Disney World is one of our favorite places in the world, filled with some of our favorite restaurants in the world.
Magic Kingdom
However, there have been times that we have visited our favorite restaurants at Disney World, and then spent the majority of the next 12 hours in the bathroom. Yes, we’re talking about potential food poisoning. When it comes to food, visiting any restaurant poses a risk of receiving cross-contaminated food. Most of us just don’t expect it to happen to us at Disney World. We’ve faced this horrible situation before, and we’re here to shed some light on what happened as well as what YOU should do if you ever get food poisoning at Disney World.
We’ll start by saying that there are so many things (germs) floating around at Disney World that can cause the exact same symptoms of food poisoning. Picking up a virus of some sort on vacation is common in many destinations! Plus, if you aren’t used to having a certain type of food, it’s entirely possible that there’s a sort of sensitivity that’s causing you to feel so sick. So, many stomach ailments may not be food poisoning at all. All of this is to say that the intention of this post is NOT to angrily shake a fist at Disney, but to shed light on an experience that can happen to literally ANYONE.
Animal Kingdom
Okay. If you find yourself unlucky enough to have the rumbly tumblies at Disney World, here’s what you should know!
According to the Mayo Clinic, symptoms of food-borne illnesses can start to occur as soon as 30 minutes after you ingest contaminated food or even as late as a week after you’ve ingested it — depending on which bacteria you’ve been infected with. In most cases, though, you’ll likely start to experience the symptoms in a few hours.
EPCOT
When it happened to me, I had dinner at 7PM and then woke up around midnight — greeted by all of the liquids that stomach ailments involved. The worst of the symptoms lasted about 15 hours, but after that, I was very weak for the rest of my trip. It drastically impacted how much I could do, what I ate, and I utilized resources that I’d never used in order to make sure I stayed healthy. Here’s what I learned.
Don’t push it.
Listen. FOMO is real. However, being sick isn’t a time when you want to force yourself to reap every single benefit of your Disney vacation.
Where you should be if you are sick!
Be honest with your group and tell them that you won’t be able to attend plans for the day if you’re still sick. Force yourself to stay in bed and REST rather than running off to the parks. You’ll thank yourself later.
Sharing a room with other folks during a time like this is awkward… Disney’s newest hotel room layout prevents the awkward!
Talk to the front desk!
If you’re sick, call the front desk and tell them what’s going on. First, you might want to pause your housekeeping for some extra privacy. Plus, when the housekeepers do come, the hotel will know that they might need to take extra precautions to avoid also getting sick. This is especially important as you could be dealing with a virus rather than food poisoning.
The front desk can help you!
Further, they’ll be able to point you in the right direction when it comes to receiving medical attention and supplies to make you more comfortable.
Speaking of supplies…
Send someone to the gift shop.
Disney World hotel gift shops are a magical place, and not even because of all the cool souvenirs. You can typically find things like Pepto Bismol, Pedialyte, crackers, and even ginger ale or Sprite. These can help settle your stomach and alleviate your symptoms.
Hotel Gift Shops have all sorts of meds
We also recommend being extremely proactive about hydration. Dehydration when you’re dealing with something like food poisoning can turn your illness into a more severe situation VERY fast. Keep in mind that another option is to order groceries or medicine for delivery from a service like Kroger Grocery Delivery or Instacart.
This is our favorite Disney World hotel tip
The next few tips are for when you decide you’re ready to go back to the parks.
Stay inside when possible.
If it’s 100 degrees out, and the line for a ride is mostly outdoors, it’s probably not a good idea to stand out there if you’ve been sick.
Stick to rides with indoor queues
Not only will this further dehydrate you, but heat has a way of making you feel even queasier sometimes. Oh, and on the topic of rides… It probably isn’t a good idea to get on something super spinny or lurchy.
Be mindful of what you eat the rest of the time.
There’s probably going to come a time where you’re finally feeling hungry again and you want to go back to eating normal foods and splurging on all the yummy things that Disney World has to offer.
Stick to the basics
DON’T! It’s a good idea to stick to starchy things that are gentle on your stomach. Mickey pretzels, simple sandwiches, basic pasta dishes, and similar options will be much easier to digest.
And there you have it! We genuinely hope that you never get food poisoning at Disney World, but if you do, please keep these things in mind. We want you to be as healthy and comfortable as can be! We’ll be sure to keep you updated with more Disney advice, so make sure to follow along for more.
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Not food poisoning but I did collapse at Disney Springs bus station and I have a pacemaker and heart issues and the care and attention from all cast members was outstanding
Ambulance arrived in minutes and I was thoroughly checked out , once I got the all clear a bus came to take me straight back to my hotel ( Beach Club) and a cast member was with me at all times all the way to my room door
The front desk also rang my room to check on me that day and the next
Was so grateful for the amazing care from everyone involved
My late husband was a critical care RN who often saw people in the ER who believed they had food poisoning, when in fact they had contracted their illness from touching all the safety bars, handrails, restroom doors, etc. in the parks, and then failing to wash or sanitize their hands before eating or touching their face. He tried to avoid buffets because of the shared serving utensils for the same reason. Wash, wash, wash, even if you are eating something on a stick, don’t spread your kids’ fries on a bare table no matter how clean it looks, and bring some Pepto tablets and Imodium with you on vacation, just in case.
My husband and I both got food poisoning at the Sci-Fi Dine In theater. We ate dinner at 5PM, and we were both vomiting by Midnight. I was sicker than my husband. I also had severe diarrhea for 2 days.
We have been to Disney over 40 times and this was the only time anyone has gotten sick.
I won’t be eating at the Sci-Fi again. Obviously there was an error on the food prep or handling.
That is my worst nightmare. It’s why I avoid buffets and toppings bars (when they had them) where food is just sitting out for hours. I’m so sorry you experienced that.
If you are having diarrhea, you may want to think about getting Imodium. I keep forgetting about this product. Stay hydrated!!
What restaurant did you get food poisoning from?
My husband got food poisoning a few weeks ago from Columbia Harbor house and the cast members were outstanding!!
Just the existence of this article on a very pro Disney blog, that is funded by Disney trip planning will tell you how often this happens. I have been on MANY trips and vacations, including nearly 30 cruises, and have had this happen twice during Disney trips. Not even once on a cruise, or any other trip., outside of a trip to Portland 50 years ago. Just my anecdotal experience, but it’s what happened to me. Twice within a few years.
Sorry….opryland…not Portland. Spell correct got me!
Not quite food poisoning. But, I had a really bad case of diarrhea for 2 days. I carried Pedialyte Powder packs (Amazon.com), and got Pepto chewables from the gift shop.
We were celebrating our granddaughters 5 th BD yesterday
Feb 27/24 at Chrystal Palace . 3 of 6 of us all became violently ill at 1:30 am! It was the only food we ate and the common denominator was the spring mix salad That Grandpa and the kids did not eat!
We all spent the day in bed leaving Grandpa to manage 1, 5, 6 yr old!
Great way to ruin a vacation.
Tried to get a hold of them, to let them know , this was no joke. I would hate for the elderly or kids to deal with this.
My dad got food poisoning at Columbia Harbor House many years ago. Ended up in Celebration Hospital for a day and a half. Was not the Disney trip we had planned.
We’ve been going to WDW for 50 years and gotten sick several times. Usually one of us, not all five at once. One culprit is dehydration. It can mimic symptoms of food poisoning such as diarrehea, headache, dizziness, and weakness. Drink plenty of water, not soft drinks because they contribute to dehydration. My son did get food poisoning from the cold buffet at the Norway restaurant. He was sick for almost the entire week.
Day 1 (yesterday) at DisneyWorld we went to Via Napoli for dinner, and the arancini took me out. I kept saying that it tastes funny, but it was 15 dollars and I hadn’t eaten since the plane earlier in the day so I ate the entire thing. Less than 24 hours later I’m feeling lethargic, like it takes all my energy to place my feet down. Next thing you know, I’m projectile vomiting and I’m not making it to the bathroom on time. Had to be escorted out of Magic Kingdom in a Minnie Van as I couldn’t handle the monorail or boat. Then proceeded to spend nearly 10 hours at Celebration Hospital. I’m so disappointed. Of course I’m not a citizen of the US, and so this trip to the hospital will be extremely expensive. This was suppose to be my big graduation trip before entering the real world and now everyone’s vacation has been restricted to their rooms. We had this trip planned for a year. I’m so upset. It feels wrong that it happened at Disney.
Yep, me too. 2022, Contemporary, hotel beverage fountain, Hot Cocoa. Concierge courtly expressed “ Bless your heart “ and compt me a couple Refillable Mugs. I was ruined for two days.
How can one make up for that. Burned to get sick, burned to
about $,$$$$. Don’t get carried away, literally, and pay attention to EVERYTHING.
I just came home from a $4500 trip that was half ruined from food poisoning at Pop Century at their cafeteria I got their “porchetta burger” I ate around 9pm which was late because we got back late from HS, I was puking my brains out by 3am and I’m home almost a week later and I’m still feeling sick to my stomach. I have never gotten a foodbourne illness in my life, I could barely eat anything for the rest of the trip for the next 4 nights….ugh I can’t look at another burger EVER! 🫣🤢