11 replies to this topic

[okapilover]

I am going to Disney at the end of the month.  Any tips on how to stay close to JC?  Anyone ever done this?  I'm sorry if this posted elsewhere.  I don't know my way around the boards yet.

Thanks
Dawn

[I Called Jenny]

Dawn, the problem with Disney is that there are too many options to give you some actual ideas. There are the snack bars located throughout the parks and actual restaurants.

You can bring the lunch kits with you for the daytime but I don't know if you're going to be eating breakfast and dinner in the park or if you're eating all your meals at one of the parks (I assume you mean Disney World and not Disneyland).

Try to talk to your JCC about her suggestions, check online to see if there are the restaurant/nutrition menus online or simply follow the "exchanges" based on your caloric plan that's listed on the back of the Personalized Menu Planner that you can find online or pick up at your center.

I mean, in Epcot, for instance, there's everything from a Polynesian restaurant to an Italian one to a French one to a Scandinavian buffet to name just a few. Each of the parks offers different dining options so it's best if you can do some pre-planning based on what's available at the park  you're visiting each day.

[camelsrule]

Everything Phyllis said!  The good news is that Disney has most of their menus on their website and there is another site Allears.net (http://allears.net/menu/menus.htm) that has all of the menus also.  If you know where you will be eating, you could use these websites to plan what you will eat before you go.  I find it really helpful to do this and sometimes even write down on a piece of paper what I plan to have.  This way I don't even have to open the menu when I get to the restaurant.  Have fun!

[okapilover]

Thanks for the advice.  Are you doing the 1/2 marathon this weekend?  Good luck!  You look great.

[happineff]

Have fun at Disney! I worked at Disney World for a while, so here's what I can tell you: Disney has been trying to incorporate more healthy options all over the place, in the form of fresh fruit and salads for sale at the "cafe" type eateries. Try to stay away from the places that cater more to the "Fast food" mentality, such as the turkey legs, burger joints or pizza places. Make reservations to the nicer restaurants EARLY (as in now!) because that is the BEST place to control what you order; Disney chefs and servers are excellent about altering menu items or creating healthy dishes for people on special diets. All you need to do is speak up! Pretty much everyone at Disney is there to make your experience totally "magical!"

Here's a list of "approved" locations you can be sure to find something good at the different parks:

Animal Kingdom:

• Flame Tree Barbecue. This might not be strictly healthy but the smoked chicken, ribs, smoked Barbecue Chicken Salad, and fruit plates sure are good.
  
• Harambe Fruit Market – fresh fruits & juices
  
• Kusafiri Coffee Shop & Bakery has a fruit cup w/ yogurt, McDonald's
  
• Restaurantosaurus - mandarin chicken salad or a veggie burger
  
• Pizzafari has Chicken Caesar Salad
  
• Tamu Tamu Refreshments has a fruit smoothie w/ no added sugar.
  
• Safari Turkey Kiosk has Smoked Turkey Legs.

Disney's Hollywood Studios (Formerly called Disney-MGM Studios):

• ABC Commisary has Veggie noodle stir fry, tabbouleh wraps, and fresh fruit.
  
• Anaheim Produce has Fresh fruit.
  
• Catalina Eddie's has mixed greens.
  
• KRNR Station Snacks has smoothies made w/ non-fat yogurt.
  
• Starring Rolls Bakery often has Turkey Focaccia, grilled veggie pita etc.
  
• Toy Story Pizza Planet has a Toy Story Salad.
  
• Flatbread Grill (formerly Studio Catering Co.) has Grilled Chicken with Rice & Black Beans, Chicken Caesar Wrap, or Greek Salad.

Epcot:

• Electric Umbrella - Chicken Salad or whole wheat turkey wrap.
  
• Sunshine Seasons in "The Land" has lots of healthy choices – roasted beets & Goat Cheese Salad, Seared Tuna on Mixed Greens, Caesar Salad, Soup, Grilled Vegetable Cuban Sandwich, Turkey & Muenster Cheese on Foccacia sandwhich, Rotisserie Chicken Flatbread, and Grilled Salmon.
  
• Look at the Chef's selection at the Kringla Bakeri og Cafe ( Norway )
  
• Cantina de San Angel (Mexico) has a taco with grilled chicken and a taco salad.
  
• Liberty Inn ( America ) has a couple of salads.
  
• Avoid China - you can get better Chinese food at home.
  
• The Tangierine Cafe ( Morocco ) – Mediterranean Wraps, Vegetarian Platter, hummus, tabbouleh, and CousCous salad.
  
• Yakitori House ( Japan ) has some very good choices w/ tables in a lovely Japanese garden – Chicken Ginger Salad, Garden Salad, Teriyaki Chicken, and Japanese Curry.

Magic Kingdom :

• Auntie Gravitie's (Tomorrowland) -Fruit smoothies
  
• The Tomorrowland Noodle Station – Vegetable Noodle Bowl with Tofu, Teriyaki Chicken, Caesar Salad.
  
• Cosmic Ray's (Tomorrowland) – Rotisserie Chicken, Chicken Garden Salad, Vegetarian Wrap, Country Vegetable Soup, Caesar Salad with Chicken, and Kosher Selections. Avoid the desserts here, they are not very good.
  
• You can get fresh fruit at the Mainstreet Bakery, Liberty Square Market , and at the Toontown Farmer's Market
  
• Columbia Harbour House ( Liberty Square ) – Hummus Sandwich with tomato & broccoli slaw, Garden Galley Salad, Clam Chowder, and Vegetarian Chili.
  
• Pecos Bill's (Frontierland) has a wonderful Chicken Salad with chicken, jicama slaw, lettuce, veggie & cheese.
  
• Pinocchio Village House (Fantasyland) has an antipasto salad and a grilled turkey & bacon panini.
  
• Surely the Dole Whips at Aloha Isle must be good for you, if you're determined to be absolutely healthy - they do offer fresh cut pineapple spears.
  
• Tomorrowland Terrace Noodle Station has a Vegetable Noodle Bowl with Tofu, Caesar Salad with Chicken, or Beef & Broccoli with Steamed Rice.

[Blessed4Life2]

How cool is that Hannah...thx for taking the time to gather and post this info. Looks like there are MANY places to choose from.

[I Called Jenny]

Hannah, did you work at Disney or did you just do a lot of research? That's awesome what you put up!

[okapilover]

Holy Cow!  Thank you soooo much.  That was so kind of you.

I would love to hear about your disney experiences!

You look fantastic.  Was all of your weight lost on JC?

Dawn

[happineff]

Hope you find that list helpful on your trip! I can't take all the credit for it (it was a cut-and-paste job...I confess! ), but I was happy to take a bit of time looking for it. It's important to be mindful of your menus and plan ahead of time when you know you are eating out! When you're on vacation, I would also definitely recommend you bring as many shelf-stable foods as you can, or at least Jenny dressings and snacks to tide you over.

And Yes I did work for Disney! TWICE, actually! I was accepted through Disney's "College Program" for an internship in 2004 and took a semester off to live in Orlando and work for "The Mouse." At that time I was about 19 and totally loved the freedom, the social life and of course, getting into all the parks for FREE! I worked in Downtown Disney selling merchandise at the World Of Disney store. (Downtown Disney is not a theme park, more of a shopping/dining district.) That was a fun 5 months as I lived through not one, but two hurricanes.

I came back to finish college in Ohio and was recruited again for a 2nd internship in 2009, and I was placed in EPCOT selling art at the "Art Of Disney" store. I stayed for 8 months in 2009, loving every second of it. The college programs are a great little secret most people don't know about Disney; they employ students (thousands of them!) to work rides, food, merchandise, characters--everything!--and many of them are even international students. They own several housing complexes where we all live and play together. It's a lot of fun and looks great on a resume.

So all-in-all I worked for Disney for over a year. It was fun interacting with people and learning all the cool little ins and outs and hot-spots and sharing them. For example, Epcot has underground tunnels (so does the Magic Kingdom) that we used for storage, break-rooms, kitchens and general short-cuts. I also got a behind-the-scenes tour of "The Haunted Mansion" ride and got to see how all the holograms and things worked! There's also something reeaally weird about going into work at 6am before the park opens when hardly anybody is there...

And yes, I did lose all my weight with Jenny! I finally just couldn't be in denial about my weight-gain anymore and I realized I needed some help, there was no way I was going to lose it by myself. I started August 19th, 2011 and have lost 48 pounds! I loooooove Jenny so much, it has made me feel like practically a new person. I can't wait to get to goal, and I also love these forums where there is so much advice and encouragement. I just want to send out a big ole message to everyone that "YOU CAN DO IT TOO!"

(Here's me with Mickey & Minnie 2009--not at my heaviest, but heavier than I am now!)

[Blessed4Life2]

WOW Hannah....how cool is that, living in Disney housing, hanging w/friends and having a blast at work!!! Thats is SO awesome! Sounds like my kinda job....I wanna work at Disney World when I grow up. tehehehe

[I Called Jenny]

Hannah, wow, I wish I had known about that. I would have loved to work at Disney and I have several friends who do/did work there with varying reactions to the job but your experience sounds like a dream come true. I'm so glad you got to work for Mr. Mouse. You're EXACTLY the type of person they like to hire there - full of enthusiasm and life!

[happineff]

I Called Jenny, on 05 January 2012 - 05:09 PM, said:

Hannah, wow, I wish I had known about that. I would have loved to work at Disney and I have several friends who do/did work there with varying reactions to the job but your experience sounds like a dream come true. I'm so glad you got to work for Mr. Mouse. You're EXACTLY the type of person they like to hire there - full of enthusiasm and life!

Thanks Phyllis!