Ft. Wilderness with a boarded dog

[doxxie]

We are looking at FW cabins for February. We have a dog that we have to do something with and we're not quite sure what that is yet but we thought if we're right there then maybe the kennel there would be a good thing and we could have easy access to her.

I know that you can only have dogs in the designated areas on the property. I understand there is a large field right there where you can have a leashed dog at to play. Is there a fenced-in, off leash dog park as well?

I found the kennel on the resort map and it looks like if we were on loop 2800 we would be as close as possible to her. However, where do we have to go to spend time with her if she can't come back to the cabin?

Wow - if we are in that 2800 loop we may need that golf cart!

 

[ftwildernessguy]

There is a fairly large meadow area next to the kennels for exercise. The dog park at FW is way on the other side of the property near the Settlement area and really not convenient for you. The kennel is nice, clean and the staff are good. We have used them every trip and my wife is about as fussy as someone can get when it comes to where the Wonder Beagle stays.

 

[BradyBz12]

The field next to the kennel isn't fenced, but there's plenty of room to roam there on leash.

The fenced dog park is quite a ways away from both the cabins and the kennel. If you look on the map, it's pretty much across from the 500 loop and adjacent to the playground next to 300.

Unfortunately no pets are allowed in the cabins or any of the cabin loops.

 

[doxxie]

We have used them every trip and my wife is about as fussy as someone can get when it comes to where the Wonder Beagle stays.

We have a beagle/dachshund mix. She is so cute and adorable that nobody can resist her but she has a few issues! (Like escaping and running away and not listening). I blame both of these traits on the beagle in her! She has beagle coloring in a dachshund body.

Thanks for the input on the kennel. My main concern with them is that she was a pound rescue I'm trying my best to not put her in a similar environment. But due to her escaping and separation anxiety I can't leave her with my folks or anything like that. So I have to put just about as much thought into where the dog will stay as where we will stay!

 

[ftwildernessguy]

When my beagle gets on the trail of something, there is very little that will stop him. When we first got him we talked to the Invisible Fence people about putting one in around our property. When he heard what we had, he packed his stuff up and left. He said a beagle was the only breed he couldn't guarantee it would work with. They are born to track and won't stop until they find what they are looking for, and boy do they love the hunt.

 

[DisCamper]

If you are staying in the cabins and rented a golf cart take your dog to the 300 loop dog park very day he or she will have a great time running after being locked up all day. We take a hour out of every day to take our two just to let them run and play

 

[kaguilbeau]

I am of the opinion that if I have to board my dog(s) and if I am driving to WDW -then I might as well board them at WDW. The cost was about the same as boarding them at home, plus that would be two nights on the road that I wouldn't have to board them.

 

[doxxie]

When we first got him we talked to the Invisible Fence people about putting one in around our property. When he heard what we had, he packed his stuff up and left.

That is hilarious! I know, I don't know what ever possessed me to allow another beagle in the house. But I'm telling you, you can't resist her sweet face!

 

[Tri-circle-D]

To help you get a better understanding of where things are, here is a Google Earth capture of the path from the Kennel to the Dog Park:

It is over a mile each way!

As far as whether or not you are allowed to walk, I took this shot of the golf cart parking area last week:

There is a little sign facing the sidewalk back at the corner of the fence that you see running along the right of the sidewalk in this photo. Here it is zoomed up a little:

I am not sure if you can read what it says, but it says "No Pets Beyond This Point." That suggests to me that you are not allowed to make the walk from the kennel to the dog park with your dog, even if you wanted to. But, I do know that people use golf carts to bring their pets back and forth to the kennel. I see it done all the time. So much so, that it must not be against the rules.

This sign looks new, though. So, who knows? I do know that it is a pretty long walk.

TCD

 

[doxxie]

Wow - thank you so much for posting the pics! It seems kind of silly to me that the dog park is so far from the kennels (or that there are not two) and that you can't walk the dog on a path to the dog park. But that's okay, I'm willing to be dropped off up there or take the cart. I saw a rule on the carts that says they are now allowed. (which would indicate at one time they were not which again seems silly that you can't take the dog on your cart to the dog park!)

But anyway, I digress. That also sort of answered another question I had regarding cart parking. Am I correct in my assumption that we can drive a cart from our cabin to the marina where you catch the MK ferry and leave the cart parked there all day?

My parents may end up going with us and we may split the cost of the cart and they would just drop us off but either way I think I want a cart. Add one more thing to the cost of this trip!!

 

[Tri-circle-D]

The Fort has only had its dog park since early 2008, so some of the rules are still evolving. There definitely used to be a rule that dogs could not leave the designated pet loops. And there used to be a rule that dogs could not be on golf carts. I know that those rules were changed after the dog park was opened, and there was even a sign posted at the Bike Barn to explain the new golf cart rules when the changes first occurred.

Also, I don't know if you know this, but new kennels are being built somewhere away from the Fort, I believe somewhere over near the Port Orleans resort, and the Fort kennel is going to close. So that will make any confusion about walking from the kennel to the dog park moot, because there won't be a kennel at the Fort. Someone in the know can chime in about this, as I remember the announcement about the new kennel, but I have no idea about the timeline.

I have not seen all of the actual pet rules in any official writing from the Fort. They are not covered in the Fort Wilderness Gazette (the newspaper they give you when you check in), and I have not seen a separate paper detailing the rules. I am not sure if they are in any official form at the moment. Makes things confusing for pet owners.

And to answer your question about where to park your cart. Yes, you can leave your cart at the marina. There are even parking spaces there with electric outlets to charge your cart while you are gone. Or, if you are traveling to one of the other parks, you can leave your cart in the lot that you see in my photo. They were doing some work on it when I took this photo last week, but it should be reopened soon. There are no electric outlets there. But, if your cart is charged when you leave it, that should not be a problem.

TCD

 

[doxxie]

Okay that makes sense then if it revently opened. There is supposed to be a new luxury pet resort on bonnet creek Pkwy but they are 8 months out from that. I didn't know that it was replacing the others though. One of the nice things I see with the fort is you are so close to the kennel and it is not such s huge inconvenience to go spend time with the dog. However if I knew she was staying in luxury and had a day camp program or something I would likely let her be! Maybe by next time we will have a camper!(I know we can rent one and we are looking at that option as well it is just not as cost effective.)

 

[DisCamper]

We keep our dogs on our site and the from the first time we could keep pets there they had lots of rules. Now they let you take dogs on the carts and as I heard almost all loops will be pet loops. Before you had to keep your pet in your loop. We took our dogs almost every night to the beach for the wishes fireworks.

 

[ftwildernessguy]

Last I knew, the ground had not been broken for the new kennel. I'm not sure if that is ever going to happen. The economy went south and I don't believe the kennel operation proved to be as lucrative as Best Friends had hoped.

By the way, I just checked the info that the Dis has on the kennels, and it is pretty obvious it has not been updated in a while. The rates have gone up. Check Best Friends web site for more accurate info re. rates for the kennels.

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Last I knew, the ground had not been broken for the new kennel. I'm not sure if that is ever going to happen. The economy went south and I don't believe the kennel operation proved to be as lucrative as Best Friends had hoped.

That's what I thought, but then, I have never been 100% clear on where this new kennel was going to be in the first place. I hope they don't close the Fort kennel. I think it would be a major P.I.T.A. for Fort guests to actually have to travel someplace out of the Fort to board their dogs.

TCD

 

[ftwildernessguy]

That's what I thought, but then, I have never been 100% clear on where this new kennel was going to be in the first place. I hope they don't close the Fort kennel. I think it would be a major P.I.T.A. for Fort guests to actually have to travel someplace out of the Fort to board their dogs.

TCD

When I talked to them last year, the word was the new kennel would be opened by the middle of 2009 and the old kennels would be closed. Well, here it is the end of 2009 and no new kennel. I think Best Friends fell into that Disney trap - the same plan that dictated the new and improved premium camp sites (and their accompanying prices). It would be a shame if Best Friends built this luxury kennel (come on now, do your dogs really have a favorite tv show they need to watch?), closed the nice, clean facilities they have (with their reasonable price structure) and NO BODY CAME!

Do I really need to come down and teach Disney about demographics?

 

[DisCamper]

I was there for 2 months and never saw any new construction on a new kennel. I will be there in a few days I will let you know

 

[BradyBz12]

We took our dogs almost every night to the beach for the wishes fireworks.

Gotta ask how you got on the beach with the dogs? I'd love to bring ours down for a jaunt, but when we were there in December there was still a big honkin' "NO PETS PAST THIS POINT" sign at the entrance to the Settlement/Marina area. Is it gone? (fingers crossed)

 

[DisCamper]

We took the dogs in to the beach about every night just to watch wishes. We always said "our pets are not at that point - they are at this point."

 

[doxxie]

I talked to Best Friends earlier this week and she said they were 8 months out before opening. She didn't say anything about closing that location (but why would she). As for rates, they are listed on Best Friends' site. For resort guests it's $21 overnight or $18 for the day.

And as for the luxury part of it, I am not sure what all they have planned but I assume it's just so that they can offer bigger kennels, the day camp that so many places are offering now, and/or maybe an indoor/outdoor kennel. I know the Best Friends location here has an all indoor resort but each dog has a patio type area where they can do their business and then go back to their bedroom. They pump fresh air through that section. It's hard for me to explain and I'm sure I'm not doing a good job.