Vulnerable kids at disney

[DisneyAbsolutely]

Hi guys. I'll be staying at Disney next month with my 10 month old and almost 5 year old. My baby is not old enough for the measles vaccine and my son had an allergic reaction to the DtaP at 4 months old so is not able to have more. I was reading about some Measles AND Diptheria outbreaks near South and central America. I wonder if that could potentially affect Florida with the frequent travelers from that area. We got vacation insurance and now I'm worrying that it's a mistake to go. Would you consider canceling for these reasons?? I'm feeling bad for not thinking of it before. My baby is so young and my boy is not protected from Diptheria. . Our friend took her 6 month old so I guess I felt envious. Idk. Tyvm

 

[kclark9830]

Speaking from personal experience, I did not let that stop me. We took our daughter to WDW when she was completely immuno-compromised due to chemo, at 5 years old. We did lots of hand washing and hand sanitizer, and used common sense.

I can understand your hesitancy, and everyone has to do what they're comfortable with. However, that was seven years ago, and I would make the same choice again.

 

[DisneyAbsolutely]

Speaking from personal experience, I did not let that stop me. We took our daughter to WDW when she was completely immuno-compromised due to chemo, at 5 years old. We did lots of hand washing and hand sanitizer, and used common sense.

I can understand your hesitancy, and everyone has to do what they're comfortable with. However, that was seven years ago, and I would make the same choice again.

Thank you so much I hope your precious girl is recovered. I assume she didn't get sick from going? May I ask what time of year it was? I'm especially worried about my son for some reason because Diptheria is very serious. He has basically no protection and there are apparently thousands of cases in Venezuela alone. It just occurred to me (way too late in the game) that it could get imported to Florida easily. I've been wanting to go to Disney for so so so so long and this will be our only chance for many years. Ahhh. Thank you again and best wishes for your family!.

 

[kclark9830]

That trip was in August, and she did not get sick.

I would encourage you to bring sanitizing wipes for tables, and things like that. I think I even bought a travel size can of Lysol.

 

[Calee]

No. I would not consider cancelling over that.

 

[DisneyAbsolutely]

That trip was in August, and she did not get sick.
I would encourage you to bring sanitizing wipes for tables, and things like that. I think I even bought a travel size can of Lysol.

I'm glad to hear that.
Yes I want to bring all of those supplies. My worry is that Lysol wipes smell so strong and I'm not sure how much I can get away with in public haha. Did you notice if anyone was bothered by the smells or cared? I feel a little self conscious.

 

[kclark9830]

I'm glad to hear that.
Yes I want to bring all of those supplies. My worry is that Lysol wipes smell so strong and I'm not sure how much I can get away with in public haha. Did you notice if anyone was bothered by the smells or cared? I feel a little self conscious.

In our experience, no one cared. In fact, I think most people appreciate it. Or maybe that's just my feelings when I see other people in public cleaning their surrounding germy surfaces, haha! But I'll be blunt -- while I again emphasize using common sense (like, don't spray lysol right near someone's food, you know?), I did not really care if people thought it was overkill. It's my child, and if I need to do those things to protect her then I will. I would expect no less of that same attitude from any other parent in the world.

 

[DisneyAbsolutely]

In our experience, no one cared. In fact, I think most people appreciate it. Or maybe that's just my feelings when I see other people in public cleaning their surrounding germy surfaces, haha! But I'll be blunt -- while I again emphasize using common sense (like, don't spray lysol right near someone's food, you know?), I did not really care if people thought it was overkill. It's my child, and if I need to do those things to protect her then I will. I would expect no less of that same attitude from any other parent in the world.

I completely agree and am very inspired by everything you are saying. These are my babies and I don't care what people will think. What wipes did you use? There are the ones like Clorox and Lysol as well as wet ones. I want to make an arsenal I found this cool Lysol spray for linens online. Did you use hand sanitizer after rides, etc? I guess we will have to bring a backpack after all. Which I wanted to avoid because the security person will touch everyone else's germy stuff.

I've heard of a VIP room cleaning too, were there any accommodations Disney could make to help you guys? Thank you for being so kind and helpful.

 

[kclark9830]

We used wet ones, I think. And yes, we used lots of hand sanitizer throughout the day.

I don't know about room cleaning, though I've heard of that. We didn't stay on Disney property, as it was a Make A Wish trip, so we were at Give Kids the World complex.

I hope you guys have a great trip! Overall, I would encourage you to use common sense and then just focus on having fun . Sickness can come from anywhere, and I'm a firm believer that we shouldn't let the fear of it keep us from enjoying our time .

 

[GinnyBear's_mom]

We have a delayed vaccination schedule due to a reaction so I understand your concerns taking unvaccinated children to Disney. We tried to keep our kids in strollers as much as possible to decrease the amount of exposure they had to other people and surfaces. When we are in line we give our kids something to hold- snack, toy, etc. so they are less likely to hold onto the railings as we make our way to the ride.

 

[Dismama2boys]

We have a delayed vaccination schedule due to a reaction so I understand your concerns taking unvaccinated children to Disney. We tried to keep our kids in strollers as much as possible to decrease the amount of exposure they had to other people and surfaces. When we are in line we give our kids something to hold- snack, toy, etc. so they are less likely to hold onto the railings as we make our way to the ride.

Very similar story here. And I wear the youngest most of the time, which helps minimize exposure.

 

[maxiesmom]

I'm glad to hear that.
Yes I want to bring all of those supplies. My worry is that Lysol wipes smell so strong and I'm not sure how much I can get away with in public haha. Did you notice if anyone was bothered by the smells or cared? I feel a little self conscious.

I am someone who would be bothered by anything with a strong smell (due to asthma), but I think you would be fine with wipes. I wouldn't haul out a can and start spraying, as that can carry and easily land on someone or their food.

 

[DisneyAbsolutely]

We have a delayed vaccination schedule due to a reaction so I understand your concerns taking unvaccinated children to Disney. We tried to keep our kids in strollers as much as possible to decrease the amount of exposure they had to other people and surfaces. When we are in line we give our kids something to hold- snack, toy, etc. so they are less likely to hold onto the railings as we make our way to the ride.

Thank you. I will follow your advice. Have you been this year with kids that aren't fully protected? You don't have to answer, I just like hearing from BTDT parents I'm most worried about those dang fingerprint things and bag checks...oh the germ load. I don't want to constantly sanitize but it's worth it. We have several dining reservations when they first open which will help with some concerns.

 

[maxiesmom]

No one will think you are crazy if you stop and sanitize after the finger scanners. Many people do.

 

[GinnyBear's_mom]

Thank you. I will follow your advice. Have you been this year with kids that aren't fully protected? You don't have to answer, I just like hearing from BTDT parents I'm most worried about those dang fingerprint things and bag checks...oh the germ load. I don't want to constantly sanitize but it's worth it. We have several dining reservations when they first open which will help with some concerns.

My 3 year old and 7 year old are not yet fully vaccinated. We went over Christmas break and we're going again next week. We normally travel during off-peak times so the Christmas trip was the scariest so far. We use touring plans and kenny the pirate's paid sites to minimize the time in line in close quarters with people. I also have a DAS but I only use it sparingly since I can only go on a handful of rides anyway- our kids go on most of the rides with just my husband. We make sure to be there at park opening on a non-EMH day and we leave around 12 or 1 when the crowds build. We go back to the parks around 5 or 6.

If fireworks are important I recommend the dessert parties. You pay extra but you can spread out away from people in the dedicated viewing area instead of being crammed into Main Street with people having no concept of personal space, hacking all around you. We only do the dessert parties every other trip or so, when we don't pay for the party we watch them (without the light projection show on the castle) behind the castle in Fantasyland with no one near us. There's some landscaping over by The Barnstormer with a short stone wall you can sit on and watch them away from the crowds.

 

[KrazeeK120]

One tip - if you do a character meal, sanitize hands in between each character. My son ended up hospitalized with a respiratory illness that he picked up at Disney last year, and while I obviously can’t be sure where he got it, he started coughing a little less than 48 hours after we were at Tusker House. We always wash/sanitize before eating, and I wipe off the table and chairs with Clorox wipes and all that jazz, but I didn’t think about between characters. I’ll definitely be keeping the sanitizer on the table at our character meals this year!

 

[Cinderella94]

I'm glad to hear that.
Yes I want to bring all of those supplies. My worry is that Lysol wipes smell so strong and I'm not sure how much I can get away with in public haha. Did you notice if anyone was bothered by the smells or cared? I feel a little self conscious.

Don't think twice about it. We do it before every single meal and none of us are immunocompromised. We once saw someone changing a child's diaper on--yes, ON--a table at a quick service restaurant and ever since then we wipe down every single table before we put anything on it. No one has ever given us a dirty look.

 

[DisneyAbsolutely]

My 3 year old and 7 year old are not yet fully vaccinated. We went over Christmas break and we're going again next week. We normally travel during off-peak times so the Christmas trip was the scariest so far. We use touring plans and kenny the pirate's paid sites to minimize the time in line in close quarters with people. I also have a DAS but I only use it sparingly since I can only go on a handful of rides anyway- our kids go on most of the rides with just my husband. We make sure to be there at park opening on a non-EMH day and we leave around 12 or 1 when the crowds build. We go back to the parks around 5 or 6.

If fireworks are important I recommend the dessert parties. You pay extra but you can spread out away from people in the dedicated viewing area instead of being crammed into Main Street with people having no concept of personal space, hacking all around you. We only do the dessert parties every other trip or so, when we don't pay for the party we watch them (without the light projection show on the castle) behind the castle in Fantasyland with no one near us. There's some landscaping over by The Barnstormer with a short stone wall you can sit on and watch them away from the crowds.

Bless you for your help. I understand worrying even though I'm jealous of people who don't. It would be so great to just go and enjoy. The idea of wiping down everything is super stressful but very very worth it. What is touring plans and Kenny the pirate? My other concern would be waiting in stuffy theatres, lobbies or lines. I hope to avoid even minor sickness and hope that for you too! Have such a good time next week

 

[Ladyandthepuppies]

I wouldn't cancel the trip, but I would be an unashamed germophobe while you're there. My 15 mo old and 3 y/o caught a bug last time we were there, and we had been pretty diligent about sanitizer & washing hands. But I think even the recycled air on the planes is very germy. If you do the best you can, the odds are it will be good enough to keep them safe.

 

[DisneyAbsolutely]

I wouldn't cancel the trip, but I would be an unashamed germophobe while you're there. My 15 mo old and 3 y/o caught a bug last time we were there, and we had been pretty diligent about sanitizer & washing hands. But I think even the recycled air on the planes is very germy. If you do the best you can, the odds are it will be good enough to keep them safe.

I'm amazed (and relieved) to see that I'm not the only germaphobe here. I will try to pick far away tables so the wipes don't bother anyone and be diligent. We won't be flying down which will help slightly but I'm hoping for the best.