Disney dining with gallstones.

Eating with gallstones in Florida was one of my main concerns about the trip. I'm adhering to a strict, very low fat diet in order to prevent a a gallstone attack, as they can potentially last for hours and leave me feeling exhausted and ill for days after. My diet is easier to control and follow when I prepare meals myself but this wasn't really an option for me during this trip. Eating out always poses an extra problem because you can never be sure how much fat there is in a restaurant meal.

However, I was extremely pleased to find that not only does Disney World offer a wide selection of food, they are more than happy to help change dishes and accommodate your dietary needs. Firstly, in the parks themselves, you are able to snack on delicious, healthy snacks as well as the usual yummy Disney fare such as Mickey ice cream bars, popcorn, and churros. There are fruit stands scattered around the parks, and I particularly liked a fruit salad served in a pineapple shell in Animal Kingdom. The fruit salad was fresh, full of melon, pineapple, strawberries, and blueberries, all for the reasonable price of $8. My other favourite snack, which was on my Disney to-do list, was the pineapple dole whip. It certainly lived up to its reputation! A refreshing, zingy and unbelievable creamy pineapple soft serve that was fat free. To me, heaven in a pot! I've missed ice cream on super hot days and this was the perfect fruity replacement! In fact, I liked it so much, I'm going to look for clone recipes online. I'll let you know how that goes! 

I was also pleasantly surprised with the fast food side of Disney. I had done a little bit of research on what I could eat before hand, so I was prepared if I ran into severe hunger pangs in the parks! I had read that Peco Bills in Adventureland, Magic Kingdom, served a customisable veggie burger which was vegan (I often find it's easier to look for vegan food with my gallstones: lactose products tend to make the fat content higher). I was so happy I could eat a burger (even if it wasn't a meat one)! It's been so long since I've had 'naughty' food. The veggie burger appeared to be grilled, on a bread bun and served with corn on the cob, which left it to me to load up on salad and ketchup, and have a delicious fast food meal without worrying about the sky high fat content in dressing and cheese. 

Finally, we ate in sit down restaurants in Epcot and Downtown Disney and once again, I was surprised at the helpfulness and quality of food. In Epcot, I had lunch in the Marrakesh restaurant, which serves Moroccan cuisine. I ordered chicken shish with sweet cous cous and it was superb. The chicken had not been drowned in oil when cooked and there were no hidden gallstones nasties in the cous cous. Its also worth mentioning that I had the most delicious drink there too, pineapple juice and orange blossom syrup. Yum. 

In Downton Disney, my most memorable meal for service and food was in House of Blues. I loved this restaurant for it's ambiance too, live music while you wait for your table and everyone is so chilled and relaxed (the Disney effect perhaps?). Here, our waiter was very knowledgeable and offered to change dishes on the menu to accommodate my needs. I ordered a grilled chicken dish, that originally was with mashed potatoes and vegetables. The waiter suggested that I had a double order of veg instead of the mash and they were able to steam the vegetables instead of sauteing them in butter. Perfect! This meant I could relax and enjoy my meal instead of worrying what it would do to my gallbladder later in the evening. 

The threat of a gallbladder attack means that eating is not always a pleasurable experience for me now, I have to pull apart sandwiches to scrape off cheese and mayonnaise, I can't just grab a snack from the corner shop, I have to forgo naughty but tasty treats. To be able to visit Disney and have options and choices with what I eat: to be honest, I wasn't expecting to have that kind if choice. Disney prides itself on it's customer experience and I, for one, was more than happy with the service I received in all the food outlets. 

If you are visiting a Disney park and you do have a dietary requirement, I would recommend speaking to the representatives and I'm more than confident that they will be happy to help you out. Hopefully next time I visit a park, I will be gallbladderless and I will be able to eat all the less than healthy foods I missed out on this time!