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Eating at disney while banded



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You will find Disney very accommodating when it comes to dietary needs. I was there in October two months after my surgery and chose restaurants based on their menus ( good reference for this is Restaurant Dining Menus from Walt Disney World). You can share or order an appetizer as a main meal. I've found most items on the children's menus are not really the best fod choices for a bander. There is a lot of debate about the buffets. I made a mistake of asking about that before my surgery on a Disney discussion board I follow and regretted it afterwards. I didn't expect it to be such a hot topic.

All Ears.net is a great resource for people traveling to Disney and they have a section discussing special dietary needs at Special Dietary Needs While Vacationing at Walt Disney World

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I have ordered children's meals at Disneyland (not Disney World) and they have never questioned me. No card needed; I have one, but I have never used it.

When I go out I often order appetizers or a cup of chili. The hardest part is teaching your head that no, you aren't going to be able to eat all that. My stomach already knows it, but the head has a hard time catching up.

When you say you can't eat it, are you full and satisfied? Or still hungry and want more but you can eat it???:)

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One option is bringing your own food. After our last trip to Disney World (which I LOVED and I am a Disney FREAK) I was disappointed by the price and quality of food - especially in the fast service places. Even 2 years before the band I knew it wasn't good for me or my DH and kids. And it was really expensive!! So next time we go I will be bringing a lot of health Snacks and lunch things with us, and we will go out for a nice supper just once or twice.

By the way....I can always get kid's meals wherever we go because I have an 8 year old son who has been out-eating me for years (darn that skinny little cutie pie). So he orders me a kid's meal, I order him a regular size meal and we switch when it arrives. hee hee!

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Hello everyone.. as you guys can see from my signature I'm headed to Disneyworld very soon.. (June 12-17th). I was wondering about the whole eating and what to do about it. I found this thread and I was soooo glad I did. All the posting have helped a lot. Ok so here's my "problem". My DH has suggested I take Snacks with me from home to be able to take into the park. This would also help for Breakfast since I don't eat much early in the day. The thing is I can't figure out what to take. Any ideas or suggestions of what I should get now to take with me (I was thinking I could just pack it in a suit case and claim it a check in..

so any ideas? thanks in advance!

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Hi Ruby:

I'm a big fan of Lara Bars (available at costco, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, etc.) for a high Protein, raw food snack. I just don't know if this is a food that goes well with banding (I'm pre-band.) https://www.larabar.com/secure/index_.php to find stores or order bars online if not in your area.

Also, you can rent a small refrigerator but it's fairly expensive. Some rooms already have them - depends on the resort. I know Animal Kingdom Lodge has them at no charge so you may want to call or look online for details on your resort (If you are staying at the Disney property.) Rooms tend to have coffeemakers which give hot Water for Soups, etc. You can check almost anything in a suitcase. 20 years ago I went to WDW and was on Jenny Craig - packed a week's worth of frozen dinners! However, we had a microwave which don't seem to be common anymore.

Good luck and let us know what goes well with this trip.

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I've been to WDW and Disneyland while on diets and did fine. There are actually healthy choices in the parks if you look for them. I say carry a few Protein Bars, just in case, but don't plan to eat all your meals out of your hand bag. :)

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the last time that I went to Disney it was before I was banded, but I didn't (and still don't) eat red meat or poultry every time we went for a sit down meal the wait staff was more then happy to make modifications and accommodate me so I would just call the restaurant ahead of time and see what they can do for you

Have fun

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
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