Nobody gets sick or injured at the "Most
Magical Place on Earth," right? If
only that were true. For a while, it
seemed someone someone in my family needed medical attention every trip! If your family falls into the same
unfortunate situation, don't fret. There
are a lot of options for you.
If you have an accident or get sick in one of the
parks, Disney has first aid stations in each of the theme parks and water
parks. These aren't just your "run
of the mill" first aid stations.
According to the person with whom I spoke, while there isn't a doctor on
the premises, each one is
staffed with a nurse and carries a number of over-the-counter medications and
supplies for typical bumps, cuts, and bruises.
You can find them at:
·
The
first aid station in Magic Kingdom theme park is located next to The Crystal Palace
restaurant on Main Street, U.S.A.
·
The
first aid station in Epcot theme park is at the Odyssey Center; enter from the
World Showcase side.
·
The
first aid station in Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park is located near Guest
Services on Hollywood Boulevard.
·
The
first aid station in Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park is located behind Creature
Comforts in Discovery Island.
·
The
first aid station in Disney's Typhoon Lagoon Water Park is located behind Leaning
Palms.
·
The
first aid station in Disney's Blizzard Beach Water Park is between Lottawatta Lodge
and Beach Haus.
If,
however, you can't make it to a first aid station, just find your nearest cast
member. They will get help for you.
In
addition to the first aid stations, if the unthinkable happens, Disney World
also has hundreds of automated external defibrillators around the parks, many
of them strategically placed near thrill rides and fitness centers. Plus, the ones I saw had phones next to them
so that someone can call for help immediately.
Unfortunately,
all of my family's illnesses were something for which a doctor was
necessary. My son was very prone to ear
infections so, of course, his first trip at 10-months-old also included an ear
infection. It was late at night and we
didn't have a car so we called the front desk of our resort who gave us the
number for Doctors on Call Service or DOCS for short. That night, a doctor appeared at our hotel
room door complete with everything he needed to diagnose our son and the first
dose of antibiotics (they do not sell any medications - you have to go through
a pharmacy for the full dose). On top of
it, he called a prescription in to a local pharmacy who delivered the remainder
of the antibiotics to the front desk of our hotel! Within a day or so, my son was improved
enough that we could continue on with our vacation.
The
only drawback with DOCS that I saw was that they don't accept any insurance so
we had to pay for the visit upfront and then get reimbursed from our insurance
company. It worked out really well for
us, but what if you don't have an extra $200 or so to pay for the visit and
wait for reimbursement? Well, I decided to try something different on a subsequent visit.
This
time, it was me who got sick and since it was a recurrent infection, I knew I
needed an antibiotic. I was looking to
"save money" so I took a cab to Centra Care at 12500 South Apopka
Vineland Rd. Their hours are long - from
8am to Midnight weekdays and 8am to 8pm on weekends. You can also make a reservation right from
their website so that you'll have no wait when you get there. Their staff was also very nice and treated me
well. Plus, they took my insurance so I
only had to pay my regular copay. The
only drawback I could find was that while I got my prescription, I then walked
to a nearby Walgreens to get it filled and then had to take a cab back to the
hotel since I didn't have a rental car.
On
this last trip, I got sick again. This
time, I had a rental car. That being
said, what did I choose? I have to
admit... I chose DOCS. Why? Well, first and foremost, the convenience of
it. The last thing I wanted to do at
11pm while sick was get in the car and go to an Urgent Care and then a pharmacy
when I could have a doctor come right to me lying in bed in my hotel room. Yes, I had to pay upfront for the visit but I
put it on my credit card and by the time my bill was due, I'd already gotten
the reimbursement from my insurance company, meaning that my actual
out-of-pocket was about the same as if I'd traveled to an Urgent Care. The doctor came to my room late - around 11pm,
and I got started on the medication that night.
In fact, by the time my delivery from the pharmacy came the next morning,
I was feeling a little better and we resumed, albeit a light schedule, our fun
in the parks later that day.
In a
nutshell, you have lots of options if the unexpected happens to get back to
your Disney World fun. In the parks, you
can check out any of the first aid centers.
For something requiring a doctor, you'll be well-served by either
Doctors on Call Service or a local urgent care.
For your convenience, you can click on any of the links below to get
more info.
BuenaVista Urgent Care - I don't have any personal experience with this one, but
it's so close to Disney World, it's worth a look.
While staying at the Wilderness Lodge, our then 4-year-old woke up with a horrendous fever at 3am. We hadn't brought a thermometer, but could tell it was above 102. Knowing that we had just arrived by plane a couple of days earlier, we didn't know if he had caught something or not, so we phoned the front desk. Within 10 minutes, firemen, paramedics, and the front desk manager were in our room. They checked him out and advised us to give him Children's Tylenol, which, of course, we had also left at home. The manager walked me down to the Mercantile store, opened it up, and allowed me to get what we needed, including one of those forehead thermometers (better than nothing).
ReplyDeleteThey were very helpful, and they were happy we had phoned them, as another little boy at Fort Wilderness had shown the same symptoms after flying in, and they were keeping track of what kind of illness may be circulating the resort.
If someone gets sick or hurt while at a resort, I will always call the front desk first. They've got it down to a science and will help you decide what is best.
Great post Kim. We have been so lucky with all the trips we've taken to WDW until last December. I wish I knew something like the DOCS service was available then. I found out a little too late. This is great info for future travelers!!
ReplyDeleteGreat information to have Kim! Here's hoping that your days of being not so well at Disney are in the past!
ReplyDeleteKim sounds like you had bad luck with getting sick on vacation just like us! I wish I new about the DOCS service...we actually flew home early once because both my son and I were so darn sick! What a great informative article!!!
ReplyDeleteGreat info Kim, you never know when you might need it! We have used the First-Aid stations at all most every park and they have always been very helpful.
ReplyDeleteThere's also a 34 year old company in the Orlando area called The Medical Concierge. They are surprisingly easy on the pocket book, and ironically more affordable than any walk-in clinic I've heard of. My little girl got sick when we went to Disney and they sent a pediatrician to look after her. The doc had amazing bedside manner and put her mind at ease. Needless to say, I was very pleased with the service.
ReplyDeleteHere's the website FYI:
themedicalconcierge.com