***Help us gather information on Disney's policies on dogs at resorts***

[Cotillard]

We were put in the 2400 loop at Ft. Wilderness (cabins). I saw a few other dogs being walked in that loop during our stay.
Had a great time - very dog friendly. Also, very nice grounds.

 

[AllThingsMickey4]

We are considering taking our dogs to the YC in April. I jumped on a standard view Club Level room that was on sale under the Sun and Fun offer (only $40 more than our regular Garden View room). Out of curiosity, I emailed Signature Services to see if we would be able to bring our dogs to stay on Club Level and they responded that Club Level is also dog friendly (they aren't allowed in the lounge, of course).

If we decide to stay with CL we will just board them at Best Friends so we don't have to take them in and out from the 5th floor. I couldn't find a definite answer on the CL policy, so I thought I would add it here.

 

[MMR76]

We are considering taking our dogs to the YC in April. I jumped on a standard view Club Level room that was on sale under the Sun and Fun offer (only $40 more than our regular Garden View room). Out of curiosity, I emailed Signature Services to see if we would be able to bring our dogs to stay on Club Level and they responded that Club Level is also dog friendly (they aren't allowed in the lounge, of course).

If we decide to stay with CL we will just board them at Best Friends so we don't have to take them in and out from the 5th floor. I couldn't find a definite answer on the CL policy, so I thought I would add it here.

I spoke with a guest services representative and someone from reservations and both have said the only 2 categories of rooms that are pet friendly are garden/woods view and lagoon view.

 

[Maxie86]

I am in a CL room at the YC. I asked the concierge CM if dogs were allowed up here and he said yes and they have had some stay here.

 

[MMR76]

I am in a CL room at the YC. I asked the concierge CM if dogs were allowed up here and he said yes and they have had some stay here.

Yes, I believe that all garden/woods view and lagoon view rooms are open to dogs, to include those on CL.

 

[CosmicGirl]

While it is not one of the official dog resorts, our experience at Pop may be of use to someone. We stayed at Pop the second week of November in building 7 on the 3rd floor in the wing directed towards building 8. There was loud barking all through the night and throughout the day in this section, so this appears to be a location where they house people with (what are supposed to be) service animals. There did not appear to be any intervention from CMs because the same thing happened the second night and morning of our checkout, even though I'm sure we weren't the only people whose nights were disturbed by the barking. We did not have a connecting door and the barking seemed to come from another floor, yet it still woke us up. I don't know if they intentionally put service animals in certain sections or not, but it may be best to avoid this one to be safe.

 

[TheFloatingBear]

I posted in the "experiences sticky" too, but I thought this comment was better suited here since I know there's been some questions about what buildings at POR currently are designated as "pet friendly".

We were in room 8074 - the Acadian building - from 1/25-29/18. It was definitely being used as "pet-friendly" when we were there, as we saw a couple of families with dogs in nearby rooms.

If you've requested to be placed away from the pet-friendly buildings, it's just something to keep in mind at this point if you're placed in 80.

If you've checked in with your pet dog and you're placed in 80, I just wanted to add that our room (and those of our pet neighbors) was on the right side of the building facing the quiet pool, toward to back/parking lot. I didn't realize it until I looked at a map yesterday, but that side of the building was really inconvenient to the "Dog Relief" area designated for 80. Maybe those parties requested being close to the quiet pool, I don't know, but it just seemed a bit inconvenient and illogical given the size of the building and the "typical" route you'd take from that location to the lobby and such. So, FWIW, if you're in that building you might want to look at the map at check in to see where you are if that matters to you...

 

[OddDisneyFan]

We always book with Disney directly (well, through DTC). When I called DTC today and asked about the dog policy at POR, I was given conflicting information. The first representative said that pets could be housed anywhere throughout the resort in our room class (Standard Garden View). The second rep said that they were trying to keep pets isolated to a particular section at POR and YC, and while he could request that we be placed in a different section, that request could not be guaranteed. After I pressed him on this and threatened to cancel my reservation, he put me on hold for several minutes before coming back on the line to say that Guest Services told him that they *would* guarantee a room away from the pet-friendly section. Of course, we have no idea how good that guarantee really is until we get there. We may still opt to cancel and go off-site since it seems that we may encounter inconsiderate pet owners on other parts of the property.

It certainly seems that Disney is less concerned than they used to be about the overall guest experience. There can't be *that* many pet owners who want to bring their pets, so I can't imagine that there's much business to be lost by keeping the resorts pet-free.

 

[Gryhndmom]

I posted in the "experiences sticky" too, but I thought this comment was better suited here since I know there's been some questions about what buildings at POR currently are designated as "pet friendly".

We were in room 8074 - the Acadian building - from 1/25-29/18. It was definitely being used as "pet-friendly" when we were there, as we saw a couple of families with dogs in nearby rooms.

If you've requested to be placed away from the pet-friendly buildings, it's just something to keep in mind at this point if you're placed in 80.

If you've checked in with your pet dog and you're placed in 80, I just wanted to add that our room (and those of our pet neighbors) was on the right side of the building facing the quiet pool, toward to back/parking lot. I didn't realize it until I looked at a map yesterday, but that side of the building was really inconvenient to the "Dog Relief" area designated for 80. Maybe those parties requested being close to the quiet pool, I don't know, but it just seemed a bit inconvenient and illogical given the size of the building and the "typical" route you'd take from that location to the lobby and such. So, FWIW, if you're in that building you might want to look at the map at check in to see where you are if that matters to you...

Read your post on another thread about your experiences with your daughters dance team at a dog friendly resort and thought it was well written and unbiased. Sounds like overall it was a good experience and many of us know that with any Disney policy there will be those violators and think rules don’t apply to them.

 

[TheFloatingBear]

Read your post on another thread about your experiences with your daughters dance team at a dog friendly resort and thought it was well written and unbiased. Sounds like overall it was a good experience and many of us know that with any Disney policy there will be those violators and think rules don’t apply to them.

We had a great trip, thanks! And I agree and thanks...you’re always going to see people breaking rules and we all have different tolerance levels for different things. Since it’s new I know people are looking for information and that was my experience. But some of it was just timing. If I checked out the day before it would have been “Didn’t see any dogs.” I do think we would have seen fewer even if Disney had put us in a different building, especially as POR is fairly sprawling in it’s layout. I think that was partly because we were a group reservation and maybe because they’re only a few months into the trial. Hopefully Disney will fine tune that process for guests.

 

[OneinThree]

What's even more disappointing than Disney's dog experiment is the fact that you can't seem to get reliable, consistent, information. We stayed at YC in December, and had made reservations before the program started. When I heard about it, I called immediately as I am quite seriously allergic to dogs, and have to keep my own outside. I was told I could a non-pet room, so we kept the reservation. All was fine, we stayed CL without a problem. Then again, we didn't see any dogs likely because the policy was brand new. That said, I can't imagine how upset I'd have been if I couldn't breathe in my room overnight because of pet dander. Let's just say there would have been hell to pay down at the front desk. With so much confusion as to exactly where dogs are, and are not allowed, it sounds like some are just going to have to avoid participating resorts entirely. Disney needs to seriously reconsider this deal.

 

[maxiesmom]

What's even more disappointing than Disney's dog experiment is the fact that you can't seem to get reliable, consistent, information. We stayed at YC in December, and had made reservations before the program started. When I heard about it, I called immediately as I am quite seriously allergic to dogs, and have to keep my own outside. I was told I could a non-pet room, so we kept the reservation. All was fine, we stayed CL without a problem. Then again, we didn't see any dogs likely because the policy was brand new. That said, I can't imagine how upset I'd have been if I couldn't breathe in my room overnight because of pet dander. Let's just say there would have been hell to pay down at the front desk. With so much confusion as to exactly where dogs are, and are not allowed, it sounds like some are just going to have to avoid participating resorts entirely. Disney needs to seriously reconsider this deal.

I would call and note that you need your room to be deep cleaned, just to be on the safe side.

 

[Maxie86]

What's even more disappointing than Disney's dog experiment is the fact that you can't seem to get reliable, consistent, information. We stayed at YC in December, and had made reservations before the program started. When I heard about it, I called immediately as I am quite seriously allergic to dogs, and have to keep my own outside. I was told I could a non-pet room, so we kept the reservation. All was fine, we stayed CL without a problem. Then again, we didn't see any dogs likely because the policy was brand new. That said, I can't imagine how upset I'd have been if I couldn't breathe in my room overnight because of pet dander. Let's just say there would have been hell to pay down at the front desk. With so much confusion as to exactly where dogs are, and are not allowed, it sounds like some are just going to have to avoid participating resorts entirely. Disney needs to seriously reconsider this deal.

I would call and note that you need your room to be deep cleaned, just to be on the safe side.

It would be a good idea to ask for a deep cleaning if you have an allergy no matter what resort you are in. I saw several small dogs in Epcot, presumably therapy dogs, and they could have been staying anywhere. You can't be sure your room has never had a dog in it. It used to be rare to see a dog at Disney...not any more.
I only saw one dog our two nights at the YC, it was a small dog at SAB.

 

[KatieCharlotte]

What's even more disappointing than Disney's dog experiment is the fact that you can't seem to get reliable, consistent, information. We stayed at YC in December, and had made reservations before the program started. When I heard about it, I called immediately as I am quite seriously allergic to dogs, and have to keep my own outside. I was told I could a non-pet room, so we kept the reservation. All was fine, we stayed CL without a problem. Then again, we didn't see any dogs likely because the policy was brand new. That said, I can't imagine how upset I'd have been if I couldn't breathe in my room overnight because of pet dander. Let's just say there would have been hell to pay down at the front desk. With so much confusion as to exactly where dogs are, and are not allowed, it sounds like some are just going to have to avoid participating resorts entirely. Disney needs to seriously reconsider this deal.

As someone who would have loved to take my childhood pet on vacation AND as the parent of someone with such severe dog allergies that the allergist said, "You can never have a pet with fur," I would just like clear information. I know that service animals can be in otherwise pet-free hotels, but I always assume the hotel does a thorough cleaning afterward to make sure the room is completely dander free. I know that people with allergies can ask for that now from Disney, but it would make a lot more sense to have wings/floors/zones designated for pets. I would also want to know what common areas pets are allowed to be in. Not only are service dogs less common, but they are also well-trained and are not going to jump up on lobby couches or approach strangers.

 

[OneinThree]

I know that people with allergies can ask for that now from Disney, but it would make a lot more sense to have wings/floors/zones designated for pets.

Agreed. Unfortunately, it appears as though dogs are allowed in all guest rooms. I just don't have a lot of faith that rooms will be "deep cleaned" as such. For a room where dogs have stayed, making it habitable for those with severe allergies would begin with steam cleaning the carpet, for example. Taking a chance on it might mean having to be moved to a different room after finding out the hard way (if another room happens to be available), or being moved to a different resort. Since I wouldn't want to deal with that sort of hassle while I'm supposed to be relaxing on vacation, I'm just going to have to avoid those resorts entirely, unless the geniuses within Disney management figure out the policy was a bad idea in the first place, or recognize that there have to be specific wings/floors designated for that purpose, as you say.

 

[robinb]

Agreed. Unfortunately, it appears as though dogs are allowed in all guest rooms. I just don't have a lot of faith that rooms will be "deep cleaned" as such. For a room where dogs have stayed, making it habitable for those with severe allergies would begin with steam cleaning the carpet, for example. Taking a chance on it might mean having to be moved to a different room after finding out the hard way (if another room happens to be available), or being moved to a different resort. Since I wouldn't want to deal with that sort of hassle while I'm supposed to be relaxing on vacation, I'm just going to have to avoid those resorts entirely, unless the geniuses within Disney management figure out the policy was a bad idea in the first place, or recognize that there have to be specific wings/floors designated for that purpose, as you say.

I agree that avoiding dog-friendly resorts is your best bet .

 

[maxiesmom]

Agreed. Unfortunately, it appears as though dogs are allowed in all guest rooms. I just don't have a lot of faith that rooms will be "deep cleaned" as such. For a room where dogs have stayed, making it habitable for those with severe allergies would begin with steam cleaning the carpet, for example. Taking a chance on it might mean having to be moved to a different room after finding out the hard way (if another room happens to be available), or being moved to a different resort. Since I wouldn't want to deal with that sort of hassle while I'm supposed to be relaxing on vacation, I'm just going to have to avoid those resorts entirely, unless the geniuses within Disney management figure out the policy was a bad idea in the first place, or recognize that there have to be specific wings/floors designated for that purpose, as you say.

You realize that therapy dogs are not limited to the dog friendly resorts, right? If you have a severe allergy you always need to ask for a deep cleaning, no matter what resort you are staying at.

 

[OneinThree]

You realize that therapy dogs are not limited to the dog friendly resorts, right? If you have a severe allergy you always need to ask for a deep cleaning, no matter what resort you are staying at.

This is definitely good advice, but it does nothing for my confidence level in these resorts' existing housekeeping policies and procedures (and the consistency therein) in addressing the practical realities of the current experiment.

 

[robinb]

This is definitely good advice, but it does nothing for my confidence level in these resorts' existing housekeeping policies and procedures (and the consistency therein) in addressing the practical realities of the current experiment.

I'm confused. Have you asked for a deep cleaning in the past because of possible service dogs and your allergy and still had problems? Maybe I just drink too much of the Mouse's kool-aid, but I feel that Disney has much better allergen mitigation than other hotel chains.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

As someone who would have loved to take my childhood pet on vacation AND as the parent of someone with such severe dog allergies that the allergist said, "You can never have a pet with fur," I would just like clear information. I know that service animals can be in otherwise pet-free hotels, but I always assume the hotel does a thorough cleaning afterward to make sure the room is completely dander free. I know that people with allergies can ask for that now from Disney, but it would make a lot more sense to have wings/floors/zones designated for pets. I would also want to know what common areas pets are allowed to be in. Not only are service dogs less common, but they are also well-trained and are not going to jump up on lobby couches or approach strangers.

also there are dogs that can be in any room checking for things like bed bugs even during you stay. granted dogs are not on things but are right up to beds. and these dogs are not dander free