Diabetes at Amusement Parks

I have to admit that I had a lot of anxiety before entering Busch Gardens.  Andrew is a HUGE lover of roller coasters and I had visions of him having a low being hundreds of feet off the ground.

Before we entered the park, we visited their Guest Services and asked if they offer anything special for diabetics.

YES THEY DO!

They take down some of your information and then present you with a paper that you are to show their employee at the entrance of the ride lines.  The employee will tell you what time to come back.  When you return at your designated time, they shuttle you into an express line that puts you toward the front of the line.  I think the longest we ever had to wait was about 15 minutes.

This is a wonderful privilege!  We didn't have to worry about getting out of line to hunt down a restroom due to a high blood sugar. We also didn't have to worry that he would go low due to waiting too long.

If you are planning on visiting any amusement parks over the summer, be sure to check with Guest Services upon entering and see if they offer a special pass for diabetics.

Amusement Park Fun

This is our first summer tackling diabetes and celiac disease.  As a family, we always look forward to our summer amusement park visit.

I have to say that I'm a little apprehensive on how to tackle this situation, especially the challenging food issues.  It saddens me that we won't be indulging in funnel cake, cotton candy and all the other fun amusement park food must haves.  Let's face it, food is definitely part of the fun!  I'll definitely miss just being able to get something to eat when we're hungry.  This is the stuff that plays with my mind and gets me down.  I worry how these situations affect Andrew and I worry how they also affect my other two children.  I'm still trying to accept that we have a "new normal" lifestyle.

Andrew's currently on a slide scale, so his insulin needs should be pretty easy to figure out as long as D doesn't act up throughout the day.  I plan to take my frio bag for his insulin and pack some low blood sugar fixes.

My dilemma is with the celiac disease.  Because Andrew has a hybrid of type 1 and type 2 diabetes, he has to control his carb intake to keep insulin resistance at bay.  The amusement Park's gluten free menu consists of  fries, cotton candy, hot dog, hamburger and ice cream.  Well, the fries are too fattening, cotton candy is too much sugar, I wouldn't trust the vendors with the hot dog and hamburger since they will be touching wheat buns all day long and the ice cream has sugar.  What the heck are we to feed him?

I'll have to pack him gluten free food for lunch, dinner and snacks.  For lunch, I can pack a gluten free rice cake with peanut butter, veggies and fruit.  What can I take for dinner?  Anyone know of a good gluten free pasta salad?  I think there is a TGIF near the park.  I'll have to check out their menu.  I guess I'll take nuts and cheese sticks for snacks.  I have a cooler on wheels that I intend to stuff everything into.  Then I have to cross my fingers that they let me take it in the park.

Please feel free to share your amusement park tips!!!