Walt Disney World With Kids (Fodor's, 2012) - Fodor's [37]
Nursing Moms
Disney World is so casual and family-oriented that you shouldn’t feel self-conscious about using a towel or blanket and discreetly nursing anywhere that’s comfortable. If you’re too modest for these methods, or your baby is easily distracted, try the rockers in the Baby Care Center.
First Aid
First-aid clinics are beside the Baby Care Center in each park. Although the clinics mostly treat patients with minor problems such as sunburn, motion sickness, and boo-boos, they’re equipped for major emergencies and, when necessary, can provide ambulance service to an area hospital.
Helpful Hint
Seek medical advice the moment you suspect there may be a problem. Waiting it out only makes the solution more painful and more expensive.
If you do suffer a medical emergency, take comfort in the fact that hundreds of families that I’ve interviewed have given ringing endorsements to Disney cast members in times of crisis. I’ve gotten dozens of e-mails and letters from people who have broken their arms, fainted from heat, gone into premature labor, come down with the chicken pox, and everything else you can imagine—and each person has lauded the Disney cast members for their quick medical response and emotional support. One mother of two from Maryland wrote, “We visited Walt Disney World with our son, who has cystic fibrosis, and found everyone there to be extremely helpful and aware of what our needs might be. In fact, they often anticipated our needs before we did.”
Insider’s Secret
If anyone in your family has a recurring medical condition—your son often gets ear infections, for example—bring a prescription from home in case you need medication while in Orlando.
General First-Aid Tips
If someone begins to feel ill or suffers an injury while in the parks, head for the nearest first-aid clinic. If the nurses there can’t fix the problem, they’ll find someone who can.
All on-site hotels and many off-site hotels have physicians on call 24 hours a day. Contact either the Guest Relations desk at your own hotel or Centra Care Walk-In Medical Care which, as the name implies, accepts walk-in patients and has in-house pharmacies. There are two locations near Disney World. Most area hotels provide courtesy transport to medical clinics and pharmacies for guests in need.
If you need a pharmacy, try the Walgreens (407/253–6288) on Kirkman Road or the CVS (407/390–9185) on U.S. 192. Both are open 24 hours a day.
Of course, in a true emergency call 911. Within the parks, any cast member can summon an ambulance for you.
ECVs ($50 with an additional $20 deposit) and wheelchairs ($12 a day or $8 a day for multiday use) are available at all theme parks, so if you’re traveling with an older family member, a woman in the late stages of pregnancy, or anyone who might be laid low by the heat, don’t hesitate to rent a little mechanical assistance—especially at Epcot, which has the largest walking areas of any Disney park.
More Things You Don’t Want to Think About
A Rainy Day
Unless there’s a full-out hurricane headed inland, the parks operate as usual. If there’s an electrical storm, outdoor rides and shows are suspended until the weather clears, and water parks may close down for the day.
But if you just run into one of those afternoon cloudbursts so common to Florida, soldier on. Rain slickers are available throughout the parks for $7, and they’re much more practical than umbrellas because your hands are free to hang on to your kids. The only problem is that on a rainy day half the people in the park are wearing the slickers and thus everyone looks alike. It makes it easier to lose your kids in the crowd, so stay especially alert.
Here are some tips to make sure that a rainy day doesn’t turn into a total washout.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios is a good choice when the weather is iffy because most of the rides and shows are indoors. The Animal Kingdom has mostly outdoor attractions, but if it’s just misty and not pouring, it can also be a good choice because the animals are more active when a