Has anyone used WDW Kennel before

[catherines_mama]

I need to know all about it. We'll be in Sarasota for a week and taking puppy with us he'll be 6 mos old by then. Then on the way home we're spending a day at the parks and need to kennel him while we're there for the day... thanks for any advice. I'm clueless how it all works aw:

thanks!

 

[esrade]

I looked into the kennels last year. Basically, they do almost nothing besides keep the dog (which, in your case, might be fine). You're responsible for walking your dog and possibly feeding your dog, so you have to plan your park visits around that.

 

[vettechick99]

I think you can also pay a little extra to have them walk the dog, you might want to check on that.

 

[dyna]

I made the mistake of taking a dog years ago. I was shocked to see my poor dog put in a kennel box that was years ago tho back in the mid 80's hopefully disney has improved their kennel service since then.

NO they don't walk the dogs or anything like that.

I'd taken my dog to another amusement park in Ohio that had a really really nice kennel with dog runs and shade etc and had assumed disney would have a set up like that but to my horror my dog was in a carrier type box all day.

 

[Grumpy92]

We have left the dog and the cat in the FW Kennel. The cms in there are so nice! We have never had a problem. You do have to walk them yourself and you can bring your own food. You also need to bring proof of vaccinations including Kennel cough.
I believe you can pay to have them walk your pet for you but I think it is only at specific kennels. We like to do it ourselves so our pet knows we are still around.

 

[pbharris4]

i was wondering too. is the kennel indoors? my little shih tzu HATES the heat probably because she's so small, but we don't let her hair get too long. can they stay there overnight?

 

[vettechick99]

from the disney site:

Pet Care Kennels are located adjacent to the Park entrances at Epcot®, Disney-MGM Studios and Disney's Animal Kingdom® Theme Park. At the Magic Kingdom® Park the Pet Care Kennels are located adjacent to the Transportation and Ticket Center.

Kennel fees are $6 per day and/or $9 per night per animal for Walt Disney World® Resort Guests ($6 per day or $11 per night for non-Walt Disney World Resort Guests). Guests will be required to visit their pets at least once daily. Dog owners will need to walk their dogs at least twice daily (three times daily for puppies). The kennel at Epcot® offers a dog walking service for $2.50 per walk.

Resort reservations do not guarantee a kennel space for your pets; you should call for availability. Though the kennels have been designed for pets such as dogs and cats, they also accept birds, ferrets, small rodents and non-venomous snakes, if in their own carriers. The kennels are not set up to accommodate exotic animals. All Guests are required to show records of vaccination (rabies, parvo, DHLP, Bordetella for dogs; rabies, FPRC for cats) prior to boarding.

I wouldnt hesitate to leave my dog there for the day. I would not, however, leave her there for the entire week. That's not your case though, so have fun!

 

[civileng68]

I think I am a VERY valid person to give this advice. My dog is like my child. He goes EVERYWHERE we go. We go on LONG trips and NEVER fly because we refuse to put him in a belly of a plane.

He goes to Disney EVERY time we go.

He didnt like being left there at first but, now he's fine. He's 1 1/2 years old and spoiled rotten.

Anyways, The Kennels ARE VERY CLEAN and the staff are VERY friendly.

They don't walk the dogs when it's busy. However we dont pay to have our dog walked as we like going back to him and letting him see us for a while. Its a nice break from the park as well.

We keep ours at the MK kennels, except this time we are going to use Epcot once this weekend.

They do water and unless it's super buys like July 4th was, they will feed your dog as well. However, we are paranoid and we go back and look to make sure.

They are very caring of your animal and once they even noticed (the first time we went) that our dog was very nervous, so they took him out for a walk, of no charge, and then kept him loose back behind the desk. We came to pick him up and he was laying on the floor on his bed beside of the employee.

As I said, if we are comfortable with our dog there, anyone can be. The staff is so nice. We even called periodically to make sure he was ok. They would walk back and check on him and let us know.

I would not feel uneasy AT ALL.

The kennel sizes are not bad at all! They have three sizes as well indoors. Then if you go when it's cooler you can request an ourdoor kennel which is about 15 yards long and they can run around in it. When it's really busy they'll only let the big dogs in it.

I would again stress that this is a great place and unlike a poster said about the 80's Purina now sponsors the kennel, so there is extra funding in it and it is kept very well and the employees are GREAT!

Many employees bring their own dogs to work with them and keep them in the kennels as well. So, while the employees are typically the parking lot attendees, they generally have animal lovers in there working, so much so they bring their own pets to work with them.

 

[civileng68]

from the disney site:



I wouldnt hesitate to leave my dog there for the day. I would not, however, leave her there for the entire week. That's not your case though, so have fun!

Agreed.

I wanted to make this side point.

This kennel is great for those who really love their animals and care for them. I really hate to think that some people rarely check on their animals and they spend the better part of a week in a small cage with no exercise.

Dogs need to release energy, and the younger they are the more they need to release it. It must be miserable for them to not get attention or exercise.

We don't stay on property since we like to save the money and just go every month instead and stay off-site. However, we will not keep our dog there overnight, not because of any reason other than we dont want to purposely keep him cooped up any longer than necessary.

Check local hotels. There are some GREAT hotels in the area that take dogs for a small fee. Our dog has to sleep with his mommy and daddy and sleep right between us in the bed. He even likes the covers on him.

Just please, if you do take your dog, be mindful that your dog does need attention and you do have to break the fun of the parks to attend to him/her.

 

[pbharris4]

Once we boarded my dog at a local kennel (which is highly reputable) because our dog sitters went with us on vacation. SHe hated it. ANd being a shih tzu (which are known for their family/kid friendly ways) she loves people. I don't think she got any attention. If my MIL can't watch her for 2 weeks, I'd put her in the EPCOT kennel (we'll be close by) and we can see her a few times a day and it might be better for her. If the other recommend it then I would feel safe to use the kennels. BTW, do you call ahead to reserve them and how far in advance can you do that? Thanks.

 

[civileng68]

BTW, do you call ahead to reserve them and how far in advance can you do that? Thanks.

You cannot make reservations or call in advance. Here's the rule of thumb:

1) In slower times the kennels are NEVER full. They have alot of room in them.

2) When it is very busy they still rarely fill up. However on July 4, they got close so the best thing to do to garauntee space is to simply get up first thing in the morning and get them there. If you do that you'll have no problem. We dont go to the parks until later in the day but we got up and took ours to the kennel and dropped him off first thing in the morning and just checked on him when we got there and then periodically through the evening.

 

[dyna]

Glad to hear disney has improved their kennel I felt so sorry for my poor puppy in that box back in the 80's really felt bad I'd taken him.

 

[Northstar]

I do agree dogs need to run! Anybody know... do they have an enclosed yard to take your dog to for exercise?

And are there any places you can safely (for a dog that comes when called) and (prefereably) legally let your dog off leash around Orlando?

ug:

 

[catherines_mama]

Thank you everyone for your feedback. I think we'll be putting him at the AK kennel for the day that we are there. He'll be there from 7am - 6pm and I'll go walk him at lunch and before parade time. He's a smaller dog (11 lbs now, will prob be 25ish then) so I think he'll do great.

Thanks again!

aw: took him for his 12 wk check today.. doing SO good. back in 4 wks for final round of shots and rabies!