Be aware if traveling to WDW within the next few days

[Princess_Melanie]

We were there Jan 13 - 18 staying at AKL and didn't see anyone being sick on our trip at all or smell anything that indicated there had been any illness.

We always take hand sanitiser with us to use after rides and before we eat, other than that we are easy going with everything else - I've only ever been ill on vacations because of food that didn't agree with me - luckily never in Disney!!

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

Well...... in a sense there's nothing one can do in the absence of heavy and dangerous cleaners. But we can all take initative and make the chance less likely.

One thing I remember my doctor telling me when I was a kid is that soap will only help wash away the dirt but until you use HOT water the germs will remain. She emphasized the hot over and over, let it be as hot as you can handle and no colder.

Bleach is my best friend as are anti-bacterials and vitamins. A healthy body leads to a healthy life....

 

[grannyminnie]

Does anyone in the heath field know just how long something like this usually hangs around for?

Our neighbours just got back on Tuesday and there were 6 of them (2 kids) and had no probles but again they did see kids throwing up in bushes etc.

We were all down (6 of us) in Mexico a few weeks ago and my poor son's girlfriend was sooo sick 48 hours after flying in and then my son got really ill 48 hours after that! Ughhhhhh it really is your worse nightmare when on vacation and it can cause alot of anxiety for everyone.

Those of you that did come back from WDW and had no problems would do well to post here too as this might help those of us that are very anxious for our upcoming vacations!

I'd like to know this too, but doubt there can be a definitive answer. Based on what another poster said, this forum represents such a small percentage of people actually there, it wouldn't seem to be widespread, but reading this thread makes it sound awful! And I do think the thread serves a purpose to make people more diligent about cleanliness.
I just don't want to go down and get in it right now!!

 

[bluenorthern]

My four children and I are leaving 2/12 for a week at Boardwalk. While I know this stomach bug is going around here at school and the community--and a place as crowded and busy as WDW can't help but have concentrated cases of the bug--I sure do appreciate all the reports here to help us know what might expect and stock up on soothing meds if someone does catch it.
THANKS for the updates!

My DS (15) loves reading these reports the most--go figure Yuckko.

Keep healthy!

 

[DisBiff]

The information here is good information.

How each person responds to it is up to them.

Good point...I just wanted to post and let people know that there are few (hundred thousand) people down there right now who aren't sick...

 

[desimom]

We are going in March, and going to keep disinfectant spray; always have the sanitizer in purse(rarely used)...don't want anyone to get sick; i just want to have a vacation!

 

[philschic]

We are going in March, and going to keep disinfectant spray; always have the sanitizer in purse(rarely used)...don't want anyone to get sick; i just want to have a vacation!

Me too! We leave next Saturday and I just want to have a nice vacation & a nice honeymoon

 

[super_crunch]

We were there January 23-Feb 1st and we managed to avoid the virus.

We stayed at the doubletree in DTD and were religious about keeping everything clean.

Here was the game plan that we stuck to:

-I brought clorox wipes and lysol spray to disinfect the surfaces in the room when we checked in.

-I kept a pack of clorox wipes in my backpack to wipe down the table and chairs everytime we sat down to eat. (because no matter how clean our hands are, the kids are certain to touch the table and chairs during the meal).

-I kept both hand santizer and antibacterial hand wipes in my backpack. We used a dab of hand sanitizer after every ride and wiped our hands down before every snack or meal. (NOTE* at buffets, make sure that you clean your hands again after you get your food, and before you start eating. A lot of hands touch those serving handles!)

-We tried to touch as few things as possible (although it is nearly impossible to keep the kids from running their hands along every railing and chain!)

-We ate with utensils instead of hands when possible.


Yes, we were a bit nutty about hygeine on our trip (which is totally unlike us at home)...but it worked and we stayed healthy and had a great time.

 

[super_crunch]

Does anyone in the heath field know just how long something like this usually hangs around for?

Our neighbours just got back on Tuesday and there were 6 of them (2 kids) and had no probles but again they did see kids throwing up in bushes etc.

We were all down (6 of us) in Mexico a few weeks ago and my poor son's girlfriend was sooo sick 48 hours after flying in and then my son got really ill 48 hours after that! Ughhhhhh it really is your worse nightmare when on vacation and it can cause alot of anxiety for everyone.

Those of you that did come back from WDW and had no problems would do well to post here too as this might help those of us that are very anxious for our upcoming vacations!

Here is the CDC fact sheet on norovirus (aka...the stomach flu)
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/revb/gastro/norovirus-qa.htm

According to them, a person is contagious for at least 3 days after they have recovered.

I think this is what is perpetuating the virus. If someone catches it, they typically return to the parks and other activities as soon as they start feeling better.
(I can't blame them...I would want to get back to my vacation as well)

But essentially, that person would be spreading the virus to other guests for at least the next 3 days even though they no longer have symptoms.

 

[Cee]

The best defense to this I've ever heard is Hand Washing, Hand Washing, HAND WASHING...........

 

[lovesdumbo]

I was at WDW 1/27 to 2/3 at the Poly-just me & 9 year old DD. I had read this thread before I went and was bit concerned. My DS had a virus on 1/10 and DD got it on 1/17 so I was hoping this would give her some immunity but was still worried as the one reported in this thread sounded worse than what my kids had at home.

I did wipe down the tv remote and phone on the day we arrived, we washed our hands when using the bathroom and washed or use hand sanitizer whenever we ate anything.

We did not get sick with this virus on our trip or since.

We had a friend and her 9 year old DD join us from Jacksonville on the weekend. The girls shared a bed on Saturday night and my friend texted me on Monday to say her DD was home from school sick with a 103 temp. My DD didn't even catch that.

I did however get a nasty head cold-could feel it coming on on our last day. Post Disney Depression and a head cold and freezing cold outside temps make me want to crawl into bed for a few days but I've got too much to do.

 

[purpliequeen]

I'm sorry to hear that this virus is still on-going. I hope all of you take care of yourselves! Handwashing for sure probably saved me. I also tried very hard to keep my hands off of my face (which is a bad habit of mine).

I think the norovirus or some type of stomach virus went around my school two weeks ago or so. It didn't last as long probably because of the inhospitable conditions outside (it's very cold in upstate NY) and because my school is so spread out. I do know that it went around one of the sorority houses on campus right after rush week and that was not pretty.

 

[fla4fun]

I was at Disney from 1/26 through 2/6, and I didn't see any sick people, or hear anyone discussing sick people. When I was there in early December, I heard several people talking about it, but this time, nothing. So hopefully it is calming down some. I made it through the entire trip without any problems, just using plenty of hand washing.

 

[ckdsnynt]

Thanks for all this information and the heads up! We are headed down in two weeks and our DD has a very weak immune system (always has had for some reason and is allergic to most antibiotics also) so we will take many precautions! We have managed to avoid these bugs this winter so far (please - no jinx!).

 

[aidtrismommy]

We came home on Jan 17th and were very careful because we heard about this ahead of time. Sanitize yourselves but more importantly, sanitize your kids after every ride and before meals. Wipe down your table and your childs highchair before sitting down. Nobody in my family got sick nor did we see/hear anybody talking about the virus. My biggest problem is that I get sick 3-4 days after getting off the plane. That's where all the germs are. My whole family swabbed the inside of our nostrils with neosporin (to keep passageway moist w/ the anibacterial boost) before we boarded and wiped down our seats/trays with clorox wipes. Boy was that plane dirty. This was the first time I didn't get sick at disney and I owe it all to neosporin in my nose. IT WORKS!!

 

[ckdsnynt]

We came home on Jan 17th and were very careful because we heard about this ahead of time. Sanitize yourselves but more importantly, sanitize your kids after every ride and before meals. Wipe down your table and your childs highchair before sitting down. Nobody in my family got sick nor did we see/hear anybody talking about the virus. My biggest problem is that I get sick 3-4 days after getting off the plane. That's where all the germs are. My whole family swabbed the inside of our nostrils with neosporin (to keep passageway moist w/ the anibacterial boost) before we boarded and wiped down our seats/trays with clorox wipes. Boy was that plane dirty. This was the first time I didn't get sick at disney and I owe it all to neosporin in my nose. IT WORKS!!

Where do you get this? Is is over the counter and just called neosporin? I don't think I have ever seen it. It sounds like something wonderful to use. I generally set sick three or four days after I have been on a plane and maybe this would prevent it.

 

[BethA]

I never really made the connection before, but usually I will feel sort of flu like a few days after we fly. I never heard of this before the boards here-maybe we'll try it this time. I'm sure the planes are all filthy-I doubt much cleaning ever goes on of the seats and trays!!

 

[my3sonsagn]

Where do you get this? Is is over the counter and just called neosporin? I don't think I have ever seen it. It sounds like something wonderful to use. I generally set sick three or four days after I have been on a plane and maybe this would prevent it.

It's an antibiotic creme that you put on cuts/scrapes and is usually found in the first aid aisle with the bandaids. Neosporin gets kind of pricey, but we've found the store brand to be just as good (on cuts, anyway, we've never tried it in our noses since we don't fly).

 

[Steffiesunshine]

We were at WL 1/27 to 2/3 and didn't get sick, see anyone else getting sick or overheard anything about the virus.

We just washed our hands. Didn't disinfect or room, or bring wipes with us.

I never thought about it, actually, and I guess it never thought about me!

 

[Mary T in PA]

The best defense to this I've ever heard is Hand Washing, Hand Washing, HAND WASHING...........

This is very true.


Mary