Keeping kids healthy at WDW

[Genie+]

WDW can be alot of stress on the immune system, plus guests are in close contact with with 10s of 1,000s of individual germ carriers. It’s a challenge! Try to take it easy and treat your body well.

 

[DodgerGirl]

When my family would travel to Texas to see my grandmother I would always end up getting sick since I was little and I would get sick on the last day of our trips. And when we would get home I would end up having to stay in bed the next day and Mom could not figure out what would cause my illnesses every time we had to go to Texas. When you have kids especially toddlers and babies getting sick is the worst part of a vacation especially a Disney vacation that the kids have been looking forward to for months. What I think the most illnesses you can see a toddler or baby getting at Disney Parks are earaches tummy aches and dizzy spells for toddlers and for babies a cold or feeling under the weather. And what I think Disney Parks should do is enforce a rules system for keeping kids healthy in the parks and the rules would consist as follows,
1. If any family has a baby or toddler or older kid the parents would be asked at the park entrance this question? Is your son/daughter showing signs of illness or is feeling healthy today? and if the baby or older kid or toddler is feeling under the weather prior to the park visit parents will be advised to check with a doctor before visiting the parks
2. On rides or waiting in line for food or to see shows Disney Parks would have a sign at the ride entrance saying this " PLEASE DO NOT LET CHILDREN PLAY OR TOUCH ROPE QUEUES WITH DIRTY/SWEATY/MESSY HANDS OR FEET FOR SAFETY REASONS WASH CHILD'S HANDS OR FEET BEFORE RIDING"
3. There will be similar signs at character meet and greets that say this rule "FOR HEALTH AND SAFETY REASONS PLEASE DO NOT LET CHILDREN TOUCH CHARACTERS IF CHILDREN ARE SICK" "AUTOGRAPHS AND CHARACTER PHOTOS CAN BE REQUESTED BY MAIL IF CHILD IS ILL"
4. For eating at the restaurants or outside restaurants families can asked for the table to be cleaned before eating food and all restaurant tables must be cleaned after a family eats
With rules like these Disney Parks would be able to get families in safe and healthy

 

[mjkacmom]

My little kids ALWAYS used to get sick every single time we traveled; now (teenagers) even with multiple trips during Covid, everyone stayed healthy.

I think the key for us is being proactive with health and natural immunity. Lots of sleep, lots of water, lots of clean food and nutrition, exercise, vitamins, etc. I think there may be something to being exhausted and eating garbage on vacation and then getting sick. We have food allergies and some health stuff that now mean that we have to keep eating well and sleeping well even on vacation. Yes, we wash our hands and don't lick doorknobs, but I think being healthy to start with goes a long way.

My kids were always sick when they were little, very rarely when they were teens, until freshman year in college where they were always sick again (as was every single other freshman). I think one reason why people get sick from their vacations is encountering germs they’ve never been exposed to from folks from all over, just like college.

 

[Beer Me]

Be up to date on all vaccines, mask when it’s crowded indoors, try not to touch stuff, hand wash/sanitize often. Basically keep doing the things we’ve been doing the past couple of years when you’re out in public. Covid is still around, flu, rsv etc. I feel like because we’ve stopped worrying so much about covid we’ve thrown all caution to the wind. Some of the habits picked up recently are worth retaining.

I feel like everyone I know who has traveled recently (including a Disney cruise) has come home sick - some with covid but there are plenty of other nasty viruses. The risk is real.

 

[kwdw]

Tips (many said before)

• Keeping a sleep schedule and not over doing it is HUGE for staying well.
• Handwashing, fingers off face, maybe let them play in the interactive queues, but use hand sanitizer right away.
• Using sanitizer wipes on stroller surfaces frequently.
• If you are flying, you might try masking at the airport and on the plane. Obviously - not for an 8 month old, but the rest of you. Some folks are doing this and I expect that will continue.
• Bring as many of the normal healthy things they eat as you can. Or consider a grocery delivery. You will have a microwave in a studio, there's lots you can do.
• Consider the COVID vaccine, if you haven't. It's still going around and likely will be.
• OH - and sleep! Yes - a second time. We all get sick way easier when physically and mentally drained. Letting this get enough sleep is probably the number 1 thing you can do to help keep them well.

 

[Lilsia]

Keeping a sleep schedule and not over doing it is HUGE for staying well.

This! I know that many people want to maximize their stay and go at rope drop, but we never did this. We let everyone sleep until they woke up naturally. We would then get ready and have breakfast at the resort. We would usually get to the parks around 10ish. If you start the day with a tired, cranky kid, not only will it not be fun for them, but being sleep deprived also leaves them more vulnerable to illness. Good sleep, a healthy diet, and keeping your hands clean and away from your face makes a HUGE difference in your health.

 

[tinkerjo]

Good old fashioned hand washing is you best defense but most likely you will still come In Contact with germs your body deems as foreign. Maybe take some immune health, vitamin C or just a good daily multi vitamin. Honestly, it’s not something I every worried about too much. (A healthy awareness and common sense cleanliness of course) My kids were in day care and/or around older siblings that were exposed to everything under the sun so they had pretty strong immune systems and rarely got sick beyond the common cold/24 hr flu.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

My daughter would always get sick at WDW. She has asthma, and for her it's a coughing asthma. I hate to say it, but I think that going in the pool/swimming is a big factor for my daughter. After years and getting a new pulmonologist after we moved, this is what we do and it has helped. Her doctor said, shower at night. Get all the "gunk" off, keep nasal passage clean and clear, and of course, wash your hands..... A LOT. We also start with some Flonase about a week before we go. Now, this is just what we do and it pertains to her asthmatic cough. We never found my daughter's trigger but it would always occur in Florida. Her doctor did say Florida is "moldy" and that may have something to do with it.

 

[DeeBee3]

Just thought to add, keep up your vitamin D. Depending on where you live and your skin, you may not get nearly as much vitamin D absorbed through natural sunlight. In NY, I would say 6ish months where we don't get enough vitamin D. It is one of the most important vitamins for immune health, but doctors/insurance has stopped covering the bloodwork to check your level -depending on your plan.

It also takes week for your body to actually increase the level so you can't just take it a few days and think your level will go up. You need to take it for weeks ahead of time and basically throughout the year to keep the level up. I take it year round as I don't get out half the year and I also burn easily so sunblock prevents absorbing sun properly.

 

[Elephantay]

I think if you had your toddler mask in the line play areas, then sanitized before mask removal, that would help. Kids can be trusted to not touch their face until then learn that- so I'd cover up and let them play. For other lines I think someone had a great idea with using fidget toys, and maybe keeping your child in a stroller for lines. That is extended time near the same ( potentially sick) people. Is this allowed?? Maybe not

Also, a month or so before the trip I'd start some extra vitamins and be careful to get enough sleep. Then continue that throughout the trip and a week after. A little immunity boost can't hurt.

 

[Lilsia]

My daughter would always get sick at WDW. She has asthma, and for her it's a coughing asthma. I hate to say it, but I think that going in the pool/swimming is a big factor for my daughter. After years and getting a new pulmonologist after we moved, this is what we do and it has helped. Her doctor said, shower at night. Get all the "gunk" off, keep nasal passage clean and clear, and of course, wash your hands..... A LOT. We also start with some Flonase about a week before we go. Now, this is just what we do and it pertains to her asthmatic cough. We never found my daughter's trigger but it would always occur in Florida. Her doctor did say Florida is "moldy" and that may have something to do with it.

Yes! Showering in the evening also makes a difference. We do that too. I just feel so gross otherwise. My husband has asthma also and it makes a difference for him too if he has been outside, other then just getting into his car.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Vacation is notorious for stealing sleep, so make sure to schedule some early nights or late mornings so they don't get too overtired.

Choose veggie and fruit sides at meals when they're available.

My family also takes Airborne in the days before and during a trip. The baby is too young, of course, but it should be an option for the 3 year old. (You can check with your pediatrician for the right dose, and cut them smaller to prevent choking.)

 

[MediumSizedMermaid]

If you can get them to mask boarding the plane-in the air that may help. Before takeoff the air isn't circulating the way it is in flight. I'd also suggest doing a thorough wipe-down of the plane seats and trays before you sit. Agreeing on the general advice on wipes, hand-washing, and sanitizer.

 

[Carol_]

Multivitamins with a touch of extra zinc probably wouldn’t hurt to fight viruses (according to German studies not funded by Big Pharma)

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

As an adult one of the biggest determinants to how I feel are my allergies. Different locations affect me differently. We also know different humidity levels affect us. We've been to Vegas enough times to know it's tough on our bodies (with my husband not really having allergies) with the extremely low humidity (it was like 113 with 23% humidity one day). While not the case at WDW because it's usually much more humid a difference there can really affect someone. The pollens are different and the severity of those pollens.

That said for what you said happened last time that's just plain sickness, croup cough is infection often a viral one that is airborne and can stick to surfaces and there's only so much you can do for that. How someone feels while being sick can be made worse by adjustments to their body so I could see how eating foods you don't normally eat can just further upset your body but I don't think it's the cause for actual infections (unless we're talking about food-based illnesses) nor would eating those same food necessarily help in not getting sick.

Hydration is one thing I would make sure to keep up on. If you have specific foods they eat at home if they can be packed in a park bag I would suggest doing that to minimize shock to the system. While I don't think it's a bad thing to handwash a lot and use sanitizer when you can know that you'd be doing that every second for as much things as you touch at Disney, from chains, to poles, to surfaces on the ride they are on to seats, any play areas, etc so def. so handwash and use sanitizer when you can't but just know that's still going to leave opportunities (and a lot TBH) for things to be picked up.

Sleep is a good one people mentioned because that can have a huge impact on our immune system.

 

[Dulcee]

We did EVERYTHING right, and still all came home with Norovirus (we were there Nov 4-7 and are just now starting to get over the virus.)

Hand sanitizer is KEY.

Just an FYI hand sanitizer doesn't kill norovirus. Soap and water (or special hospital grade bleach wipes, which we now carry to wipe down surfaces they eat on during vacation) are the only way to knock that one out.

We discovered this the hard way when our then-youngest (11 months) picked up norovirus on a disney trip. We spent days 4 - 6 of our trip locked up in our hotel room, day 7 at the Orlando children's hospital, and then about 2 weeks post the trip with norovirus making its way through the rest of us. Awful, awful experience!

 

[TinkB278]

Just an FYI hand sanitizer doesn't kill norovirus. Soap and water (or special hospital grade bleach wipes, which we now carry to wipe down surfaces they eat on during vacation) are the only way to knock that one out.

We discovered this the hard way when our then-youngest (11 months) picked up norovirus on a disney trip. We spent days 4 - 6 of our trip locked up in our hotel room, day 7 at the Orlando children's hospital, and then about 2 weeks post the trip with norovirus making its way through the rest of us. Awful, awful experience!

Where do you get the wipes? Any idea where you picked up the virus?

 

[Dulcee]

Where do you get the wipes? Any idea where you picked up the virus?

Amazon carries them! We are quite sure we picked it up on property as the incubation period is only 12 - 48 hours and we were staying at a Disney resort. That was 3 years ago and we are definitely a bit more careful now about using the wipes to clean down the stroller snack area and any time we sit down at a table where little ones hands/food will end up on table surfaces.

 

[TinkB278]

Amazon carries them! We are quite sure we picked it up on property as the incubation period is only 12 - 48 hours and we were staying at a Disney resort. That was 3 years ago and we are definitely a bit more careful now about using the wipes to clean down the stroller snack area and any time we sit down at a table where little ones hands/food will end up on table surfaces.

Thanks! Should I just search for “hospital grade wipes”?

 

[Dulcee]

Thanks! Should I just search for “hospital grade wipes”?

Yup! They are Clorox Brand Healthcare Germicidal wipes. They also work great for cleaning at home if someone brings home a stomach virus and you don't want everyone else to get it