For many people, the only way they can afford a Walt Disney World vacation is to stay at the Value Resorts, which is Disney’s least expensive group of hotels. I am part of this group, and I personally LOVE the Value Resorts, the decor is huge and tacky and right up my alley, the rooms are just enough for what I need, and there are a lot of food options to choose from!

The 4 (soon to be 5 with Art Of Animation opening later this year!) Value level Resorts are:
-All Star Music
-All Star Sports
-All Star Movies
-Pop Century

They are all fairly similar in most ways, including in their dining offerings, each of the 4 Resorts has a food court, which is setup with several different stations each serving different types of menu items. There are also areas of pre-packaged meals, snacks, desserts, drinks, etc.

In my experience, it can be hard to eat ‘healthy’ while on vacation, and at Walt Disney World there are so many restaurants and yummy dishes to choose from, that it makes it that much harder to stay on track, food-and-diet-wise! Luckily, there are actually a lot of available choices that can give you the healthy nutrients you need to stay energized for a full day of touring the Parks!

Healthy Meal Options:
-Packaged sandwiches – they come without any dressing/mayo on them (packets are available)
-Packaged and fresh made salads with low fat dressing options
-Packaged Sushi that is made fresh daily (I know because I asked!)
-Yogurt cups – both regular and greek varieties
-Parfaits – a great fast breakfast of yogurt/granola/fruit

Healthy Drink Options:
-Juice – including 100% Simply Orange Juice, and other options that aren’t 100% fruit juice, but hey it’s still a better choice than soda in my book!
-Bottled Water
-Vitamin Water (regular and no calorie varieties available) and Powerade
-Milk options – including 1%, skim, and low fat chocolate
-Soda Machine – Minute Maid Light Lemonade, Diet Coke, and Sprite Zero were all found here
-V8 – because hey, it can’t hurt to get some extra vegetables in your diet while on vacation!

Healthy Snack Options:
-Fruit – mixed fruit salad, bowls of grapes or pineapple, and individual pieces of fruit – which can be used as a dessert if you’re on the Disney Dining Plan
-Celery/Carrot sticks packaged with ranch dressing
-Apple Slices packaged with caramel
-Hummus
-Fat Free, No Sugar added sorbet – available next to the frozen ice cream treats, I have seen Mango but I am sure there are other flavors too

Eating with Kids? All of the Kid’s meals available in the food courts (and most available at the Counter Service restaurants in the Parks too!) include a choice of 2 sides: grapes, carrot sticks, applesauce, yogurt, gelatin, pudding, or a cookie. They also include a choice of beverage: bottled water, 1% milk, 100% apple juice, or a soft drink. Obviously there are some healthier choices in there, which is nice to see, and Disney has been making an effort to push the better-for-you choices (it’s good to have choices for young ones that aren’t just chicken nuggets and fries!)

I don’t know about you, but Dessert can be tricky for me, as I LOVE baked goods, and will take any chance to try something new, be it a cupcake or a cookie, and I am a sucker for the Mickey Rice Krispie Treats! Having the option of getting a piece of fruit or a fruit salad for dessert is great, and it is something I try to take advantage of as often as possible (as long as the cupcakes don’t lure me in, that is!)

One great thing about this is that most of the items I have listed above are pre-packaged, which means not only are they helping you stay healthy, but they are fast and easy to grab on your way to/from the Parks!

I took all of these photos when I was staying at POP Century last month, but I have recently been to the All Star Resorts as well, and the selection they have is pretty much exactly the same as at POP. The Moderate the Deluxe Resorts will also have some of these items, but I personally find that the selection at their Quick Service eateries is not as large (perhaps because at the Value Resorts, there is no other place to eat but the food courts, so Disney makes sure they are stocked with a better variety of items? Just my personal theory!).

I can’t say enough good things about the Value Resorts, and I especially love their food courts, the food is always freshly prepared, the Cast Members are always polite and efficient, and the healthy food options help me stay on track while on vacation, which to me is the biggest perk of all!

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