Anyone else get sick this week at disney?

[Elandon]

My DS4 and I got sick yesterday with probably norovirus after having been at disney for four days. He and I shared most of our foods all week and activities and we got sick within an hour or so of each other. My mom and sister are fine. This makes me think maybe we got it from food. Anyone else get sick? I'm trying to narrow down the potential causes. We missed our last park day, lost a bunch of dining credits, and they wouldn't let us have a late check out which felt decidedly un-disney.

 

[AlohaAnnie]

Someone has been sick with something like norovirus or stomach flu on almost every trip we have taken to Disney. We prepare for it now. I am not surprised it happened to your family.

I hope you are feeling better now. Sorry this happened to your family.

 

[McKelly]

We are not at Disney, but my DS is sooooo sick with a stomach bug. Blech! Many kids are out of school in our area right now with GI problems, for 4-5 days. We leave in two weeks - I am hoping it cycles through my family by then, if it's going to. It's no fun being sick at Disney.

 

[davedmaine]

My DS4 and I got sick yesterday with probably norovirus after having been at disney for four days. He and I shared most of our foods all week and activities and we got sick within an hour or so of each other. My mom and sister are fine. This makes me think maybe we got it from food. Anyone else get sick? I'm trying to narrow down the potential causes. We missed our last park day, lost a bunch of dining credits, and they wouldn't let us have a late check out which felt decidedly un-disney.

It's happens. It's certainly not a "Disney" bug as some people on these boards think. Could have been anything..

 

[dansdad]

With the amount of people from all over the world together in one area, I'm surprised we haven't gotten anything in 8 trips. (Knocking on wood)

 

[ChillyWilleys]

Wasn't in Disney this week and obviously don't know where you contracted your illness but this reminded me of one of my biggest Disney gross outs. That honey wall before the Winnie the Pooh ride. bleckk! Thousands of people rubbing their hands all over it! I always wonder what would grow if someone took a culture off that thing! I always hand sanitize after that area, theres just no way I can keep my kids hands off it, but hand sanitizers don't kill stomach bugs.

 

[hsmamato2]

yeah, it probably could have been food, or just about any other germ from the thousands of world travelers there..... when you go to a place like that, you have to expect it...it's germy! We've done many trips where someone got sick,it's just part of life,and it's impossible to prove where/ how it happened...

 

[bgraham34]

We always carry hand sanitizer and use it often. You touch thousands of things while in Disney and anything could have gotten you sick. Grabbing a napkin or straw from the dispenser or even using your credit card or room key purchasing something.

 

[HM]

I'm sorry that happened to you.

We are so careful about hygiene while at WDW. We wash hands a lot and avoid touching surfaces we don't need to be touching. You'll be surprised once you start thinking about what you are touching, how many things you actually touch each day.

 

[Deb & Bill]

If you ever get sick at WDW and think it might be food poisoning, you will need medical documentation (including lab tests) to provide to Disney for any compensation. And it may be a long time coming. They will provide paperwork for you to fill out. If you go to the hospital and the labs tests confirm food poisoning (not just what the physician says, you need lab tests), they should report it to Public Health. Public Health should take it from there.

I know from experience. I got violently ill at Disney (was up all night in the bathroom both vomiting and diarrhea for nearly 24 hours). I did not seek medical care so I had no medical proof. It may have been what I ate at Disney or what I ate on the way down or I might have picked something up somewhere else.

There is a thread on one of the boards about food poisoning on the Wild Africa Trek last summer.

 

[visitingapril09]

I read on another thread that someones daughter got suspected food poisoning from Cornish hen at Be Our Guest this week.

 

[summerrluvv]

I am actually staring to think most of the illnesses are food related there. I was sick to my stomach last trip. My kids didn't get anything, and they get sick often at home! Sharing close quarters and someone else in the room is okay leads me to think food. My friend was sick also on her recent trip. We both had the cold chicken in our salads more than once (my kids won't eat that) . Not getting the chicken there anymore. Couple years ago I was also sick after eating a drumstick at SFF. Chicken could or could not be the culprit in most cases, but I personally am not risking it anymore.

 

[Seahunt]

Sorry you were ill, nothing worse on vacation. I just heard about the Royal Caribbean Vision of the Seas cruise ship coming into the Miami port today with 200 sick cruisers with Noro - since this is the second time recently for that ship, it sounds like Noro might be very active all over right now.

http://miami.cbslocal.com/2013/03/08/cruise-ship-returns-with-norovirus-outbreak/

This passenger had a point:
Joan Webber wasn’t quarantined with her husband because her symptoms didn’t begin until Friday morning. She is more concerned that with the ship now in port; she and others possibly still infected will take taxi cabs to hotels and airports where others could be exposed.

“There are people flying out today that are going on an aircraft that have diarrhea so bad they don’t know how they are going to get back up to Canada,” Webber said.

Wonder if any are heading to Orlando to do WDW.....

 

[SwimBikeRun]

We were there last week and did not get sick, thankfully. I am not a fanatic about germs which I think works in our favor. We don't get sick often (knock on wood).

I did have an upset tummy a couple of times but I was way out of my comfort zone food wise so I am sure it was what I was eating not that it was bad.

Interestingly enough most food poisoning comes from raw veggies, not meat.

 

[RunningWithScissors]

Oh boy. I wish I hadn't just googled "norovirus" haha. Blech. So sorry you got sick! Seems there have been a LOT of sick people at Disney lately but I know there are a LOT of nasty bugs going around right now.

We leave in 2 weeks and we will be packing Lysol, Clorox wipes, GermX and and maybe a few hazmat suits!

*going to knock on wood now*

 

[Elandon]

Yes. Norovirus is nothing to scoff at. Most people Resolve on their own but can be infectious for days after the vomiting resolves. Most large outbreaks, however, start from a single sick food worker who passes the infection on to many people in prepared cold food (like salads). I'm actually an infectious diseases physician and epidemiologist so I am interested in tracking this down. The fact that my son and I shared many food items and got sick so close to one another really suggests a foodborne source (as opposed to picking it up from a germy surface- lower likelihood of getting enough virus to cause illness in 2/4 travelers at exactly the same time). As you might imagine, I'm pretty careful with hand washing and disinfectants like many of you are. Another possible source would be a swimming pool that got contaminated. DS and I were swimming at Kidani on Tuesday 3/5 so that's a potential as well.

 

[cocofifi]

So sorry you and your son got sick. Hope you're feeling better.

 

[ready2vacation]

My DD, DH and I had it a month ago (not from Disney) - DH ended up being hospitalized for it. It is AWFUL. But, my point is that it is so contagious that I don't know if people could ever narrow down to the exact culprit unless someone close has it, too. We don't know what started ours, but it went from DD, to DH (hospitalized 2 days), to me, to my parents, to my 92 year old grandmother who spent 4 days in the hospital.... BAD BAD STUFF!!!

ETA: Major, major props go out to single mothers/fathers. I caught it while my DH was in the hospital and I was home alone with 15 month year old DD. Trying to take care of her in the night, plus having it come out both ends...let's just say that I have a whole new respect for people who take care of kids on their own!

 

[Deb & Bill]

How many times do you hear "We paid a lot of good money for this trip and a little fever and vomiting is not going to keep us from seeing the parks." Or you'll read that little Betty threw up but she felt better so they went ahead to CRT. And those germy hands are touching the rails in the attraction lines or the guard rails on the rides. Or licking the rails and chains in the lines.

 

[denneg]

My son and nephew had it 2 weeks ago in Disney. I'm a nurse and went on a research trip years ago when the Niro first came out, to discover why it was running rampant through cruise ships, so this is not foreign to me. However, I really wish it hadn't hit in Disney! When my son got it, I disinfected as though I was in an OR, it was a fully sterile field In the Beach club by the time I was done! My nephew contracted it 2 days later, so I'm thinking this strain has a slower incubation period than the one years ago (it was hours after exposure that people started with symptoms in 2001). All that being said, I think either A. Someone who stayed in the suite before us had it, my son and nephew shared a bed the night before my son was sick, and that's where the sick person had slept or B. my son picked it up somewhere in the park, because he's 4 and has to touch EVERYTHING, and he shared with his cousin. I was much more ridiculous about germ x and hand washing after that sleepless night, and no one else caught it!

My advice for travelers, Lysol wipe your plane seats, trays, seat belts, etc. scrub, and I mean scrub, before you eat. Don't rely on hand sanitizers, actually wash your hands with soap and water for at least as long as two "happy birthday" songs would take. And Lysol your hotel room, even going so far as to run pillows through the dryer if you have the option. I'm not messing around next trip, my family can call me crazy all they want, but I'm not losing another nights sleep and day in the park with a bug!