Type 1 Diabetes & Disney World

I start this by specifying that I am a pump and a CGM wearer now, which does have it’s advantage when it comes to any amusement not just Disney. I’ve been to Disney while doing Syringe injections as a kid, with my parents lugging around a cooler basically just for my insulin. On my honeymoon I had just transitioned to the wonderful world of pen injects, and now I’m living life like I never thought possible with omnipod and dexcom working in tandem with each other.

The life line

Obviously my first tip is going to involve our life line, Insulin. Here’s a fun story, that wasn’t so fun at the time.

We are Disney drivers one day we might get on a plane, but that’s not currently on my 2024 vision board (partially because of all of the extra supplies I have to have for my diabetes). for our honeymoon we drove to Port Orleans Riverside had a ton of traffic that year and didn’t get there to check into our room till 1:00 AM on a Monday. Once we got in our room we found out the refrigerator wasn’t working, that early in the morning there was not much that could be done so we left my insulin with the staff to be put in the medical refrigerator. It took two days for them to find a working unit to put in our room, which was okay at first. Monday night when we went to get my insulin it could not be found, thankfully after an hour of looking the staff was finally able to locate it and it was still chilled. That night we bought One of our more expensive souvenirs A mini fridge.

I share this story for a couple reasons, not to instill fear in anyone, but to help you know before for any trip always have a backup plan for your insulin. my current favorite is having a make up refrigerator, as drivers to Disney it’s the equivalent of having a cooler in the car but once we get to our resort we can plug it in and don’t have to worry if the fridge doesn’t work. they have finally come out with a TSA model for a portable cooler for insulin, but in my opinion unless you’re constantly flying for work it’s still overpriced.

Go to meter carrier

Even though I have a CGM I always take my meter with me everywhere in case my sensor malfunctions at all. A lot of other people are probably going to recommend an official meter case that the meter came with or upgrading to a better style on Amazon. I am a lover of all things compact so you will never talk me out of my Vera Bradley pill case hack.

All I do is take out the plastic pill holder and fill it as you see pictured above. This takes up half the space of traditional meter cases.

Extra thoughts to keep in mind

If you are not used to Florida heat just know a head of time it is a beast, I can not express enough to drink water! I did not realize what was actually happening till about two days in but when you are even slightly dehydrated your body starts to go into an insulin resistant state. Obviously I am not a Dr. so this is not medical advice it is just what I have witnessed in my own life.

Always make sure you have a tube of Glucose tabs on you especially for rides and lines, and if you are going to stand in a 60 min. (or longer) line I highly recommend getting a “long acting” snack if your blood sugar is under 130. I wouldn’t necessarily eat it fast just take small bites.

My last bit of advice is whether you have type one, your child or grandchild, always remember to take it day by day. Be prepared, but be prepared with enough grace to remain calm if something goes wrong. I’ve had diabetes for 20 years now so I know first hand that it’s not easy but we are still entitled to just as much life and fun as others! If you have your diabetes under control then you already have all the skills you need to do Disney.