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Credit: Lee (myfrozenlife), FlickrIf you’re planning on visiting Walt Disney World soon, you might want to watch where you eat. Or at least be prepared for the possibility of flu season.
The Walt Disney World Resort offers dozens of restaurants and quick service locations throughout the four parks and more than 20 hotels. The offerings range from quick and on the go like Joffrey’s Coffee to Cinderella’s Royal Table, a full sit-down experience where diners can meet the Disney princesses while enjoying a meal fit for royalty. There’s been complaints recently about the cost of a Disney trip going up, impacting everything from park tickets to merchandise to food, so it’s no surprise that guests expect a certain level of standards and a certain quality experience when planning their visit.
In a now-deleted Reddit post, a recent guest of the resort shared their family’s experience with alleged food poisoning during their trip and their disappointment with how the resort handled their issues. According to the poster, the family of four visited the Starlight Café in Tomorrowland at Magic Kingdom, where they and their father fell ill after eating the same menu item. “That lead us to not being able to visit any of the parks after that night for the rest of our trip. 3 park days. 6 adult tickets.”
They continue by saying that the staff at the Polynesian where they were staying advised them to call guest services to see if they could get their tickets back. “After an hour on the phone we are being told we can’t get our unused tickets back because we didn’t visit a doctor during our stay…not to be TMI buy my dad and I could barely make it down the hall for 3 days let alone leave the room to some how see a doctor in the central Florida…we just wanted the unused tickets so we could use them for our next trip but guess not…”
The poster added an edit that explained why they think it was food poisoning from the park’s dining, stating that their mother and sister were totally fine the entire trip and there were no other issues with the family after a 12-hour car ride or the first day of the trip. They also stated that despite sharing the same room and being in the same area, their mother and sister never got sick or showed any symptoms and the only difference is that they ate something else while dining at the Starlight Café.
However, many of the comments were quick to suggest that the poster might actually have norovirus, rather than food poisoning. “Man so many of these food poisoning posts lately. It’s probably not food poisoning but that awful stomach bug that is spreading like crazy,” stated u/TheAceMan. “Norovirus is relatively easy to pick up from casual contact with objects,” explained u/KillerCodeMonky. “That’s why it spreads like wildfire through Disney every year. If that is what you had, I’m sure there were a hundred different occasions throughout the day of you and your father casually touching something that no one else did…72 hours of violent symptoms is definitely not your run-of-the-mill food poisoning, which is why so many responders are discussing other common possibilities like norovirus.”
Inside the Magic has covered several instances in recent months about guests allegedly dealing with food poisoning while visiting a Disney park. Back in July, we covered reports of guests getting sick after dining at the Lamp Light Lounge in Disney California Adventure at the Disneyland Resort. In February, a guest reportedly ended up in the ER after dining at the Geyser Point Bar & Grill at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge. More recently, back in October a guest claimed they and their wife “contracted shigella after eating at Crystal Palace at Magic Kingdom,” which “is caused by contaminated water and FECAL ORAL TRANSFER.”
Whether you’re experiencing symptoms of food poisoning, norovirus, or flu, several comments, like this one from u/FlashyCow1, pointed out that “Disney Partners with Advent health. They have both transportation to a clinic and visiting doctors. Just an FYI for the future.” Unfortunately, without any proof of sickness for Disney to confirm, it’s unlikely they would have been able to assist with refunds or ticket adjustments the way the Reddit poster was hoping. Despite food poisoning allegations popping up over the last few years, Disney has yet to address this potential issue within their parks or announce a system for handling “wasted” tickets for issues like this.
Have you ever gotten sick or had food poisoning while visiting a Disney park? How was it handled? Share your experience with us in the comments below!
Please note that the story outlined in this article is based on personal Disney Parks guest experiences. No two guest experiences are alike, and this article does not necessarily align with Inside the Magic’s personal views on Disney Park operations.