The flu has me freaking out!

[kj2mom]

Keep sleep habits as close to normal as possible, keep eating habits as close to normal as possible, take vitamins (don't forget D, that is huge in immune health where as many people only think of C) and be mindful of the usual tips of handwashing/sanitizing/trying not to rub eyes/nose/ears and hope for the best. I might also consider making sure not to enter the camper without sanitizing and/or washing hands with the hopes of keeping your vacation home as free from germs as possible.

I hope you all have a fantastic and healthy trip!

 

[DisneyMom2000000]

Keep sleep habits as close to normal as possible, keep eating habits as close to normal as possible, take vitamins (don't forget D, that is huge in immune health where as many people only think of C) and be mindful of the usual tips of handwashing/sanitizing/trying not to rub eyes/nose/ears and hope for the best. I might also consider making sure not to enter the camper without sanitizing and/or washing hands with the hopes of keeping your vacation home as free from germs as possible.

I hope you all have a fantastic and healthy trip!

That's a great idea about the hand sanitizer at the camper! We'll keep a bottle on the table.

 

[DisneyMom2000000]

Looks like Disney is being a little proactive. Today at AK we watched several times as CMs built and set up sanitizer stations.

View attachment 297419

I am so glad to see that. I really hope people wouldn't go to Disney knowing they have the flu, but crazier things have happened.

 

[KyGirl]

Just a little encouragement...

We just got back Sunday from a week at Disney and I was SO nervous that one of us would get sick while we were there, with either the flu or something else. It was me and DH, DD5, and both of my parents. We also drove down and stayed in our personal camper at the Fort. Oh and we all had our flu shots in October.

I was a hand washing general and we also went through several travel sized handitizer bottles. I make my DD say her ABCs while she washes her hands so she knows not to just do a quick soap and rinse. We used the other stuff between hand washes. I tried to remind everybody not to touch railings and stuff as much as possible but it's hard with a five year old. She just runs her hands along EVERYTHING! I also had a pack of antibacterial wipes in the park bag and tried to remember to wipe down tables before we ate but honestly I wasn't 100% on that. DH got frustrated when he was standing there holding a tray full of food and drinks and I was scrubbing the table.

I also made everyone wash hands when entering the camper and take their shoes off by the door. I'm a big believer in a bath or shower before bedtime for DD so we did that every night except for the two nights we stayed for night time shows and she fell asleep coming home. Even those nights I used a washcloth to wipe off her face and arms where she was touching things and DH held her up so I could wash her hands in her sleep! Also, I kept Lysol wipes in the camper and wiped down all the countertops and sink fixtures a couple times a day.

And to REALLY show my crazy side, when we got back to the camper at night, I took Lysol wipes to our phones. (We have Lifeproof water proof cases.) I feel like we use our phones constantly in the parks to check wait times and get FPs so our hands are on them all the time or we would put them in those pouches on rides and stuff. And both DH and I read the news or whatever on our phones in bed so I hated the thought of dragging them all over the park and then having it on my pillow or something.

So yes I was maybe a little of a germaphobe. I'm not that bad at home outside of requiring hand washing but we've done the being sick at Disney thing and it's no fun. With the germs going around this season, I was pretty paranoid.

And while I'm probably giving myself too much credit and we were just really lucky... all five of us lasted the week. We pulled out Saturday morning so we're close to being outside of what I understand to be the incubation period, for the flu anyway. I've read a few reviews online of people that were there during the week and they got sick. Or came back sick. So I feel very blessed.

Of course, now DD is back at school, someone in my office has the flu, and DH is back riding an ambulance (he's a paramedic) so it's not like we've made it through the season or anything. But at least now it won't ruin the trip that we spent a year planning!

Good luck to everybody and I hope we all stay healthy!

 

[DisneyMom2000000]

Just a little encouragement...

We just got back Sunday from a week at Disney and I was SO nervous that one of us would get sick while we were there, with either the flu or something else. It was me and DH, DD5, and both of my parents. We also drove down and stayed in our personal camper at the Fort. Oh and we all had our flu shots in October.

I was a hand washing general and we also went through several travel sized handitizer bottles. I make my DD say her ABCs while she washes her hands so she knows not to just do a quick soap and rinse. We used the other stuff between hand washes. I tried to remind everybody not to touch railings and stuff as much as possible but it's hard with a five year old. She just runs her hands along EVERYTHING! I also had a pack of antibacterial wipes in the park bag and tried to remember to wipe down tables before we ate but honestly I wasn't 100% on that. DH got frustrated when he was standing there holding a tray full of food and drinks and I was scrubbing the table.

I also made everyone wash hands when entering the camper and take their shoes off by the door. I'm a big believer in a bath or shower before bedtime for DD so we did that every night except for the two nights we stayed for night time shows and she fell asleep coming home. Even those nights I used a washcloth to wipe off her face and arms where she was touching things and DH held her up so I could wash her hands in her sleep! Also, I kept Lysol wipes in the camper and wiped down all the countertops and sink fixtures a couple times a day.

And to REALLY show my crazy side, when we got back to the camper at night, I took Lysol wipes to our phones. (We have Lifeproof water proof cases.) I feel like we use our phones constantly in the parks to check wait times and get FPs so our hands are on them all the time or we would put them in those pouches on rides and stuff. And both DH and I read the news or whatever on our phones in bed so I hated the thought of dragging them all over the park and then having it on my pillow or something.

So yes I was maybe a little of a germaphobe. I'm not that bad at home outside of requiring hand washing but we've done the being sick at Disney thing and it's no fun. With the germs going around this season, I was pretty paranoid.

And while I'm probably giving myself too much credit and we were just really lucky... all five of us lasted the week. We pulled out Saturday morning so we're close to being outside of what I understand to be the incubation period, for the flu anyway. I've read a few reviews online of people that were there during the week and they got sick. Or came back sick. So I feel very blessed.

Of course, now DD is back at school, someone in my office has the flu, and DH is back riding an ambulance (he's a paramedic) so it's not like we've made it through the season or anything. But at least now it won't ruin the trip that we spent a year planning!

Good luck to everybody and I hope we all stay healthy!

It's so nice to hear a success story Feels like all I've heard is everyone will get the flu at Disney this year!! I'm going to follow your lead with being a germaphobe

How often did you wash hands in the parks and sanitize? Feels excessive to sanitize after every ride.. but maybe it isn't?! Did you ride busses or drive to the parks?

Sounds like you were in a very similar situation as I am about to be!

I'm glad we are camping though.

 

[KyGirl]

It's so nice to hear a success story Feels like all I've heard is everyone will get the flu at Disney this year!! I'm going to follow your lead with being a germaphobe

How often did you wash hands in the parks and sanitize? Feels excessive to sanitize after every ride.. but maybe it isn't?! Did you ride busses or drive to the parks?

Sounds like you were in a very similar situation as I am about to be!

I'm glad we are camping though.

Well obviously we washed our hands anytime we used the bathroom, but that's a given. Sometimes DD would accompany me but not actually go and she still had to do the full ABCs! If possible, we washed our hands before we sat down to a meal but sometimes that is easier said than done because of locations or whatever. And if we were waiting around and I got the itch, I'd drag DD into the bathroom and do a wash. We definitely used the handitizer (which I just realized might be a word my family made up...) before any meal or snack, sometimes even if we'd washed because of how many things there are to touch between the bathroom and the table. I kept a few of those tiny bottles from Bath & Body works hanging off the bags or even stuck into a grown ups pocket. I wouldn't say we did it after every single ride, but pretty close. I just kept thinking of all those other hands that touched the safety bars and stuff on the rides... So while we were walking out of a ride I'd pull out the bottle, squirt a little on everybody, and we didn't even slow down. No big deal. Plus Disney had some dispensers spread around the parks and we might occasionally stick our hands under those when we passed. And it may be excessive but.... it worked I guess.

When we went to the MK, we rode the boat from the campground. We were in the 200 loop so it was an easy walk to the marina. When we went to the other three parks we drove our own vehicle. This is normal for us though, not part of my flu avoidance mission. My family just really doesn't enjoy the Disney buses. We didn't even use them to get around the campground. I considered renting a golf cart but we just walked where we needed to go. (FYI, eat at Trails End while you're there. We hit it up 3 times in a week and it was the BEST food we had from our whole trip.)

I liked too that with the camping we were in our own space, not somewhere that someone sick had just left. And I really felt like I could control what came in and out of our space. My parents didn't actually stay with us in the camper. They stayed at a hotel right off property and met up with us each morning. It was our first time to do Disney this way and it really worked out great. I'm not sure if it's your first time at Fort Wilderness or not but if you have any questions, let me know. I was really pleased with how some of our choices turned out!

 

[DisneyMom2000000]

Well obviously we washed our hands anytime we used the bathroom, but that's a given. Sometimes DD would accompany me but not actually go and she still had to do the full ABCs! If possible, we washed our hands before we sat down to a meal but sometimes that is easier said than done because of locations or whatever. And if we were waiting around and I got the itch, I'd drag DD into the bathroom and do a wash. We definitely used the handitizer (which I just realized might be a word my family made up...) before any meal or snack, sometimes even if we'd washed because of how many things there are to touch between the bathroom and the table. I kept a few of those tiny bottles from Bath & Body works hanging off the bags or even stuck into a grown ups pocket. I wouldn't say we did it after every single ride, but pretty close. I just kept thinking of all those other hands that touched the safety bars and stuff on the rides... So while we were walking out of a ride I'd pull out the bottle, squirt a little on everybody, and we didn't even slow down. No big deal. Plus Disney had some dispensers spread around the parks and we might occasionally stick our hands under those when we passed. And it may be excessive but.... it worked I guess.

When we went to the MK, we rode the boat from the campground. We were in the 200 loop so it was an easy walk to the marina. When we went to the other three parks we drove our own vehicle. This is normal for us though, not part of my flu avoidance mission. My family just really doesn't enjoy the Disney buses. We didn't even use them to get around the campground. I considered renting a golf cart but we just walked where we needed to go. (FYI, eat at Trails End while you're there. We hit it up 3 times in a week and it was the BEST food we had from our whole trip.)

I liked too that with the camping we were in our own space, not somewhere that someone sick had just left. And I really felt like I could control what came in and out of our space. My parents didn't actually stay with us in the camper. They stayed at a hotel right off property and met up with us each morning. It was our first time to do Disney this way and it really worked out great. I'm not sure if it's your first time at Fort Wilderness or not but if you have any questions, let me know. I was really pleased with how some of our choices turned out!

Thank you so much for all of your advice. I'm with you on thinking about the hands on stuff -- yuck!!!

 

[kandb]

I think the most important thing is to not touch doorknobs, handles, banisters etc that hundreds of people touch and obviously when you touch those things, wash hands or sanitize hands. ALWAYS wash hands before you eat. If you go to buffet, after you use the serving spoons, when you get back to the table to eat, sanitize your hands before touching any foods. We never touch doorknobs, always use our shirts instead of our bare hands. I always sanitize most things in the hotel room that people touch also (doorknobs, faucets, toilet flusher, remote control). It's not 100% but it will definitely decrease you getting sick. Of course, if anyone is near you coughing/hacking, leave that area.

 

[DisneyMom2000000]

Happy to report we got back yesterday and so far are flu free! Still could be in the incubation period, but unlikely!

 

[friedela]

That's great! I hope you had an amazing trip!!! Please send your good luck vibes this way, lol

 

[DisneyMom2000000]

That's great! I hope you had an amazing trip!!! Please send your good luck vibes this way, lol

It was so fun!!! Already in the process of planning the next trip... but it won't be during flu season We did lots of hand washing and sanitizing. I'm not usually an over sanitize but I'm not sure I have any finger prints left after this trip! haha! We used a spray that advertises 24 hour protection... who knows if it helped.... but we are good!!!