What I meant by "you can never be too safe" is the only way you can guarantee they will not get sick is to keep them in a bubble. I work in the health care field and I obviously did my homework on the issue. The company I work for actually manufactures Rotavirus and Streptococcus diagnostic kits, so I am educated on this subject.
Wow - I guess you would be very educated on the subject. I wasn't trying to be rude at all, but I find when I help people plan trips, or even on these boards, most parents don't research at all in regards to virus outbreaks, etc. This is what our specialists continually talked about - they said they see parents who put more time and attention into matching outfits and character autographs then practising good hygience. Incidentally, our baby actually caught: strep, rota, gastoenteritis and this also caused, acidosis and severe dehydration. The docs were shocked that she caught strep, as it's very uncommon in babies - all of these illnesses knocked her out. She didn't present as ill as she was, as she is a very healthy and tough cookie. We were beyond vigilant - she mostly stayed in stroller, didn't touch toys, etc., but we must have missed something. We were devastated, and the docs were so kind as they could tell how guiltly we were feeling. They were beyond impressed though as neither my hubby nor I caught any of it - and they are all highly contagious. We must have missed a handle or something in the hotel room, and that was it.
As for the baby being developmentally impaired by the Toy Story Mania ride, that comment was tongue-in-cheek. As long as the child (of any age) is secured in any ride, there should be no problems. My 4-year-old went on Tower of Terror and she felt no ill-affects.
Thanks for that explation. 
I am sorry that your child fell ill, but that could have happened at the grocery store or at church.
If the child stays in a pumpkin seat/stroller, I'm not sure how they come into contact with the assorted pathogens that you mentioned (Rotavirus is transmitted by the faecal-oral route, via contact with contaminated hands, surfaces and objects). As long as the parents are diligent in their hygiene and cleanliness, I think the baby will be fine.
You have to do what you think is best for you--you can't assure that your children will remain healthy whether you take them to Disney or not.
We are people who do keep our kids in a bubble during the winter months - our baby son who will be 2 on July 4th, has spent the last year in and out of hospital with recurrent pneumonia, bronchitis and ear infections. He has asthma, and so he just had adenoids removed and ear tubes put in and we are seeing an improvement in his sleeping and his health already. We live in Canada, so lots of serious winter illnesses and a nasty pollulted city as well (we are really struggling with our allergies these days), so we do not bring our babes to church, grocery store or other public places during the winter months, on the advice of our docs as we can better control our hygiene, but we can't control the lack of it in others who then pass it to our kids. A few years ago in church, the kid right next to us threw up and my baby fell ill 2 days later. So we don't even take chances during the winter as we seriously limit our exposure to these kinds of things - the docs have said with a high risk baby, it is necessary to do this. We have seen a great improvement in his immune system, so it has served us well. Disney is such a huge place with people from so many other countries, that there is higher risk for catching illnesses as that is the nature of a seriously overcrowded place like WDW, so we now travel exclusively in July as we are usually much healthier and we find most other guests are as well.
