Type 1 Diabetes at Disney

[OriginalDisneyPrincess]

Hey everyone! So this passed Thursday, my little 4 year old brother got diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. He has been so brave and a true champ through all of this and I am so proud of him! We are frequent Disney World goers and I want to know how our future trips will change. Are there any parents out there with kiddos that have Type 1 and still manage to have an awesome trip? Is there anywhere that we can find the carbs information for snacks at the parks? Thanks in advance

 

[bfamily5]

My hubby has t1 and he has thoroughly enjoyed himself. Unfortunately we couldn't readily find carb counts but we have enough experience to be able to guesstimate. Lots of testing and carrying sugar with you! Check out the disabilities board. Will probably have a lot more response! Good luck and its sweet that your asking for your little brother!

 

[bumbershoot]

As far as I know Disney does NOT provide the carb info for food.

There is a Disabilities forum here that might have extra really good info on touring when watching blood sugar carefully. Though I'm sure there will be terrific advise here as well. People don't just hang out on ONE board, after all.

 

[minnie mum]

From previous threads on this subject, it is my understanding that many diabetics ( or their parents as in your brother's case) use the Calorie King carb counter for both every day meals and when travelling. Since most restaurant food servings are not precisely measured to all be the same down to the gram, publishing counts would not only be useless, but could be dangerous if followed too literally. If your brother is newly diagnosed, no doubt he and your parents will be seen by a nurse educator to learn how to cope and live healthily with this new diagnosis. I'm sure the educator will be going over ways to eat healthily and safely while away from home.

I agree with the others that you will probably receive lots of useful information from the DisAbilities board.

 

[wddub2015]

Warning - this is a mini-novel.

I have a 4 year old son who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 24 months. We took him for his first trip to Disney World in the spring and we all had an awesome time! He will need some extra considerations you would never have needed to make in the past, but I promise that won't ruin his or anybody else's good time!

For us, gaining experience in guessing carb values was important for us feeling comfortable since as PPs have mentioned there are no posted carb values. Individually packaged items like Mickey ice cream bars and the items in some of the kids meals (uncrustables, grapes, etc.) will have nutrition labels, though. Calorie King is our Bible of nutrition values and even years into my son's diagnosis I refer back to it all of the time. They have an app for iPhone, but I really prefer the hard copy book and carried that around with me.

My son wears a CGM and that also made us feel much more comfortable, but I know that is not for everybody. It will be important to test blood sugar often especially since he's so young and it will likely take a long time before he is able to recognize when he feels low.

You'll want to be sure to bring treatment carbs with you and always keep them with whoever might be with him. If you're splitting up your party, you won't want him to have a low while waiting in line for a ride while his treatment carbs are with a different family member across the park. I brought little packets of honey and glucose tabs with us since both are lightweight and easier to lug around than something heavy like juice boxes.

Even if you did know what all of the carb values were for everything he eats there, there would be other things that may throw his regular insulin needs out of whack. And everybody's body reacts differently. Heat, adrenaline, excitement, increased activity from all that walking, etc. can cause some crazy things to happen to blood sugar. I have no idea why, but for my son the first day of any vacation we take he tends to run normal to low but any subsequent days he is high until we get back home and into our regular routine. Not just at Disney where we are guessing at most carb values, but even if we're having a relaxing trip to the beach and eating in the entire time where we know the carb values for everything he eats.

Also, pack double the amount of supplies you think you'll need to bring with you just in case.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions that I might be able to help with. I know it can be overwhelming early into diagnosis.

 

[Jen_in_NH]

My son was diagnosed at 20 months old, and has had several great Disney trips since then. The hardest part for us has just been the crazy numbers simply from activity and excitement. We use a CGM as well, and it does make things a lot easier - we can head off highs or lows before they become issues v

 

[OriginalDisneyPrincess]

Thank you all SO much! I'm now aware that he can go high or low not just because of the carbs, but also because of other factors such as heat and excitement. We don't know when our next trip is, perhaps in October for the Halloween party. I think by then we will be a lot better at eye-balling servings at the parks and we will know how many carbs he's consuming throughout the day. And of course we use Calorie King and My Fitness Pal to track his intake of carbs. It's day 4 back at home from the hospital and we are still a little overwhelmed by it all, but listening to some of your stories reassures me that we will make it and we will go back to Disney and have a great time as usual! I'll let my momma bear know! And again, thank you sooooo much

 

[OriginalDisneyPrincess]

My hubby has t1 and he has thoroughly enjoyed himself. Unfortunately we couldn't readily find carb counts but we have enough experience to be able to guesstimate. Lots of testing and carrying sugar with you! Check out the disabilities board. Will probably have a lot more response! Good luck and its sweet that your asking for your little brother!

Thanks! I love my little brother like a son! People think I'm his mom sometimes so I call myself mommy #2 haha! Also doesn't help that he looks like me...and that I'm 21 and he's 4...totally possible that he could be mine!