Keeping kids healthy at WDW

[maxiesmom]

Hand sanitizer. Use it after getting off of any ride.
Masks, if you are in tight quarters.
Vitamins. They make many different kinds that help support you immune system.
Get plenty of sleep. I know it is hard to do at Disney World, but try not to let your system run down.

 

[JacksonAcreWoods]

Hi there! I will be bringing two kids (3.5 and 8 months) to Disney next May and then again in September. I was wondering if anyone had any tricks for keeping kids healthy at WDW. We took our oldest last May and I was so happy thinking we made it through the trick without getting sick, and then two nights after we got home we were woken up by him having a terrifying croup cough. He was very sick and had a high temp for several days, which I ended up catching from him a few days later. I’m fairly certain that if he didn’t get sick, I never would have . One big thing that stresses me out is we eat pretty healthy and all organic (mostly gluten/grain free) at home. At Disney we stay in studios (September we will be in two bedrooms which will be another story) so we can’t really cook our own food, but I would like any tips from other healthy eaters as I’m sure the decline in his diet for the week didn’t help.

Obviously it’s impossible to prevent all sickness but I want to minimize our chances as much as possible with a baby.

Thanks for all thoughts and suggestions!!

Stay on your normal schedule (nap/sleep/eating routine)
Slow down - Disney with young ones isn't about squeezing every penny out of your vacation, its about stopping and saying hi to the ducks
Keep distance - try to avoid crowded areas as much as possible (everyone else going left? you go right)
Sanitation - Wipe things down with sanitizer and keep those busy hands clean!
Open a window - Keep your car window / hotel window cracked open to give your body clean air
Don't blast the AC or Heater - let the body adjust to the natural temperature within reason
Eat less handled food - Raw foods and buffets are just a riskier avenue while at Disney
Do diaper changes in stroller - not in a crowded germy bathroom
Wash hands before eating anything - including on the go snacks

Source: Mom of 3

 

[TinkB278]

Stay on your normal schedule (nap/sleep/eating routine)
Slow down - Disney with young ones isn't about squeezing every penny out of your vacation, its about stopping and saying hi to the ducks
Keep distance - try to avoid crowded areas as much as possible (everyone else going left? you go right)
Sanitation - Wipe things down with sanitizer and keep those busy hands clean!
Open a window - Keep your car window / hotel window cracked open to give your body clean air
Don't blast the AC or Heater - let the body adjust to the natural temperature within reason
Eat less handled food - Raw foods and buffets are just a riskier avenue while at Disney
Do diaper changes in stroller - not in a crowded germy bathroom
Wash hands before eating anything - including on the go snacks

Source: Mom of 3

Love the diaper change in stroller idea! Genius!

 

[Lilsia]

Just an FYI hand sanitizer doesn't kill norovirus. Soap and water (or special hospital grade bleach wipes, which we now carry to wipe down surfaces they eat on during vacation) are the only way to knock that one out.

We discovered this the hard way when our then-youngest (11 months) picked up norovirus on a disney trip. We spent days 4 - 6 of our trip locked up in our hotel room, day 7 at the Orlando children's hospital, and then about 2 weeks post the trip with norovirus making its way through the rest of us. Awful, awful experience!

Exactly, too many use sanitizer thinking that it kills all. People need to just wash their hands often and never touch any food before you wash your hands. Also teach kids to not touch everything. The amount of people that I see touching the ropes and chains in line grosses me out.

 

[JacksonAcreWoods]

Love the diaper change in stroller idea! Genius!

Definitely find a quiet/private corner of course!

 

[JacksonAcreWoods]

I wanted to add one more thought in response to using saline rinses. I bought three of those squeezable Netti pots. One for each of my kiddos. I plan to use them on each of my kiddos every evening before bed. Hopefully they don’t squirm too much!

 

[KrazeeK120]

We went in August, and we flew. We always used hand sanitizer before eating and we wore KN95 masks when we were indoors (other than eating, obviously). We did not get sick.

Then school started and my son (7) has brought me 2 colds, RSV, a stomach bug, and influenza. My husband has gotten away with a single cold. But hey, at least we had a healthy and fun trip before spending months coughing and sniffling…

 

[Kae]

We went in August, and we flew. We always used hand sanitizer before eating and we wore KN95 masks when we were indoors (other than eating, obviously). We did not get sick.

Then school started and my son (7) has brought me 2 colds, RSV, a stomach bug, and influenza. My husband has gotten away with a single cold. But hey, at least we had a healthy and fun trip before spending months coughing and sniffling…

We went in May just did our normal hand washing barely used hand sanitizer and no mask and didn't get sick.

 

[North of Mouse]

OP, at those ages I kept mine in the stroller most of the time. They touch everything, then the hands go in the mouth (very normal). Just try to keep their hands clean as much as possible, and wash, or use hand sanitizer when eating. Otherwise for little ones not much else you can do. Our children caught 'everything' from others when small and of course then we got it. IMO extra cleanliness is more important than worrying about diet for a week at that age. Keeping them relatively isolated in the stroller made a huge difference to us as they want to constantly snack.

 

[Vincek]

Hand sanitizer in the stroller has been a life saver for us

 

[Dakota731]

Depends what time of year you’re going too. My kids never got sick once during our many trips in July and August. But every winter trip we have taken, one of the kids (or myself) have gotten either the flu, a bad cold or the stomach virus! It’s just a fact that viruses are more pervasive in the winter months, and they spread like wildfire with kids touching railings then their face while in line. And one of the kids even got the stomach virus when masks were mandatory at WDW so not too much you can do about it.

 

[TinkB278]

Depends what time of year you’re going too. My kids never got sick once during our many trips in July and August. But every winter trip we have taken, one of the kids (or myself) have gotten either the flu, a bad cold or the stomach virus! It’s just a fact that viruses are more pervasive in the winter months, and they spread like wildfire with kids touching railings then their face while in line. And one of the kids even got the stomach virus when masks were mandatory at WDW so not too much you can do about it.

Great point! We got really sick after a May trip, but we never go in the winter so have nothing to compare to. Something to consider when picking dates though!

 

[TinkAgainU]

I was a bit sad when Disney quit being "on it" about making sure there were full hand sanitizers at the end of rides, I try to get the kids (and myself) to remember to do a quick hand sanitizer after each ride ('cause we are all touching something on the ride) so I carry a small hand sanitizer on the outside of my pack, and of course hand wash/sanitize before eating anything. My favorite advice above was remember the trip is not about hitting x number of rides, but stopping to talk to the ducks When tired, stop. And remember stopping when over tired means you still typically have an hour or more to get to the car or hotel so err on the side of stopping sooner. No great memories come from that last meltdown, I speak from experience on that.

 

[AnnabelleTheTalkingTree]

I would just say make it a point to rest/nap if possible. Bring a white noise machine to help facilitate a good sleep environment. Don't run them ragged. Pick healthy food options when possible - there are lots of unhealthy choices in Disney but there are ways to access healthy choices, especially if you bring/order some healthy options to keep in your studio fridge. Also, just tons of hand sanitzer.

That said, some things are just beyond your control. We did all of the above on our last trip, but kids were having trouble sleeping and they both came home sick.

 

[dvczerfs]

Im not a doctor or a scientist but keeping their mouths off the handrails, ropes and chains would be a start. Lol
If you ever want to throw up in your mouth a little, take Five minutes from your vacation and just sit and watch a cue line. If you can picture in your mind, it 9:30 pm, cues are packed, it’s 90 degrees with 100 percent humidity and people have been in the parks all day. They get into a cue and prop themselves up on a railing, chain or rope. They move up in the line and the next person, can be anyone but the title of the thread says kids healthy, comes up and starts swinging, hanging and or doing chin ups off said barrier. I realize kids are kids, I probably did it myself when I was little but man, sometimes you just have to look the other way. Lol
There just isn’t enough sanitizer in the world to counter act that. Lol

 

[TinkAgainU]

I'm also more cautious at the start, than the end of a trip - figuring if someone is sick at home that is a WHOLE different deal than sick during vacation (where even one sick person brings the trip down a lot). I'm pretty fussy about face masks at the airport and on the flight to MCO, for example - not as fussy on the flights home. To be clear, I do not think a KN95 mask is perfect protection, any more than I think hand sanitizer before food eliminates all germs exposure. But my theory is to minimize risk when it's relatively easy to do. P.S. I make sure snacks are in lots of little bags so we are not dipping into the same bag with unclean hands all day - and pack extra snack size zip lock bags to break up snacks we acquire, to pack in the morning for the day.

 

[kevtlas]

I agree! I just mean that our definition of healthy foods at home is a lot different than the foods considered and available as “healthy” at Disney.

I second this. “At home” healthy has a very different definition than Disney’s definition (or pretty much any other commercial establishment’s). Most places seem to find a way to lower the bar for even the healthiest of options.

 

[snikki]

The main thing I did with my kids is just ask them not to touch the handrails too much. And when they were younger try to make sure they didn't lick them or bite them....kids!!! Plus plenty of hand washing.

This is what we did in November. DD16 and myself. Neither of us got sick or came home sick. We also haven't been wearing masks for a very long time so I feel we've built up a good tolerance to all of the new crap that's going around.

One thing my kids are good at is getting sick RIGHT before we leave which gets me in a panic and I end up taking them into the doctor when I usually wouldn't in case they have something that needs meds and it's usually just a virus that has to run it's course. DS got pink eye 2-3 days before we left for one trip. A few years back I swore DD had strep before we left and thankfully everything came back negative. This past trip DD was sick the week before we left but it ended up being a cold/virus.

 

[DVCSince99]

We try to eat healthy food for breakfast and some lunches by buying food from the grocery store. It makes the kids less moody and helps them stay full. We also try to alternate park days with resort days (chill at the resort or pool). This helps to keep them on a semi-normal nap schedule and hopefully keep them from getting less sick if it happens.

 

[Caseheidi]

I would suggest that you do a food order of the things your kids are use to eating for snacks and possibly breakfast in the room. Most rooms have a small refrigerator, which could help. If you pack your own snacks into the parks, you are cutting down on the intake of foods their bodies are not use to. The other thing I would recommend is getting a case of bottled water, and making sure everyone stays hydrated. So often we neglect our water intake on vacation, and it goes a long way toward keeping your body working right.