A sick day at Disney is still better than a sick day at home

Walt Disney World Other
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On my most recent trip, I received a loving gift from my son (daycare kid). A stomach bug! When I got it, it was … my birthday. But I decided I had two choices. I could either feel sorry for myself and sleep all day, or enjoy what I could when I could.

Please don’t leave me comments about I should have stayed back in my room all day. I was going to enjoy my vacation and my birthday.

Now please keep in mind I have Type 1 Diabetes and sick days have their own challenges but I thought I would share what worked for me in case you need some help during a sick day at WDW. Here’s what helped me:

  1. My travel party was patient with me and went at my speed.
  2. I spent the money and rented a scooter for my park days when I was sick. When you can’t eat and are feeling queasy, sitting down and getting a little breeze can make the day feel better.
  3. If you have lightning lanes and don’t feel like riding, stay in line with your party and ask for an exit or place to wait while the rest of your party rides. For me, it reduces my FOMO and still made me feel like it was a part of the group.
  4. Found some bland snack items (Apple sauce pouches, goldfish crackers, Sprite Zero) at our on-property resort in case I got hungry or needed to eat because of a low blood sugar. (I also turned down my insulin pump, since I wasn’t eating).
  5. I met Grogu and the Mandalorian. Meeting your favorite characters can provide you a great placebo boost.
  6. We left early and I slept in the next day. This allowed me to get a good night’s sleep and made me feel way more human in the morning.
  7. Everyone used the Honest disinfectant wipes we brought with us to help prevent the spread of the illness. We cleaned tables and hands before people ate and cleaned up afterwards as well.
  8. We asked for mousekeeping to clean our bathroom again to help prevent additional exposures.

I wish I would have brought my meclizine from home. When I bought it, Sam’s Club pharmacy sold it in a much larger quantity and for a lower price than Bonine or less drowsy Dramamine brands at local department stores or pharmacies. We couldn’t find meclizine at our property hotel.

While I hope you never have to panic plan for an illness, I do hope this gives you some tools you can pull out of your brain in a pinch.

ONE LAST EDIT: We still went to Oga’s Cantina and while we were placed at a high top, they were able to provide me with a “stool” to sit on. That helped. But the thing that really made the difference was the Akivan Tea. There is a non-alcoholic concoction made from Lavendar, Lemon Juice, and Gold Peak Unsweetened Tea. I am going to have to ask the next time we go for the recipe unless someone here can give me at home version. This might just be me my go-to feel good moving forward!

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Good for you. I am glad you made a less than perfect day way more than a totally missed day.

I absolutely would do the same thing. I did do it on a cruise when DD had violent diarrhea and emesis after undercooked crème brûlée. I’m pretty sure everywhere we went was cleaner after we left the area than it was before we got there. (We found her a spot on the beach so she could sleep).

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I was pretty sick on my check out day at Disney in October. I still went to the parks but had to be careful. Kaopectate was my friend, that and a sugar free energy drink from the resort’s QS. By 3 I was feeling a lot better.

Nothing like the vertigo I got in 2004 at Christmas. We ended up getting a doctor visit at the resort.

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On my December trip, I discovered that the first aid center at AK had meclizine, cold water and a cot to lie on in the AC while I waited for it to kick in. I felt soooo much better after 20 minutes -saved my whole day!

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