Carb Counts?

[runnergrl]

No, I am not a crazy person.

Last I knew Disney was pretty bad at providing carb counts, but that was a few years ago, so I thought I'd see if there was any progress.

DF is a diabetic and as many know the amount of insulin to take (or the pump gives) is determined by the grams of carbohydrates. Yes, you can guess, but obviously the more accurate the carbs the better it is on the blood glucose. Add that to the heat and activity, it would be nice to have at least ONE thing under our control.
While I am not a diabetic, I too have some BG (hypo) issues (dear dad, thanks for your lovely genes ) and it's sometimes helpful to have a clue on carbs too. (Neither one of us are really in the mood to pass out at Disney... yes, slightly melodramatic I know )

So, anyone know if Disney is providing carb counts yet?

 

[Mary976]

Last I heard, Disney still wasn't doing this. I think it's the excuse about not being able to be exact, which I get and all, but there are local restaurants up here that will at least estimate for you (I work with a student who has diabetes and it's much easier when she doesn't have to make a wild guess). Anyway, hopefully someone who has been recently can confirm or deny this.

Mary

 

[LilyWDW]

They do not offer carb counts.

Unless you weigh every ingredient and keep strict counts as you make the food, you will only have an estimation. Disney doesn't believe that a simple estimation is good enough and doesn't want the liability of giving out incorrect counts.

 

[runnergrl]

Yes, that is what I figured, but there was always the hope that Disney had made some progress.
They are SO GOOD at assisting with many other medical conditions, but kind of dropped the ball with diabetes.

I think it's weird that Disney is willing to take the liability risk of determining something to be "(insert food allergy here) - free" but not willing to estimate carbohydrate counts in fear of being wrong

I know in NY a restaurant has to provide nutrition information upon request (NYC even has to post calories and such on their menus!)...apparently Florida doesn't have to.

 

[Talking Hands]

Yes, that is what I figured, but there was always the hope that Disney had made some progress.
They are SO GOOD at assisting with many other medical conditions, but kind of dropped the ball with diabetes.

I think it's weird that Disney is willing to take the liability risk of determining something to be "(insert food allergy here) - free" but not willing to estimate carbohydrate counts in fear of being wrong

I know in NY a restaurant has to provide nutrition information upon request (NYC even has to post calories and such on their menus!)...apparently Florida doesn't have to.

Since we cannot get carb counts then we just have to adjust and order things we know as to carb counts. At sit down restaurants I have no problem with telling them I want only 1/2 cup rice. I will eat half of a baked potato if it is large. Fruit I will eat what I know is a proper portion and let my husband eat the rest. We share a individual pizza as a full has too many carbs. We buy children's portions if needed.
It isn't really Disney's responsibility to control our diabetes but ours. So just do what is needed and you will be fine. And be sure to carry emergency supplies in case you do over do and drop too low. I will say though that the few times I have had a problem, Disney castmembers are terrific if you are having a problem and have saved the day.

 

[Schmeck]

Unless the food is prepackaged, there's really no way for WDW to 'guesstimate' every portion as it comes out from the kitchen - restaurants that do that in other locations are not always even close to being accurate. We have friends who are dealing with their youngest daughter's type 1 diabetes, and they have taken to bringing measuring cups and a portable scale (as well as some carb counting booklet?) with them when they eat out. They have found that when they have been told a serving size is one cup that they have received almost twice that amount.

 

[SueM in MN]

As far as I know, WDW is still not providing carb counts. There are enough people who post here frequently that have asked for them in the past that I think someone would post if they were.

Here's a link to a thread from April 2010 where a family with a 7 yr old asked about Carb counting.

And a link to a recent thread about carb counts, going into a little about why Disney may not give them and some suggestions about how to estimate with little information. Given the complexities and Florida's stick truth in labeling laws, I'm not sure WDW will ever give more accurate counts.

This recent thread is a different perspective - a potentially scary situation where someone did get an inflated carb count from a server at Olive Garden that gave her a different view of why WDW may be refusing to give carb counts.

 

[Jen_in_NH]

We were there in December, and there were no carb counts available in the restaurants. Prepackaged foods might have the carbs listed.

I feel your pain - my 3 year old is diabetic, and being off by a few carbs can be a big disaster. We have taken to carrying a measuring cup, a Calorie King book, and our cell phones to be able to google something that we can't find in the book.

 

[knieriem]

We were there in December, and there were no carb counts available in the restaurants. Prepackaged foods might have the carbs listed.

I feel your pain - my 3 year old is diabetic, and being off by a few carbs can be a big disaster. We have taken to carrying a measuring cup, a Calorie King book, and our cell phones to be able to google something that we can't find in the book.

Calorie King is my best friend!!!

It is hard going anywhere and not having carb counts. Calorie King can at least help you get an estimate. I usually eat the same few things when we go and take note if my guess was too high (blood sugar dropped) or if they were too low(blood sugar went too high.)

I'm currently tackling a kaiser roll and trying to find out exactly how many carbs are in it! We buy them from Sams and they don't have any nutritional information. After today's lunch my BS was only 15 off the target number so I"m getting closer!!!!