Disney: Sans Food Noise, Plus NSVs

As a tried and true Disney Adult, it was a MOMENT for me to tell Mickey Mouse that I'd met my goal of losing 50 pounds before coming to visit him on December 7th.

But giving Mickey the good news wasn't even the best part of my most recent Disney trip. If you know me or even read my bio on this blog, you know that I am a Disney-Phile. I visited Walt Disney World for the first time at age two in 1991. My parents had no idea that they would create a monster. At this point, I have probably visited Walt Disney World in Florida more than 30 times, and I even moved to Florida to work there for parts of 2011 and 2012. A wonderful result of living in Florida and working at Disney was meeting some of my best friends, whom I now visit the parks with when I am in town.

Whether you're a beginner Disney Parks visitor or you're a seasoned veteran, you are well aware that part of the order of a day at any Disney park is... walking. Lots and lots of walking. On top of walking, there will be standing -- in lines, to watch parades and shows... you get it. There will be ride vehicles that are not always easy to fit in if you live life in a larger body, notwithstanding the plane trip that is often required for travel to Florida. Disney does have scooters and wheelchairs available for use, but in a crowded park, navigating a scooter or wheelchair is no easy task.

This trip to Walt Disney World was significantly easier than my last one in 2022. A few highlights of what made it easier include:

Easier Plane Travel

For starters, my seat belt on the plane fit, both flying to Florida and on the flight home! I packed my seat belt extender just in case, but the moment of triumph I had once that belt buckled almost moved me to tears. I was also more comfortable on the plane overall, and was able to put my tray table down. I flew into the new Terminal C at Orlando International Airport for the first time, and I joked that so much walking was required between gates and bag claim that it could serve as training for walking around the Disney theme parks. I certainly did not struggle with that level of walking as I once would have.

No Food Noise in the Park

Disney theme parks are FILLED with delicious food. Some of that food is only available to visitors in Disney theme parks (no, you cannot get a stuffed cream cheese pretzel at home). While I did make my standard table service dinner reservation at Be Our Guest restaurant in the Magic Kingdom, this trip was far less food-focused than previous trips. I have my running list of Disney park treats that I MUST have, for who knows the next time I will be able to get my hands on them again.. and THEN I need to try out the NEW treats that I saw on social media... and the food noise would go on and on. I was able to have some of my old faithful treats, try one new one, and skip some of the others without issue. I had HALF of my "LeFou's Brew," which is an apple-flavored slushie made of pure sugar. I visited the new Main Street Confectionary popcorn bar and ordered buttered popcorn with dark chocolate drizzle, topped off by Oreo pieces and M&Ms. But... I shared with my friends. And even with sharing, I did not finish the tub of popcorn. I was able to have a park treat in moderation. I skipped the giant cinnamon roll and even my most favorite cream cheese pretzel... and I was okay. And while I certainly enjoyed all three courses at Be Our Guest restaurant, I didn't leave feeling like I was about to burst. Visiting the Magic Kingdom without food being the main focus of the day was so rewarding. I'd never before realized how much food noise even impacted visits to my favorite place in the world. At the same time, I still got to enjoy some of those treats that I can't find at home.

The new Main Street popcorn was delicious, even though I couldn't finish it!

Ride Vehicles

If you've ever been obese, you know the struggle about ride vehicles -- I don't have to tell you. The dreaded lap bar on the Haunted Mansion ride vehicle or the clam shell on Journey of the Little Mermaid actually fit me this time. I rode Tiana's Bayou Adventure for the first time, and if you're a Disney-Phile, you know that Tiana's uses the same ride vehicles as its predecessor, Splash Mountain. I used to internally panic over the Splash Mountain ride vehicles. To be fair, I sat alone with my friends in front of me, but I fit. My knees weren't in my chest.

Two Advil!

I only had one scheduled park day on this trip to Walt Disney World, and I made it through the entire nine-hour day taking just two Advil for pain. In 2022 I was taking Advil every four hours for foot pain, knee pain, and pain in my leg with the rods and screws in it. I would be lying if I said that the entire day was pain-free, and I mostly took the Advil about five hours into the day to head off the pain that I felt coming in my feet. But at the end of the night, when we walked back to the car from the Monorail, I was able to pick up my feet. On my last trip, I remember walking back to the car in tears from the pain. Amazingly, when I woke up early the next morning to catch my flight home, I felt very little residual pain that went away quickly. I was shocked and thrilled at the same time. By comparison to my last trip, the pain quotient was, metaphorically, night and day. And being in less pain enhanced the quality of the visit.

I hope that my next Walt Disney World visit will be longer than this recent visit was -- and that I will be an even healthier version of myself than I was this time! Walt Disney World is my happy place, and nothing about my happy place should be punctuated by pain of the physical or emotional variety.