make a dent in his pot roast. We felt like we wasted sooo much food here.

 

[torianne31]

Thanks for all the replies and information!! I already asked the CM who made my ADR's if plate sharing was frowned upon at WDW restaurants and he said definitely not. We are trying to skip buffets and "family style" (thanks for the definition on that!) dining. We just NEVER get our money's worth. With DH's diabetes we typically eat on the plate method :1/4 plate protein, 1/4 plate starch, 1/2 plate fruits / veggies. We use 8 inch plates at home and are satisfied after meals (remember - we are eating like an infant - every three hours!! )

Some of the pictures I'd seen of the cuisine at WDW had me a little worried about plate sharing (one of the pictures was a dish beside a quarter - and they were about the same size!! Can't remember WHERE this was!). Like I said before, we don't want to order one plate of food and it come out and be TEENY, or order two plates of food and only be able to eat a 1/4 of it... (I guess my mom's lectures about starving kids in the world FINALLY paid off!).

Anyhoo, y'all have been so helpful, I figured I'd ask another question. We have all our ADR's booked for lunch, but still need to find some places to eat for dinner. We are staying at the dolphin and thought about trying Shula's or Blue Zoo, but are not adverse to trying restaurants at resorts or DTD (never been there---sOoOo excited!). Any recommendations? We would like to get out of our comfort zone a little. We typically eat at places like Outback and Macaroni Grill. (The places I really wanted to try are already booked: Le Cellier and Jiko's) What are some good places to eat on short notice / VERY little time to make ADRs?

 

[DanaHesson]

My hubby is carb counting - 75 per meal - and doing FANTASTIC!!

We went to Savannah last weekend, and with all the extra walking, he actually had lower than normal sugars, and we were able to indulge in an ice cream cone.

I contacted WDW about counter service locations with sugar free desserts and they replied:
We appreciate your interest in learning what arrangements might be
possible in our theme park and resort restaurants for guests with
specific dietary restrictions. First, please know that the chefs and
managers in our full-service restaurants are always happy to provide
information regarding not only the ingredients of menu selections, but
also how items are prepared. In many instances, food may be specially
prepared to accommodate particular dietary restrictions.

It is also sometimes possible for our restaurants to prepare food items
using special ingredients (gluten-free flour, for example). For this
reason, we encourage you to make your particular restriction known when
booking advanced reservations arrangements for our full-service
restaurants, so that the appropriate notation may be made. Reservations
may be arranged up to 180 days in advance for selected restaurants by
calling 407-WDW-DINE (407-939-3463), or reserve online at
Disneyworld.com, by clicking “Discover”, and then “Dining” in the far
right hand column.

We now have special dietary information on the disneyworld.com website
at the following links.

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/common/helpFAQ?id=HelpFAQDiningPage

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wd...tail?id=GuestServicesSpecialDietaryDetailPage

If you have specific inquiries regarding the food served at the park
restaurants, guests may contact our special dietary assistants at the
following email address: specialdiets@disneyworld.com

We would also like to mention that as an exception to our standard
policy, guests who have specific food allergies are welcome to bring a
cooler smaller than 24" length x 15" width x 18" height (which mirrors
the large locker size) into the park with snacks that require no cooking
or reheating. Coolers will be inspected for glass and alcoholic
beverages which are not permitted. Picnic baskets, ice chests, and
larger coolers are not permitted.


Please let me know how things come out on your trip! If you find any great sugar free treats, let us know!!

 

[torianne31]

My hubby is carb counting - 75 per meal - and doing FANTASTIC!!


Please let me know how things come out on your trip! If you find any great sugar free treats, let us know!!

I'm glad your DH is doing well! It's been a change for DH and me, but we have adjusted well. Calorieking.com has been a great tool for us. We eat out an average of 2x per week (obviously, more when we are WDW) and it's AMAZING the # of fat, calories and carbs "per serving" at some of our favorite restaurants. That's what sparked the plate sharing idea @ our local restaurants.

With that in mind, we have looked at the menus to where we are booked to eat @ WDW and are TENTATIVELY making our choices in advance. These choices may vary depending on what we are in the mood for and how DH's blood sugar is doing...

At HollyWood Brown Derby: Cobb Salad for 2, Split the Duck (try to see if we can substitute the asparagus for the rice) and if blood sugar allows, DH can have a couple of bites of MY creme brulee.. I've never had it before and am dying to try it!

Chefs de France's menu is not listed on line We will have to wing it more on this one...

At Liberty Tree Tavern: Start with the Salad, split the potroast (substitute extra garden vegetables for the mashed potatoes) and the sugar free sorbet w/ berries for dessert.

and at Rainforest Cafe : start with a salad (if you can't tell, we eat ALOT of salads!!), split the Jungle Steak and Shrimp (I get the Steak, DH gets the shrimp), substitute extra veggies for the mashed potatoes.. .and I'm getting the chocolate diablo cake! DH can have a few bites IF his blood sugar allows!!!

I will definitely keep you posted on how he does and if we find any remarkable diabetes friendly menu items. We plan to eat mostly "regular" foods as supposed to doing the special dietary thing, so I'm not sure how much help it will be... but I will definitely post reviews.

 

[DanaHesson]

If not, you may be in for a big surprise with his sugars. How often does he test?

We were REALLY surprised at what a difference some extra walking made last weekend. He ate basically what he wanted and was fine. (no regular sodas but he did get that ice cream, and grits AND mashed potatoes with dinner, with a blood glucose of 120 two hours after the meal)

Good luck and I hope you have a great trip!!!

 

[torianne31]

If not, you may be in for a big surprise with his sugars. How often does he test?

We were REALLY surprised at what a difference some extra walking made last weekend. He ate basically what he wanted and was fine. (no regular sodas but he did get that ice cream, and grits AND mashed potatoes with dinner, with a blood glucose of 120 two hours after the meal)

Good luck and I hope you have a great trip!!!

HOLY CROW @ all the carbs he ate at one meal!! And WOOT WOOT for his 120 blood sugar!!!!!!

DH does exercise regularly. He does about 1/2 hour of cardio per day. He tests his blood sugar three times per day, once in the am (fasting sugar) 2 hours before dinner and before bedtime (about 2 - 3 hours after dinner). He's got this really neat glucometer that can hook to his computer and give him all of his blood sugar readings AND his averages, peak times, etc. He pairs this with what he was eating at the time (he keeps a food and exercise journal - he's an engineer so he is a NUT for tracking things, building a better mousetrap, etc), how much he had exercised, etc so he can see what affects his sugar - good or bad.

I had also read a post on the diabetes boards that all the walking in WDW may lower his blood sugar. When we talked to his doctor about the trip, she told us to make sure to pack snacks just in case. We kinda figured that with his lower sugars he might be able to indulge a little more in dessert or extra carbs (he misses mashed potatoes from time to time!) but it's good to hear that y'all experienced it firsthand!!

 

[melifeld]

You can find the menus for Chefs de France at allears.net

I hope its okay that I posted that. If not, sorry mods!

 

[webstah]

LTT has an excellent entree salad for lunch.
Colony Salad - Washington apples, sweet pecans and applewood smoked cheddar and grilled chicken tossed with field greens in honey shallot vinaigrette.

It is filling, but more on the lighter side than most of the other entrees

 

[torianne31]

You can find the menus for Chefs de France at allears.net

I hope its okay that I posted that. If not, sorry mods!

Hey thanks a million!! That helps a lot!

 

[torianne31]

LTT has an excellent entree salad for lunch.
Colony Salad - Washington apples, sweet pecans and applewood smoked cheddar and grilled chicken tossed with field greens in honey shallot vinaigrette.

It is filling, but more on the lighter side than most of the other entrees

That sounds yummy! Not sure I can DH to go for apples and pecans in his salad. Maybe I can get that salad and he can have his own appetizer instead of an entree. Then split a dessert... Dang.. my tummy is growling!