Healthy Changes at Walt Disney World

As the world has been becoming more and more health conscious, so has the Disney Company. They are constantly taking steps to help people in their goal to live a healthier life. They are a company that targets a lot of products towards kids, and are listening to the concerns of parents all over. From food to smoking policies, they are making changes throughout Walt Disney World in Florida.

The most recent news is that as of June 2007, all Walt Disney World resort hotels are going smoke free. This means there will only be designated smoking areas. There will no longer be smoking allowed in any of the hotel rooms, on the balconies, patios, hallways, or walkways. The theme parks are already smoke free with the exception of the designated areas. They based this decision on the demand for smoking rooms versus non smoking rooms. You can't please everyone, and Disney knows that. However, so many guests have health reactions to smoke in general. It's not that they're now allowing smokers to smoke, but forcing them to smoke in the designated areas so that non smoking guests don't have to be bothered with the second hand smoke.

Currently in Walt Disney World theme parks, the smoking areas are plentiful, in my opinion. They're located in fairly convenient locations, but most of the time in a little corner or area off to the side. Don't get me wrong, there are still some that are more in the open, but sometimes that just couldn't be helped. They used to allow smoking all over, including in the lines for the attractions, but with the smoking areas, it really helped with this situation for non-smokers. You still can, however, purchase cigarettes and cigars in Walt Disney World, but they always keep them under the counter and hidden.

They have also been working on the food offered at their resorts. The children's menu is the really newest dietary change for Disney. They used to only offer a couple things that most kids get sick of and most parents get sick of their kids eating meal after meal. It was always chicken strips, macaroni and cheese, or sometimes a burger. Now more and more places in Disney World are offering healthier choices with more options than they used to.

The menus that are available at some restaurants in Walt Disney World include three combo meals. The first choice is a pizza on pita bread that has pieces of chicken and mozzarella cheese. It comes with a shredded vegetable salad and brown sugar apples. Another option for the combo is an assortment of fruits and vegetables. Also included with this is a side of chicken salad and yogurt. Finally the third option is chicken strips with barbeque sauce. It's served with green beans and carrots, as well as a yogurt parfait dessert. They also have the al a carte menu which you can customize your own combo meal by choosing one appetizer, one entrée, and one dessert. The choices for appetizers are a vegetable salad and chicken noodle soup. Then you choose your entree, which you can pick from macaroni and cheese or a hamburger with French fries. Lastly, you can pick your dessert choice from fruit salad or an ice cream sundae. Not only do the kids have more choices with their food, but also their drinks. It used to be soda at most places for a drink. Now the kids can have milk, juice, or bottled water with their meal.

Not only is Walt Disney World offering healthier choices for the children's meals, but also for adults. They are offering more salads, wraps, and baked foods. Besides this, they also offer alternatives for guests who may have special dietary needs. Just be sure to call ahead to find out for sure which places offer alternatives and let your server know before ordering. You can also ask to speak to the chef of the restaurant to be sure that they understand your specific needs. How many places can you go to eat that offer this type of service? Not many.

Comparing the atmospheres of many theme parks, Walt Disney World is really making great strides in providing a more health conscious way of life while still having some great choices. They are great when it comes to dietary needs of special medical situations and they are expanding that to give children healthier ways to eat. This company is doing a great job offer those healthy alternatives to guests who find it very important. Walt Disney World, I believe is setting some great standards that in time, many theme parks will follow.