My family and I are disney fanatics, we are disney vacation club members and we go twice a year, we have always had to schedule our time around my shots and eating schedules , well on our next trip in october I will be on the pump and I was wondering if any veteran pumpers have any advice about using the pump at disney, any advice on how to prepare would be greatly appreciated, I don’t think I will get my pump for at least another month due to training, Thanks : )
You should have more fun, less work with the pump. Just remember to do all the basic things like stay hydrated, check your blood sugar often, and instead of giving yourself insulin, you probably will just need to figure out how many carbs you will be eating, put that into the pump, and it should tell you how much insulin you will need, and away you go!
Disney is very pump friendly.
Call disney before hand and they can provide you with food information for carb counting.
I will find that link from a member here that has gone to disney with 2 diabetic children. Give me a few I’ll look for it between clients today.
here it is: Disney with Diabetes
Thank you cynthia, that will be very helpful, we practically live on that site and have never seen that , duh !!!
No problem at all. It helped me when I went in April to Disney
Wow - I wish I’d known that there was a link for the foods they serve at Disneyworld! I was there last month - and just winged it as far as carb counting went (had the BEST strawberry shortcake I’ve ever had there - in their food court at Epcot Centre). My BG’s stayed a pretty good level during my time there as well - average about 5.0 - all the walking even with the food nibbles of stuff I don’t usually eat I did alright. Keep hydrated like others mention here - carry a few snacks (you can bring your own food in if you want - which we do).
Thanks Dave, i am just hoping i get on the pump soon and am proficient with it by then, i go back to my doctor on the 29th and i can’t move forward till then, i have no idea of the process and training of how long it is going to take, i have already had three reps out here to demo their products, i know that i want to go with the mm medtronic and the cgm, i am very excited about starting my new life, 20 yrs of doing it the wrong way is long enough !
Oh a pump at Disney will be the best, you might go on a temp basil, try 75% to start and go up or down depending on the BS. That temp. basil is a God send.
rikc phillips
I’ve been to Disneyland several times on the pump & it is much better than MDI - especially if you are going to try the treats that you don’t normally have or if you end up running low. If you get the CGMS it will be even better - my only problem at Disneyland (and other vacations that involve a lot of walking) is frequent low blood sugars - exercise apparently really makes a difference on how much insulin I need - using the temporary basal on the pump is a great idea - and the 75% is good to start with (when I went to Europe a couple of years ago I ended up doing 50% of my normal basal - and still could try out French pastries without going high). Just don’t rely entirely on your CGMS - mine has served me well and I always use it on vacations or deviations from my normal schedule (no insurance coverage for it so can’t use it all the time) - it has helped me catch hypos early on many occasions, but it did miss one at Disneyland last summer when my first symptom was starting to lose my vision.
Have fun - one of my daughters lives in CA about 5 hours from Disneyland - they get season tickets & go 3 or 4 times per year - I plan to do that next time they get passes & go when they go (they just got back from Disneyworld so skipped the Disneyland passes for this year)
You will have fun , no doubt …many magical moments
I did the 1/2 marathon , Jan . 2009 at no other place than Disney World .And a Donald Duck medal to show . As someone already mentioned DW very" diabetes " friendly by visiting their link …even waiting in line ups can be avoided I understand .
2009 is the year of visitors, who have a Birthday on the day they visit the Park( s ) , will have a no fee entrance. Bring extra supplies with you , such as insulin , needle, glucose pills ,batteries etc. ie the usual stuff …just in case .If you decide to set a temp basal rate , you will have learned , that temp. basal is delivered about 1 hour before you start your trek , continue about 1 hour after you discontinue your visit .You will also have learned, by the time you go to DW , that some foods may require a " normal " , a " square" or a " dual wave " delivery …very useful procedure of a pump .
Wishing you many magical moments even beyond the DW days .
what? they have a nutrition thing? oh well my first day at disneyland was great i had amazing numbers this last week. all because of the pump.
You know, it might be worth seeing if anyone on the Disney Mom’s Panel has any advice about this - someone out there must have a kid / partner / be a parent with diabetes. The community manager can be found at http://twitter.com/lauraspencerone.
(I’m the daughter of a Type II diabetic who controls it with pills so I have no idea about pumps but I’m a huge Disney fanatic! Just got back from there!)
which link are you talking about nel, as far as avoiding waiting in lines ?!?! : )
I have to do some research on this question; recall reading this , when I got myself in gear for the full marathon in 2008 ( Team Diabetes Canada ) in DW …but off to eye doctor first …I’ll suggest for now : Stay Tuned !! Or maybe someone else knows ?
I did a temp basal of 50% which worked perfectly for me
I wonder , if I let you astray and apologies if I did …I googled : disney world disability pass ; some of the comments are : people with diabetes should bring enough food , so they don’t have a low BG …etc. etc. to not skip the line ups My point of view, having lived with diabetes over 26 years : I agree.with such a statement …we have to prepare ourselves for the inevitable situations .And this is why wearing an insulin pump is in your favour .
Then I googled disney world fast pass …maybe more up your alley …
Regardless , thanks for having me as your friend !
Hi Michael,
I used this website when planning my last Disney vacation http://allears.net/pl/diabetes.htm and I thought that it may help you. It’s not specifically about pumps, but has a lot or resources.
Good luck on your trip.
Henry.-
Author of D and The Guy
well i have heard before that roler coster isnt exactly the best place for the pump
but sure you can have fun
T_T i want to go too!(envy )