Actual Dog Experiences

[Wubar]

No surprise.

Nope, none whatsoever. "Oh, I had no idea I wasn't allowed to have my dog in here or walk him over there. It won't happen again, I SWEAR."

 

[HopperFan]

Nope, none whatsoever. "Oh, I had no idea I wasn't allowed to have my dog in here or walk him over there. It won't happen again, I SWEAR."

Considering the rule is their dog must be leashed in public areas .... they were following the rule.

 

[LSUmiss]

So with all the talk of Universal’s policy, do ppl see dogs in their parks like the do WDW (even before they allowed dogs)?

 

[Wubar]

Considering the rule is their dog must be leashed in public areas .... they were following the rule.

Inside at the mug refill station?

 

[LSUmiss]

How are the dogs getting in to the parks???

Guess ppl can stop worrying about the 7 hr ruled now though!

 

[HopperFan]

Inside at the mug refill station?

True that one and inside the parks is not cool, but I don't see them stopping the Boardwalk, lake walks etc from happening. But again, it would mean a CM confronting a guest ....

 

[paradesintherain]

Stayed at the BoardWalk, just got back. Had no clue at first about the new dog policy. Day 2 at mug refill station at the bakery....someone came breezing in with a medium sized dog on a leash...no "service dog" vest or anything. I was shocked. Nobody said a word. Day 3...early evening, saw someone walking their dog on the BoardWalk...watched for quite a while from my balcony, again, nobody said a word. Day 4, heard some talk around the pool about Disney's new dog policy. Day 6, saw a puppy on a leash INSIDE Animal Kingdom park....no "service dog" vest, no "in training" vest. Stopped at front desk at BoardWalk to inquire about the "rules" for dog owners. Nobody seemed to know, but was told they were not allowed on the BoardWalk....I told them what I saw..they didn't quite know what to say. Gave me the email address for guest services relations. Day 7....saw someone walking TWO medium size dogs on the BoardWalk....again, not approached by anyone. Someone also saw two large dogs inside of Epcot that were not service dogs either.

So....it was only a few days into the new dog friendly thing, and already people were breaking the rules. And I really cannot blame the CM's for not approaching, they have not been properly trained on what to say or do. Not fair. This plan was not well thought out at all.

Service dogs aren't required to wear vests

 

[wdwlver]

Stayed at the BoardWalk, just got back. Had no clue at first about the new dog policy. Day 2 at mug refill station at the bakery....someone came breezing in with a medium sized dog on a leash...no "service dog" vest or anything. I was shocked. Nobody said a word. Day 3...early evening, saw someone walking their dog on the BoardWalk...watched for quite a while from my balcony, again, nobody said a word. Day 4, heard some talk around the pool about Disney's new dog policy. Day 6, saw a puppy on a leash INSIDE Animal Kingdom park....no "service dog" vest, no "in training" vest. Stopped at front desk at BoardWalk to inquire about the "rules" for dog owners. Nobody seemed to know, but was told they were not allowed on the BoardWalk....I told them what I saw..they didn't quite know what to say. Gave me the email address for guest services relations. Day 7....saw someone walking TWO medium size dogs on the BoardWalk....again, not approached by anyone. Someone also saw two large dogs inside of Epcot that were not service dogs either.

So....it was only a few days into the new dog friendly thing, and already people were breaking the rules. And I really cannot blame the CM's for not approaching, they have not been properly trained on what to say or do. Not fair. This plan was not well thought out at all.

Ugh. People ignoring the stated rules. Not surprised but frustrating nonetheless.

 

[Wubar]

True that one and inside the parks is not cool, but I don't see them stopping the Boardwalk, lake walks etc from happening. But again, it would mean a CM confronting a guest ....

Well, I'm sure the dog at the refill station was just thirsty for some Coke, and the one inside the park didn't have his service vest (it was being dry cleaned).

 

[LSUmiss]

I blame WDW for these policy violations. While some ppl may know the rules, I think many may not. From what I saw the waiver is tedious & wordy. It’s fine to have ppl sign this, but in the rooms or somewhere prominent they need to have signs or info with the basic policies simplified in easy to read bullet points. Many ppl aren’t going to read through all that paper work. I can’t exuse ppl bringing dogs inside parks or inside shops or food places b/c I think that should be obvious, but I can see where the ppl with the dogs on the Boardwalk may think dogs are allowed in public outside areas. And the CMs saying they don’t know the policy is inexcusable.

 

[Gryhndmom]

Service dogs aren't required to wear vests

Very true...they could have a tag or the owner could have a service dog card (I do know someone that has a service dog card they carry to prove it is a service dog)

 

[JGoodish]

Our actual hotel dog experiences have all been negative, and for that reason my family and I avoid "pet friendly" hotels at all costs. At the last hotel I (accidentally) booked which permitted pets, we had to deal with someone's dog barking in a room down the hall non-stop for hours into the night, because the rest of the "family" decided to go out for a night on the town. We complained multiple times to the front desk, who claimed that they weren't permitted to handle the dog and they were unable to reach the owners on their mobile phone (wonder why... hmmm.) Eventually, "mom and dad" came back at around midnight and took the dog out. How do I know, you ask? Because it barked all the way down the hall.

Since that time, my wife and I had our son, who is highly allergic to dogs (and most other animals). That's really unfortunate, since he also happens to love animals, but we don't love the swollen head and neck that he gets from exposure to places those animals have been.

We learned long ago that pet-friendly hotels are not going to throw dog owners out over noise complaints, just like they won't throw a kids' traveling ball team out over noise complaints. I now have to call ahead to screen out hotels which are hosting traveling sports teams, especially if it's a team of young boys.

The entire Disney experience is not conducive to pet participation. Not only do I not want to listen/see/interact with someone else's pet(s) when I'm on vacation, I really don't want to be packed onto buses and dine with other people's pets, either. If pets are not permitted at the parks, exactly what are they going to do trapped in the room all day? And if pets are permitted in the parks, where do they go while the whole family visits an attraction? Just doesn't seem like a smart idea. A pet trapped alone in a strange room all day sounds an awful lot like abuse to me.

Yes, I've been places with service dogs, but the reality is that service dogs are rare. And, I've *never* noticed a behavior problem with a legitimate service dog--they're highly trained and handled in a manner different from the typical family pet. I have enough problems trying to avoid being rammed with strollers driven by clueless or careless parents at Disney; there's no good reason why these same people should be permitted to arm themselves with their pets while on property.

It is unlikely that we will return to any Disney properties which accept pets unless Disney will *guarantee* that we will have a room which has never housed a pet and is nowhere near rooms where pets are permitted--without having to pay a premium for those assurances.


JKG

 

[Reighngold]

I do not have any experience with dogs at Disney World since this new policy, but I did see a toddler bite another kid at the pool. It wasn't even muzzled, or on a leash!! This same toddler also had a hard time sleeping after all the excitement of Disney World and cried a lot at night keeping everyone in our room awake. I called several times to the front but cast members did nothing about this, even though their policy is you can't make a ton of noise at night and wake people. Super inconsiderate and I just don't know if Disney is really equipped to deal with kids and their ****ty parents who can't be bothered to discipline them. I'm never going to Disney World again unless they can guarantee me I won't be awoken by a screaming toddler!! Ruined our whole vacation!

 

[BigAlsGal]

I've always seen dogs at Disney. On our last trip there was one on the bus. It looked like a chihuahua mix. The bus driver played the "We have a Disney princess on board!" announcement. It got a few laughs.

Oh and here's a picture of a "service dog". It's wearing a vest but who decorates a service dog like that?!?


The gist is that dogs have always been around in the parks and in the hotels. So much conclusion jumping that these people are rule breakers. It's almost as bad as all the people who bash scooter users because "they don't look sick".

 

[paradesintherain]

And on the same note, a vest does not a service dog make.

I also feel like if you go into this policy LOOKING for problems you'll find them. But anyway, I'll report back in a week!

 

[Ensusieasm]

Our actual hotel dog experiences have all been negative, and for that reason my family and I avoid "pet friendly" hotels at all costs. At the last hotel I (accidentally) booked which permitted pets, we had to deal with someone's dog barking in a room down the hall non-stop for hours into the night, because the rest of the "family" decided to go out for a night on the town. We complained multiple times to the front desk, who claimed that they weren't permitted to handle the dog and they were unable to reach the owners on their mobile phone (wonder why... hmmm.) Eventually, "mom and dad" came back at around midnight and took the dog out. How do I know, you ask? Because it barked all the way down the hall.

Since that time, my wife and I had our son, who is highly allergic to dogs (and most other animals). That's really unfortunate, since he also happens to love animals, but we don't love the swollen head and neck that he gets from exposure to places those animals have been.

We learned long ago that pet-friendly hotels are not going to throw dog owners out over noise complaints, just like they won't throw a kids' traveling ball team out over noise complaints. I now have to call ahead to screen out hotels which are hosting traveling sports teams, especially if it's a team of young boys.

The entire Disney experience is not conducive to pet participation. Not only do I not want to listen/see/interact with someone else's pet(s) when I'm on vacation, I really don't want to be packed onto buses and dine with other people's pets, either. If pets are not permitted at the parks, exactly what are they going to do trapped in the room all day? And if pets are permitted in the parks, where do they go while the whole family visits an attraction? Just doesn't seem like a smart idea. A pet trapped alone in a strange room all day sounds an awful lot like abuse to me.

Yes, I've been places with service dogs, but the reality is that service dogs are rare. And, I've *never* noticed a behavior problem with a legitimate service dog--they're highly trained and handled in a manner different from the typical family pet. I have enough problems trying to avoid being rammed with strollers driven by clueless or careless parents at Disney; there's no good reason why these same people should be permitted to arm themselves with their pets while on property.

It is unlikely that we will return to any Disney properties which accept pets unless Disney will *guarantee* that we will have a room which has never housed a pet and is nowhere near rooms where pets are permitted--without having to pay a premium for those assurances.


JKG

Consider writing an email to Disney World Management. Since this is a trial period I'm sure they would like to hear your thoughts. Let me know if you would like the address.

 

[ArwenMarie]

So with all the talk of Universal’s policy, do ppl see dogs in their parks like the do WDW (even before they allowed dogs)?

I've seen dogs at the UOR hotels (well one that we've stayed at three times) but never in the parks.

 

[dwdeb]

To the poster(s) that saw dogs on the boardwalk, bakery, AK, and in Epcot; please consider writing to Disney guest communications.
I plan to do so again, after hearing about this.
It seems that the cast members, and guests alike are not aware of, or choose to ignore the rules that have been put in place.
And yes, it is possible that some of these dogs are indeed service dogs. However pairs of dogs were seen out walking.
Disney is "holding its guests who choose to bring their pets to the highest standard" (per my conversation with quest communications). Not a good start to this new policy....

 

[mb187143]

Very true...they could have a tag or the owner could have a service dog card (I do know someone that has a service dog card they carry to prove it is a service dog)

None of this is required. It’s in the ADA guidance.

Q5. Does the ADA require service animals to be professionally trained?


A. No. People with disabilities have the right to train the dog themselves and are not required to use a professional service dog training program

AND,

Q8. Do service animals have to wear a vest or patch or special harness identifying them as service animals?


A. No. The ADA does not require service animals to wear a vest, ID tag, or specific harness.

AND,

Q17. Does the ADA require that service animals be certified as service animals?
A. No. Covered entities may not require documentation, such as proof that the animal has been certified, trained, or licensed as a service animal, as a condition for entry


https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.html

 

[Nohal]

I've always seen dogs at Disney. On our last trip there was one on the bus. It looked like a chihuahua mix. The bus driver played the "We have a Disney princess on board!" announcement. It got a few laughs.

Oh and here's a picture of a "service dog". It's wearing a vest but who decorates a service dog like that?!?
View attachment 278933

The gist is that dogs have always been around in the parks and in the hotels. So much conclusion jumping that these people are rule breakers. It's almost as bad as all the people who bash scooter users because "they don't look sick".

Omg I saw the same dogscouldn't believe my eyes. There were 3 dogs with 2 people guessing the other owner was on a ride.