My little girls are obsessed with Disney princesses, so every two years or so we try to take them to the Magic Kingdom. There is nothing more gratifying than seeing the smile on my kids’ faces when they meet one of the objects of their fantasies up close and personal, roaming the park.

A little less than two years ago, we learned that our daughter Ava has Type One Diabetes (T1D). It was a shock to our family, but we knew that by educating ourselves and making some important changes to our family’s diet, we would be able to raise her with little problem. This year, however, my wife and I ran into a problem when we were planning our trip to Disneyland. Federal law already requires chain restaurants to publish nutritional info on all of their available foods, partially to aid consumers with healthy eating choices, but also, more seriously, to allow families like mine to make sure that the food we are ordering for our T1D child won’t end up making her sick.

Disneyland actually has a whole “special diets team,” but when I wrote to them to get a print-out of the nutritional information for the restaurants at their park, they were unable to provide me with “accurate and reliable” information. How can they expect a parent like me, who plans to spend their vacation at their facility, to make smart dietary decisions for my child if they are unable to provide this important information?  

I know Disney tries their best to make their facilities as welcoming and accessible as possible to all visitors. That is why I am asking them to take the necessary steps to provide nutritional information for all of their onsite restaurants, to help parents like me make informed decisions about our children’s diets.

Children (and adults) with T1D in particular require nutritional, and specifically carbohydrate, information in order to properly control their sugar levels. Nutritional information is an easy issue to address, and there is simply no reason that Disney cannot provide it, given their size and resources. This information would go a long way toward making the guest experience less stressful for kids who deal with this disease day in and day out, and would allow them to enjoy the Disney experience like anyone else.

Help me make life a little easier for parents like me at the Magic Kingdom, and ask Disneyland to provide nutritional information for their onsite restaurants.

Thanks.