Stomach Bug

[DisneyOma]

Not sure where the right place to put this is so forgive me if this is in the wrong section...my family and I just got home from a WDW trip that started off great and ended less than magical. It was myself, my husband and our 6 year old son. We stayed at POR. Our son came down with a nasty stomach bug on the last day of our trip. We had four great days in the parks and on the 5th day which was supposed to be our last he woke up with a 103 fever...checked out a day early and started driving home and he started throwing up and threw up the whole way home. It was a LONG 6.5 hour ride home. This is our son's fourth trip to WDW and nothing like this has ever happened. I'm super diligent about washing hands/not touching his face or door knobs or handrails etc. But this still managed to happen. I have a phobia of throwing up so this was particularly horrible to me.

I have since been online looking up Disney stomach bugs...I had no idea how common of a thing this was! Apparently this happens all the time at WDW and Disney is like a stomach bug Petri dishTo be completely honest it was so awful and has left such a bad taste in my mouth I'm not super excited about planning another trip for a long time. I understand that you can catch a stomach bug anywhere but with that many kids in one place and everyone's touching everything on rides and in restaurants and bathrooms...ugh it's no wonder stomach bugs run rampant there! Sorry if this is freaking anyone out that's about to travel. Just make sure you wash your hands well with soap and water and try your hardest to keep your kids hands out of their mouths. Wash your hands after touching menus and after visiting the buffet. Getting sick on vacation blowsReally hoping I'll get over my fear of this happening again so we can plan another trip sometime down the road.

Phobias are the worst - seems like just as soon as you get a handle on them, they wiggle free. What does your therapist suggest? If you don't have one, maybe one would help? If you want some tips, I can pass on what I've learned from my therapist!

This gives me hope! I hate stomach bugs so much! Can't wait for him to grow out of getting sick so often

He gets sick often? Do you use a lot of hand sanitizer, etc? Sometimes that wipes out the good bacteria that fights off the bad, and kids get sick more often that way. I have a few germophobe friends, and their kids actually get sick more often than the rest of the pack. Although getting sick a lot as a kid actually helps build up a healthy immune system

 

[justafigment27]

I'm sorry! Having a sick kid at home is bad enough, but when you are on vacation it's so much worse. About 6-7 years ago, my oldest got sick at Disney and threw up all over her bed at the Boardwalk. After that, I felt like I could swear off Disney forever. I reversed my stance and we have had several illness free Disney trips since, but I still have absolutely no desire to ever stay at the Boardwalk again!

 

[ElenaRN]

We just got home last Monday. ODD had strep on Wed and YDD had impetigo!

 

[Little Mermaid 35]

I'm sorry! Having a sick kid at home is bad enough, but when you are on vacation it's so much worse. About 6-7 years ago, my oldest got sick at Disney and threw up all over her bed at the Boardwalk. After that, I felt like I could swear off Disney forever. I reversed my stance and we have had several illness free Disney trips since, but I still have absolutely no desire to ever stay at the Boardwalk again!

Oh I don't blame you!! I have no desire to ever stay at POR again! Just the thought of it makes me nauseous! Lol Sorry you've gone through the same thing...I'm glad to hear you've had some good, illness free trips since though!

 

[GrumpySue]

Every time I go to Disney, the first thing I do is wipe down every surface with Lysol wipes. The entire bathroom, every door handle, the phone, the remote control, everything. So far in 20+ years I have never gotten sick while there, maybe I am just lucky but I will continue to do this just in case. I know this doesn't help while in the parks, but I just wash my hands a LOT. I can only imagine how disappointing this must be during a trip, so sorry for your experience.

 

[DisneyOma]

Every time I go to Disney, the first thing I do is wipe down every surface with Lysol wipes. The entire bathroom, every door handle, the phone, the remote control, everything. So far in 20+ years I have never gotten sick while there, maybe I am just lucky but I will continue to do this just in case. I know this doesn't help while in the parks, but I just wash my hands a LOT. I can only imagine how disappointing this must be during a trip, so sorry for your experience.

And we've gone for twenty years and I've never wiped down a single thing with Lysol wipes and we've never gotten sick down there either. All you are doing with the wipes is killing the good bacteria on your body (hands).

 

[robinb]

Every time I go to Disney, the first thing I do is wipe down every surface with Lysol wipes. The entire bathroom, every door handle, the phone, the remote control, everything. So far in 20+ years I have never gotten sick while there, maybe I am just lucky but I will continue to do this just in case. I know this doesn't help while in the parks, but I just wash my hands a LOT. I can only imagine how disappointing this must be during a trip, so sorry for your experience.

I don’t do any of that (except wash my hands after using the bathroom) and in 20 years of multiple trips per year I have only been sick ONCE.

 

[GrumpySue]

And we've gone for twenty years and I've never wiped down a single thing with Lysol wipes and we've never gotten sick down there either. All you are doing with the wipes is killing the good bacteria on your body (hands).

To be clear, I only do this in the hotel room. Not everywhere I go.

 

[Momoftwins+1]

When it comes down to it, being sick on any vacation sucks! However, it isn't just Disney where this occurs...it is everywhere. Cruises, all inclusive resorts, any vacation that involves mass transportation travel ( planes, trains, busses, ubers ) , summer camps.
Wash hands, keep fingers out of face and hope for the best is all you can do...or not travel.

 

[maxiesmom]

Fwiw, the stomach bug is going around. Lots of people at work sick.

 

[jo-jo]

Fwiw, the stomach bug is going around. Lots of people at work sick.

Is there ever a time it isn't going around?

We got sick about 4 trips ago, sick as dogs, just let me lie here and die, how will we get home in two days sick. So we go with a few wipes and do handles, light switches ,remote in room. Carry hand sanitize and use a few times a day. Wash hands a few times. Carry half a drugstore in suitcase. So far, so good.

 

[Jerzetta]

For our DD who is 8 we have 4 rules for Disney trip 1) Have fun 2) Get to sleep or take naps when told 3) Smile for all the pictures and 4) Before you put anything in your mouth use purell/wash hands

She had the stomach bug once at WDW and praying we don't encounter it again for any of us.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

Is there ever a time it isn't going around?

We got sick about 4 trips ago, sick as dogs, just let me lie here and die, how will we get home in two days sick. So we go with a few wipes and do handles, light switches ,remote in room. Carry hand sanitize and use a few times a day. Wash hands a few times. Carry half a drugstore in suitcase. So far, so good.

a lot of the time you are exposed before you leave and come down while there so wiping down everything does nothing for you while there. was years ago but remember a family who went down after child was exposed to chicken pox and you know where this is going child came down and airline would not fly them home until child was scabbed over. so they had to stay an extra week missing work

 

[jo-jo]

For our DD who is 8 we have 4 rules for Disney trip 1) Have fun 2) Get to sleep or take naps when told 3) Smile for all the pictures and 4) Before you put anything in your mouth use purell/wash hands

She had the stomach bug once at WDW and praying we don't encounter it again for any of us.

I just cringe going with the young grandkids, the age that everything goes into mouth.

 

[cinnaminny]

The last time we went to Disneyland my son got sick. But he got sick from the airport (I think), because he was barfing before we stepped foot in the parks.

I could not believe it, it was so not a magical trip last time lol Luckily there are quite a few pharmacies around there. We got Gator-aid and Imodium for the nonstop diarrhea he had.

Im also a huge fan of cleaning the room when I get to the room. I wipe everything I can think of down with disinfectant wipes. I always bring them. I had to pick up extras during our last trip.

 

[srwarden1928]

We got Gator-aid and Imodium

I wouldn't travel ANYWHERE without Imodium. Having it on hand has saved more than one trip.

 

[AllthingsDisMom]

Ok, our last trip to MK I had an amazing trip planned! Dinner at BOG and Fastpasses on Minetrain. However our evening was not-so-magical, our DD started to become ill (at the time we thought she was sleepy from the long day) and started nodding off at the table. Our server was not very nice about it- "young lady, I need you pick your head off the table", etc. I was aghast at how rude she came off. (much more happened here, but that's a different story)

Needless to say we didn't use our Fastpasses (maybe right after dinner wasn't the best idea anyway) and we stopped by the restrooms near first aid on the way out. Poor thing looked at me with the most awful look, "Mom I don't feel good" and I bet you can guess what happened next. Yep, that's right! Right in front of the fountain, luckily we were near first aid. They gave us a cool cloth for her head and "the bag" in case we needed it for later.

We are looking to make our next trip to MK just as memorable, but hopefully less well you know ...

 

[KrazeeK120]

a lot of the time you are exposed before you leave and come down while there so wiping down everything does nothing for you while there. was years ago but remember a family who went down after child was exposed to chicken pox and you know where this is going child came down and airline would not fly them home until child was scabbed over. so they had to stay an extra week missing work

It’s possible, but a good bit of the stories I’ve read on here involve people getting sick 3+ days into the trip. Colds and stomach bugs both have about a 2-3 day incubation period. Chicken pox is different, with a much longer incubation period. Thankfully they vaccinate for that now.

I don’t have data, but I suspect that most illnesses while on vacation came from the vacation destination (or perhaps the airplane...I’ve been a victim of that one before). My son came down with a respiratory illness on day 5 of our Disney trip and ended up hospitalized after we returned home. I’m quite sure he picked that up in Disney someplace.

 

[Pumbaa_]

I came down w the noro virus on a solo Disney trip. It was hell

Could have gotten it st the airport or Disney. Will never know

 

[halfpintpeggy]

Not sure where the right place to put this is so forgive me if this is in the wrong section...my family and I just got home from a WDW trip that started off great and ended less than magical. It was myself, my husband and our 6 year old son. We stayed at POR. Our son came down with a nasty stomach bug on the last day of our trip. We had four great days in the parks and on the 5th day which was supposed to be our last he woke up with a 103 fever...checked out a day early and started driving home and he started throwing up and threw up the whole way home. It was a LONG 6.5 hour ride home. This is our son's fourth trip to WDW and nothing like this has ever happened. I'm super diligent about washing hands/not touching his face or door knobs or handrails etc. But this still managed to happen. I have a phobia of throwing up so this was particularly horrible to me.

I have since been online looking up Disney stomach bugs...I had no idea how common of a thing this was! Apparently this happens all the time at WDW and Disney is like a stomach bug Petri dishTo be completely honest it was so awful and has left such a bad taste in my mouth I'm not super excited about planning another trip for a long time. I understand that you can catch a stomach bug anywhere but with that many kids in one place and everyone's touching everything on rides and in restaurants and bathrooms...ugh it's no wonder stomach bugs run rampant there! Sorry if this is freaking anyone out that's about to travel. Just make sure you wash your hands well with soap and water and try your hardest to keep your kids hands out of their mouths. Wash your hands after touching menus and after visiting the buffet. Getting sick on vacation blowsReally hoping I'll get over my fear of this happening again so we can plan another trip sometime down the road.

Unfortunately, it's true! WDW is like a nasty illness petri dish, ugh. Although I'm a HUGE believer in allowing our bodies to fight off germs naturally, have no issues with "good" bacteria, etc. I always clean the room at WDW...or any other hotel for that matter. Actually, I'll clean the room upon arrival, and do it again after a few days. Just think of ALL of the people who have stayed in the same WDW room as you, people from across the country & from all over the world. Sure, housekeeping cleans & freshens up the rooms, but they don't regularly sanitize them, that's for sure. Almost everyone I know who has vacationed at WDW has become violently ill either after a few days of being there, or shortly after arriving home. Seriously - it's a real thing, take precautions & try to be aware on your next trip, it's just no fun to be so sick on vacation, also no fun to throw all that $$$ away as well.