The Ultimate Stomach Bug @ Disney Thread

[skater]

This thread and the others like it are pretty useless. You're getting every hypochondriac that had a loose bowel movement posting and supporting the notion that the norovirus is ravaging DisneyWorld. And what's worse, you have people with no medical background giving out advice to future travelers. If you want to see what norovirus REALLY is, try being a cruise ship for 7 days when there IS a full-fledged norovirus outbreak.

Anyway, I read this thread before leaving for Disney (Jan 10-18), and unfortunately, I let it get to us, and it made us a bit concerned when there was no reason to be. None of us got sick, there were no "signs" of sickness at the parks, and the several cast members looked at me like I had four eyes when I asked about it. There's 100,000+ people going through the parks on a given day. If this was a problem, we'd be hearing about it on the news, not the disboards.com forums.

I think this thread needs to be closed out of respect to the peace of mind of future travelers.

Not sure why I find this mildly insulting . I guess its because I don't think there are hypocondriacs posting here, and I'm grown up enough to appreciate the news, yet not panic.

 

[Iggipolka]

I found that comment to be a bit insulting as well. I appreciate being informed about the possibility of a viral illness spreading at WDW so that I can take appropriate, reasonable, precautions.

 

[my3sonsagn]

I found that comment to be a bit insulting as well. I appreciate being informed about the possibility of a viral illness spreading at WDW so that I can take appropriate, reasonable, precautions.

Ditto.

 

[UrsulasShadow]

This thread and the others like it are pretty useless. You're getting every hypochondriac that had a loose bowel movement posting and supporting the notion that the norovirus is ravaging DisneyWorld. And what's worse, you have people with no medical background giving out advice to future travelers. If you want to see what norovirus REALLY is, try being a cruise ship for 7 days when there IS a full-fledged norovirus outbreak.

Anyway, I read this thread before leaving for Disney (Jan 10-18), and unfortunately, I let it get to us, and it made us a bit concerned when there was no reason to be. None of us got sick, there were no "signs" of sickness at the parks, and the several cast members looked at me like I had four eyes when I asked about it. There's 100,000+ people going through the parks on a given day. If this was a problem, we'd be hearing about it on the news, not the disboards.com forums.

I think this thread needs to be closed out of respect to the peace of mind of future travelers.

I rather agree with some of this. People do get hyped-out about every little germ out there...at least the people that have a tendency to do so. But I also think it gives people an opportunity to discuss the issue, and with any luck some people with good information will post to counter all the foolishness and hysteria that abounds on threads like this.

Norovirus outbreaks are common EVERY winter. It doesn't sound like this outbreak is any more severe than any other year.

 

[Piglet]

I tend to agree with aj24 to a point. I had read this thread before our trip (we just left WDW Friday) and I worried a lot about whatever this stomach thing is. I have a DD that is very medically fragile and would most definetely have to be in the hospital if she caught this. I did spray lysol in our hotel and used hand sanitizer like crazy. None of us caught anything. I did hear 2 different people talking about their kids vomiting, but didn't see anyone sick or signs of sickness.

Piglet

 

[aj24]

Not sure why I find this mildly insulting . I guess its because I don't think there are hypocondriacs posting here, and I'm grown up enough to appreciate the news, yet not panic.

I found that comment to be a bit insulting as well. I appreciate being informed about the possibility of a viral illness spreading at WDW so that I can take appropriate, reasonable, precautions.

Ditto.

My point wasn't to be insulting to those who either legitimately had norovirus (or thought they had it). My point was that there seems to be an underlying theme in this thread that this is a major issue at WDW when it's not.

 

[philschic]

Hi there guys!!

We leave February 14 for WDW!! Is there anything going around now?

 

[UrsulasShadow]

Hi there guys!!

We leave February 14 for WDW!! Is there anything going around now?

Welcome! Congrats on your first post!


And where there are people, there are bacteria and viruses. So, I'm sure there is SOMETHING going around now. Colds, flu, norovirus...you name it. Eat properly, get your sleep, wash your hands.

 

[philschic]

Any word still on the stomach bug down there?

 

[waxymax]

I had to respond after reading AJ24's posts. We just returned (1/13-19) from our stay at the Poly. I think you should consider yourself very fortunate that you did not get sick rather than denigrate others. My DD (9) has not missed a day of school in three years. On Friday (my birthday), she vomited 50-60 times over a twelve hour period. It has taken her about three days to fully recover. My other daughter (6) also spent a day in bed on Saturday after vomiting. I don't fault Disney and don't want to panic anyone because of our experience. BUT, it's a little naive to think that the illness isn't related to Disney in any way or the fact that you didn't get sick means we're all a bunch of complaining hypochondriacs. Thousands of guests, hotel cleanliness, eating in food service establishments, airline travel... there are many aspects of the Disney experience that contribute to this issue. My parents, DH & I are not (yet) sick. I read this thread before we went, hoped it wouldn't happen to us, and washed our hands a lot. We had bad luck, but we made the best of it. Good luck to those of you with upcoming trips!

 

[antkim]

Friend just called me from WDW...they got there Friday. Her daughter got hit with it yesterday and she now has it...she said she has NEVER been so sick. Said it comes on instantly...all of a sudden she was doubled over with cramps and has not stopped "from both ends" since last night. Even worse is they are suppose to cruise on Thurs. and if her son or hubby get it tomorrow they will have to cancel. They do not want to take the risk of being quaranteened (spelling?) to their cabin on the ship or pass it along to other cruisers!

Now, that being said, she talked to a friend at home (PA) that said it is so bad there they are considering closing the schools for a few days. So...not sure if they got it from home or in WDW...regardless it is pretty bad!

I am sorry for anyone that is dealing with this!

 

[mariethecat]

I just returned and got very sick on day 4. It was the worst episode of vomiting I have had in my 51 years. I worked in a health care setting for over 20 years and was exposed to bacteria and viruses on a daily basis and never once was I ever this sick. I have no idea what it is or how I got it as I did not see a physician or have any tests done. Maybe people are getting sick for different reasons but my illness was exactly as everyone describes it- sudden onset, repeated and frequent vomiting and diarrhea for 24 hours then several days of weakness and nausea. I had read about before my trip and thought the chances of getting this sick was overblown also but not anymore.

 

[aj24]

It definitely stinks getting hit with norovirus or any stomach bug. But to those traveling in the near future to WDW, just remember, for every 1 person posting they got sick there's 25,000 not posting that they didn't.

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

DS3 got sick at WDW while we were there this past Thanksgiving and the week after. He got so ill, we took him to a doctor in Celebration. He wasn't sick prior to the trip and didn't start to feel ill until about the third day. He is great about washing his hands and using hand sanitizer. But, you can't help when others around are sick. Some people aren't canceling their vacation or staying in the room if they or their child are sick. So, others (like my DS3) end up suffering. DH stayed with him in the room one day and I did another. We wanted him to be completely better before venturing back out to the parks. He was fine after a few days, lots of fluids and some well deserved rest.

Jennifer

 

[EAWildman]

We were down at WDW from January 6th through the 13th and stayed at the Grand Floridian. We ate on the dining plan, and ate at counter service, sit down and buffet resturants. None of us got sick. We didn't see any evidence of anyone else getting sick either. We have an 18 month old son and we were in and out of all of the baby care centers all week long. You'd think you would see something there or at the first aid centers located near by.

Now, the day after I got back, I wound up getting a cold which I have now passed to the rest of my family. But no stomach bugs at all!

I am sure you can get sick down there at any time (I had a 12 hour stomach issue back in January of 2006 at WDW) but I wouldn't say that there's an "outbreak" right now or anything.

Eric

 

[pixistix]

I don't know about WDW but I live in PA and this stomach bug has run rampant through our office and beyond. I work in outside sales and almost every account I have has had someone in their family sick with it! Some have it worse than others. Some have it for 24 hours while others had it for days. I'm not sure this is a WDW issue or it's just winter time and these viruses are all over the place. When you think of all the people in Disney at any given time and all the places for viruses can be caught like door handles of food courts, rest rooms, railings in line waiting for a ride, etc. It would seem to me that this "bug" is just making it's rounds down there too.

 

[skater]

Obviously there is nothing "scientific" about this thread. Just because some have gotten very sick (sounds really bad - I feel for you guys ) doesn't mean its an epidemic. And just because some of you were fine and didn't hear anything about it (good for you ), doesn't mean there isn't a problem. Its winter, there's a lot of people there - of course there will be some illness. I like to read about it - information is always good. I am smart enough to know not to panic, but I'm also smart enough to be careful - wash my hands, etc. Keep the posts coming!

 

[donahue5]

I think that this thread may have been useful to a lot of people. People do panic when they know that they could get sick on vacation but also people do take more percausions (hand washing, cleaning, sleeping and eating). That actually may help the virus from spreading more. I bet there were a lot of people washing their hands more often now that they read this thread than if they had not. Just remember its a vacation and try to enjoy it and not worry. This virus is spreading everywhere not just DW.

 

[DWFan4Life]

Yes, this is really useful to anyone viewing this thread. This makes us aware and be responsible on what is happening, not just in DW but everywhere we go.

Keep safe everyone.

 

[mickyzzzzz05]

We were at WDW Jan 12 to 16th and both remained healthy. My daughter and son-in-law were also there for a week and neither of them came down with it. I did have the antibacterial lotion along but didn't use it a lot. We were careful to wash our hands frequently though.