Oh no. This is not the Disney news anyone wanted to wake up to this weekend. Orange County health officials just confirmed a SECOND measles case in less than a week, and this time the infected person spent HOURS at Disneyland Resort on January 28. We’re talking Goofy’s Kitchen during peak breakfast/lunch hours, then both Disneyland Park AND California Adventure until closing. If you were there that day, health authorities are saying you might have been exposed.
The OC Health Care Agency dropped the announcement Saturday after getting alerts from both the California Department of Public Health and LA County that an international traveler who flew into LAX came down with measles after visiting the parks. And here’s what makes this scary: measles is like, THE most contagious virus out there. It can literally hang in the air for TWO HOURS after an infected person leaves. So even if you weren’t standing right next to this person, you could still have been exposed just by breathing the same air in the same restaurant or attraction.
This is Orange County’s second measles case in 2026, with the first one announced just Wednesday (also an international traveler, also recently arrived in California). Two cases in one week is making health officials nervous because measles spreads FAST when it gets into communities where not everyone is vaccinated. And with Disneyland being one of the most visited tourist destinations on Earth, with people coming from literally everywhere? Yeah, the potential for this to spread is real.
Health officials are working with Disneyland management to contact employees who might have been exposed, plus they’re coordinating with LA County and LAX to track everyone who might have crossed paths with this person. But if you were just a regular guest at the parks that day, YOU need to take action to protect yourself and your family.
Where You Could Have Been Exposed
Okay, here are the exact locations and times you need to know about. If you were at ANY of these places during these windows on Wednesday, January 28, 2026, health officials say you were potentially exposed to measles.
First up: Goofy’s Kitchen at the Disneyland Hotel from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. That’s a full THREE HOUR window during prime dining time at one of the most popular character breakfast spots at the resort. If you were there having breakfast or lunch with Goofy, Pluto, and the gang, you need to pay attention to this warning. The restaurant is an enclosed indoor space where families sit close together, making it exactly the kind of environment where measles can spread easily.
Then from 12:30 p.m. until the parks closed that night, the infected person was in both Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure. That’s HOURS of potential exposure across two massive theme parks. We’re talking attractions, restaurants, shops, walkways, everything. They could have been literally anywhere, and because measles stays airborne for so long, you didn’t even need to be in the same place at the same exact time to potentially get exposed.
The fact that the exposure window covers basically an entire park day means thousands of guests could have been exposed. Like, this isn’t a quick 30-minute window at one specific attraction. This is HOURS across multiple locations with massive crowd levels.
What You Need to Do RIGHT NOW
Health officials put out a whole list of recommendations for anyone who was at these locations, and honestly, you should not ignore this. Here’s what they’re saying:
Check your vaccination status IMMEDIATELY. Call your doctor and confirm whether you’ve had the MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella) vaccine. A lot of adults don’t actually know if they’re fully vaccinated because it happened when they were kids and records get lost. You need TWO doses of MMR to be considered fully protected.
If your exposure happened less than seven days ago (which, if you were there January 28, we’re past that window now), health officials said you should have talked to your doctor about getting the vaccine or something called immune globulin for prevention. Immune globulin is especially important for high-risk groups: babies under 12 months old, pregnant people who aren’t immune, and anyone with a weakened immune system who can’t get the regular vaccine.
Watch for symptoms between 7 and 21 days after exposure. That means if you were at Disney on January 28, you need to monitor yourself through mid-February. The symptoms to watch for are fever and unexplained rash. If you develop these, DO NOT just show up at your doctor’s office or urgent care. CALL FIRST. Seriously. If you walk into a waiting room with measles, you’re potentially exposing everyone there, including people who might be too young or too sick to be vaccinated.
Why Measles is So Serious
Look, some people hear “measles” and think it’s just some old-timey disease that isn’t a big deal. WRONG. Measles is incredibly contagious and can cause serious complications, especially in young kids, pregnant people, and anyone with a compromised immune system.
The virus spreads through the air when someone who’s infected breathes, coughs, or sneezes. Those viral particles just float around, waiting for someone unvaccinated to breathe them in. You can also get it from touching surfaces with infectious droplets, but airborne transmission is the main concern, especially in places like theme parks where air circulation varies and crowds are dense.
Early symptoms include fever, cough, runny nose, and red eyes. Here’s the tricky part: these symptoms show up BEFORE the characteristic measles rash appears. So people can be walking around spreading the virus while thinking they just have a cold or allergies. The rash typically starts on the face and then spreads down the body, appearing 3-5 days after those initial symptoms start.
If you’re not vaccinated against measles, your risk of getting sick after exposure is HIGH. The incubation period is 7 to 21 days, which is why health officials are telling potentially exposed people to watch for symptoms for three weeks. The MMR vaccine is super effective when you get both doses, and health authorities consider fully vaccinated people protected even if they’re exposed.
OC’s Second Case This Week
This latest measles case is Orange County’s second confirmed infection of 2026, following the announcement on Wednesday of a case in a young adult who’d also recently traveled internationally. Two imported cases in less than a week has health officials on high alert because it shows how easily measles can enter communities through international travel.
Dr. Anissa Davis, Orange County’s Deputy Health Officer, put out a statement emphasizing that this isn’t just about travelers. “Measles doesn’t only affect people who travel internationally, everyone is at risk if they’re not protected,” Davis said. “Because measles is highly contagious, it can spread quickly within communities, even among those who haven’t traveled. The best way to protect yourself and your loved ones is to get vaccinated before exposure occurs.”
That last part is key: BEFORE exposure occurs. Once you’ve been exposed, your options are more limited. Getting vaccinated now, checking your immunity status now, protects you before situations like this even happen.
The statement also highlights why community vaccination rates matter so much. Measles doesn’t require prolonged close contact to spread. You can catch it just by being in the same space as an infected person, even if you never interact with them directly. That’s why herd immunity through high vaccination rates is so important for protecting people who genuinely can’t get vaccinated (like tiny babies or people with certain medical conditions).
Health Officials Are Working With Disney
The HCA Communicable Disease Control Division is coordinating with multiple agencies to handle this potential exposure event. They’re working directly with Disneyland officials to identify and contact employees who were working at Goofy’s Kitchen or in the parks during the exposure windows on January 28. Theme park cast members are a concern because they interact with thousands of guests every single day across multiple locations. If cast members got exposed and then became infectious, they could potentially spread measles to tons of other guests before they even knew they were sick.
The coordination also extends to LA County health authorities and LAX officials since the infected traveler came through the airport before heading to Orange County. Health officials are trying to track the person’s full path through Southern California to identify everyone who might have been exposed and prevent secondary spread.
This kind of multi-agency response shows how seriously public health takes measles cases, especially ones involving high-traffic tourist destinations like Disneyland where people come from all over the world.
Stay Vigilant Over the Next Few Weeks
If you were at Disneyland or Goofy’s Kitchen on January 28, the next couple weeks are crucial for monitoring your health. The 21-day incubation period means symptoms could develop anytime through mid-February. Watch for fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes, or rash. If anything develops, call your doctor before going anywhere so they can set up isolated evaluation that won’t expose other people.
And honestly? If you’re not sure about your vaccination status, now’s a great time to check regardless of whether you were at Disney that day. Measles outbreaks can pop up anywhere, and being fully vaccinated is your best protection.
Were you at Disneyland on January 28? Check your vaccine records and watch for symptoms. Drop a comment if you were there that day because sharing information helps everyone stay safe. And please, share this with anyone you know who might have visited the parks that Wednesday!
