The Nightmare Before Disney...UPDATE Pg. 3

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Aaargh! This simply can not be happeneing!

DS woke up yesterday with a sore throat and LOW GRADE fever. Sent him to school, had DH take him to the doctor after school. No fever at the doctor's office (of course), negative strep culture, no wheezing. Doctor said call back if he gets worse. Great. Now he's worse! Temp. is 101.2 so he is out of school today, I am out of work this morning, DH is taking off work early so I can go in late, and our plane leaves in 23 hours!

I have NO idea how to navigate the parks if DS isn't feeling well. We were going to do MK tomorrow as soon as we arrive and be there through EMH. I guess we can have a nap as soon as we get there, but there is no telling if we will have a room when we arrive. We may have to wait until 3:00! If we miss doing a park on Wed. then my whole itinerary is shot to heck. Help!

The plan was:
MK Wed. from about 12:30P-10:00P.
MGM Thur. from 9A-7P
AK Fri. from 9A-5P (but maybe EE at MK from 8-10A, then hop to AK)
Epcot Sat. from 9A-9P

The reasons for each park on each day are very complicated (as I am sure you can all understand!) so we need to stick with this basic plan. Anybody have any fabulous strategies? If we lose a day (or more YIKES!!) how can we make the most of Friday & Saturday? We have 4 day Park Hoppers. Thoughts, comments, pixie dust are all welcome!

 

[kilee]

First, I hope your son gets better fast. There are so many viruses going around right now. If your DS still feels lousy tomorrow then I'd really take it easy at WDW. Hard to do, as I know how much planning goes into a trip. However, if you run him down he may just wind up sicker and unable to do anything for the rest of the week, then the plans are really shot.

Hang in there, push the fluids and rest today.

 

[pammypooh]

Call doc and either get him back in office or if you know what strep throat looks like, (plenty of experience on this at my house) ask for med to be prescribed over phone. If it is strep, talk to doc about others in family having ability to start med too if any sign of strep.

Ok - now parks - if able to start med today, your ds will be feeling much better by tomorrow. You may want to take the park at a slower pace. Do more show type things. Tiki room, hall of presidents, boat that i am forgetting the name of, longer lunches etc. If son truly is sick, and not able to tour, cozy up in hotel and know that you are still on vacation. (are your park hoppers the kind that you can save for future trip if you don't use all days on hopper?)

Give son plenty of fluids, not sodas, though. Be sure to keep yourself hydrated too. Sending lots of PD and prayers that all of your family will be feeling better. I hope it all works out for your family!

Pam

 

[jjarman]

I don't believe our son, now 14, has ever been on vacation when he was not taking antibiotics. The kid seems to pick the worst times to get sick. Our last trip to Disney, and his first, he was on medication. Our next trip is for March of this year so I know he will be sick in some way. If you can get him started on something today he should be better by tomorrow. I'd explain to the doctor you have a big vacation in less than 24 hours. He may give him a celestone shot which, in our case, works wonders. Hope he gets to feeling better soon.

 

[Terry S]

As Kilee said just take it easy. It seems every other time we go to Disney both our kids get sick. Either they are sick before we go when we get there, those times I honestly think it is the plane ride that does it because they both get sick a few days after our arrival. Several times they have been on antibiotics before we left and twice I had to call my pedeitrician and have him phone in antibiotics to a pharmacy in Florida. If they are not feeling well we normally just go out eat breakfast and see how they are feeling, if they seem up to it, we will maybe head to a park for only a few hours and just keep a real good eye on the kids and see how they are doing. Serveral times we have left the park after only an hour or two. This is fine, we know we will have more vacations.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Just called Doctor, nurse will call back to let me know what they want to do. The strep test they did yesterday was negative, which leads me to believe it is viral. Antibiotics won't help a virus, but I would feel better if we did a course of antibiotics anyway. I would NEVER ask for antibiotics if we were staying home - viruses run their course and that's that, but in the event that something bacterial decides to manifest on top of the virus I would rather have the meds. He hasn't been on antibiotics for over a year, so I can't imagine it would hurt him and it MIGHT help.

 

[Selket]

Is he young enough for one of those strollers? They will accomodate a fairly large kid (I think my 2nd grader would fit in one but we haven't tried). Anyway having them sit and ride takes a lot of wear and tear off if he'll fit in one.

I would say this is why I try to go in the spring/summer/early fall cause we tend to be sick the rest of the year! That being said I got sick on our August trip - just a cold but I still felt more run down than usual. However it is amazing how much that pixie dust can pick you up!

YOu might want to do some board searches here for how folks got medical attention while on vacation - I have seen recommendations for out of park and in-room care just in case. And find out if your insurance will cover and so forth so you're prepared just in case!

Best of luck!

 

[eeyore0062]

Sounds like the year that my borther got strep throat 48 hours before our flight (and 1st trip to Disney). Actually it was probably better it was not a virus. The doctor gave him a whopping shot of some antibiotic and sent us on our way with the liquid in hand. No, he couldn't go in the pools, and didn't have as much energy, but he was fever free by the time the flight left the airport!

I hope your son feels better and you all have a great trip!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

SO funny that you mention putting him in a stroller, because I was wondering that exact thing! He is almost 9, but he is small for his age and weighs only 56 pounds. Anybody know the weight limit on the rental strollers? The two little ones I nanny weigh about 60 pounds put together and I push them in the double stroller all the time, so it is something to think about. He might be humiliated, but it would definitely help save his energy!

 

[dolphindan1]

I think he is having Disney withdrawls and as a good parent you need to get him there fast....Seriously I hope he gets better and can enjoy the parks....I think once he gets there you will see a dramatic improvement nothing like the sight of Mickey to chase your blues away....

 

[bjakmom]

Oh No !! After all your hard work and planning !!- reminds me of the trip about 12 years ago when oldest DD fell on the boardwalk the night before our trip and broke her foot !!! A bit of a last minute panic, but in the end we still had a wonderful, though limited, trip !! When we look at the pictures our minds seem to blank out the most difficult parts and we just remember all of the fun!

All great suggestions here, the only thing I would add is to call the hotel directly (speak to a manager if you have to) and have them note that you are bringing a sick child and would appreciate any help they could give you in having a room ready when you arrive. I was very ill for a few years, through several trips, and found the hotel CMs went out of their way to fill my requests so I could conserve my energy for the parks.

IMHO one of the most valuable things about planning and being informed before going to WDW is not only how well things go when all is going right, but how easily I can figure out what to do when things go wrong - you'll figure it out - and I hope you have a wonderful trip and that your DS is up and smiling very quickly ! - I agree with dolphindan about feeling better in WDW - I used to come home from vacation and tell my Dr. "wow, I feel so much better when I'm on vacation (especially if it included Mickey)!"

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Well, I called CRO and they said the only suggestion they could offer was to tell the CM at check-in that I have a sick child. They can't guarantee early check-in. Especially since we are checking IN at check OUT time. I don't have a direct number for Pop.

DS has had his first dose of antibiotic, we'll dose him again in the morning. He was pretty toasty around noon. I REALLY hope his fever breaks at some point today. Even if he feels better tomorrow we won't be able to do the "commando" approach we were leaning towards.

But it is still better that he got sick while we were still at home instead of coming down with it after we got to Florida!

 

[brunoflipper]

i hope your kiddo gets better soon...

medical advice on these boards boils my blood...

"what strep throat looks like, (plenty of experience on this at my house) ask for med to be prescribed over phone. If it is strep, talk to doc about others in family having ability to start med too if any sign of strep"

"He may give him a celestone shot which, in our case, works wonders"

so much for evidence based medicine...

trust your physician... if the rapid strep test and culture are negative no antibiotic is indicated. end of story.

 

[SuzyQue]

Pop Century 407-938-4000 Fax - 407-938-4040

 

[Stitch's mom]

If you go the antibiotic route be sure to take some Immodium because worse than a fever is diarrhea and you don't want that to hit en route. Good luck!

 

[twocjsmom]

So sorry to hear about your son. We leave Sunday and unfortunately, I'm the one who has gotten sick. There's a huge bout of some kind of bacterial throat infection thing running rampant here (both of my sons had it two weeks ago) that mimics strep but isn't. Really high fevers for 3-4 days, then just really swollen tonsils. I'd agree about keeping hydrated, and yes, watch out for the side effects of any type of antibiotic, not only true allergic reactions, but typical reactions as well. You may want to look into purchasing a cheap humidifier when you get down there for his bedside as well! Good luck!

 

[peacefulgirl]

jackskellingtonsgirl,

I just got back from the POP, I checked in at 1pm and got my room right away... AND that was on Dec 29th and it was BUSY !!! So you might be ok there.

Bad news is, we flew home Friday Jan 7th landing at 10pm ... DD became sick 24 hrs later with exactly what your DS has. It is now Tues and she is still very sick. Started with aches all over, fever, BAD sore throat... She has been down for the count, flat out since. She only threw up once. I took her to the DR yesterday, neg on strep, it is viral. No meds to be had. I am giving her Motrin every 6 hours and tylenol every 3 in between, Motrin usually kills her pains, but alone it wasn't touching it on this. I dont see her going to school this week. This seems to be a week long one from what people have experienced so far.

I dont know what to tell you, but I know if she was in WDW, she would be too weak to do anything.

I can tell you I heard and saw a lot of sick people at parks. One complaining on the big D and sick to stomache ... one had a nose red and tissues on her nose in line the whole time ... they were miserable.

Can you change dates ? Man it was my fear that would happen to us, but we just made it home at the nick of time...

The plane ride alone was scary knowing what we were breathing in.

Wish I had some good answers !

 

[aec]

DD (7) had the same symptoms before Christmas. She started feeling yucky on Friday 12/17. Saturday was miserable (sore throat, high fever, cough). Sun a.m. negative throat culture. Sun PM feeling a little better. Monday went to mall to see Santa and shopping and the movies, Tuesday went to air and space museum ...

She was not 100 % that week but perked up enough to do things. The cough lingered for a while though ...

 

[peacefulgirl]

O and also, the DR said when she starts coughing, that'll be a good thing. Now her nose is stuffed too ! Yikes !

also

You may want to look into purchasing a cheap humidifier when you get down there for his bedside as well! Good luck!

be careful if you do this, unless he is in his own room (and a hotel he wont), you could all be breathing in the germs. I think this is only the case in one type (warm or cool air) humidifier ? But I do not know which. Just a thought. EDIT HERE: Per my Dr, this is true for warm or cool .... disregard!

 

[aec]

When my daughter had this over the holidays the girls were sharing a room b/c we had company. We ran a cool mist humidifier to help with the cough. Her sister did not catch it, nor did anyone else. We were militant about hand washing.