Food Poisoning at the Disneyland village restaurants?

Wonderland.teacup · August 18, 2015, 03:34:58 PM

I am trying to plan my trip to Disneyland Paris. I went a few years ago but this time my very picky mother-in-law will be joining us. I am trying to plan out our meals so I was taking a look on tripadvisor and I was surprised about how many posts I read about people getting sick.

Has that ever been your case? What is the best place to go? To avoid?

HildeKitten · August 18, 2015, 03:48:48 PM

A friend and I once got food poisoning from a bug in the drink's machine in Cowboy Cookout BBQ, and I have had an upset stomach from the food in Casey's Corner twice.
The drinks issue was a one off, and if you don't trust the dispensers, you can always get bottled water instead with your meal, so that's easily avoided

To be honest, you'll get good and bad reviews of every single restaurant in the resort, and I think that trip adviser tends to collect the worst experiences from people.

Whilst I wouldn't go back to Casey's Corner (crap food, crap service, ridiculous waiting times), I would eat at Cowboy Cookout BBQ again, although I am much more careful about poured drinks now (mind you, if it doesn't taste the way it should taste, that's a dead giveaway, and a few sips won't make you sick, so it's easy to spot if something is wrong with them).

I would have a look at the restaurants on the Disneyland Paris website and DLRP Guide, ignore trip adviser and what other people think, and just go for the restaurants YOU think look best. Make a list of "back up restaurants" (second choices) so if on the day itself you don't like what you see, you know which other place you'd like to try

Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be fine.

AND if worst comes to happen (hopefully not), you can go to the 1st aid in the park (on the left hand side of the Central Plaza entrance to Discovery Arcade). They have very professional staff and they'll be able to give you some meds. It's free and it's super professional (I actually prefer it to a regular ER). So there really is nothing to worry about

mickey1980 · August 18, 2015, 09:07:15 PM

I never have gotten sick in all my trips. Even when I ordered the Steak Tartare (raw beef) at Ludwigs

So don't worry. Most of the stuff they serve in the park is pre or over -cooked any way.

Zee79 · August 19, 2015, 09:58:01 AM

Ive been going since 1992 & have never had food poisoning from anywhere in DLP. If concerned check the meat you are eating that it is fully cooked inside & avoid seafood. Some cases could easily be over indulgence or something they are not used to eating.

stifle · August 19, 2015, 02:21:26 PM

I echo what was said about TripAdvisor attracting negatives. The only time I or any of my family have had problems was when a large buffet lunch was followed by multiple runs on Rock & Roller Coaster avec Aerosmith, and it was the said ill person's own stupid fault :p

HildeKitten · August 19, 2015, 02:57:14 PM

Yeah I would NEVER EVER do a rollercoaster after a heavy lunch.
That's asking for problems.

Samninetysix · August 27, 2015, 11:16:00 AM

My daughter got food poisoning from Blue Lagoon at Christmas 2006. Projectile vomitting at 2am, we had to have new bedding, mattress everything. She was so ill she could hardly stand the next morning, we had a doctor come in from Serris to attend to her. Disney still asked us to leave the room promptly the next morning tho....

HildeKitten · August 27, 2015, 12:12:36 PM

When I got food poisoning I ended up on first aid, and I can NOT complain about the care I got there. They were super professional, friendly and I got promptly seen to. I received better care there than I would at a hospital ER back home (sad truth is sad).
But yes, same story, even though I got it at the park, we were also expected to just go back home that evening.
Thank god I wasn't driving or we'd have had a problem.

And we weren't the only ones at first aid with the same issue, there was a couple with a sick child, and they were more than a little displeased with how Disney was handling the situation (incidently their son got sick at the same place). My friend also got sick, but luckily (or we wouldn't have gotten home) not 'till much later than I did.

I think that if someone gets food poisoning at the park, Disney does need to own up and say "our bad, let's find a solution where we can".

Luckily food poisoning is rare at the parks, so you don't really need to worry. Just be careful with what you eat, don't try new things if you're worried about getting sick and if you have food allergies: make sure to check the ingredients. No matter how grouchy the CM at the counter gets, you are entitled to the information, especially if you have allergies! And if something you are familiar with (e.g. a glass of ice tea) tastes funny, do NOT finish it.

stifle · August 27, 2015, 02:24:51 PM

Food poisoning normally takes a few days to manifest. If you're ill the night you arrive at the park, it's unlikely to have been park food.

HildeKitten · August 27, 2015, 03:15:56 PM

Not in all people though, sometimes it can really race through your system XD
It all depends on how good your health is etc etc etc.

That and with the wrong kind of bacteria causing you to be ill, you can be ill really fast.

RockNRoller · August 27, 2015, 04:45:24 PM

Sometimes it's just the change in diet that causes the problem. When you consider the number of meals the Disney restaurants serve it's not surprising that it does happen. Trouble is no one ever posts "Had a lovely meal and didn't get food poisoning".
Also have to say that after 16 years in pharmacy not every claim of food poisoning is that but it's a convenient label to stick on things.

Deff · August 30, 2015, 09:24:50 AM

Quote from: stifle on August 27, 2015, 02:24:51 PM
Food poisoning normally takes a few days to manifest. If you're ill the night you arrive at the park, it's unlikely to have been park food.

Just wanted to weigh in and say that this is not always correct, food poisoning is a broad term and some bacteria (think salads and raw meats) can take only a few hours to cause serious problems, time also can differ from person to person. It is perfectly possible to have diner in a restaurant in the village and be totally sick by the time you get to your hotel.

On the topic at hand: As mentioned, negative experiences are much more likely to get shared on review websites. I don't think there's any restaurant with consistent problems in this area, that would just become unmanageable over time. Classic advise is to avoid raw/undercooked meats, raw vegetables and sea food, but even that seems like unnecessary precaution to me.

stifle · August 30, 2015, 12:17:59 PM

Quote from: Deff on August 30, 2015, 09:24:50 AM
Quote from: stifle on August 27, 2015, 02:24:51 PM
Food poisoning normally takes a few days to manifest. If you're ill the night you arrive at the park, it's unlikely to have been park food.
Just wanted to weigh in and say that this is not always correct, food poisoning is a broad term and some bacteria (think salads and raw meats) can take only a few hours to cause serious problems, time also can differ from person to person. It is perfectly possible to have diner in a restaurant in the village and be totally sick by the time you get to your hotel.

On the topic at hand: As mentioned, negative experiences are much more likely to get shared on review websites. I don't think there's any restaurant with consistent problems in this area, that would just become unmanageable over time. Classic advise is to avoid raw/undercooked meats, raw vegetables and sea food, but even that seems like unnecessary precaution to me.

Anything is possible, but I said it "normally" takes a few days and "unlikely" that park food is an issue if you're ill early on a trip, and I maintain that is correct.

CitrusZing · September 02, 2015, 01:05:35 AM

I had a upset stomach a few trips ago from Agrabar Bazaar, and the trip after my boyfriend was unwell after a trip to Victoria's.

littlebitofpixiedust · September 02, 2015, 08:03:29 AM

I have visited DLP on many occasions that in fact I've lost count!

And I must say I'm sad to admit I'm one of those that have had food poisoning also, it was December 14. I was fine on duration on the trip (4days) but on the last day we ate in the buffet reastaurant in the studios forget the name! Never ate there before, food looked and tasted fine. I think it was 3 days later and god I thought I was going to die, went to hospital and was told its a bug.
.
I knew this wasn't the case and the symptoms went on for an entire week I literally didn't eat full stop I took myself to hospital on christmas day, boxing day i deteriorated still (2 weeks on) and I started to really panic I called my GP a now I was loosing blood too. Really unpleasant. They did a test and confirmed it was food poisoning by chicken. They asked where I'd ate and informed me that this type of food Poisoing takes 3-5 days to manifest. It waste only place id eaten chicken.

So to answer your question yes it does happen.its definatley put me of buffets as docs told me it could have been just contaminated as it was buffet style rather than undercooked. It really was awful and I wasn't symptom free for 3 whole weeks! In saying this I still go I love the place! I'm just rather careful especially with chicken and avoid buffets.

Just remember as posted above food poisoning does take time to manifest, I'm not saying the reviews of getting poorly are untrue but food poisoning doesn't start immediately and on same hand it's not usually over with too quickly like a bug would be it lingers.