As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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I have just been involved in an email exchange with Disney Special Diets that has left me a bit disappointed. I have heard over and over how wonderful and accommodating Disney is with working with those with special dietary needs.
As a Type 2 diabetic I have been pretty bad about managing my disease at Disney. However, this year I joined Weight Watchers and am working hard on dealing with my diet. I emailed the Special Diets department to ask for nutritional information to help me make better choices and specifically mentioned the diabetic diet.
The response indicated that I could go tot he restaurant and then look at the special menu there. This does me no good when I am trying to decide where to go, particularly when ADR's have to be made so far in advance. They do not give nutritional information. They do not give carb exchanges.
While I am sure Disney would be receptive to modifying , I hate to be a pain. I would rather not feel like an inconvenience and just be able to decide what places to go. As millions of people have diabetes in this country I am absolutely floored that they have no real way of identifying items so people can make better choices as they do their planning.
So I am off to All Ears to try to examine menus and work something out. I am just really disappointed in Disney today. Does anyone know of a site where someone has nutritional info I can use??
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May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.-Nelson Mandela
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Nutrional information for Disney menus is very illusive! And typically the allergy menus are for those who can't eat wheat, nuts, eggs, milk, etc. The only sugar-free items I've seen are dessert items. But I know that doesn't help much when you're looking for amount of carbs in a meal. Too bad they weren't more helpful.
I am a type II diabetic. I have had no trouble eating at WDW. It, to me, is a matter of knowing what I can or cannot eat.
There are a couple of phone apps out there that can help you. The one I use for my Iphone is 'Icarb'.
At any food location you can ask to speak to the chef for substitution of high carb items, but I don't think they are going to have 'WW' exchange numbers.
Good luck
I didn't expect Weight Watchers points. However, using the diabetic diet keeps the points low as it is more protein based. What did you find that you like? I am a bit of a carb addict so I am a bit worried
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May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.-Nelson Mandela
Enjoy the salad bars and in the food court the containers of FRESH fruit. Don't get any fruit in juice/light/other syrup. The fluids are full of sugars.
Don't select a meal plan including dessert. If you go during a birthday (wearing a birthday button) be careful as they will want to ply you with extra treats.
Not a diabetic, but I try to avoid all carbs. I just ask for double veggies instead of rice/potatoes. They never question it - everyone is always accommodating. And if I order a burger (rarely), I just don't eat the bun. I don't think its that hard to eat low carb at WDW, My carb exception is Mickey waffles!
My husband has been diagnosed with Diabetes and when we go to Disney, we typically eat at buffets. There we can load up on meats and veggies and have just a little bit of the other stuff we should have - rolls or desserts. I agree if you know how to eat at home (proteins, not carbs, small portion sizes, etc), you should be able to do it on vacation. I forget where we ate but Lenny, IIRC, ordered a burger and to keep the carb count low ate only half the roll - I've even heard of people ordering burgers without the rolls.
I guess the one big thing that I can advise you is please do not think you're a pain or an inconvenience for wanting to talk to a chef. It's your health and you need to do what's right for you. Disney is there to help you. Years ago we never saw chefs come out into the dining room to talk to people but now we see them so often it's commonplace - it's what they do. There were a few years I myself had to talk to chefs because I was having some problems. They were very helpful and I would never hesitate to talk to them or encourage others to talk to them.
I agree with not thinking you're a pain or an inconvenience. If it helps look at it the same way you would someone you hired to do work in your home. You wouldn't let someone you hired to install laminate flooring in your livingroom install tile in your bedroom instead. In the case of eating at a restaurant you're hiring the restaurant's staff to prepare a meal for you. Now obviously they can't prepare and serve you what they don't have but asking to talk the chef or for no sauce on your chicken or to substitute extra vegetables for the rice etc. is not unreasonable and it's your meal that you'll eat that you're ultimately paying them to prepare for you. I've found that as long as you're polite, it's something they can do and is reasonable that the vast majority of the time you'll get what you want and/or need by simply asking both at DW and elsewhere. Having said that being rude, abusive, demanding in that makes the people around cringe way or just a plain pain in the staff's collective side is not what I'm recommending nor is it what I do.
This is my second try. I could not post this morning. If you are comfortable with your diabetic eating lifestyle (not really a diet). doing it at WDW is pretty easy.
I think you've got some excellent suggestions here. Basically, you need to know carb portion size and then limit your carbs. My usual meals are protein and veggies. I find eating traditional Italian is hardest. One portion of pasta is 1 C, which is probably 1/4 of what you get at a restaurant. so if you are having pasta (even as a side) leave the bread and dessert alone.
With breakfast, cereal is a good option as are eggs. You don't need the waffles or pancakes or toast.
For dessert, have fruit or an occasional ice cream (once or twice per trip).
I always carry small bags of nuts with me for a high protein snack. One thing one of my docs said he didn't like about WW is how they count nuts-they are a good heart healthy snack.
Depending on the weather cheese sticks work and there are many places you can pick up yogurt.
We just got back and the only problem I had was going low. Just be sure to test so you know where your numbers are before meals. I would test, estimate the carb count and then cover the carb. With all the walking we did it seemed like I really didn't need to worry so much. type 2 using insulin. And yes I tested and injected at the table.
I carry my test kit with me in a fanny pack. Your walking will be more than you expect. On one off my first WDW trips I wore a pedometer. I did not turn it on until I got off the bus at the parks. SHORTEST day was 11.5 miles
Your doctor will be proud! Exercise is important for you sugar control.
I don't have diabetes but I am trying to control my weight and being on vacation doesn't change that for..even at WDW. (I joined WW back in 2014 but stopped going but I hope to get back once I get back to a regular workout and better eating too)
I am one of those guests that orders a burger without the bun...but just like Duck Addict said, walking! OMG I walk way more at WDW then any other time at home. In fact I lose weight and drink way more water!
I do treat myself...but not overboard and I am anemic and have to watch my sugar level...and I rarely get dessert if I do a sit-down meal.... and if it is a buffet (which I don't really like those except at Boma & Trail's End- I limit those desserts as well)... I find my way to the salads, meats, and veggies....
I have always heard that Disney is so accommodating to guests that have food issues....and thinking that it is far more easier there than here at home... unless you cook EVERY night... (which I cannot, need a break).
I am sure knowing what you know now... you will have the Most Magical Trip....
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Kate in PA All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them- Walt Disney
With as many different restaurants and foods they have, I can't imagine them having or sending someone a list of every single item's nutritional information. It would be a book. By now you should have a good idea what you can and can not eat to be able to pick and choose your food. You know what has carbs, fats , etc. As others have said there are apps that can help you with that kind of stuff too.
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