Getting sick in Disney. A dreaded thought to say the least. We’ve heard our friends and family talk about it and we’ve read the blog posts, but still we think “Ah, that won’t happen to me.”
Disneyland
At least that’s what I thought…until it did! I got the stomach flu in Disney and so did my 11 month baby. Here’s what I wish I had done differently on our trip!
Hand Sanitizer After Every Attraction
Get some sani and attach it where you can see it whether that be on a backpack, diaper bag, purse, or stroller! Using it after eating, after using the restroom even after washing your hands, and after getting off each and every attraction will likely help kill off some of those bad germs!
Sanitizer Station
I used it here and there but not as often as I should have and I really think it would have helped!
Washing Hands on Group Bathroom Breaks
I visited with a large group, which means LOTS of bathroom breaks. Even though I didn’t need to use the restroom during all of these breaks, I do wish I would have just hopped into the bathroom to quickly wash my hands. We were just waiting around during those times anyways, so I wouldn’t have been missing anything and it would have just help send some of those germs down the drain!
Wipes Wipes Wipes
Our trip to Disneyland was my little one’s first time at Disney. He loves to explore whether that be touching everything in site or crawling around. While I did my best to wipe his hands after eating or touching something that seemed nasty, I really wish I would have prioritized this more. Wiping his hands after getting off a ride, touching a rail, crawling around, etc.
Clorox Wipes
He also loves to throw his paci. We brought our electric cleaner and some wipes, but in the hustle and bustle of a trip it’s so easy to just toss in back in the stroller or to just run it under some water in the bathroom and call it “clean.” Moms, I know ya see me on this!!
Him getting sick never even crossed my mind until it happened and he passed it off to me, and I don’t want the same thing happening to you or your little one — it was miserable! So, really prioritize cleaning those little hands. Next time I go, I might even set a little alarm just so I’m making sure to clean them every 30 mins or every hour so I don’t forget when things get busy!
Shoes
My little one was in the stroller for most of the trip and he doesn’t walk yet. He also doesn’t wear shoes too often and we live in Texas where it’s really hot, so most of the time he’s barefoot. To me, that seemed normal on the trip. Looking back, I feel like things would have just been cleaner all together if he had some shoes or at least some socks on while at the parks. Those bare little feet sure are cute but they are total germ collectors!
Smarter Sharing
Luckily, my son and I were the only two who got sick out of our huge group of 12, but looking back we could have easily passed our tummy bug to other people in our group.
Shanghai Holiday Kitchen Fill Spread
In order to try all of the items around the parks and to save money, my family often shares on our trips. Smarter sharing is something we should probably start doing on our next vacation. Separate straws in drinks and cutting food items in half is the easiest way to avoid spreading germs while still be able to share.
Sleep/Nutrients
Not forgetting the basics. We went HARD on our trip. We were going to bed later than my baby was used to and waking up and starting our day early as well. I know that it had to be a lot on his little body because it was a lot on mine. I just wanted us to see and do as much as we could to feel like we were “getting our moneys worth” out of our short three day trip. But seriously, remembering the basics like getting 8 hours of sleep probably would have really helped our situation.
Grand Californian
I also was so excited for him to try new things. We didn’t do lots of sugar and salt, of course, but he wasn’t having meals filled with loads of fruits and veggies like he usually does and neither was I. Working in a few more of these probably would have helped our immune systems out as well. Next time, I’m likely going to Instacart some fruits and things like that for snacks so we can just have them in our bags when we need them.
Extra Vitamin C
I reached out to a few of our reporters who are in the parks each and every day and they shared that they take Vitamin C each morning before they go into the parks. They also really stressed keeping yourself hydrated!
Overall Takeaways
Luckily, we didn’t get sick until the day we arrived at home, so I didn’t have to have the FOMO of sitting in our room while the rest of our group was having fun. But I do want to stress, if you or your little one is sick, please go see a nurse or request one come up to your room. People keep getting sick in the parks because people are continuing to go even when they are ill. Coming home sick from a Disney trip (even a super magical and fun one) can really put a damper on the memories and the experience.
If I could do it all again, I would have really stressed what I chatted about above. Washing my hands more, cleaning my babies hands like it was my job, getting a good nights sleep. If you are planning on going to Disney anytime soon, I suggest having a little healthy game plan so that you don’t get sick too!
Why You’re Getting Sick on Your Disney World Trip
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Just an fyi….hand sanitizer / alcohol does not kill stomach virus.
There is little point washing hands after eating, you must do it before!!! I sanitize coffee lids, take my own cutlery, sanitise the tray and table too. I also clean the entire room and bathroom before I do anything. It works.
Not sure any sanitizer will help if a food handler gave you the virus.
In 2022, I came home with covid despite wearing a mask most of the time and being fairly religious about hand sanitizer. My husband was unscathed! I now take Zinc and Vit C religiously like he always has! We went back in December 2023 and we still wore masks about 50% of the time and used hand sanitizer. This last trip we didn’t catch anything despite many acquaintances coming home with covid. I highly recommend taking Vitamin C, and if you are older, as I am, add Zinc and Vitamin D. It is no fun to get sick at Disney!
The most important rule in not catching germs is don’t touch your mouth or nose unless you have just washed your hands. Unfortunately, you can’t teach that to a baby. You are right ; you just have to keep cleaning their hands, and try to keep them from putting inappropriate things into their mouth, and making sure the appropriate ones are clean.Most people forget that it takes at least 20 seconds of hand rubbing to remove those germs when you are washing your hands.
We are big WDW goers. We come from California and stay for a month at a time. We rarely get sick. Why? We don’t touch ANYTHING. No hanging on to railings, etc. And if we do, we find the nearest restroom immediately after and wash our hands with soap. We have a habit of going straight to a restroom after each ride to wash hands. Reaching down and wiping your little ones’ hands all day long will definitely help! But unfortunately, there is nothing like plain soap and water.
We drink an Emergen-C Immune+ every morning and have never gotten sick at Disney or even gotten COVID. We also make sure to wipe our tables down with a disinfecting wipe and are diligent about sanitizer after each ride, before eating even after washing our hands at bathroom breaks.
You can douse your entire body with hand sanitizer, its not going to stop airborne viruses. Paper masks are also useless. I do believe in loading Vitamins / minerals such as C, D3 and zinc before any traveling.
and never lick the table before you eat
Strong word of caution– You show a picture of Clorox wipes while talking about wiping hands. Clorox wipes are not to be used for personal hygiene. In fact, if you read the directions and caution statements, you are supposed to wash your hands after using. It is a poison like any other household cleaner.
Hand sanitizer does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING for norovirus – which causes the stomach flu. Please edit the article, someone may read it and get fooled. The only thing that helps is washing your hands with water and soap. Don’t touch surfaces, don’t touch your food or your face, wash your hands often, and if you’re taking care of someone who’s sick, use gloves and sanitise surfaces with bleach. Quarantine objects they interacted with that can’t be washed with very hot water for at least 2 weeks
We just returned from Disney. Beginning with my one year old granddaughter, our entire family got it also. It began on the bus back from magic kingdom!
And FYI… we take all precautions. We all wash hands before meals, after bathroom, anytime feel we have touched something that might warrant hand washing, careful what we touch, careful who we have close contact with , open doors using paper towel, etc.
My whole family just got norovirus after our disney trip last week. Its horrible. Make sure you bring hand sanitizer they dont have it at the parks anymore. My parents think it was from the hotel pool since they were with us but didnt join that part! Its been almost 4 days and i still feel weak and sickly.
Kids need to stick to their normal schedule. Parents pushing their poor little ones past exhaustion plus the junk they feed them is sad. Just because it’s vacation you don’t change what you’d normally do.