Sick at MK--Now what?

[DekrRini]

I had a similar experience to the OP's. On my last day, I fell on the train tracks and tried to eat cement. I was helped by so many visitors that I was totally amazed. I was taken to first aid and taken good care of there as well. Water, popcicle for my split lip, and a cool, dark room helped me recover. They even helped me get back to my resort. I'm in healthcare and was quite impressed with my care.

I'm sorry to the PP whose daughter wasn't treated well.

 

[Dentam]

After this experience and seeing how Disney has handled other issues, I now know that they would have been accomodating, so I agree that it would've been better to rest-up in my room. But the team really was great and I wanted to let everyone know.

Glad you let us know since I also would have been concerned about losing all the $ that was prepaid for CRT. I'm so glad that your illness didn't last too long and you were able to enjoy the rest of your trip with your family.

 

[Accident]

Out of curiosity, where is the first aid station?

There are first aid stations all over the park and they are listed on the maps. Good to know as they can help allergy emergencies and a variety of other things that you may not know was a problem. Also any cast member can have someone to you really fast if you just let them know you need help and can't make it to them.

My daughter had something similar last year with a twisted ankle. In her case it was so bad the next morning should couldn't even make it to the elevator. We did a down day with use of the resort wheelchairs but the list of options for medical help from the hotel was great. Multiple places she should go, transportation available no charge from disney's ambulance service. There was even a list of doctors that could come to the room for fee if it's an illness they can treat from the room (she may have needed xrays so that's one of the ones you need to come to them). Ultimately we didn't need it but we ended up extending our stay and yet again there was a pharmacy delivery option the resort gave us to get extra medication because we only brought a couple extra days and needed more.

 

[GaryDis]

"Food poisoning" is just an informal term for any of a number of gastrointestinal viruses or bacteria that are commonly transmitted by food (but could be transmitted some other way). I don't know whether ERs routinely do testing to determine precisely which one, but since there are many cases that simply aren't life threatening and will self-resolve without antibiotics or antivirals, I wouldn't be surprised if they just diagnose food poisoning based on symptoms without testing a stool sample. This WebMD article makes it clear that there are many different causes, so a formal, rigorous diagnosis would be the specific agent (e.g. salmonella or E. coli), and not simply food poisoning. This Mayo Clinic article has similar information. (IANAD, but for this level of discussion, I consider the agreement of two such articles to be good enough.)

Perhaps a PP who went on about "very contagious gastrointestinal virus" had had a bad personal experience with such things, but usually this set of symptoms is only indirectly contagious, and has to be ingested; you don't get it by being in the same room, otherwise the OP's entire family would have gotten it. Thus hand washing is the prevention, and demanding self-imposed quarantine seems unnecessary for most cases. Even norovirus, which is the one that spreads rapidly on cruise ships and other crowded places, is best addressed by stringent hand washing, though staying home is recommended.

Thus a polite suggestion that staying in the room should be considered could be reasonable, but berating someone for not doing so is uncalled for. If you're going to get upset over sick people in the parks, get upset over the ones with colds and flu, which have airborne transmission, not things like stomach bugs that are largely controlled by washing your own hands.

 

[disney144]

I'm glad that everyone else had such great experiences being sick at Disney. I too was hit by some sort of short lived, but very aggressive bug or food poisoning while at WDW. I started feeling very sick at MK and left to return to my hotel. While walking to my hotel room, I became very ill in the bushes (I tried to make it to the room...unsuccessfully). No less than 4 CMs passed me, and not a single one stopped to see if I was ok.

 

[White Rose]

Last year we did a trip to universal, and after arriving in the parks I started to feel very very ill. Luckily we were very close to the first aid there and I had a similar experience there, and after resting for two hours I felt better and continued my way throughout the park...maybe I should have gone back to the room...but I was determined not to let it ruin the rest of my day. I did not have a fever and no symptoms after my purge, and while I did not get tested, I have a similar feeling it was something I ate, very recently...some sort of food poisoning, because of how quickly I recovered after the food in my system was no longer there.

I have had the stomach flu (verified by doctors) and for me, that lasts much much longer then this did, even with treatment. My husband has advanced GIRD and he got eColi several years ago, and he was in bad shape in the ER and stayed in the hospital for several days....so I think everyone is different, and the best thing to do would be to see a doctor to know for sure if you are contagious.

..If I had felt as bad as I did in the room, I could not have left the room...literally it came on me full blown in about 10 minutes after starting feel uncomfortable. (shaky, lots of pain, etc, I could barely stand.) We were waiting in line either for twister or the earthquake ride, not really sure. If we were farther away from the first aid area, I would not have been able to make it unassisted!

It could have been cross contamination with a minor food allergy, but either way I'm fairly certain it was the food I had eaten several hours before at breakfast.

The point is, the first aid stations rock!!!

 

[disnut8]

Well, I'm glad to see so many people have had good experiences with the First Aid station. When we were at WDW in May, my dd needed to get some ibu...had a headache and a sore throat. She was flushed...but we figured it was the heat with allergies mixed in. We went to the First Aid station in MK (over behind Casey's next to the rest rooms for anniemae). She signed in, and was given two ibu. She needed water so I went to buy her some, telling her to stay where she was, in First Aid, to cool off, and be off her feet. Well.....when I returned 5 mins later, she told me that it was a good thing I had come back then because a CM had told her that she couldn't just sit there, she had to leave! She wasn't using her phone, chatting with anyone, having a good time. She looked awful!!! We left the park and returned to the room, where she laid down for a bit. After a nap, she felt better so off we went.
Well, long story short......when she went to the dr's for her yearly physical, she had some issues that were related to strep. Seems she had been carrying strep since mid-May. And yes, she was in the parks with it, as well as at school (college), and later at work as a character in a theme park. She had a sore throat for 2 days and that was it.
Now, I'm not saying that the folks at the First Aid station could have known that...my issue is that my dd was very flushed and not feeling well at all...and was told she had to leave the First Aid area. Perhaps if she had been in there for an hour I could understand, but 15 mins total? There were no other people there, she wasn't preventing anyone from getting aid.

How old was your daughter at the time? Just wondering if it was a Cast Member thinking someone was trying to pilfer some "drugs" since an adult wasn't around with her.

 

[disnut8]

I find it extremely selfish to go into closed areas, restaurants, Disney buses when you knew you were obviously sick with I am sure a very contagious gastrointestinal virus. I know you wanted to get your kids to the restaurant, but what about all the other people at Disney who spent thousands of dollars for a vacation, that you most likely exposed? Sorry, you should of stayed in the room that day and not exposed other people. Very selfish move on your part.

How do you know that?

 

[maccagerl]

Receiving good care when ill or injured at WDW seems to be hit or miss.
Last year, when getting up from the seats after watching "One Man's Dream" at DHS, I somehow stepped down hard and did something to my knee. I couldn't put any weight on it or straighten it. I made it out of the theater with the help of my daughter and sat on a low wall while she ran and got me a wheelchair.

We went to first aid and they were no help at all, and not very friendly or nice either. There was one other person sitting in the waiting area putting band aids on some blisters, so it wasn't busy. The nurse came out and I explained what happened. She barely looked at me, then told me I could call any of the hospitals or urgent care places in the area. Not even a "how are you feeling" or anything .
I said I wasn't from the area and had no idea where to call. She went out and got me some kind of pamphlet with some numbers.

I was in so much pain, I finally asked her if I could have some ice and some ibuprofen . She gave me some ice, and a packet of ibuprofen, and gave my daughter a cup and told her to go get me some water. I couldn't believe how rude she was.

I was hoping with the ice and ibuprofen the swelling would go down and I would be able to walk on it, so we went to our ADR and Brown Derby and ate dinner while waiting for the ice and meds to work. Our server was wonderful. I barely touched my meal due the pain I was in. He saw that my ice pack was starting to get drippy, and he brought me a large cloth napkin filled with ice to replace it. He was so personable and really made me feel a little better. He brought us out a free dessert to share.

After eating we went back to first aid because it wasn't any better. Someone else came out , then brought out a manager, then a bunch of suits arrived (obviously their risk management team ). I told them the injury wasn't due to any defects on their end, but entirely due to the way I stepped down. They interviewed me, scanned my magic band (I'm guessing to check that I really was in One Man's Dream?). Then they brought over a disney van and took us to the Urgent Care in Orlando where everyone was so great - got X-rays, got wrapped, got more ibuprofen and ice, got crutches, and then they called the disney van back to take us back to our resort.

I spent the rest of our vacation ( 4 days) stuck in the room, because even with crutches /wheelchairs I couldn't hold my leg in a comfortable position. My daughter finished our trip touring WDW ( and one pre-booked day at Universal) by herself.

No one ever called to see how I was doing, or to credit me for the remainder of my park hoppers or anything.

The whole thing was very unmagical.

 

[kandb]

As the OP said, she woke up "extremely nauseous" that is not usually from traveling. Also, the CM's or doctor's cannot diagnose foodborne illness without laboratory confirmation. The symptoms for foodborne illnesses and gastro-intestinal viruses are extremely similar, so cannot be diagnosed by symptoms alone. Just because the family didn't get sick, doesn't mean it wasn't a gastro-intestinal virus, remember the time she was the most contagious was when she had diarrhea and vomiting right inside the parks.

 

[GaryDis]

symptoms for foodborne illnesses and gastro-intestinal viruses are extremely similar

There's not just similar. Most gastro-intestinal viruses are foodborne, or at least most easily transmitted via food or other oral ingestion (such as a toddler touching contaminated surfaces and then putting fingers in his/her mouth). The most common such virus, noravirus, while it can be spread person-to-person, is usually spread through contaminated food or water. The reason it shows up more in places like cruise ships is that it survives better on surfaces than things like salmonella, and thus can more easily cross-contaminate an entire meal, or unlike salmonella, which is usually isolated to one particular food item.

In other words, there's no real point in trying to distinguish between foodborne illnesses and gastro-intestinal viruses, unless you're the government trying to decide whether the CDC or FDA needs to handle it.

 

[mummabear]

Well that didn't take long! I also spent thousands of dollars on my vacation that trust me, wasn't easy to come by. Not that I need to explain, because that is not what this post is about, but as a mother of 3, I have seen my kids 'under the weather' in the AM but good as gold an hour later after I have called out of work/cancelled school, etc. ( I have also personally experienced this as well).
I wasn't sure when I got up that morning extra early for our ADR if it was something that would pass (due to travel exertion, whatever) or was more serious. I made a decision, one that I do not regret. Turned out that it was food poisoning from my TS meal the previous night--so I wasn't contagious afterall. We actually didn't take the buses, but that's beside the point--when I wrote that I was careful not to infect my family (as best that I could), that applied to others as well.
Good for you if you would've stayed behind, but I chose not to.
I shouldn't be surprised at the level of judgement that there is in public forums where people can post things about others that they'd never dare say IRL, but I am surprised each and every time.

I get you pushing through CRT but after you left First Aid you should have gone back to your hotel. You are putting so many people at risk, a normal standby for gastro is 48 hours. I get you paid thousands of dollars to be there but after you have been so sick that you made a HUGE MESS you think its okay to ride rides and be in the park that very afternoon.
And yes if I was talking to you in a line and you told me that you had been so sick just an hour or two ago your were vomiting at first aid I would ask you what the hell you were doing in the park.

 

[mummabear]

I will also say this May we were in Gold Coast Australia and DD5 came down with a vomiting bug the night before she was due to swim with dolphins at Sea World for her birthday. We called and changed days, I was very disappointed with them as they charged us a fee to change days (despite being advised she was sick) about 5 minutes after that call DD3 started vomiting as well and the baby started later that day. We also had to move our date night at Draculas (a dinner/show) where they were happy to move us for no charge. And on this vacation where we had spent thousands to be on we hung in our hotel room for two days with only 1 adult at a time leaving to get food.

 

[kandb]

Yes, I agree as far as norovirus is concerned. If you have someone who has the virus on their hands and they go to a buffet and touch all the serving spoons and then numerous other people come along and touch the same spoons and get the virus on their hands then go back to the table and touch their bread, pizza etc with their hands and ingest the virus they get it VIA the food, however that is much different from the food was substandard. Also, if someone turns on the bathroom faucet with hands that contain the virus after they just used the bathroom and then turn the same faucet off that has the virus they are recontaminating their hands, same as if they touch the bathroom exit doorknob that so many people touch as well. It can get easily spread, especially with someone who is symptomatic with the virus (probably at a time they are most contagious). Sorry, I know the OP would like to think she just had "food poisoning" but it's most likely she didn't. People love to just say, it's food poisoning.

PS-I inspect restaurants as my job and know a lot about foodborne illness. People are always claiming they got foodborne illness at Disney, and my guess is that very few did, it was noro they picked up from a surface and then ate something and ingested it.

 

[mummabear]

Receiving good care when ill or injured at WDW seems to be hit or miss.
Last year, when getting up from the seats after watching "One Man's Dream" at DHS, I somehow stepped down hard and did something to my knee. I couldn't put any weight on it or straighten it. I made it out of the theater with the help of my daughter and sat on a low wall while she ran and got me a wheelchair.

We went to first aid and they were no help at all, and not very friendly or nice either. There was one other person sitting in the waiting area putting band aids on some blisters, so it wasn't busy. The nurse came out and I explained what happened. She barely looked at me, then told me I could call any of the hospitals or urgent care places in the area. Not even a "how are you feeling" or anything .
I said I wasn't from the area and had no idea where to call. She went out and got me some kind of pamphlet with some numbers.

I was in so much pain, I finally asked her if I could have some ice and some ibuprofen . She gave me some ice, and a packet of ibuprofen, and gave my daughter a cup and told her to go get me some water. I couldn't believe how rude she was.

I was hoping with the ice and ibuprofen the swelling would go down and I would be able to walk on it, so we went to our ADR and Brown Derby and ate dinner while waiting for the ice and meds to work. Our server was wonderful. I barely touched my meal due the pain I was in. He saw that my ice pack was starting to get drippy, and he brought me a large cloth napkin filled with ice to replace it. He was so personable and really made me feel a little better. He brought us out a free dessert to share.

After eating we went back to first aid because it wasn't any better. Someone else came out , then brought out a manager, then a bunch of suits arrived (obviously their risk management team ). I told them the injury wasn't due to any defects on their end, but entirely due to the way I stepped down. They interviewed me, scanned my magic band (I'm guessing to check that I really was in One Man's Dream?). Then they brought over a disney van and took us to the Urgent Care in Orlando where everyone was so great - got X-rays, got wrapped, got more ibuprofen and ice, got crutches, and then they called the disney van back to take us back to our resort.

I spent the rest of our vacation ( 4 days) stuck in the room, because even with crutches /wheelchairs I couldn't hold my leg in a comfortable position. My daughter finished our trip touring WDW ( and one pre-booked day at Universal) by herself.

No one ever called to see how I was doing, or to credit me for the remainder of my park hoppers or anything.

The whole thing was very unmagical.

Yes it seems like they have their magic back to front.
It oftens seems like if it is something that can't be construed as their fault they are wonderful (tummy bugs, dehydration etc) but if there is some sort of accident they are very cold. Someone has once said in a previous thread started by someone who broke her arms tripping over at WDW that it is because they don't want to do anything that could be interpreted as accepting liability and apparently even a phone call checking on how they are doing would be doing that.

 

[kandb]

How do you know that?

Because most gastrointestinal viruses, such as noro, are highly contagious. Also, OP had no idea she wasn't contagious and stayed after vomiting and diarrhea, sorry that's just not right!

 

[lovndisney12]

My D H got awful bug going around (many said it was noro virus - sp?) One trip. He made it back to room. They brought rollaway so I didnt have to share bed, left us can of disinfecting spray to help keep room clean for rest of us, helped convert his missed meals to extra gatorades, and then helped us reschedule some adrs for later in trip. All in all while he was miserable for two days - it ended up not being such a bad trip.

 

[MadisonMouse13]

Great to know!! So thrilled to know that Disney pulls through for all guests!

 

[GaryDis]

PS-I inspect restaurants as my job and know a lot about foodborne illness. People are always claiming they got foodborne illness at Disney, and my guess is that very few did, it was noro they picked up from a surface and then ate something and ingested it.

So you're saying norovirus isn't food poisoning, while WebMD and Mayo Clinic include it among the various bugs that cause food poisoning. Yes, norovirus can be transmitted via surfaces, while some others are strictly from food, but that alone isn't enough of an issue to bicker over.

The core issue is how easily is it transmitted. It doesn't matter, at least for our purposes, whether you call it foodborne or gastroenteritis. Perhaps some people think that if it's called food poisoning, it's never contagious, but that's not true. I would never want someone with "only food poisoning" or just getting over the symptoms to be working in food prep.

Because most gastrointestinal viruses, such as noro, are highly contagious. Also, OP had no idea she wasn't contagious and stayed after vomiting and diarrhea, sorry that's just not right!

That doesn't explain how you know she must have had a GI virus based only on "woke up nauseous" and remaining so through breakfast. Couldn't it have been salmonella? Is it just that norovirus is more common than salmonella that pushes to your conclusion?

Working in food prep may make you sensitized to this issue, and I respect that. Encouraging people to avoid going out with such symptoms is fine. Condemning people for doing so anyway, in this situation, is unfair, unsympathetic, and unrealistic.

 

[Karin1984]

I don't get the posters who call the OP selfish and say that she should have stayed in her room. Why can't we be happy that she was properly taken care of? It created a good memory for her. Why point out that in your opinion she was wrong?

In my opinion she was not selfish towards her family, she thought of them, trying to give them a good time. It's not just thousands of dollars, you are trying to create good memories in the lives of your family, which are worth more than money. To me, she wasn't selfish, quite the contrary, she had the people dear to her in mind.

In addition to this, staying in your room is not necessarily an option or a solution. What if she was alone, her family off to the parks as they were feeling fine, and her condition got worse, and she was unable to reach the phone for help? What if she passes out in the bathroom, hit her head on the sink and lies there for hours before the family returns. No one to check on her, as there was a 'do not disturb'-sign on the door. There are so many bad scenarios possible, by keeping her in her room (also what if housekeeping misses a spot before a new family arrives). If you are a family with young children, who aren't old enough to go into the parks on their own, you have to stop the vacation, so the other adult can keep an eye on the patient. You should isolate all family members when one of them gets sick. As the other family members may not have visible symptoms, but what about the invisible symptoms?

Every place where masses of people come together, people get sick. It's easy to say afterwards what the OP should have done. But what if you (or your kid, husband, other family member) have a runny nose or a cough. Do you go to the parks or stay in your hotel room? It could be nothing, could be something serious. Or it may not be serious to you, but to people with low resistance: elderly people, infants, people recovering from certain diseases or operations etc., it could be serious. Those people who called her selfish, might have sneezed, spreading something that was caught by someone else's dear granny standing next to them while waiting for the parade, causing the granny to develop something from which she may not recover.

If you think of everything that could happen in life and try to protect yourself from all danger in the world, you can best lock up yourself in a room with padded walls.