Weight time vs. wait time...should disney be setting a better example?

[PigletIsMyCat]

First off, I have to echo the previous post and point out that not all weight problems are caused by us eating poorly and not excercising, as has been stated earlier in this thread. There are numerous medical conditions that can cause people to gain weight AND affect their ability to lose weight. Plus, there are plenty of plus-sized people out there who are perfectly healthy, regardless of what their BMI is.

Secondly, I find it disgusting that the 'obese' epidemic (for lack of a better term) is in any way being equated or compared to smoking. People have stated that Disney banned smoking from it's films, they should ban non-healthy food options from the parks (or at least provide more health-concious items).

Finally, Disney is a private company with shareholders, not a collective parent or caregiver. It is not Disney's responsibility to make sure your kids learn healthy eating habits and learn that smoking is bad - IT IS A PARENTS RESPONSIBILITY. I applaud Disney for attempting to bring some healthier food options into the parks - like fresh fruit being available at some ice cream carts - but to insinuate that things like burgers and fries should be removed from the menu is ridiculous. My husband is probably the healthiest person I know, and you should see what he eats: Taco Bell, cheeseburgers, french fries, a fair amount of fast food. Regardless of what one person considers 'healthy' or not, it is not Disney's place to police what the masses eat. I think it's great that they are trying to please everyone, but to suggest that 'unhealthy' menu items be banned is silly.

Alcohol, fattening foods, intimate relations - all these things can be ADDICTIONS - everything in moderation. It's not Disney's job to moderate for us, and it's not our jobs to moderate for anyone else.

*off soapbox*

 

[PrincessMiko]

Sorry if this was already said, but I didn't take time to read pages 2-9...

Of course Disney should offer more "health-consious" items on their menus. Should they eliminate everything that is not "healthy?" NO!
It is not a theme park's responsibility to teach our children how to be healthy. That is the parent's job. It is Disney's responsibility to make sure there is enough variety to satisfy their customers though.

 

[TubaGeek]

I can't get the quote button to work, but to JLW11Hi, smoking and the environment effect everyone. Being obese primarily only effects the obese. So they are far from comparable.

 

[daliseurat]

Yes. There are a LOT of MORBIDLY OBESE people at WDW. (Before you object to the TERM, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH)Morbid obesity—sometimes called "clinically severe obesity"—is defined as being 100 lbs. or more over ideal body weight or having a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 40 or higher.) So I'm not talking about people who might be 50-60 pounds overweight. Nope. I'm talking about folks who are hitting 400 pounds or more. Some of them work at WDW too. Do they have a right to be there? OF COURSE! Does Disney have an obligation to put them on a diet? NOPE. I think Disney has done a terrific job in providing a wide array of choices to everyone. If you want to eat nothing but healthy food, you can. My DW does every time we're there. And Disney shouldn't become the food police, getting rid of everything that's bad for you. Most of us are grown ups. We should have enough sense to eat a balance. Clearly we all don't, or won't.

We show up at Disney the way we are and Disney isn't going to change us. We're on vacation and we're all probably going to go overboard. As long as they provide the alternatives to those who actually want to eat healthier, they've done their job.

Now, about altering the rides to fit those morbidly obese folks in. Sorry, but no. Some rides actually won't function if the weight is too far off balance. Some rides are rendered UNSAFE if riders of a certain weight are on them. (Though I don't THINK Disney has any of those) At Disney, they've actually done a really good job of providing seats to accommodate virtually anyone. And cast members are instructed on how to load larger folks to keep the ride functioning. Those of you who are large on this board have even said that you've had few problems getting into rides. You can thank Disney for engineering it so you can. If you can't fit into a ride at Disney, you have officially gone WAY past overweight. Unless it's a height issue, of course.

 

[Sherrybaby]

I say no way to more healthy food--I say serve the best tasting food possible! I am underweight (due to a health problem) so gaining weight is not an issue to me, however, eating healthy always is, again due to health issues. However, when I'm on vacation I'm on VACATION--one week (or so) of burgers and fries are not going to kill ANYONE. It's the other 355 days that people have to really "worry" about. I say keep serving exactly what they are serving. People usually drink (liquor) and eat more while on vacation. This is a break from "real" life....let people have fun while they can. For example, I don't let my son drink a lot of soda here at home but while on vacation the sky is the limit. Life is short--and one week of burgers and fries is not going to make it any shorter--so enjoy it.

Sherry

 

[doop]

I'm incredibly tired of people telling me what I should and should not eat. If you have the least bit of responsibility, it's easy to realize that eating the same fattening foods over and over again will only lead to an unhealther physique. However, I don't think it is anyone else's place to tell me or anyone else how to enjoy their vacation.

As for the amount of obese people visiting the parks, get over it, they are people too and have as much of a right to be there as you. Once again, it is their choice to live their life the way they want.

EDIT: Wow I just realized how old this thread was.

 

[cococola44]

No, I don't think they need to remove all unhealthy food options from the parks. They just need to offer both healthy choices and "junk food" choices. It's not up to Disney to police what people eat. People need to take personal responsibility for their food choices. And since Disney is already offering healthier options - grapes instead of fries for example - people can chose to eat lighter fare or not as they wish.

I look forward to my burger and fries when I go because it's a treat for me. I don't eat a lot of junk food so if I want to have something like that when I'm at Disney, that's my prerogative. Love worked very hard, lost 65lbs and will also still enjoy a burger because for us, it's not about eliminating everything from our diets but rather, healthy moderation.

As long as people have a choice between a healthier and a fast food option, I think Disney has satisfied its obligation and the rest is up to the individual guest.
-m

:sohappy::sohappy:

 

[S. Paridon]

I have to say this...I have nothing against people who are overweight, but I do have a problem of having to cater to them when at WDW. When we were there this past June I can't even count how many times we had to wait before we got onto the busses to wait for the Morbidly Obese to be loaded onto the busses before everyone else.

Now I know that when you go to WDW, especially in June, you are going to have to wait in lines and I am prepared for that. What I am not prepared for however, is being made to stand in the rain while three very large people in scooters are loaded first. As most of you know this process takes about 5-10 minutes per person. If people have to ride a scooter because of physical challeneges then that's fine, i understand. But if you ride a scooter simply because it is easier to ride than walk, then that is not cool.

For instance, I saw a family, a very large family, walking to the food counter at Columbia Harbor House. After dinner I saw this same family scooting around the park darn near running over people in the process, these people were severely overweight but clearly able to walk as they walked to the counter at CHH. Two days later I saw this same family at EPCOT leaving at the same time we were. It was beginning to rain asnd we strolled right past them as it was beginning to drizzle. About a half an hour later they come rolling up to the bus line. Sure enough it is now pouring and the bus pulls up. Who do they load first? The family of 5 on the scooters who mysterioulsy now couldn't walk and had to be loaded onto the bus via the little electronic ramp while we stood in the rain. That wasn't the only time that happened either. That is not cool, and in my opinion WDW should put scooter lanes and or lines for busses.

There, I've had my rant.

 

[MKCP 1985]

heh . . . if the reputation points system ever returns, there's going to be a lot of red squares popping up over this thread.


what a bunch of silly nonsense. :lol:

 

[LadyDarling]

Well -I for one was disappointed to find out that they have closed down It's a Small World in Disneyland to refurb it due to the increased weight of visitors.

As I see it, Disney was left with 2 options (as far as attractions go) caused by the increased sized of the general population:
1) Rehab rides to accomodate for size.
2) Put a weight restriction on rides and risk discrimination when someone lies about their weight and endangers other passengers.

I actually visited Disneyworld with a rather obese friend of mine. He tried to go on the coaster simulator in Disneyquest... It took them over 20 minutes of trying to close the bar, and they finally had to ask him to leave. He had a good sense of humor about the situation, but I was embarassed for him and that hard working cast member that was being so great about everything.

ALL that said, I'm about 5'7" and at one time, was over 255lbs, so I've been in some of those uncomfortable, compromising situations! I finally got sick of it and (despite physical reasons for keeping weight on) I decided to lose it. Now, I ENJOY walking around Disneyland on the regular, as I'm an annual passholder. The apples they sell there are HUGE! But it's rare that I don't go up and get one sweet treat. In disneyland, I see that there is a pretty even balance of healthy food and "treats" througout the parks. Maybe they are testing for you guys out west?

 

[LeeLee D]

I have to say this...I have nothing against people who are overweight, but I do have a problem of having to cater to them when at WDW. When we were there this past June I can't even count how many times we had to wait before we got onto the busses to wait for the Morbidly Obese to be loaded onto the busses before everyone else....

...If people have to ride a scooter because of physical challeneges then that's fine, i understand. But if you ride a scooter simply because it is easier to ride than walk, then that is not cool.....

If you want to have a "needs" test for the overweight people in scooters, fine, but make sure you test everyone else. There are many times I have seen people (not overweight) get out of scooters and walk a short distance. Just because they can walk to a food counter doesn't mean that can walk all day.

While you at it, make sure to ask everyone in a scooter if their actions led to their disability. Yes, I have chosen to gain the weight I have, but my cousin chose to drink to excess, chose to drive and chose not to wear a seatbelt. It is by her choices that she is in a wheelchair for the rest of her life. Would you mind waiting while she gets in the bus? Of course not.

BTW - I don't use a scooter because, despite my size, I can walk fine and don't need one. However, I don't resent those that do.

 

[CleveRocks]

I have to say this...I have nothing against people who are overweight, but I do have a problem of having to cater to them when at WDW. When we were there this past June I can't even count how many times we had to wait before we got onto the busses to wait for the Morbidly Obese to be loaded onto the busses before everyone else.

Now I know that when you go to WDW, especially in June, you are going to have to wait in lines and I am prepared for that. What I am not prepared for however, is being made to stand in the rain while three very large people in scooters are loaded first. As most of you know this process takes about 5-10 minutes per person. If people have to ride a scooter because of physical challeneges then that's fine, i understand. But if you ride a scooter simply because it is easier to ride than walk, then that is not cool.

For instance, I saw a family, a very large family, walking to the food counter at Columbia Harbor House. After dinner I saw this same family scooting around the park darn near running over people in the process, these people were severely overweight but clearly able to walk as they walked to the counter at CHH. Two days later I saw this same family at EPCOT leaving at the same time we were. It was beginning to rain asnd we strolled right past them as it was beginning to drizzle. About a half an hour later they come rolling up to the bus line. Sure enough it is now pouring and the bus pulls up. Who do they load first? The family of 5 on the scooters who mysterioulsy now couldn't walk and had to be loaded onto the bus via the little electronic ramp while we stood in the rain. That wasn't the only time that happened either. That is not cool, and in my opinion WDW should put scooter lanes and or lines for busses.

There, I've had my rant.

Obviously, you don't understand what scooters are used for. They aren't for people who are paralyzed and can't walk. They're for people who can't walk far. So your example of seeing people get off a scooter and walk to the counter ... it's a silly complaint on your part, because EVERYONE who uses a scooter can walk. People who can't walk use wheelchairs (but not everyone who legitimately uses a wheelchair is unable to walk ... long story for a different thread).

By law, scooters have to be loaded before other guests are loaded. And it's better for the person to load ON the scooter, to drive it, rather than having the driver do it, which would mean he/she would have to operate it AND manually manuever it at the same time ... difficult but not impossible.

The other thing is that you ahve no idea what physical problems the obese people in the scooters have. WHich came first, the chicken or the egg? Are they using the scooter simply because they are obese? Or do they have a physical problem which severely limits their ability to exercise and burn calories, making it much easier to become obese than you or me?

It's so easy for you to "know" that people are lazy and stupid and abusing the system. Ever consider that there are other possible explanations????

 

[Clark Griswold]

Every time I go to Disney I look forward to indulging in the "Disney" burger and fries while I am at the parks. While I don't believe that it is Disney's responsibility to eliminate "junk food" from its menus, I do believe more healthy alternatives would be a positive for guests. I agree with some previous posts in that it is the responsibility of people to decide what to eat and how healthy he or she will eat.

 

[LoriMistress]

I know I've posted on this thread previously before our WDW vacation in December. I wanted to make another comment about it when we came back home but I couldn't locate the thread anywhere. Now that it's finally up on the front page again, I can go off on my little rant.

Now, as I stated in my previous post I was a big girl. Last year I was a size 18!!! When I first started planning our Dec '07 vacation in January I made my New Years Resolution that I would be at least a size 14 by the time we arrived at WDW. I wanted to make a reasonable goal that I know that I could stick with. With changing my diet, exercising, and lots of planning for our vacation, I made my waist size goal and had a wonderful vacation. That being said, DH and I noticed a difference when it comes to peoples' sizes at WDW and DLR.

DH and I have been raised at DLR (since we live in California), but since we've been married we try to go to WDW at least every 4 years. Since our last visit to WDW, DH and I noticed how there are mobs of people who are obese/over-weight. It seemed like 3/4th of the guests were obese/over-weight. For once, I felt like I was skinny. And the majority of the people who were over weight were in the rental scooters/wheelchairs. There was only one person I remembered throughout our entire 11 day/11 night vacation, was a man who was obese who walked his way throughout the entire park. Now, I know part of the reason of the huge over weight population is the fact that WDW is an East Coast Park. Now I'm sure some of these people truly have real medical conditions that may cause them to gain more weight, but in the end they know they can always do something better to improve their health.

DLR is a completely different crowd vibe all together. The majority of DLR guests are AP. So the park does more changes to keep up the park attendance, but they lack refurbishing their attractions--no joke! In fact, it's pretty scary reading their accident reports. Since the park is a Southern California park it does attract more celebrities. The average DLR guest is a upper middle class house wife, carrying her Coach purse, wearing her Prada shoes, and dragging her bratty spoiled kids, who is thin as a rail. When I last visited the park, I was clearly the fat person in the park.

Visiting both of these parks is always going to be a different experience for us, but we just noticed how there's just a lot more "fat people" (don't worry--I still consider myself fat--I have some more work that needs to be done), that visit WDW.

 

[PigletIsMyCat]

I have to say this...I have nothing against people who are overweight, but I do have a problem of having to cater to them when at WDW.

I'm not going to waste my time writing an appropriate response to this statement, but I am going to waste my time pointing out how rude it is.

Fatty or not, no one except that fatty knows WHY they are fat. HOW far they can safely walk. Try being a little openminded and tolerant, and give people the benefit of the doubt.

 

[InfernalPenguin]

Definitely, this is all just an issue of assumptions and ignorance (not the bad kind...the honest-to-god "I didn't think about that" kind)


I think when the posters here mention catering to obese people, it's their problem, and statements to that degree, what they're picturing is your usual rogue's gallery of fat mom, fat dad, fat son, all broiling in the hot florida sun chugging (I didn't know that other word was censored, oops!) down on an extra large coke, gulping down a pretzel and running people over with the ECV.


All cliche's aside, it's true what everyone's said: We don't know. We don't know why that person is that way. We don't know what's going on with them.

Maybe they're someone really mean-spirited just looking for a shortcut for him/herself and taking advantage of the system.

But more likely they are AWARE of their weight. Most likely they hate the fact that they're in an ecv basically HIGHLIGHTS the fact that they are overweight and they also probably hate the fact that they need one to get around because they get tired too easily.

Even if that's the case. Even if it's just that the person is obese and gets badly fatigued... I think that's a good enough cause for them to legitimately rent an ECV.


Everyone has a right to enjoy WDW. And they have a right to enjoy it at their own comfort level.

I can just imagine my worst nightmare: what if ALL rides had HUGE DROPS! But they had handicapped versions sans the plummet... I'd ride! See? At my comfort level.

...and as to Disney setting some sort of example? Bah! Sure, have healthy options for vegetarians, people who don't want to compromise their diets, that sort of stuff. But hey, if you remove the junk food you might as well take the cotton candy out of the fair, right?

 

[S. Paridon]

I never meant to hurt anyone by my comment. I apologize to those I offended, but wanted to say what I did.

"what they're picturing is your usual rogue's gallery of fat mom, fat dad, fat son, all broiling in the hot florida sun chugging (I didn't know that other word was censored, oops!) down on an extra large coke, gulping down a pretzel and running people over with the ECV."

This is the type of action that angers me. If you read my post I say that I have no problem with people using the scooters who actually need them. Who am I to say they can't? True, I do not know if the entire family on wheels actually had a problem or not but it was a little annoying to see them use the system to their advantage whenever they seemed to be able.

Again, this post was not directed at anyone on this list and if I offended anyone then I do apologize.

Enough of this let's get back to talking about the happy things in WDW.

 

[FootballFigment]

I was going to respond to this thread a few months ago but I have been busy eating cheeseburgers and huge turkey legs...

Dear Creator of the Huge Turkey Leg Recipe,

Thank You.

Best Regards,
Footballfigment

 

[InfernalPenguin]

Ok, happy things!

Did they take the Beaver Tails out of Canada at World Showcase?

Oh, and I vote we make a food-based ride to go with Ratatouille... that'd make a good addition to The Land, maybe? Or the France Pavillion! YEAH! And the preshow? Is just eating stuff!


Oh dear lord, we're back to square on. You know what we need? A WEIGHT LOSS pavillion at the end of world showcase. Burn off those pastries and such. Disney tries... why do you think they make the walk so long? But it's not enough!

 

[kucarachi]

I dont see a problem with truly obese people because they keep the chefs and wait staff in business. But i dont like how they give them the valet motorized lard butt mobiles simply because they refuse to eat anything that isnt cheetos flavored. They are shaping the world to fit more of these half beast people instead of making them get in shape so that the world doesnt have to stretch around them.

I think if you offered 10 healthy meals vs the one tasty meal it wouldnt make a difference. The few days you are at disney arent going to turn your body around in a good or bad way. You might gain a few lbs and you might lose some walking around the florida landscape all day.

And i dont want to hear any oprah stories about how its society's fault and your daddy didnt love you. The hamburgler touched me in a funny way when i was a kid and you dont see me crying about it.