Animal Kingdom and Allergies

[poohbear2]

Going to WDW in a month and my mom wants to skip AK because she has allergies. Has anyone else been to AK who has allergies and not had a problem? I have been once to AK and I wouldn't think it would be so bad, but then again I'm not allergic to animals.

 

[cavepig]

I don't have any animal allergies, but I do have plant allergies and have never had a problem at Animal Kingdom. Probably with your mom it depends on what usually bothers her, I guess with me the plants they have their were not the type that bothers me.

 

[Tesabat]

My DS has several allergies (including animals) that trigger asthma and other allergy symptoms - he had no problems at AK. I guess it would depend on how severe your mother's allergies are. His allergies to animals are triggered by being in very close contact or by petting or touching an animal. The Safari and the Trails just didn't put him close enough to anything for it to be a problem. Plus, he takes medication daily to try and keep things under contol.

We are never caught without an inhaler and Benadryl...but he never used either in AK. However - allergies cannot be compared person to person - everyone's triggers, tolerances, and reactions are different. If your mother's allergies are severe, she probably just doesn't want to risk an episode that could affect the rest of the trip.

If other's hearts are set on AK, perhaps you could show her some pictures of AK online that would give her an idea of how close she would really be to the animals and show her a map online where she sees how spread out it is and then she would better be able to judge if it is going to be a problem. (And, you could decide to skip things like Rafiki's Planet Watch.) Maybe she's being conservative simply because she's unfamiliar with AK and wants to err on the side of caution. If you can show it to her "virtually" - then you'll both probably feel more comfortable with whatever decision is made.

Have a great trip!

 

[ducklite]

The only times I've ever been within six feet of an animal at AK were as follows;

Sunrise Safari I had a baby giraffe less than a foot from me--we stopped to watch mama and baby eating by the side of the road. The baby literally leaned into the truck and stared right at me--I could feel his breath on my face. That was the most awesome encounter!!

Had an ostriche on the regular safari try to eat the sideview mirror off the truck, then came down the side and decided he wanted DH's hat. It was an "interesting" few moments before the beastie moved on.

In the petting zoo the goats can be quite assertive.

She probably doesn't have much to worry about. I'm not allergic to animals, but I did have a bad reaction to teh alfalfa stored in the food supply area on the Backstage Safari tour.

Anne

 

[CaliforniaDreaming]

I don't recall ever having any problems while at AK. I have allergies, get shots and take medication (I did not take the medication the entire time while at WDW, I actually haven't taken it since the day before I went to WDW! [July 3])

 

[Annie&Hallie'sMom]

I am the Queen of all Allergies and I've never had a problem in AK. I would avoid the petting area in Conservation Station though.

 

[Vlahakis2001]

I have never had any problems.

 

[ead79]

I did not have any problems at AK, but I'm sure it would depend on what exactly your mom is allergic to.

 

[Talking Hands]

Avoid the petting zoo and she should be fine

 

[Kermit]

DH and I have bad allergies and have never had problems there. Does she get symptoms at the zoo? Most people need to get hair on their clothes to have symptoms.

It's a good idea to take allergy meds regularly when you travel away from home if you have allergies, since you don't know what you may be sensitive to in the area. I would never go to Florida without my Zyrtec.

 

[Tiffany]

Originally posted by poohbear2
Going to WDW in a month and my mom wants to skip AK because she has allergies. Has anyone else been to AK who has allergies and not had a problem? I have been once to AK and I wouldn't think it would be so bad, but then again I'm not allergic to animals.

My husband has very bad allergies and asthma. He take 5 meds twice a day just to maintain his health. He loves the AK park and we have stayed at the AKL twice in 2001 and had no problems at all.