Would love your opinion...trip in 2 days and kiddo just got the flu

[chriskakaras]

Honestly, would love to know what you would do. Trip is planned 1/24-1/30. Art of Animation reserved. ADR's were booked 180 days out. Fastpasses booked 60 days out. Took 5 yo daughter to doctor this morning (monday) to find out she has the flu. Now we are trying to decide:

A. Just leave Wed at 6 am like normal. She's on tami flu. She can wear a mask in the car to not get parents or 3 yo brother sick. Hope for the best.

B. Delay trip a week. Problems are: can't get Art of Animation (kids LOVE LOVE this resort), all my hard to get ADR's and fastpasses are no longer obtainable for this time. Positives are: kids won't be as devastated.

C. Plan a trip in the fall. Disney starts getting busier and busier from this point on and the whole point of picking this week originally was to avoid crowds. So we'd pick low attendance week in Fall 2018 (and I believe we'd be able to get Art of Animation and my hard to get ADR's/Fastpasses).

I would love to know what you would do in our shoes...and feel free to give us any advice for our situation. Thanks

Chris

 

[Malestrom Troll]

If your daughter still has a fever tomorrow morning, I wouldn't go. I would plan a trip for the fall. Hopefully you have trip insurance.

 

[GabLovesDisney]

I have been a nurse 27 years. This is one of the worst flu seasons I have seen Please Please Please stay home . Your child will be contagious for days to come. Don't risk everyone in the car getting sick. If the parents get sick then what? Don't do it please.

 

[sharonabe]

I vote for the fall. The rest of you are already exposed, and you have no way of knowing if you'll get it or not. There's also the possibility of all of you infecting others at the parks. Yes, the kids will be sad, but they'll still get to go and all is not lost.

If you can do it, I'd be looking at mid April-mid May. It will still be lowish crowds and the weather will be better than the fall.

 

[FortWildernessCamper]

So sorry your daughter has the Flu. I think Option 3 is probably your best choice.
Get the kids excited about Holloween Parties and wearing their costumes at that time of year to help with their disappointment.

 

[deedubb]

I have been a nurse 27 years. This is one of the worst flu seasons I have seen Please Please Please stay home . Your child will be contagious for days to come. Don't risk everyone in the car getting sick. If the parents get sick then what? Don't do it please.

Not to mention the fact that you might already be infected, but not have symptoms yet. It could hit you the day you arrive, and then you'll be down for the count for several days. As heartbreaking as it is to cancel, it won't be any fun for your child if they truly have the flu.

 

[txdisneymama]

How miserable is your daughter, and does she still have a fever right now? My 6 year old had the flu this month and she was never that bad, so I didn't go to the doctor until it was too late to get Tamiflu. Her fever was gone within a few days, and other symptoms lasted a week, but she was never totally knocked out. (Again, this was without Tamiflu.) And no one else in our family of 5 ended up with it. I have friends that recognized the flu quickly and got their kids on Tamiflu and they were better within two days. Assuming your daughter rebounds quickly, I think your worst case scenario is that someone else in your family ends up with it while you are at Disney. Will your doctor prescribe preventative Tamiflu for the rest of the family? I know that's super $$$, but may be worth it?

I would totally do "A" if it were me, but I'm kind of a risk taker.

 

[Tinfolio]

You gotta put that off, not just for her, but so others don't get it too.

 

[ChristineOH]

I vote for the fall. The rest of you are already exposed, and you have no way of knowing if you'll get it or not. There's also the possibility of all of you infecting others at the parks. Yes, the kids will be sad, but they'll still get to go and all is not lost.

If you can do it, I'd be looking at mid April-mid May. It will still be lowish crowds and the weather will be better than the fall.

I like this idea-- if you can swing this time to reschedule. And you'll be able to get your FP.

My kids got the flu with the oldest starting on Christmas Eve. All three of them got it, one after the other. Luckily none of them were terribly sick, but I don't think it would have been fun to be at WDW. Also, the cough lingered for days and days after the fever passed. (Fever was only 2-3 days. One kid was high, one was always low grade, and one was in the middle.) I wouldn't count on everyone being healthy in a week's time.

I'm so sorry that this has happened to you! How disappointing. Hope your daughter is well soon, and that the rest of you don't get sick.

 

[daemom]

This morning on GMA a dr said that you are contagious for 7 days from the time you begin your fever. Protect yourselves, but everyone else too. Reschedule.

 

[WaterLinds]

The evidence base for Tamiflu is pretty mixed, so while it might help I wouldn't necessarily count on it. Everyone I've heard from who has had flu in their family this year has said it's been BAD, and is spreading to family members even with really good hygiene practices (which is sometimes hard with little kids anyway). While I hope your family has an easy time of it, in general I'd say it's best to plan for the fall. Delaying a week could work if it doesn't spread, but it could easily roll through the whole family over the next few days and you still have people sick next week--plus the stress of rebooking everything.

I'm sorry, I know that really sucks. Flu or cancelled disney trip on their own would each be bad, having both together is miserable.

 

[Alesia]

The contagion period starts 1 day before symptoms start and lasts for 5 to 7 days. A friend-of-a-friend's 6-year-old daughter just died last week from the flu. Please stay home.

 

[QueenIsabella]

Please postpone. I know it sucks, I do. But what would suck more is several family members, sick at Disney, not able to sleep in their own beds, not able to enjoy the parks. I just think that a sick person should at least be able to enjoy the comforts of home, KWIM? And you have no way to know how long this will last for your DD, how sick she'll feel, and who else might already be infected.

I also think you need to think beyond your own family, and consider who you might infect on your journey and at the destination. That's not fair to do. Yeah, I know, people do it all the time--doesn't make it right. Years ago, we took a family trip to Jamaica, and on the shuttle to the resort, sat next to a family with a sick kid. Guess what--my son and daughter both caught it. Both were miserable, and DD (17 months at the time) lost consciousness. On a Friday night. In a third-world country. It really made me think.

Aim for the fall--plenty of time to plan, get the kids hyped for the Halloween party and all the decorations and all. Remind them that it's being delayed, not denied.

 

[Mom2Stitch]

Sick at Disney is not a vacation. And even if no one else catches it, one parent will still be grounded to the room. I've been sick at Disney, no fun having to stay in the room while everyone else gets to play. And please do consider the other people you will encounter on your way there and during your stay.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

Reschedule. Fall.

 

[Allison]

Do not go. Pick another time.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

Reschedule, 100% Even if nobody else gets sick, why would you make your miserably ill child sit in a car for an hours-long drive wearing a facemask the whole time? I love disneyworld, but sometimes it has to wait.

Out of curiosity, how long is your drive?

 

[kreckl]

I wouldn't go. Your childs immune system is fighting her flu, and she'll be exposed to a lot more germs on the trip that she will be more susceptible to. Plus theres no way of knowing who else will get sick in your family.

 

[Fosteringaprincess]

I'm so so sorry! That is awful! With the flu and hitting while still at home I would probably postpone...the flu is so much more dangerous. Plus chances are high other family members will get it. So sorry

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

I am on day 5 of the flu and am wearing a mask when I’m around my kids. Please don’t make your kid wear a mask to go on vacation. It’s just so uncomfortable. Plus your daughter was contagious for one day before she started showing symptoms, and it can take up to 6 days for the rest of you to show symptoms. Postpone. We may have to for our trip next week.