My youngest daughter Sophia is a freshman in college at Eugene Lang of The New School in New York City and is home for her 5-week winter break. I cannot believe how fast her time at home was going by, so I asked her if we could schedule a Mommy-Daughter Day with her choice on what we do. She chose a day at Disneyland!
Before we left in the morning, she said, “Mom, I want to go to Disneyland with my ‘mommy’ – not the CEO of Frieda’s!” (Did I mention how witty she is?) So, I took off my CEO hat and off we went to the happiest place on Earth.
I had not been to Disneyland for at least five years, so it was interesting to be there. There wasn’t much of a crowd since we had a cold snap here in Southern California. We had virtually no wait on any ride, so by 5 p.m. we were ready to leave. As we were on our way to the exit, a young man stopped me and asked if I would participate in a survey about my food experience at Disneyland. I was intrigued that the survey was completely about “healthy choices” for children, but there were other questions about adult choices as well.
I couldn’t help but notice as we walked around the park, how much the food choices had changed in the last 5 years. On Main Street, there were plentiful choices of bananas, apples and oranges, along with cut veggies, hummus, pretzels and baked chips. Bottled water was as prevalent as other beverages, and at the Mexican Restaurant where we ate, Rancho del Zocalo, there was chicken and beef fajitas, and an all-veggie platter.
When you are shopping at your local grocery store, you may notice that the Disney logo is on many healthy snack foods, particularly those that appeal to kids. As it turns out, food suppliers have found that when they put the images of popular Disney characters on their products, sales can increase by as much as 30%. And, from what an inside source has shared with me, Disney has adjusted its marketing priorities to focus on healthy offerings for kids, both at their destination parks and grocery stores. They actually are the first major media company to take a stand on setting healthy food standards on their programming and packaging.
You can read about the announcement in June 2012 here.
So, I survived a day off work as Frieda’s CEO and enjoyed quality time with my youngest daughter. To my surprise, by not asking a lot of questions, she updated me on her life as a freshman in college. My mommy-daughter day was very enlightening and fulfilling! Can you tell that she loves Disneyland?
Enjoy,
Karen