I'm going to Universal and Disney...any pointers or first hand experience?

jenniferjohnsonament

I'm going to Florida for the Disney and Universal parks next month. I am in maitenance. I was wondering if anybody has some tips for keeping in moderation in the parks or if anybody even has some suggestions of specific food choices they ordered?

THANKS!

lyssad2003

You are going to be doing a LOT of walking... I wouldn't worry too much.

MarilynTC

At Disney you can sub out fries for baby carrots and/or grapes at a lot of counter service locations. Or you can order sandwiches/wraps/burgers without sides.

hnm921

I wouldn't worry either. I've been to Disney many times the last time I went I walked over 25,000 steps per day. Make sure you stay hydrated though! There are many lower calorie food options if you do ever feel like you want to eat a lighter meal.

shamcd

I went to Universal a few months ago and there's a burger place there called "The Burger Digs" It's a few hundred yards outside of Hogsmeade and is a Jurassic themed restaurant. They have a garden/veggie burger that isn't too terrible, but it is kind of dry. But as the poster above stated, you will be doing a ton of walking, so you can realistically eat what you like.

jodilynn783

There is a Whole Foods in Orlando not too far from either. If you have access to a fridge, get a few healthy items from there. Good luck!

jadezia

My tip is to try everything. Experience it!
You'll be doing so much walking and hiking through the parks, possibly swimming and dodging children, you'll be expending so many calories you won't know what to do with yourself.

Please enjoy every second of it, and visit Universal's Wizarding World of HP for me

Serah87

We are annual pass holders, we go all the time, there is plenty of good healthy foods, they have a fruit stand in every park and ice cream, too.

Serah87

jantonik529 wrote: »

There is a Whole Foods in Orlando not too far from either. If you have access to a fridge, get a few healthy items from there. Good luck!

Like who is going to have time to run back to the hotel to make something to eat.

hnm921

The Disney Food Blog has a list of all the dining locations along with the menus if you'd like to have a look and see whats available.

lordofthethings

Wear comfy shoes! You'll be doing a lot of walking and standing. And feel free to splurge on that giant hotdog. Chances are you'll t throw it up on Space Mountain anyway.

Enjoy! It's our favorite place on earth!

beamer0821

how long are you going for? i guess i don't worry much about food on vacation its usually only a week or less I'm not going to crack for gaining a little on vacation which i can usually lose the next week at home eating "normally" again. i just try and balance too, so ill eat a healthy/light breakfast and lunch and eat what i want for dinner. i don't waste calories on non-alcoholic drinks but have been known to eat ice cream for dinner

i wore a pedometer when we went to disneyworld. i averaged 8 miles a day too.

acheben

The last time I was at Universal and Disney I was also in maintenance and I decided not to worry about it. We ended up walking so much in the parks that I could eat whatever I wanted.

I did end up ordering kids meals a few times at Disney since the meals were pretty giant and I really wanted the grapes and carrot sticks. I highly recommend the frozen Butterbeer and the Beef, Lamb, and Guinness Stew at the Leaky Cauldron. Teppan Edo and Restaurant Marrakesh in Epcot are also delicious.

acheben

The last time I was at Universal and Disney I was also in maintenance and I decided not to worry about it. We ended up walking so much in the parks that I could eat whatever I wanted.

I did end up ordering kids meals a few times at Disney since the meals were pretty giant and I really wanted the grapes and carrot sticks. I highly recommend the frozen Butterbeer and the Beef, Lamb, and Guinness Stew at the Leaky Cauldron. Teppan Edo and Restaurant Marrakesh in Epcot are also delicious.

jenniferjohnsonament

Thanks everybody! Great advice!

We are actually staying in a condo so I will be starting my days off with a healthy breakfast so that should help me

We're going for 10 days...5 or 6 will be actual theme park days, the others will be downtown disney, pool, etc kind of days.

The last time I went I only put on about 2.5 lbs (that was last year before I had lost anything.) Truth is, the 2.5 lbs was mostly gone within 2 days..so you all are probably right...I can just excercise a bit of moderation but still enjoy.

mildmom

Was just there last week. Walked all over so that helped. We took our own snacks with us in a back pack - apples, carrots, water. Some of the restaurants have salads now which is waaaay better than the turkey drumsticks! Have fun!

PearlAng

I loved my trip to Disney last year! You can pack your own snacks, and I got some really good salads in the parks. My favorite was from FlameTree Grill in Animal kingdom. It had chicken, beans, romaine, tortilla strips, and a really unique ranch bbq sauce. You could opt to leave out the chicken. Otherwise, enjoy the food, the sights, and the amusements!

Don't let food fears hold you back in Epcot. There's so much food there, you'll be able to have treats or light foods, or maybe even both The people I was with "ate around the world", but I definitely did not have the stomach (or the interest) to eat something from EVERY country. Sharing food is a good idea, and remember, you'll be walking a lot. Stay hydrated (if you ask concessions for a cup of water, they give you one for free). Have fun and don't be too hard on yourself, enjoy some treats and don't worry about gaining. I actually came home a pound lighter, and I definitely did not count calories.

jenniferinfl

I wouldn't worry about it. We live around Disney and go regularly, the last Saturday we were there for a partial day and walked 13 miles. If you have a pedometer or something you can double check your activity.

If you do find yourself not walking much at the theme parks where you do need to watch it, there are healthy options pretty much everywhere. There are Starbucks locations in Disney and they have 2 hardboiled eggs for $2.99 which is what I pick up if I'm starving while I'm there. But, pretty much anywhere you go to eat has one or two lighter options. Do you have any table service reservations or are you just planning on quick service? Epcot probably has the best healthy food selections, but decent stuff can be found about everywhere.

ar9179

The one thing that will cause weight gain is the amount of sodium in the food. Luckily, that is flushed quickly.

At Disney World, you can get free water at any counter service, so take advantage of that with your meals. Water is not free at the kiosks. There are a great number of healthier options at any sit-down and counter service, so I think you'll be ok. You can also take advantage of the resort bars or bar area at the sit-downs and just order an app (great if you didn't schedule a reservation or don't want to tie yourselves to one). They are little kid friendly, as is pretty much every place in WDW.

I will say, the resorts tend to have better food than the parks, but I've had good experiences at both. My favorites in the parks are...
Columbia Harbour House in MK - Anchors Aweigh (tuna) sandwich is fantastic. They also have salmon with broccoli as a side.
Sunshine Seasons at Epcot - Big counter service with a lot of options. Different bays serve different items.
Via Napoli at Epcot (need reservation) - prosciutto and melon pizza is a revelation! I dream about it.
Yak and Yeti at AK (need reservation)- sign up for a Landry's card and you get the joining fee credited to your bill. If the trip coincides with someone's birthday month, sign up under their name and get an extra $25 credit.
Hollywood Studios doesn't have great options, but Sci-Fi and 50's Primetime can be fun for atmosphere. These require reservations.

Here is a website with the menus (subject to change) in WDW. Very helpful when planning.
http://allears.net/dining/menu/

All-round trip planning for WDW with a little Universal info thrown in on occasion. Scroll down the side bar for restaurant reviews
http://www.easywdw.com

Forum for WDW and Universal trips.
http://www.disboards.com

Ninkyou

I went a year and a half ago.

Honestly, I was just mindful but not overbearing on my food choices. The walking I did easily offset anything I could have done. I actually came home 3 lbs lighter.

Francl27

I was 35 pounds heavier when I went and managed to maintain (we did 4 days at Disney World) while making good choices for maybe half the meals (I had whatever I wanted at breakfast, even the chocolate chip pancakes with bacon).

I'd say, make good choices at regular restaurants because the stuff is just not worth the calories, and there are healthy options everywhere (plus they're great about putting dressing on the side etc). I don't exactly remember where we ate, but I had a bunch of salads with dressing on the side, and there's a place in Magic Kingdom not far from the big steam boat that has salmon with couscous and veggies, and I had that too... In the evening we just had dinner at the resort and there was plenty of lower calorie options. But definitely splurge at Epcott in the world showcase (I had a pastry in France and a hotdog in Germany, both delicious) or if you go to fancier restaurants.

And whatever you do, do not order pizza from the place that delivers to Disney resort, it was horrible and definitely not worth the calories.

kdiamond

I eat and drink whatever I want there, but you're so busy you don't eat as much as you would think, and you will walk a ton and sweat even more! LOL

nickatine

lyssad2003 wrote: »

You are going to be doing a LOT of walking... I wouldn't worry too much.

just as I was going to say, I've been there done that Orlando thing a few times and you will walk and sweat, make sure to get a krusty burger and a duff beer.

s2Mango

You'll do a lot of walking, and likely a lot of standing around in lines as well. Especially at Disney. Prices at parks are horrendously expensive, so if you can bring a backpack with water bottles and maybe some frozen grapes or something to snack on. When it comes to meals.. somebody mentioned something about a menu up above. Whatever you do, do not underestimate the Florida weather. Lots of sunscreen and lots of water!
I'm from about 5 minutes from Disney and lived there for 20 or so years.

If you leave the parks for dinner, toward the west end of 192/Irlo Bronson there are a LOT of restaurants. Outback, Ihop, Fishbones, Red Lobster, Texas Roadhouse (I think that's the one), Ale House, Carrabbas(sp?), Bahama Breeze, Olive Garden, Friday's, Giordano's, Golden Corral, Golden China Buffet, Cracker Barrel, Longhorn Steakhouse, Black Angus Steakhouse(if it's still open), Buffalo Wild Wings, Bob Evans, Ponderosa, Denny's, Perkins, Applebees, Angels Diner, etc. There is also a Subway in the Formosa Plaza shopping center(It's right across from Giordano's entrance), it's toward the end of the plaza. Bahama Breeze, Ale House, Applebees, and some others are further up 192 at Rolling Oaks Road in front of Super Target. You will also find your typical fast food places like Burger King(If you go here for anything, be advised the service here is slooooow), McDonald's, Wendy's and Taco Bell. If you go east there are plenty of restaurants as well, though some more spread out than the west end. Going East from Disney puts you in the direction of Old Town. Fun place.<3

If you're staying in the Lake Buena Vista area, there's a good picking there too but I never went up that way too often. Way too crowded and the traffic sucked.

jenniferinfl

Ooh yeah, I forgot my favorite Disney equipment, my soft side Brita bottle. There are water fountains all over the park, but, they mostly have rather gross water. But, the soft sided brita water bottle has a filter that takes the chlorine flavor out pretty well. Plan on sipping water the whole day. When we go on a 90 degree day, I easily go through 18-20 cups of water. The brita soft side bottle holds 20 ounces, or 2.5 cups. It would be ridiculously expensive to buy that much bottled water and an incredible nuisance to wait to ask for it at one of the restaurants that will give you a cup of water.

Charliegottheruns

Blue Man

laineybz

jenniferjohnsonament wrote: »

I'm going to Florida for the Disney and Universal parks next month. I am in maitenance. I was wondering if anybody has some tips for keeping in moderation in the parks or if anybody even has some suggestions of specific food choices they ordered?

THANKS!

I went in September for the first time and I was/am maintaining. Like mentioned you do alot of walking. We brought our own lunch into the parks most days. And in Disney I bought a lot of apples off the vendors. Keep hydrated too! I also had treats too like ice creams, chocolate, milkshakes etc.

I'm the evenings we really are things like cereal or porridge as it was so hot. On the odd occasion we also went to Friendlys for dinner.

After 10 days, I actually lost weight lol. Have fun!

kagevf

kdiamond wrote: »

I eat and drink whatever I want there, but you're so busy you don't eat as much as you would think, and you will walk a ton and sweat even more! LOL

true that!

Francl27

I strongly suggest bringing very comfortable shoes. My feet were bleeding after 3 days...

astrampe

Serah87 wrote: »

jantonik529 wrote: »

There is a Whole Foods in Orlando not too far from either. If you have access to a fridge, get a few healthy items from there. Good luck!

Like who is going to have time to run back to the hotel to make something to eat.

Uhm....some logic, no one is running back and forth...Ever made breakfast?

We spend a week at DW, place with a kitchen. Had a filling bacon & egg breakfast each morning, made sandwiches with cold cuts etc, packed sliced watermelon, protein bars, iced water bottles, trail mix etc, each in his/her own little backpack with a tiny ice pack to keep it cool.....
Even had people stop and asked us where we bought the watermelon......Was a great idea when you are warm and tired.....

SeriouslySta

We were there in August.

We were staying at one of the Universal properties - so, unlike some posters have said, we found it very practical to go back to our rooms midday.
We got up early, were at the park as soon as it was open, stayed until we got too hot, went back and cooled off in the pool, grabbed a bite, headed back to the parks for the late afternoon/evening.

It was great!

At the Citywalk (near the entrances to both Universal parks), we discovered Moe's, which is a burrito place much like Qdoba or Chipotle. It was a lifesaver for our protein-needing family! (And, though we thought about trying out a bunch of other places, our people liked it so much that it became our go-to on the days we were too tired to go further afield.)

There are good pdf site maps available for the parks and Citywalk.