The Ultimate Stomach Bug @ Disney Thread

[Twheezy]

My wife and I were there for Dec. 7 - 17 for our honeymoon.

We stayed at Saratoga Springs (thanks to a Dis board member selling her points to us) and on our last day, my wife came down with one of the worst stomach virus she has had in recent years.

We had to cut our trip a bit short and the ride home from Florida to Virginia wasn't exactly pleasant.

We are heading back in May, so we are hoping it is all cleared out by then.

 

[hulagirl87]

My wife and I were there for Dec. 7 - 17 for our honeymoon.

We stayed at Saratoga Springs (thanks to a Dis board member selling her points to us) and on our last day, my wife came down with one of the worst stomach virus she has had in recent years.

We had to cut our trip a bit short and the ride home from Florida to Virginia wasn't exactly pleasant.

We are heading back in May, so we are hoping it is all cleared out by then.

Oh, I feel your pain. My DH and I got married in Disney and on the day of our wedding my DH (well, not at that point ) got deathly ill with a stomach virus and we had to call an ambulance to take us to Celebration hospital. Not where you want to spend your wedding day, but hey, Disney was very accomodating in helping us reschedule everything for later in the week.

Glad to see that you get to go back to finish up the rest of your honeymoon! We'll be there in May too!!

 

[bonnielynn]

Is disney aware of all these people getting sick? If it were on a cruise, they would be cleaning big time?

I just read a dinning review where one of the kids got sick. Mousekeeters mentioned that there were a couple more people in the same building sick.. which leaves me to believe this is still going on..

I would say bring purell, wash your hands before eating...

 

[Mickeyherewecome123]

When we were there in April, I got the stomach bug on one of the days. I was totally out of it for that entire day. Thankfully DH took our boys out to MK for the entire day (to keep them away from me) I was so worried they were goign to get it too. But thankfully, I was the only one to get it and I was back to the parks the following day.
We are going back again this April and I pray we dont get it.

 

[mommytocalliesue]

So I lied....

We got back Fri. and I came down with a horrible case of strep throat (had to go to ER today) and DD (2 1/2) started throwing up today and hasn't stopped for hours. Poor girl. I know it's from Disney.....funny thing is....DD and I were the ones who constantly used hand sanitizer...DH didn't...and we're the ones that are sick. Go figure!

 

[mousetravel]

Does anyone think that this bug is more weather-related?

I am going on a Disney cruise in March and am planning a day at MK before or after the cruise. After reading most of these posts, I think I will plan to go AFTER the cruise. I wouldn't want to get sick and have to cancel my cruise!

 

[catne]

we just got back from a week in Florida (some days at the beach, some days at WDW and some days in a lake town.)

We ate both table service restaurants & a buffet at Disneyworld...neither one of us got sick. Didn't really see (or hear) anyone getting sick or acting sick. Not so much as a cough, really.

I suspect it just seems like a lot of people are getting sick because the sick ones are posting...the thousands who have gone & didn't get sick generally don't post that they stayed healthy...people usually don't report that "nothing happened" - that's just not "news", ya know.

 

[emtmom]

I brought lots of travel size hand sanitizer with us, esp since I am 6 months pregnant and I still managed to get sick. It just goes to show that if you're gonna get sick, you're gonna get sick. Sure it stinks that it happened in Disney, but I have to say I'm glad it was in the park and not on the ship. My IL's got horribly sick for the first two days of our cruise last year, and even though we had pretty calm seas, they said even the slightest motion made it that much worse.

 

[ReelRedHead]

We just got back from Pop (Jan 21-26). we washed hands before we ate and used sanitizer. No illness for us, nor did we hear or see any illness. I was so paranoid before we left!!
We had an awesome time. Don't stress about it.

 

[distherapy]

I was paranoid too! We stayed at the WL from 1/22-1/27. I took Lysol, which I never have before. Didn't matter though because my son walked in the room and licked the sliding glass door. Yes, licked it. My daughter touched everything in sight and she sucks her fingers (trying so hard to break her of that habit). None of us got sick. I think it's way more luck than habits. We ate at 3 or 4 buffets and just generally stopped worrying about it. I didn't see any signs of illnesses anywhere, either.

 

[momof2intx]

I think it is just happening everywhere, not just WDW. My brother took my nieces to Disneyland over MK weekend.....both of them came down with the sickness, landing my older niece in the hospital getting IVs....that makes for a nice weekend!

I'm just packing lots of wipes and antibacterial hand stuff and I plan to wipe down everything I can!

 

[philschic]

I hope it dies down a bit before me and my hubby head down. We're staying at CSR Feb. 14-21. & I am also bringing wipes and such. Is there any restrictions on those or the hand sanitizer gel on planes???

 

[vs1023]

I was paranoid too! We stayed at the WL from 1/22-1/27. I took Lysol, which I never have before. Didn't matter though because my son walked in the room and licked the sliding glass door. Yes, licked it. My daughter touched everything in sight and she sucks her fingers (trying so hard to break her of that habit). None of us got sick. I think it's way more luck than habits. We ate at 3 or 4 buffets and just generally stopped worrying about it. I didn't see any signs of illnesses anywhere, either.

We were also in the WL Jan 20th-27th and DH didn't put the Lysol in our carry on so I didn't even have it handy to wipe down the room. We all survived. None of us got sick. I did use the Wet ones wipes on DD's hands before and after eating and after riding a few rides (and touching stuff). I was in the bathroom with her so much (she's 3) that I was constantly washing my hands.

At most I got a sinus infection which I attribute to the dry air in the hotel room and my usual sinus issues.

 

[Soarin08]

Well I have been back down at WDW a week and no sign of any illness anywhere. No one in my resort location (where I work- SSR) has appeared ill and I haven't seen/heard/smelled evidence of sickness in the parks.

 

[suemom2kay]

I think it is just happening everywhere, not just WDW.

You are right, it is everywhere. It is a virus called Norovirus (which causes 1/3 of all viral stomach ailments). It is transmitted via contact and droplets (i.e. cough/sneeze). We've had several patients in for it (I work ICU so they were very sick). Several nurses have missed work from it.

So, everyone that's washing hands that's your best bet. It's not a Disney thing it is a winter thing. Hope none of us get it!

 

[snykymom]

I hope it dies down a bit before me and my hubby head down. We're staying at CSR Feb. 14-21. & I am also bringing wipes and such. Is there any restrictions on those or the hand sanitizer gel on planes???

There are no restrictions on wipes in carry-on luggage. Hand sanitizer gel is considered a "liquid" and as such may only be brought in carry-on in 3 oz. containers or smaller, and all the containers must fit into a single quart-size ziplock bag.

You can bring as much as you want in your checked luggage.

 

[MickeyNicki]

DH and I were there Jan 20-25 with our 2 nieces...it was freezing cold, 27 at night and 50 - 60 for the highs. One our second night the little 6 year old niece was sick in the bed 3 times that night, mousekeepeing at the Poly was fantastic, they came out at 1am, 3am and 4:30am to take care of it. They replaced the bed and cleaned all the carpet the next day...

The mousekeepers said another family had the same problem that night.

I think our niece was not used to the cold and she did eat more than she normally does and the excitement must have taken a toll on her. After that night she was fine and no one else in our party was sick

 

[momof2intx]

What about a can of Lysol spray? Allowed in checked luggage? I wasn't sure because of it being an aerosol, they may not like that too much!

 

[Wonderlandmom]

You are right, it is everywhere. It is a virus called Norovirus (which causes 1/3 of all viral stomach ailments). It is transmitted via contact and droplets (i.e. cough/sneeze).

From CDC:

Virus Transmission

Noroviruses are transmitted primarily through the fecal-oral route, either by consumption of fecally contaminated food or water or by direct person-to-person spread. Environmental and fomite contamination may also act as a source of infection. Good evidence exists for transmission due to aerosolization of vomitus that presumably results in droplets contaminating surfaces or entering the oral mucosa and being swallowed. No evidence suggests that infection occurs through the respiratory system.

Noroviruses are highly contagious and as few as 10 viral particles may be sufficient to infect an individual. During outbreaks of norovirus gastroenteritis, several modes of transmission have been documented; for example, initial foodborne transmission in a restaurant, followed by secondary person-to-person transmission to household contacts. Although presymptomatic viral shedding may occur, shedding usually begins with onset of symptoms and may continue for 2 weeks after recovery.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/revb/gastro/norovirus-factsheet.htm

and prevention:

Can norovirus infections be prevented?
You can decrease your chance of coming in contact with noroviruses by following these preventive steps:

* Frequently wash your hands, especially after toilet visits and changing diapers and before eating or preparing food.
* Carefully wash fruits and vegetables, and steam oysters before eating them.
* Thoroughly clean and disinfect contaminated surfaces immediately after an episode of illness by using a bleach-based household cleaner.
* Immediately remove and wash clothing or linens that may be contaminated with virus after an episode of illness (use hot water and soap).
* Flush or discard any vomitus and/or stool in the toilet and make sure that the surrounding area is kept clean.

Persons who are infected with norovirus should not prepare food while they have symptoms and for 3 days after they recover from their illness (see food handler information sheet). Food that may have been contaminated by an ill person should be disposed of properly.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

Well, I thought "none of us will get sick." Guess what? We just returned yesterday and I'm still about to puke. My youngest son woke up Sunday morning feeling sick and was throwing up within the hour. Luckily it only lasted about 12 hours for him. I came down with it on Monday evening and spent Monday evening and all day Tuesday in the resort room. Drove home yesterday feeling ill and still am. Thankfully none of the other family members got sick.