Coming Soon: Luxury Pet Resort at WDW

[mickeysaver]

I am very excited to report the info below. I have been wishing and praying for this to happen for years! Finally, I get to take my 3 babies to WDW! Maggie


Beginning January 10, 2008, the Walt Disney World Resort will transition its kennel operations to an industry expert, Best Friends PetCare Inc. Best Friends is a national provider of pet hospitality in the United States, with 44 locations in 18 states.

Conversion of Walt Disney World Resort Kennels to Best Friends will occur in phases throughout the months of January and February 2008 with the anticipated transition schedule as follows:

1/10/08 - Transportation and Ticket Center and Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground Kennels

1/24/08 - Epcot Kennel

2/7/08 - Disney's Hollywood Studios and Disney's Animal Kingdom Kennels

Best Friends is also slated to build and operate a full-service, luxury pet "resort" at the Walt Disney World Resort. The one-of-a-kind pet facility is expected to open in mid-2009 and will be located on Bonnet Creek Parkway. The luxury pet "resort" will cater to park and resort Guests and will provide a full range of pet hospitality services. Note, with the addition of this facility, there are no plans to allow pets in Guest rooms at any of the Disney Resort Hotels with the exception of designated service animals.

For additional information on Best Friends PetCare Inc., please view their website at http://www.bestfriendspetcare.com

 

[Monica20039]

My dog is very excited about this news!!

No, but seriously, I think this is great for pet owners like myself. Now I won't feel so darn guilty for going on vacation.

There is still the issue of flying my dog over there in the first place, but for those who drive to WDW it's awesome!

 

[uromac]

Yea!

My dh already thinks our dogs should belong to the Best Friends Frequent Guest Club here in NJ when we go to WDW . Hopefully, one day soon our ddogs will get to stay in WDW! Now if only Southwest would allow dogs on board - can you see sometime in the future SWA doggy dings !

Melissa

 

[Deb & Bill]

But you still can't take them to the parks with you. They have to stay at home while you are riding Splash Mountain.

 

[G8r4evr]

Very cool!

 

[mickeysaver]

Being that one of our babies has epilepsy, it will be nice to be able to go check on him to make sure that he is ok and not overly stressed. It's hard to trust the pet resort techs to tell you how your baby is doing when you are 500 miles away. It's so much better to arrange for doggy time in the itinerary! I can't wait to take them with us. Maggie

 

[rcraw45425]

I"m also happy with the changes. Have never used the WDW kennels but based on what I'm reading here this new management company is pretty good, huh? I'm also interested in the luxury place on Bonnet Creek, Scruffy loves to travel!

 

[Minnie&Nana]

I would do a whole lot of checking about this company and visit any of their facilities in your local area. The term "Pet Resort" really means very little these days and I've not seen one where I would leave my senior Maltese babies.

Maybe it will be wonderful, but please do not leave your furbabies there before personally visiting and checking it out thoroughly If possible, check references. I'm sure once it opens many opinions will be found here or on other sites.

 

[Maria395712]

that is great news can't wait to hear more about the resort i just saw this. but I still wish they would allow them in some parts of the hotels like universal I won't leave my dog in a kennel he is a 4 lb very very nervous chihuahua. he has been to florida 7 times this year. i don't think i will be able to let him stay at the resort I have to have hime with us just a spoiled baby
maria

 

[huggiebear23]

I am soo excited about this. I have 2 dogs that I hate leaving. I will definately drive from NY for this.

 

[PookaJean]

I use Disney kennels quite a bit and am not sure how I feel about this change. My girls know the workers. I wonder if the employees will be the same or even Disney employees? Probably not.
Also I know that you can have Disney Security let you in at any time of the day or night, is the new management going to do that? I guess time will tell. I'm hoping for the best because one of the big reasons we love to vacation at DW is the kennel for our dogs.

 

[kylara]

Pooka, I know what you mean. When I lived in GA, my dog was a frequent guest of the Epcot kennel. I got to know all the CMs there and they knew Oliver. I knew I could see him anytime that I wanted because Security will let you in and lock up after you. I'm not sure how they would work that with the new company.

Also I know at the Disney kennels security usually walks through the kennels at night and they make sure that the boarders are okay and that they have water. I hope the new kennel will either allow security to continue this or have staff on or at least checking in at night.

I will look forward to getting more information about this though.

 

[mickeysaver]

I would do a whole lot of checking about this company and visit any of their facilities in your local area. The term "Pet Resort" really means very little these days and I've not seen one where I would leave my senior Maltese babies.

Maybe it will be wonderful, but please do not leave your furbabies there before personally visiting and checking it out thoroughly If possible, check references. I'm sure once it opens many opinions will be found here or on other sites.

Well, as luck would have it, there is one right around the corner from where I work. I have never boarded our dogs there, but several of my co-workers have and they report only good things about them. The reason that we have not used them is that they are further away from our home than the PetsHotel and that they charge a bit more. Otherwise, the facilities have always been spotless when I have visited to check them out in the past. They offer doggie daycare and training too. I am glad that WDW went with a company that offers good service and focuses on the pets and even if the cost is a bit more. I can only hope that the facility that they build at WDW is extra special. Maggie

 

[disneyholic family]

that's fantastic...
as the kennels are today i would never put our dogs there....

of course we live overseas, so our dogs never come with us anyway, but where we live they are always boarded in a 5 star deluxe kennel when we're away from home......why should they get any less care than we do when on vacation???????

 

[BamaTigger]

I use Disney kennels quite a bit and am not sure how I feel about this change. My girls know the workers. I wonder if the employees will be the same or even Disney employees? Probably not.
Also I know that you can have Disney Security let you in at any time of the day or night, is the new management going to do that? I guess time will tell. I'm hoping for the best because one of the big reasons we love to vacation at DW is the kennel for our dogs.

Same here! We always take our boys (2 precious Poms, Max and Taz) to the TTC Kennels, and we go visit and walk them 3-4x a day. They are very protective and wont let anyone walk them but me or my DH. So a "pet resort" wouldnt be much for my boys, UNLESS it was a WDW pet-friendly resort like Universal. Now, that is what Im waiting for! We were at Universal 2 wks ago for a quick overnight trip and stayed at the Royal Pacific and saw several guests walking their dogs, and they werent any trouble at all. The first floor is pet designated, even with "pet room service"!!! SO cool!!!

I just dont know why WDW world wont do that, and that cool Express Pass for resort guests too! !! Well, now thats a whole other story...LOL...

Anyway, great idea on the new pet resort, but I will stick with my WDW kennels. Clean, big, friendly CM's, and you can go anytime, just call WDW security and they will let you in!