Traveling to Walt Disney World isn’t easy. You run yourself ragged for the week before your trip, making sure everything at work is done, everything at home is done, everything you need is packed, and you’re all ready to go. You’ve spent a couple of late nights and didn’t get enough sleep. Then you board a plane full of people and are sealed in for several hours, surrounded by coughing, hacking and sneezing passengers who didn’t want to miss out on their vacations. You know what happens next, right? Runny, stuffy nose and coughing. Or maybe your child gets an eye or ear infection. Or you might be suffering from a case of stomach flu or food poisoning from that buffet last night. Whatever the cause, being sick while at Walt Disney World isn’t fun. After all, this is supposed to be the happiest place on earth, right?
Luckily, there are many ways to help you get back on the way to wellness while in Orlando. Here are a few tips to help:
Call Your Local Healthcare Provider
If you have a primary healthcare provider, you can call them and explain your situation. For a simple problem like pink eye, ear infection, or a simple chest cold, they may be sympathetic to your situation and willing to send a prescription to a pharmacy in the area. If you use a nationwide chain like Walgreens, CVS, or Walmart, they will already have your information on file, and you can go there to pick up your order, just like at home.
Check out Telemedicine
Many insurance plans include access to a Tele-Doc, Doctor on Demand, or a similar service. This is a program that lets you talk to a medical professional over the phone (or by FaceTime chat) and get a recommendation. These providers can send prescriptions to a pharmacy in the area for you. The consultation fee may be free as part of your coverage or might be a relatively small fee (compared to an urgent care copay). If you have your insurance card with you, call the customer service number on the card to see if this is an option that is available to you. Some of the most popular services are Teladoc, HealthTap, and Amwell.
Local Walk-In Clinics
There are also several walk-in clinics around the WDW area. Since these locations treat guests from all over the world, it’s best to check to see if they take your medical insurance and what fees they charge upfront. You don’t want a $300 doctor bill for a sore throat to ruin your vacation.
BUENA VISTA URGENT CARE
8200 WORLD CENTER DRIVE
ORLANDO FL 32821-5400
MDNOW URGENT CARE
8972 TURKEY LAKE ROAD SOUTH
STE. A400
ORLANDO, FL 32819
AdventHealth CentraCare
Centra Care is the urgent care division of AdventHealth, a local group of hospitals. Their locations are open seven days a week and are staffed by adult and pediatric-trained physicians. These locations are where you need to go for a more serious medical issue that may involve X-rays or stitches. There are several locations around Disney World.
LAKE BUENA VISTA CENTRA CARE
(Open until Midnight)
12500 S APOPKA VINELAND RD
ORLANDO, FL 32836
ORANGE LAKE CENTRA CARE
8201 W. IRLO BRONSON MEMORIAL HWY
KISSIMMEE, FL 34747
In-Room Medical Care
An additional option available to guests visiting Orlando is The Medical Concierge. This service by the EastCoast Medical Network runs a Walk-in Clinic open on Monday to Saturday from 8 AM to 5 PM, provides In-Room Urgent Care (Doctor House Calls) 24 Hours a Day, 7 Days a week and also can provide services for or provide references to one of their network clinics for the following specialties:
- Pediatricians
- Dental*
- Chiropractor*
- Dermatology*
- OB/GYN*
- Ophthalmology*
- Orthopedic*
- Psychiatry*
They can be contacted 24 hours a day at 407-648-5252 and their main clinic is located at:
6000 TURKEY LAKE ROAD
SUITE 208
ORLANDO, FL 32819
A friend of ours from the United Kingdom used this service when he needed emergency dental work. He was referred to a local dentist who saw him the next morning and provided medications that helped his problem until it could be addressed when he returned home.
Stand-Alone ER
There are several stand-alone ER locations located near Walt Disney World. These locations provide all the services of a hospital emergency room but are not attached to a hospital. Be aware that receiving treatment from one of these locations may be treated the same as a hospital visit by your insurance, resulting in higher co-payments.
The closest ones to Disney are:
AdventHealth ER at FLAMINGO CROSSINGS Town Center
13323 Hartzog Rd.
Winter Garden, FL 34787
AdventHealth Palm Parkway ER
7823 Palm Parkway
Orlando, FL 32836
Hospital Emergency Room
Sometimes medical emergencies don’t stick to a timetable. If you need emergency care at any time of the day, the Emergency Room is your final option. There are two hospital locations close to Walt Disney World.
From most of Disney World, the closest hospital is:
ADVENTHEALTH CELEBRATION EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT
400 CELEBRATION PLACE
CELEBRATION, Florida 34747
If you happen to be on the Eastern side of Disney World near Disney Springs, there is another option available.
ORLANDO HEALTH – DR. P. PHILLIPS HOSPITAL EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT
9400 TURKEY LAKE RD
ORLANDO, FL 32819
INSIDE DISNEY WORLD THEME PARKS
If you get ill while inside one of the Disney World theme parks, you can get medical attention at one of the first aid centers.
FINAL THOUGHT
While it’s not fun to get sick on vacation, especially if you’re at Walt Disney World, it does happen. Hopefully, these tips will get you in touch with the medical assistance you need and get you back to good health and able to enjoy the rest of your vacation.
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8 comments
I injured myself pretty badly at Epcot last year — bleeding profusely — and the First Aid staff was wonderful. They treated my wound and wrapped it up securely, giving me supplies and over-the-counter medications to take with me. Each morning for the rest of the trip I’d stop into First Aid, and they would clean and rebandage my wound. Fantastic level of care!
Universal first aid looked after me after a knee swelling a couple of weeks after surgery. Great to know they are there
Why would you go there a couple of weeks after knee surgery?
Recovery time after knee surgery is much shorter than it used to be. The strain of getting around a theme park just might have been too much strain to put on it so soon.
Disney First-Aid stations will hand out bandaids if needed. All you have to do is ask.
2 incidents: my mom fell pretty badly in front of Pirates actually at Disneyland. The first aid cleaned her up and recommended she get a few stitches. They actually said it was quicker and easier to just get a cab to the ER than to go get the car, FIND the hospital etc. It was no emergency but still …. So we did just that. She and my dad went in a cab and my husband and I got the car and drove over later to pick her up….the way to go.
Second incident. My husband had been working a bunch of hours then we had a week Disneyworld trip planned. Well he was having tooth problems back at home but no time for dentist. So he was really in discomfort on the plane. So my nephew and I talked him into finding a dentist after landing. I’m not kidding he just google mapped a dentist that was along the way to our hotel. I think he may have also verified they took our insurance. So we stopped. They took him as a walk in and pulled his tooth! No delay really. We filled his antibiotic rx and just went on to the parks as planned. It all worked out fine. I think the health practitioners in the area have probably seen it all and are accustomed to dealing with walkins. It’s great 👍🏻
My Daughter almost passed out because of the heat at Disney World. The First Aid at Epcot did an excellent job. But good info on the nearby places just in case. Especially that we are going in a couple months.
AND if you are ill with a contagious kind of sickness (covid, flu, fever, etc.) please don’t go to the park to spread it to others. People pay thousands of dollars to go to Disney so don’t ruin it for others. Travel insurance might help on this issue so if you do seek medical assistance keep a copy of the documentation for claims purposes.