Food poisoning while at Disney?

[princesslover]

Definitely sympathetic to getting sick on vacation. I seem to have an unlucky streak in that regard. OP, sounds like you want to contact Disney, so go for it. With all due respect, arguing with people here who don't see it your way isn't going to really do any good.

With all due respect, comments like “not sure what you want Disney to do”. “You should have told them sooner”. And “you can’t prove it” is not really super helpful either.

That said, it is a message board and people are always going to assume a member is trying to get some advantage I guess. I was just looking for support or ideas. I appreciate the those who offered that.

 

[karen4546]

In December or 2018, we took a family vacation and stayed in a 2 bedroom at Jambo.

one night one of My granddaughters woke up vomiting and had diarrhea. She was 5 at the time. No one else was sick and she was fine the next day.

a few days later, my other granddaughter was sick with the same symptoms. And she was fine 24 hrs later.

we had breakfast at Boma, lunch in the park, and dinner at Be Our Guest. I never equated it to food poisoning - just a virus of some sort. And the first day with Youngest granddaughter sick, I stayed with her and my husband stayed with oldest granddaughter (6 at the time).

OP, I am just adding my experience. I know you and your daughter missed spending time with her grandmother in the parks-time you will never get back BUT you can’t expect Disney to take responsibility for every illness that happens while on Disney property.

 

[DaviVascaino]

With all due respect, comments like “not sure what you want Disney to do”. “You should have told them sooner”. And “you can’t prove it” is not really super helpful either.

That said, it is a message board and people are always going to assume a member is trying to get some advantage I guess. I was just looking for support or ideas. I appreciate the those who offered that.

No, nobody is saying that. What they are saying is illnesses can happen to anyone while on vacation. You are trying to find someone to blame for something that can happen to all of us at any point in our lives. Going on vacation, being around different people (a lot of them are sick) is inherently a risk for any types of infections.

It happens. Sorry your daughter was sick. I got Flu (influenza) while I was at Disney once. Missed the last day of vacation and I was sick like a dog. it happens.

 

[SouthJersey]

With all due respect, comments like “not sure what you want Disney to do”. “You should have told them sooner”. And “you can’t prove it” is not really super helpful either.

That said, it is a message board and people are always going to assume a member is trying to get some advantage I guess. I was just looking for support or ideas. I appreciate the those who offered that.

I don't think anyone thinks you're lying.
I believe most people are just of the outlook that you're in a theme park with tens of thousands of people and engaging in mass transit to and throughout the parks whether it be bus, monorail, boat, etc. (+ airplane to Florida?)

Kids are inherently guilty of poor hand hygiene and you're in a place with 50,000+ of them coughing and sneezing in their hands, digging in their noses, and then touching a million surfaces.
To try to narrow it down to "had to be food poisoning at this Disney location" and imply that Disney is liable by making it quite clear you're seeking compensation when you're in a 100,000+ population theme park during peak cold/flu/virus season is just entirely unfounded.

I don't think you're lying and I feel awful your little one had an awful experience on a vacation that is supposed to be the 'Happiest Place on Earth', I just think it's insane to think Disney should be compensating.

 

[Maggie The Cat]

Even "food poisoning" is usually a case of norovirus (or another "bug") spread by one of the food handlers in the restaurant. It's more rare to have an actual case of poisoning from the food and it's usually involving a larger amount of people than just one. For example when you read about salmonella outbreaks involving a fast food chain from the romaine lettuce.

We ate at Tutto Italia one year and out of 13 of us, 7 were sick within 24 hours. Again, it was most likely a stomach bug passed on by one of the food handlers (which is still unsettling if you think about it) rather than food poisoning and this is from the doctor I saw.

Regardless, getting sick on vacation is the worst and I'm sorry it happened to your daughter.

 

[dez1978]

If it was food poisioning, she would not have been the only one sick. We'd be seeing multiple posts on fb groups beecause everyone wants to blame a restaraunt when they get a stomach bug, just like this one. Just because a person got sick after eating at a buffet does not mean it's food poisioning or anything that the restaraunt did wrong. It could have been any number of things she touched at disney, or the airport, or the hotel room that had NOTHING to do with food.

 

[dez1978]

Even "food poisoning" is usually a case of norovirus (or another "bug") spread by one of the food handlers in the restaurant. It's more rare to have an actual case of poisoning from the food and it's usually involving a larger amount of people than just one. For example when you read about salmonella outbreaks involving a fast food chain from the romaine lettuce.

We ate at Tutto Italia one year and out of 13 of us, 7 were sick within 24 hours. Again, it was most likely a stomach bug passed on by one of the food handlers (which is still unsettling if you think about it) rather than food poisoning and this is from the doctor I saw.

Regardless, getting sick on vacation is the worst and I'm sorry it happened to your daughter.

THIS!!! I wish more people understood the difference.

 

[MomOTwins]

there is no resolution. You are blaming them because you said it was the Buffet.

She got sick while at Disney. That does not mean it was Disney's fault.

This is what you are not understanding. Anyway, good luck.

Exactly. Sometimes we miss out on things in life and there is no compensation owed to us for it. I think what we’re all saying is it’s too bad your kid got sick, it happens to all of us sometimes (yes, including vomiting nonstop all day and night), and yes it does derail a vacation and is scary for parents seeing kids that sick. But I think we are all just trying to point out it is a bit of a leap to say it had to be food poisoning and expect restitution from Disney, especially if others ate at the same restaurants and did not get sick.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

More than likely you would have heard a slew of people having gotten sick had it been something directly connected to a buffet. Things like norovirus make the news because so many people get sick at one time traced to one place. Seriously it knocked an elementary school in my area recently. No other schools in the district impacted. With social media nowadays that's much more likely. Although it is only a few days after more than likely by now people would have reported it in at least a good amount of numbers of GI symptoms from 12/24 at Disney especially if it was a buffet.

I can absolutely sympathize with you on how your daughter feels. While I couldn't tell you if it was food poisoning for your daughter I have had that and I went to the hospital for it because of severe dehydration. I went to the ER once my fever (which I had very quickly) got high enough (I had no food for 36-39 hours once my symptoms started). Mine was during the H1N1 pandemic so that was fun..Trust me..I know how she feels. In my case we called a nurses hotline where they can give medical advice over the phone and was advised if my fever reached a certain point to seek medical care (basically my body couldn't fight off what it was trying to fight off).

Truth is your daughter got sick at Disney but it doesn't mean she was sick from Disney. People are responding the way they are because there's no clear line of "it's Disney" such that Disney is financially responsible for your losses. We sympathize with the loss of a trip but reality is that's reality. There are a lot of things out there that could have contributed to her throwing up including something she picked up before the trip, during the transportation portion of the trip (like flying or driving or train), etc.

In the future if something happens anywhere close to this the best thing to if things seem this bad is go directly to the front desk of the Disney hotel. You mentioned you thought you might have to contact emergency services (something we did for me within hours of me being so sick when I had food poisoning via the nurses hotline) but you didn't go to talk to Disney right then and there. Although with her throwing up on the carpet I assume you let someone know so they could clean it up.

We get it, the trip was soured, it didn't happen anywhere close to what you wanted it to be but that also doesn't make Disney (or any company for that matter) the point of contact to recoup the losses. People travel all the time without wondering if so and so will refund them when they get sick or otherwise are unable to do activities. It sucks when you miss out no ifs ands or buts about that for sure.

 

[floridavet]

Oh ffs. I’m not trying to blame. I’m trying to find a fair resolution to a problem.

I’m all set now. Thanks again!

Echoing others statements, there is no resolution to be had.
You seem to want to find blame with statements like:
"I always have loved the buffets at WDW but they are not safe."
The reality is, sometimes crummy things happen and it is nobody's fault.
I'm sorry that your daughter was sick, especially on vacation. I hope she is feeling much better

 

[jimmymc]

I got sick the last night of a trip from the ESPN zone (obviously this was years ago). We didn't have park tickets, but Disney gave us late checkout.

 

[BarbLynnM]

It's not just in buffets. I got horribly sick from a dinner I had at The Brown Derby. How do I know that was the place? The only other thing I had to eat that day was first thing in the morning, and not something usually connected with food born illnesses like salads, buffets, meat.

I'd had the pork chop at TBD, and it had some pink to it. I was hesitant, as I come from the old school notion that one should cook pork until it's nearly jerky. I was trying to be more modern in my foodie thinking. That didn't work out too well, as I woke up in the middle of the night (we were leaving to drive home the next day), as sick as I've ever been from food poisoning (I've been blessed that way 4 other times in my life; I'm special that way I guess), including norovirus.

This is all to say that you can get sick from food anywhere food is served. And it's not always from the obvious source. Certain illness can also be spread from person to person, so I'm told. Any way you look at it, getting sick while vacationing is the pits, and my sympathies go out to any who have had that experience.

 

[FreeTime]

I can’t express to you how sick my daughter was. I thought we might have to call emergency services. It was our first time staying at the new Grand Floridian resort studios and she vomited all over the carpet. She never got to experience Magic Kingdom with her grandmother who will likely no go ever again. This in no way was any fault of hers.
I feel like if it was a stomach bug one of us would have got it. Especially me since I was cleaning up after her. At the buffet, we all got different things.

I always have loved the buffets at WDW but they are not safe.

Did she eat different items from the buffet that no one else in your party ate? Most likely others would have been sick as well. Concerning illnesses, they aren’t as easy to catch even in confined spaces if you are using good hygiene, not touching your eyes, etc. so it sounds like she has a virus not food poisoning and the rest of you took care to not get it.

 

[Ensusieasm]

On a trip earlier this year, my wife got a very bad case of food poisoning. She came down with it on the 4th day of a 6 night trip and she was down and out for the remainder.

Even though it is tough to prove exactly where she contracted the food poisoning, it had to be Disney as we had been there all week eating only at Disney locations. We strongly believe it was from dinner at Space 220, as that was the only meal we didn't share or have the same dishes and I was ok. (we also had a very poor experience there, but that was a different issue).

We submitted a claim starting with guest.services@disneyworld.com and detailed what we missed out on for the remainder of our trip, including the costs.

What was the result of your claim?

 

[gmi3804]

I'd had the pork chop at TBD, and it had some pink to it. I was hesitant, as I come from the old school notion that one should cook pork until it's nearly jerky. I was trying to be more modern in my foodie thinking. That didn't work out too well, as I woke up in the middle of the night (we were leaving to drive home the next day), as sick as I've ever been from food poisoning (I've been blessed that way 4 other times in my life; I'm special that way I guess), including norovirus.

FYI, trichinosis has been all but non-existent for almost 50 years. We're talking single-digit number of cases/outbreaks in that time.

 

[Narcoossee11]

You were overwhelmed with the situation understandable. Sad due to Holiday and other family members.

But next time, get the FD involved EARLY.
They can help with making changes and refunds. Then you have record of situation. FD would have gotten you medical help for FREE.
They have paramedics that can give you advise.
It's hard to help after the fact.

They want to help you BUT help them self's also. That room needed to be put off the market so it can get a deep cleaning.

 

[dez1978]

FYI, trichinosis has been all but non-existent for almost 50 years. We're talking single-digit number of cases/outbreaks in that time.

Correct. Less than 1 in one million chances. And if you were that 1, symptoms likely wouldn't start for a day or 2.

https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/one-less-thing-to-worry-about-undercooked-pork/

 

[chris benton]

It's easy to point fingers at a buffet. I would probably do the same thing. Start looking into the logic of it though, and you might think differently. It could have been contracted at a host of other places. Either way it STINKS, and hopefully in time, you'll look back on this and maybe laugh at your bad luck? Our family has a few stories like this, and we giggle about Murphy's Law screwing us over. We get some form of food poisoning every 5 years or so - at least we think it's food poisoning, anyway. 2 years ago a store had raspberries on sale for next to nothing, and they were fantastic. My son and I ate our weight in them every day for a week. And then, both of us contracted what we can only assume was cyclospora, because of the symptoms, and also because it's known to come from berries. We now laugh about how many of our clothes were ruined. Never had anything like that before, and I wouldn't wish it upon anyone. Let's just say that the major symptoms of it are the absolute inability to stop ANYTHING from expulsion. By the time either of us had any sort of inkling that something needed attention, the issue was already over with. I was on the mend faster than my son, and while I was able to sit upright and actually watch TV under a blanket, he was still upstairs in bed, but he would come downstairs every few hours to throw another pair of sweatpants in the garbage. All I could do was laugh. He did too. I wanted to tell him to stop, so we could throw the sweats in the washing machine, but neither of us had the energy to deal with it. We still laugh about it. I know it's horrendous, but hopefully you'll be able to giggle about it in time. Sounds like you need a return trip.

 

[RogueX]

I feel for anyone who has missed time on vacation due to illness. I was able to push through after faceplanting on the walkway to Hollywood Studios. I was in pain, looked terrible, but I made the most of the day.

We were lucky on our recent trip to Disney. My daughter didn't show any signs of being sick until the day we got home. When she gets sick, she gets realy, really sick. This time it was the flu with an unusual presentation of hand, foot and mouth disease rash on her hands. Poor kid couldn't touch anything, her hands were covered with blisters.

 

[ShirikiUtundu]

Sounds like norovirus. Happens a lot this time of year and spreads at buffets where people touch the same food serving spoons. We use a sanitizing wipe after sitting down from the buffet before eating but even then it is no guarantee. No fun but not sure what you are Disney do about it? You can get sick at any vacation destination, especially in winter.

alcohol wipes are useless against norovirus. https://www.cdc.gov/norovirus/about/prevention.html
a good scrub with soap and water is always best.