Anyone have luck sticking to keto diet at WDW?

buckeyeguy1

Mouseketeer
Joined
Oct 21, 2016
My wife and I are both going to start on the ketogenic diet next week. We have a Thanksgiving trip planned and would like to stick to it as much as possible. We had an eye opening experience while researching the macros of various food types and started thinking about what we could get at a lot of the places we have dined at. Fortunately, we have experienced most of the dining locations in WDW so we have a fair idea of what is on many menus. However, there doesn't seem to be much variety. I found a blog someone had about keto at WDW and it really was a lot of the same things (i.e. Hamburgers, steaks, turkey legs).

A couple weeks ago, I did a week long trial at home to see how I could do, and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The biggest problem I had was trying to get in variety. After day 4 I never thought I would ever say it, but I was sick of eggs and meat. Didn't want to even look at it. We bought a couple of cook books since and we have a little better plan of attack on the home front.

Back to Disney though. I know the staple steak and burger is on about every menu. What else do you like? We are fairly adventurous on trying new things so any suggestion is a good suggestion.

BTW, is/was Pete on a ketogenic diet? I want to say I listened to one of the dining podcasts and he had mentioned he was on a diet and couldn't have sugar and/or carbs. I think it may have been the Biergarten review. I don't believe he ever said what type of diet it was on, but thought if it was keto, he would have a wealth of knowledge and tips on dining at WDW.
 
I haven't done Keto but follow a fairly low carb/low sugar diet and have no problems at Disney.

The buffets are great, lots of meats and veggies. Biergarten is great for this and has a nice selection of salads. I think I remember Pete saying he was Keto on the Biergarten review episode.

Columbia Harbor House counter service at MK has a grilled salmon dish, I skimp on the couscous though and try to eat only a few bites.

Pecos Bill counterservice in MK has a fixin's bar, you can really dress up your naked burger or chicken and make it interesting.

Teppan Edo at Epcot is fantastic, just ask for veggies to sub for the noodles.

We adore the Parillada del Mar (Seafood platter for 2) at La Hacienda (Epcot): fish, shrimp, scallops, grilled veggies. So good!

'Ohana at the Polynesian is meat lovers paradise with grilled shrimp, chicken, steak, and turkey or pork I think, but you'll probably want to skip all the accompaniments: noodles, dumplings, Hawaiian bread, bread pudding, salad with a super sweet dressing.
 
Buffets are your friend while on the keto diet.

Cape May Cafe breakfast usually has some sort of cheesy scrambled egg. One year it was scrambled eggs w/ feta; another it was cheddar-chorizo eggs.

I found this cheese and dried fruit platter at the new Ale and Compass Marketplace. You can't eat the dried fruit, but the cheese was substantial.

Turkey leg, of course, is your friend.

I'd say that overall, there's no TRUE way to know if something is keto b/c you'll never know how they cook it and what they add. If you're doing keto for health reasons, it's always best to talk to a chef. If it's just a diet, then I'd say go with your gut.

Also - hardboiled eggs. You can find them in a lot of different places. May be worth making a grocery store run, though.
 


Been on Keto for a while and down 40lbs. I expect our trip at the end of the month will not be all Keto all the time. I'll certainly stay more to the meat and veggies but there are some desserts that look too good to pass up. I'm also lactose intolerant so I avoid the ice cream/milkshake items to begin with and that's just less of a temptation. I figure our week is more about having fun that tracking what I eat too much.
 
DH and I limit our carbs (we have both followed a keto diet in the past) and manage to do fairly well at Disney. I also need variety (DH could eat the same thing daily for weeks). I try to not take “vacations” from my diet either (mainly because I am ill if I do, and also because I need to eat this way forever regardless of my weight due to my insulin resistance).

In addition to the suggestions you’ve been given, I’ll add that some of the best salads I’ve had have been at Disney. Also, substitutions are generally not a problem (we’ve had green beans instead of fries in many places, or a side of veggies if they’re offered and so on). Don’t be afraid to ask what the options are. Also don’t be afraid to ask how things are prepared and what’s in the sauces or order it with no sauce/ seasoning. They are very accommodating.

Bring your own snacks if you want- we bring nuts and beef jerky to hold us over between meals and to keep us from ordering snacks. If we want a snack that isn’t low-carb friendly, we split it.

Our favorites were:
California Grill- mussels appetizer (skipped fries), pork tenderloin (skipped polenta and subbed additional baby squash and mushrooms), filet

Satuli Canteen- any protein, salad base, with creamy herb dressing (we ate this twice and we usually never repeat restaurants on a visit)

Flame Tree BBQ- ribs and chicken combo (skip the baked beans and double the cole slaw which still has some sugar but less than the baked beans). I also love the salad here.

Hollywood Brown Derby Lounge- Cobb salad
 


Thank you all for the suggestions. We are going for a weekend trip tomorrow so we will definitely be stopping by some of our favorite restaurants and scour over the menus out front. I was originally going to stay on it, but knowing that we were doing a trip during F&W, there was no way I would be able to stick to it. We are still educating ourselves more about ketosis and trying to learn more about how allowing some carbs into our diets during trips to WDW would affect us.

Congratulations to those of you who have stated your weight loss success! Keep at it!
 
I've been keto for two years now, but do not bother while at WDW either. I don't go overboard because once your body is used to keto, it can sometimes have adverse effects on your stomach and colon, if you know what I mean.

If you want to stay on track, I recommend using the Keto app. It helps with tracking macros. In addition to whats been mentioned, we like House of Blues and D-Luxe Burger at Disney Springs. Wolfgang Puck Express has some good salads. Mostly everywhere is willing to customize items so don't be afraid to ask them to remove or add something.
 
I would think it would be quite easy to stay on track at Disney. Research menus before you go and have a game plan. I would seriously find it hard to stay on it at Disney as I love Dole Whip and School Bread. Stick to salads but watch out for the dressings as those can be sugary without knowing. I would think the hardest meal to stay Keto would be breakfast especially with the powdered scrambled eggs and thin lifeless bacon you get at most QS places. Meh....
 
I have been keto for 8 months and have been at goal weight for a bit. I have dlxdp booked though as I think it will be easier to follow with TS and signature. I am planning to stay completely gluten free, but I am sure I will eat at least one dole whip!!!
 
Just got back from my first trip to WDW while on a Keto diet and found it difficult to eat Disney food. We were planning on using Amazon Now but they stopped carrying a lot of healthy keto food shortly before we left so we used InstaCart with great success. We also brought a lot of food including a variety of nuts, moon cheese, salt, snack bars, etc. Near the end of our trip we restocked at the Beach Club's gift shop which has some extra food items since it also includes a DVC resort. They had blocks of cheese, lunch meat, and eggs. The campground also has broccoli and salad mixes. We had InstaCart go to Publix and so had avocados, spinach, baby romaine lettuce, canned green beans, butter, cheese, eggs (for hard-boiling), carrots, cherry tomatoes, pecans, and more that I am forgetting at the moment. We normally ate a salad every morning before going to the parks that kept us full much of the day.

We had great success with Chef Tom at the Whispering Canyon Cafe. I had a salad with lots of greens, a few tomatoes and carrots, grilled chicken, cheese, and broccoli...and then perfectly cooked asparagus and green beans with some fat, salt, and pepper. It was the most delicious meal I've eaten at WDW and was presented beautifully.

Many restaurants serve green beans and if they do you can ask for double instead of other veggies...or even dessert. I was also able to substitute and receive two bags of baby carrots at a children's meal instead of both carrots and grapes.

You can also look at the restaurant menus online before your trip to know what foods the chefs have access too in their kitchen and then ask a chef if it is possible to create something off menu. You can also bring your own hemp hearts, pine nuts, pecans, etc. to add to your salad or meal at the restaurant to add a bit more fat.

I preferred to stick to Keto while at Disney because I've lost my taste for junk food right now and going out of and then back into ketosis would be much rougher than just sticking to my diet. With the money saved from buying expensive Disney food, I went kayaking, participated in one of the resort fun runs, and went to the Halloween party.

You might also find your stomach "shrinking" after being on Keto awhile. Even a children's meal is too much food for me to eat at once now so I normally shared. QS restaurants never asked or cared about an adult ordering off the children's menu. TS restaurants didn't mind us ordering less total food, but we chose to tip as if we had ordered typical meals.
 
I’m not keto but I keep a low carb diet at home and I’m down 58 pounds. The thing is I don’t eat any meat but fish and seafood (eggs and dairy are ok) so keeping LC anywhere but home is extremely difficult for me.

I plan on keeping breakfast LC but snacking and other meals will be hard and I won’t feel guilty if I eat more then my usual amount of carbs. I plan on making smart choices, avoid what makes me sick and bloated (I’m looking at you fried food) and giving me a chance to enjoy a few cheat days before tackling those last 25 pounds I know I need to eliminate.

Don’t go too hard on yourself if you do want a churro while at WDW.
 
*following*

I recently started keto and I kinda sorta have a game plan for my vacay. It mostly involves tons of butter, I guess. We plan on getting the rapid refill mugs. I know its possible to get unlimited coffee and tea with those, but can anyone tell me if there is heavy cream/sugar free syrups at the refill stations?

I know I will be having at least ONE (fingers crossed) Dole Whip, but I'm not super duper into sweets.

In our 12 days, I only made 2 ADRs: Sci-Fi and Cinderella's Royal Table.

Any suggestions regarding those two spots?

Anyone know what the "seasonal vegetables" for mid NOvember would be??

Thanks to all who responded and to the OP for asking this question!
 
*following*

I recently started keto and I kinda sorta have a game plan for my vacay. It mostly involves tons of butter, I guess. We plan on getting the rapid refill mugs. I know its possible to get unlimited coffee and tea with those, but can anyone tell me if there is heavy cream/sugar free syrups at the refill stations?

I know I will be having at least ONE (fingers crossed) Dole Whip, but I'm not super duper into sweets.

In our 12 days, I only made 2 ADRs: Sci-Fi and Cinderella's Royal Table.

Any suggestions regarding those two spots?

Anyone know what the "seasonal vegetables" for mid NOvember would be??

Thanks to all who responded and to the OP for asking this question!

Replying to the cream/sugar free syrups part of your post. We go offsite and pick up a few items including heavy cream at Publix. There is none on all of Disney property that I've ever found. Butter you can purchase in the resort store.
 
I have been keto/low carb since Feb. of this year and have lost almost 50 lbs so far. I am going to Disney the week after Thanksgiving. I will eat low carb whenever I can without being too inconvenienced over it. I'll eat more carbs that week, but will be back where I left off the next week. No big deal for me.
 

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