Why get so worked up?

[MrsJackSparrow]

So many times I read that people are upset that Disney is "forcing" us to eat healthy. Have these people forgotten that there are TONS of offsite restaurants that are more than happy to fill you on high fat, low fit foods?

If you don't like what Disney is serving, go offsite. You are not going to get them to change, much like McDonald's is not going to start deep frying their menu again.

Embrace the change, people!

 

[Evil Princess]

So many times I read that people are upset that Disney is "forcing" us to eat healthy. Have these people forgotten that there are TONS of offsite restaurants that are more than happy to fill you on high fat, low fit foods?

If you don't like what Disney is serving, go offsite. You are not going to get them to change, much like McDonald's is not going to start deep frying their menu again.

Embrace the change, people!

Many people who go to WDW do not rent a car and stay on site. Therefore, they are locked at WDW for food options.

Not only that, but even if you do have a car, do you know how much time and effort you waste leaving property just to eat a few meals? Nevermind onsite property, but then you have to find a place, sit, get your food, and then return back and re-park. Not exactly the easiest things to do.

I am all for Disney providing healthy options for guests. However, it is VACATION. And some people choose to let their children, or themselves for that matter, throw caution to the wind and eat some food they normally wouldn't be able to eat on a day to day basis. Heck, some people really like those chicken strips that have been on the menu for I don't know, as long as I can possibly remember? lol.

I think it's good that Disney provides healthier options now. Let's face it, an entire week of eating hamburgers is enough to turn you into one! However, I don't think that Disney should be taking away the options of a non-healthy splurge on vacation.

Not to mention the fact that something like whole wheat buns, I know tons of people who don't like whole wheat bread. I happen to enjoy it, I eat it exclusively at home, but truthfully those whole wheat buns at WDW are awful. They're crumbly and dry and aren't of the greatest quality.

 

[Tricia1972]

I agree about embracing changes. I think it may be more about losing old time favorites at Disney than anything else.

I also don't see how anyone is forced to be healthy. A quick tour of the menus at the theme parks show that there are plenty of junk food options out there for everyone:

Chips
Soda with Sugar
A Hot Fudge Sundae
Ice Cream in a Waffle Cone
Ice Cream Float
Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich
Churros
Fresh Baked Cookies
Hot Chocolate
Beer
Popcorn with butter grease
Hot Dog (put it on whatever bun you want -that dog is still not healthy)
Ribs with baked beans and corn muffin
Beef or Pork Sandwich
Cole Slaw
French Fries
Onion Rings
Key Lime Pie
Chocolate Cake
Wine
Soft Pretzel with cheese sauce
Frozen Lemonade
Assorted Pastries, Muffins, Bagels, Cookies and Cakes
Soft Serve Ice Cream
Pepperoni or Cheese Pizza
Caesar Salad - Delicious, but not a truly healthy option
Breadsticks with cheese and marinara sauce
Hot Italian Style Sandwich
Double Cheeseburger
Cheeseburger with Bacon
Chicken Nuggets or Chicken Strips
Strawberry Shortcake
Brownies
Cappuccino
Frozen Carbonated Beverages
Smoked Turkey Leg
Egg Rolls
Fried Rice
Mango Mini Pie
Fried Fish
Chocolate Mousse
Carrot Cake
Nestle Crunch King Size Ice Cream Bar
Cookies n Cream Ice Cream Sandwich
Caramel Corn
Chili Cheese Hot Dog
Chicken Caesar Wrap
Mac N Cheese
PBJ
Mickey Mouse Crispy Treat
Cheese Cake
Milk Shake
Pretty much any pastry dessert you can dream up at Boulangerie Patisserie
Nachos
Wet Burrito
Bunnelos
Margarita
Crepes
Funnel Cakes
School Bread
Lefse
Bratwurst
Frankfurter with sauerkraut
Black Forest Cake
Apple Strudel
Meatballs
Fish & Chips
Dole Whip/Dole Whip Float
Apple Pie Sundae
Strawberry Shortcake Sundae
Corn Dog Nuggets
Chili
Cracker Jacks
BLT Salad - salad with bacon and egg in it
Taco salad - ground beef in a fried flour tortilla
Mickey Mouse Ice Cream Bars
Nestle Toll House Ice Cream Sandwich
Fruit Tart
Napoleon
Bear Claws
Crumb Cake
Apple Charlotte
Apple Turnover
Cupcake
Cinnamon Rolls
Bread Pudding
Figaro Fries

The way I look at it, if I eat healthy, it's entirely my fault!

 

[jodifla]

So many times I read that people are upset that Disney is "forcing" us to eat healthy. Have these people forgotten that there are TONS of offsite restaurants that are more than happy to fill you on high fat, low fit foods?

If you don't like what Disney is serving, go offsite. You are not going to get them to change, much like McDonald's is not going to start deep frying their menu again.

Embrace the change, people!

It's not true that WDW won't change. The blistering response to their icky "healthy" kids menu had many menu items scrapped within a couple of months. They remade it based on customer response. It's still not great, but way better than it was.

It's not feasible to just leave the park for lunch....it would take you three hours to get to outside areas and come back. You are pretty much a captive audience while you are there.

 

[MrsJackSparrow]

The hardships of offsite dining are mentioned. My family is from Chicago. We love Chicago pizza. To us, there is no other. Giordano's is 10 minutes from Pop Century. We know, living in Chicago, that it takes 30 minutes for them to cook a deep dish pizza. We get to the restaurant, put in our order, leave the restaurant to take the DKs to the 2 souvenir shops in the same plaza, return for our meal and are back onsite in 1.5 hours. All in all, time well spent.

We also enjoy Chili's. There's a Chili's about 3 blocks from Giordano's, so what does that add to the drive, 5-10 minutes?

The feasibility of offering chicken strips AND chicken nuggets just does not make sense from a supplier standpoint, same as offering whole wheat buns AND white buns. There would be colossal waste.

I don't usually eat either chicken strips or something on a bun, and I'm not disputing that the chicken strips were fantastic or that the new buns are not so hot. It's vacation. I eat things, like many, that I don't usually eat at home. Last September, I had salmon 3 times and mahi mahi once. It was awesome. I don't cook fish at home because it smells.

I think Disney has tons of variety in the couple hundred places for dining onsite. Granted the kids' meal offerings were less than stellar. My kids only want peanut butter & jelly or chicken strips a couple times, not an entire week every lunch and dinner, so I'm glad to see some changes there. They won't touch the pizza (Chicago, remember?) so that was never an option.

It just confounds me as to why there is so much complaining, as though Disney is somehow trying to alienate patrons by offering *gasp* whole wheat buns or chicken nuggets.

 

[brighteyes]

When I go to WDW I do not want to spend the extra money to rent a car, nor do I want to leave the resort or parks to go eat.

My DS12 is a picky eater and does not eat everything that WDW offers with regard to meals. I agree there is plenty of junk at disney for snacks. That is not the issue. The issue is meal options, but if my DS will only eat chicken strips over pasta, I would rather him eat the chicken strips. With pasta he eats it plain, no sauce. He hates mac n cheese, and only eats pizza with cheese.

He does like raw veggies, and cooked brocolli and green beans but if he's not going to eat the meal that comes with the veggies, then why am I gonna wast my $? At least with the chicken strips he's getting protein. The ones at WDW from what I could tell were white meat, and DS does not like nuggets anymore since he tried the strips at WDw. Go figure.

So while for myself there are still lots of choices, for my DS picky eater that he is there is not. At home he eats alot more variety but he is used to the way I prepare food. And I am not prepared to pay $$ to find out he doesn't like the way something tastes, so to be sure he eats I'd rather give him the chicken strips.

My DS does not eat alot of meat, or pasta, his main diet is chicken. So now that limits him to plain pasta, plain pizza, and maybe a burger thrown in if I can find a white bun. And rotisserie chicken if they still have it.

At home he eats alot of veggies, cucumber, carrots, brocolli green beans but really the only one I've seen at WDW is carrots. At home I go through about 6 cucumbers or more a week.

So my point is, why not give a choice. McD's still offers choice between their old menu and new healthier menu. Sub places offer you a choice of your bun. So why not WDW?

Stephanie

 

[mkycrzy1971]

So many times I read that people are upset that Disney is "forcing" us to eat healthy. Have these people forgotten that there are TONS of offsite restaurants that are more than happy to fill you on high fat, low fit foods?

If you don't like what Disney is serving, go offsite. You are not going to get them to change, much like McDonald's is not going to start deep frying their menu again.

Embrace the change, people!

That means renting a car...adding a lot more $$$ to the cost of everyone's trip...for those that drive or rent a car anyway...that is a wonderful solution.

 

[RMulieri]

I eat plenty healthy, and don't have a problem with change.But many people can't afford a car on top of everything else.I think ,disney can make some healthy changes , but does'nt need to go nuts obliterating everything non-health yor enjoyable off the menu.and for the record disney does change...remember several years back when they got rid of early entry and substituted it with that ridiculous character bus? people complained and disney changed.

 

[Tricia1972]

As I understand the chicken strips are still rumored to be gone at this point. There are reports of people who were there as late as 2/16 that they are still on the menu and still as tasty as ever.

Also, rereading my list, I see that it can be hard to visualize what options are out there for meals vs snacks. I reorganized to the best of my ability so it'd be easier to see what is available out there, depending on what you're craving.

I just don't see why anyone would have to leave property to get something to eat that'll appeal to them. It seems like there are a lot of choices out there that aren't that healthy for you. (Also note this is not a complete menu - I skipped the stuff that is healthy or healthier like Rotisserie chicken, tacos with grilled meat, healthy sandwiches, etc.)

Snacks/Desserts
Chips
Hot Fudge Sundae
Ice Cream in a Waffle Cone
Ice Cream Float
Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich
Churros
Fresh Baked Cookies
Hot Chocolate
Popcorn with butter grease
Key Lime Pie
Chocolate Cake
Soft Pretzel with cheese sauce
Sweet Pretzel
Assorted Pastries, Muffins, Bagels, Cookies and Cakes
Soft Serve Ice Cream
Strawberry Shortcake
Brownies
Mango Mini Pie
Chocolate Mousse
Carrot Cake
Nestle Crunch King Size Ice Cream Bar
Cookies n Cream Ice Cream Sandwich
Caramel Corn
Mickey Mouse Crispy Treat
Cheese Cake
Milk Shake
Pretty much any pastry dessert you can dream up at Boulangerie Patisserie
Two locations - Main St Confectionery and Goofy's Candy
Bunnelos
Crepes
Funnel Cakes
School Bread
Lefse
Black Forest Cake
Apple Strudel
Dole Whip/Dole Whip Float
Apple Pie Sundae
Strawberry Shortcake Sundae
Cracker Jacks
Mickey Mouse Ice Cream Bars
Nestle Toll House Ice Cream Sandwich
Fruit Tart
Napoleon
Bear Claws
Crumb Cake
Apple Charlotte
Apple Turnover
Cupcake
Cinnamon Rolls
Bread Pudding



Beverages
Soda with Sugar
Beer
Frozen Lemonade
Wine
Cappuccino
Frozen Carbonated Beverages
Margarita



Meal Options
Hot Dog (put it on whatever bun you want -that dog is still not healthy)
Ribs with baked beans and corn muffin
Beef or Pork Sandwich
Cole Slaw
French Fries
Onion Rings
Pepperoni or Cheese Pizza
Caesar Salad - Delicious, but not a truly healthy option
Breadsticks with cheese and marinara sauce
Hot Italian Style Sandwich
Double Cheeseburger
Cheeseburger with Bacon
Chicken Nuggets or Chicken Strips
Smoked Turkey Leg
Egg Rolls
Fried Rice
Fried Fish
Chili Cheese Hot Dog
Chicken Caesar Wrap
Mac N Cheese
PBJ
Nachos
Wet Burrito
Bratwurst
Frankfurter with sauerkraut
Meatballs
Fish & Chips
Corn Dog Nuggets
Chili
BLT Salad - salad with bacon and egg in it
Taco salad - ground beef in a fried flour tortilla
Figaro Fries

 

[WDWFRV]

That means renting a car...adding a lot more $$$ to the cost of everyone's trip...for those that drive or rent a car anyway...that is a wonderful solution.

If you can afford a Disney trip, you can afford a car, that is my philosophy

 

[taitai]

I couldn't agree more with the OP. What is the big deal? Just work around it. If you have a picky kid, well then, teach them to broaden their food options or budget for a car to go off-site. My kid's (ages 4 and 5) favorite foods are grilled salmon and broccoli, shrimp fajitas, pasta with clam sauce, sushi and tofu. I am not blasting Disney for not offering sushi or salmon on the kids menu even though my guys would eat it every single day if I let them. The same with broccoli. I am working around it by not doing the DDP so I can order for them from the adult menu and get them things I know they will like. Thank goodness they don't serve white bread...my kids have never had it and would probably think it was cookies!

The fast food establishment is going to continue to go healthy as America starts to wake up to the awful obesity problem we have and all the very expensive health related issues it is causing. I think it is great that Disney, a place catering to kids, is leading the way, in, admittedly, baby steps.

It really is not that big of a deal. You would think they were offering the New Coke again.

Taitai

 

[Mermaid_Ariel]

As I said in the other thread, that I will be renting a car for our honeymoon and eating offsite if they don't start offering the healthy stuff as options. Sorry, but I don't want to eat baked chicken strips. I eat healthy all year and if I'm paying to be on vacation, I'll eat how I please.

After that, I'll just consider vacationing elsewhere. Sad to say, but money talks. If more people start renting cars and eating offsite, Disney will change their tune quickly.

 

[addicted_to_WDW]

As I said in the other thread, that I will be renting a car for our honeymoon and eating offsite if they don't start offering the healthy stuff as options. Sorry, but I don't want to eat baked chicken strips. I eat healthy all year and if I'm paying to be on vacation, I'll eat how I please.

You'd really rent a car and spend hours out of each day traveling to offsite restaurants so you can eat fried food rather than baked? Ok then.

 

[Jennasis]

I don't care if the offerings are "healthy" or loaded with fat and calories as long as what I DO order tastes good.

Having "picky eaters" is a personal problem (of mine...not just many posters children). So I must work harder to broaden my horizons and try new things. But just because I HATE salmon doesn'y mean it should be banished from the menu.

 

[Mermaid_Ariel]

You'd really rent a car and spend hours out of each day traveling to offsite restaurants so you can eat fried food rather than baked? Ok then.

There's restaurants no more than 5-10min away from the Disney Bubble. People used to do it, now all of a sudden it's a bad thing? Give me a break.

 

[RMulieri]

If you can afford a Disney trip, you can afford a car, that is my philosophy

Uh no...sorry.Not everyone can.Some people believe it or not are still on a budget, even at disney. I am fortunate enough to be able to afford it, not the case with everyone.Many people on a budget save for a long ,long time to even make a trip to disney. So though this may be your philosophy, and may work in your case, it is not the case for everyone.That said, I see no problem per se with the changes .

 

[taitai]

One thing I am finding both amusing and rather scary is that people will actually change their travel plans for chicken strips. How has one type of food and one preparation of that food come to mean so much? What do you do in your daily life? Where do you find these chicken strips when you go overseas or are on a business trip or during a blizzard or hurricane? How has one food item come to control your actions that you will change travel plans over them.

I am going to think about it myself before I contribute anymore to his discussion but I don't think there is a food item I am a slave to, even caffeine, truth be told. I guess that is good as I think I would lose my mind if I could only go places and see parts of the world where chicken strips are endemic.

Taitai

 

[Mermaid_Ariel]

One thing I am finding both amusing and rather scary is that people will actually change their travel plans for chicken strips. How has one type of food and one preparation of that food come to mean so much? What do you do in your daily life? Where do you find these chicken strips when you go overseas or are on a business trip or during a blizzard or hurricane? How has one food item come to control your actions that you will change travel plans over them.

I think you're missing the point. The underlying issue is not the chicken strips, but where will the line be drawn?

This is one of the problems in America that people don't seem to realize - people don't take responsibility for their eating habits, they need someone to do it for them.

 

[mkycrzy1971]

If you can afford a Disney trip, you can afford a car, that is my philosophy

I do NOT think that is YOUR place to worry about MY finances (or anyone else's for that matter) ...no one on this thread is getting nasty or hateful but you seem to be stepping on MANY, MANY toes "speaking" unkind like this ...YES, I CAN afford to rent a car...not that it is anyone's business (nor am I trying to brag) but my family income is 6 digits! It is not an issue of IF you can afford a car...some people have a budget they like to stick to...spending $ on a car I will use for very little good, taking extra time out of my touring plan, and many other factors come into play...it is a waste of money...I see you do not post much...maybe that is because you cannot find anything kind to say.

 

[mkycrzy1971]

There's restaurants no more than 5-10min away from the Disney Bubble. People used to do it, now all of a sudden it's a bad thing? Give me a break.

We each do what we WANT to do...if you WANT to eat off site, by all means do it...it is YOUR vacation and YOUR honeymoon...do not let anyone persuade you to do otherwise... enjoy you time & have a safe fun trip!