Are There Doctors at Disney?

[mickeyluv'r]

I hope your daughter has a speedy recovery!

Please allow me to offer a slightly different perspective/option to consider.

While you can get medical service as described above, and that is good, I would also look into options for postponing this vacation. I know a few folks who had to postpone WDW vacations, and they were able to reschedule without paying a penalty.

In the old days, there was no penalty for missed ADRS, and tickets never expired. In 2016, though, the only way to extend a partly used ticket is to turn it into an AP.

At the very least, in your situation, I would call WDW, the airline, etc, and understand your options, and ways to minimize penalties if this turns into a medical emergency.

Again, I wish you well, but flying while sick is very unpleasant. If your daughter has an ear infection, for example, flying would be painful.

 

[tapenn]

Our very first trip to Disney our daughter got strep middle of our trip. We called the front desk at POR. They told my husband to meet them in the lobby. They had someone take her to a doctor and then to a pharmacy to get medicine. We were very impressed with the service.

 

[cvjw]

I had to see a doctor during a stay at VGF a year or so ago for an allergic reaction to the sun. The front desk gave us the two options - a Dr. coming to our villa for $300, or to go to Centra Care. We opted for Centra Care, but immediately regretted our decision.

The place was super busy and it was full to the brim of sick people wearing face masks. We were scared to death that we were going to leave there much sicker than when we came in. After spending a whole morning there waiting to be seen, we ended up having to pay $250 for the appt - it was considered out of our insurance network. We also ended up paying retail for my prescriptions so we could just get them at Centra Care. They were about $70 bucks, and cost less than $10 when I refilled them at my local Kroger.

So, my take would be to spend a little extra money (using our insurance as an example), and have a nice Dr. visit you in your villa. You won't have to waste half a day or take the risk of picking up something worse from the other people waiting in the very small Centra Care waiting area

 

[si-am]

I had to visit Centra Care years ago when I had a bad allergic reaction to a biting fly bite. I went to the nurse atAK first and she said to go immediately to urgent care. It was really crowded and we waited forever. (Seems like everyone else in there had a sprained ankle from a water park, no lie! Everyone in swimsuits.) Then it was on to Walgreens for a prescription that took forever to fill. The whole ordeal ate up our entire AK day, and it was only a 3 day trip in the first place, so it totally sucked.

Next time I'd probably suck it up and pay more for a hotel room visit.

 

[BusyP76]

My youngest ended up with a UTI on our first trip. We were still potty training and she had it pretty much mastered but she still had a bad habit of holding it too long in order to continue to play or have fun which caused her problems. After an entire day and a half of dragging her in and out of every bathroom in the MK and not being able to "go", she ended up running fever and lethargic. We had no car with us and no clue what to do so we went to guest services. They immediately swooped us up, took us to their "clinic" (no doctor) and triaged her. They called a shuttle for us with a car seat and sent us off to a nearby urgent care. The urgent care visit wasn't anymore fun or fast there than it would be at home but we were able to get an antibiotic prescription and the shuttle then took us to the pharmacy to get it filled and back to the resort. Within a day she was feeling better and we were back on track. I was VERY impressed with how on top of the situation the guest services and medical CMs were. Years before, my MIL was there and had to be taken by ambulance to the ER for her heart condition. My in-laws still talk about how amazing the CMs were with getting her immediate medical attention. One minute she was in distress, the next on a gurney "behind the scenes" in the MK and the next at the ER. They said Disney's response was immediate and seamless.

 

[Goofyuk]

No doubt this is going to be controversial but seeing as you referred to it as a virus, I would expect you to keep your child at home rather than take her to WDW.

I understand that your child being sick is upsetting and you're looking forward to the trip but that is what travel insurance is for. If you go to WDW, not only will your child and thus your family have a far reduced experience but she will infect hundreds of people and thus affect hundreds of families enjoyment of their holidays.

Every handrail, she touches, hands on attraction, or even space she sneezes/coughs in will have a significant chance of carrying the virus and thus it will be picked up by numerous other people. Those people also become sick and their holiday is affected by that. So even if you're not worried about your daughters enjoyment of WDW please think about everyone else.

 

[Magpie]

No doubt this is going to be controversial but seeing as you referred to it as a virus, I would expect you to keep your child at home rather than take her to WDW.

I understand that your child being sick is upsetting and you're looking forward to the trip but that is what travel insurance is for. If you go to WDW, not only will your child and thus your family have a far reduced experience but she will infect hundreds of people and thus affect hundreds of families enjoyment of their holidays.

Every handrail, she touches, hands on attraction, or even space she sneezes/coughs in will have a significant chance of carrying the virus and thus it will be picked up by numerous other people. Those people also become sick and their holiday is affected by that. So even if you're not worried about your daughters enjoyment of WDW please think about everyone else.

Honestly, I'm a lot less worried about a child who is obviously sick, and who can wear a face mask if she's sneezing or coughing and will probably wash her hands frequently, than about all the thousands of other non-symptomatic children carrying much nastier viruses roaming WDW, putting their sticky, germy hands on everything. At least HER daughter I can see coming!

Keeping her daughter home won't do a darn thing to keep you any safer from disease.

Our son was sick as a dog with viral croup before one trip, necessitating two emergency room visits in the weeks leading up and testing his heart function the day before our flight. I asked his doctor, "Is he okay to travel? We're supposed to go to Disney!" And his doctor replied, "Sure! Rent him a wheelchair, if he gets tired. Have fun, the Florida sun will be great for his immune system."

I would never expect anyone to cancel a family vacation over a child's run-of-the-mill ordinary illness (ie, not measles or tuberculosis). Otherwise, people with multiple kids would never get to go anywhere because someone's always sick. Though, it certainly never hurts to ask your family physician. We always did, and the answer was always, "Carry on!"

If the OP is at all on the fence, she should ask her doctor.

 

[Goofyuk]

Honestly, I'm a lot less worried about a child who is obviously sick, and who can wear a face mask if she's sneezing or coughing and will probably wash her hands frequently, than about all the thousands of other non-symptomatic children carrying much nastier viruses roaming WDW, putting their sticky, germy hands on everything.

There was no mention of her daughter wearing masks and I very much doubt that she will. The argument that "well other people do it, so it doesn't matter" is the kind usually espoused by a child being told they can't do something their friends are doing. I'm not asking or expecting the OP to medically screen everyone entering WDW, nor do I believe that guests they should be medically screened. However if you know you have an illness and knowingly spread it then that is wrong. Just like sending your sick child to school so you don't have to use a sick day, yet she spreads her virus around the school is wrong. I've seen many parents do this and then they comment on how they can't understand why these bugs spread through the school/neighbourhood like wildfire.

 

[Magpie]

There was no mention of her daughter wearing masks and I very much doubt that she will. The argument that "well other people do it, so it doesn't matter" is the kind usually espoused by a child being told they can't do something their friends are doing. I'm not asking or expecting the OP to medically screen everyone entering WDW, nor do I believe that guests they should be medically screened. However if you know you have an illness and knowingly spread it then that is wrong. Just like sending your sick child to school so you don't have to use a sick day, yet she spreads her virus around the school is wrong. I've seen many parents do this and then they comment on how they can't understand why these bugs spread through the school/neighbourhood like wildfire.

Lots of people wear masks - I saw quite a few at WDW last month, and they weren't all on Asians. Personally, I think it's a brilliant compromise.

I didn't send sick kids to school, but I definitely took them on vacation (with the doctor's okay, of course!). Unlike school, where everyone is in close proximity, a sick child can comfortably rest and recuperate in the hotel room with one parent, while the other family members go to the parks. The child isn't spreading any germs and isn't responsible for ruining the family vacation, either. We had to do exactly this when our daughter unexpectedly came down with croup on the second night of a trip, once.

I bet she was SUPER contagious in the 48 hours prior, too.

 

[mom2rtk]

Lots of people wear masks - I saw quite a few at WDW last month, and they weren't all on Asians. Personally, I think it's a brilliant compromise.

I didn't send sick kids to school, but I definitely took them on vacation (with the doctor's okay, of course!). Unlike school, where everyone is in close proximity, a sick child can comfortably rest and recuperate in the hotel room with one parent, while the other family members go to the parks. The child isn't spreading any germs and isn't responsible for ruining the family vacation, either. We had to do exactly this when our daughter unexpectedly came down with croup on the second night of a trip, once.

And that is why I typically take a few minutes to disinfect commonly used surfaces in hotel rooms when I arrive.

I bet she was SUPER contagious in the 48 hours prior, too.

I hear that argument a lot and I just don't get it. Of course you can't prevent exposure when you don't know you are ill. But that doesn't make it ok to increase the amount of time you are out in public with something contagious.

 

[Magpie]

And that is why I typically take a few minutes to disinfect commonly used surfaces in hotel rooms when I arrive.

I hear that argument a lot and I just don't get it. Of course you can't prevent exposure when you don't know you are ill. But that doesn't make it ok to increase the amount of time you are out in public with something contagious.

For me, it's simply a way of acknowleging that being out in public means being exposed to everything contagious. There's no way around it, so that's why I get my flu shot, wash my hands, and try not to touch small children.

Also, you don't need to disinfect your hotel room, as viruses are delicate, short lived critters. They're long dead by the time you check in. Though if it's a comforting ritual, that's another thing, and go for it.

Oh, and the grossest thing in Disney World? That honey wall in the Pooh queue! SO many sticky, snotty, germy - and recent! - handprints.