How's the dog thing going?

[Jennasis]

To answer the question in post number 127 above: Disney only allows dogs and miniature horses.

Or monkeys. Anyone remember this?

 

[Jennasis]

Really!! You have gotten sick almost every time you go to WDW. I truly cant believe that!! Why would you continue to go to a place where you knew you would be getting sick, i would try to stay away from such places. I am sorry your immune system is so sensitive to germs.

I get sick after every trip to WDW too (or Universal) and also anytime i fly. We drive to WDW and Universal. If it's not me coming home with a cold or Upper respiratory something or other it's DH (as was the case with our November trip to Universal). It's just the nature of the parks and a small price to pay for the joy we get from the trips.

 

[GusGusTheMouse]

Ducks, rats, rabbits and snakes are wild animals.

Dogs are invited guests.

Big difference.

(Cats are said to be part of Disney, which would mean that if one bit a guest, there would be a big problem.

If anything, everyone should be more concerned about a wild animal bite (which is MORE LIKELY to harm you than a service dog treated with vaccinations)!

The list of things that Disney "invites" that can cause injury to another guest is endless. There are liabilities everywhere and I trust Disney is smart enough to have weighed the consequences when they made this decision as well. Your fear of being bitten is equal to my fear of getting some horrible viral disease that someone has but still came to the parks because Disney still invites them as well.

The anger towards Disney for this new policy is misdirected, and if people are angry they need to relay their concerns to the government. The ADA and other legislative acts demand or support these animals in public areas, and Disney has chosen to follow that trend.

 

[LSUmiss]

I get sick after every trip to WDW too (or Universal) and also anytime i fly. We drive to WDW and Universal. If it's not me coming home with a cold or Upper respiratory something or other it's DH (as was the case with our November trip to Universal). It's just the nature of the parks and a small price to pay for the joy we get from the trips.

That’s how I feel too. Thank you for this post b/c I know a lot of other ppl who also get sick.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

As of March 2011, the ADA recognizes only dogs and, in some instances, miniature horses as service animals. Monkeys aren't covered any longer.

However, Disney can, if it wishes, admit other species. They just aren't required to by law.

And whether dogs are invited guests or not, they do sometimes bite. Which is one of the reasons for concerns about untrained pets being treated as if they were service animals. Nobody is concerned here about actual service animals. they are concerned that untrained pets are being admitted to the parks because their owners are claiming they are service animals, and Disney does nothing to weed them out. (Of course, there isn't much Disney can do to weed them out, and there's no way to tell whether an animal is an untrained pet or a service animal unless and until it acts like an untrained pet.)

 

[GusGusTheMouse]

Also, I just want to add, I HATE when dog owners are not responsible. I am currently live in a community that allows dogs but no one, except us, picks up after their dogs. But all of the dogs I saw on our trip to Disney this past November were well behaved and never further than 1 foot from their owner. There was one service dog that clearly needed a break at EPCOT, and that was heart breaking to see. But that is not Disney's problem, and if this allows more people to enjoy the parks and not have disability or mental issues while they are there, I don't see how I cannot support it.

 

[MuppetFan418]

I guess I just don't understand this argument. WDW also has the running risk of having a child getting bitten by one of the ducks surrounding Cinderella's Castle... so does that mean they should get rid of those as well? Animals (rats, cats, ducks, rabbits, etc.) are everywhere in Disney, you might just not see them. MOST of these dogs you see in the parks provide a function to their owners, to make CMs question each one would defeat the purpose.

When is the last time you heard about a rat, duck or rabbit (or even cat, for that matter) chasing and biting a person without provocation? It's extraordinarily uncommon. THAT's the difference.

Edit: Obviously, legitimate service dogs are similarly unlikely to chase and bite without provocation. Pet dogs, however, are more of a crapshoot.

 

[GusGusTheMouse]

When is the last time you heard about a rat, duck or rabbit (or even cat, for that matter) chasing and biting a person without provocation? It's extraordinarily uncommon. THAT's the difference.

Edit: Obviously, legitimate service dogs are similarly unlikely to chase and bite without provocation. Pet dogs, however, are more of a crapshoot.

I have actually witnessed CMs chasing down animals multiple times while at AK. I also saw a child get dangerously close to one of the ducks by the castle and a CM had to run over to explain to the parents why children were not allowed to pet the animals in the fenced in garden areas. So more than once actually...

 

[DaisyDuck001]

I have actually witnessed CMs chasing down animals multiple times while at AK. I also saw a child get dangerously close to one of the ducks by the castle and a CM had to run over to explain to the parents why children were not allowed to pet the animals in the fenced in garden areas. So more than once actually...

What you described is not an instance of a duck chasing a person without provocation.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

If anything, everyone should be more concerned about a wild animal bite (which is MORE LIKELY to harm you than a service dog treated with vaccinations)!

I'm not worried in the least about actual service dogs.

This thread is suppose to be about pets at the resorts.

Service dogs are a completely different discussion.

 

[LSUmiss]

When is the last time you heard about a rat, duck or rabbit (or even cat, for that matter) chasing and biting a person without provocation? It's extraordinarily uncommon. THAT's the difference.

Edit: Obviously, legitimate service dogs are similarly unlikely to chase and bite without provocation. Pet dogs, however, are more of a crapshoot.

I think that can be argued for dogs too. Many ppl CLAIM there was no provocation, but that’s not always the case. And apparently there are dogs everywhere at WDW now & yet no reports of attacks yet.

 

[LSUmiss]

I have actually witnessed CMs chasing down animals multiple times while at AK. I also saw a child get dangerously close to one of the ducks by the castle and a CM had to run over to explain to the parents why children were not allowed to pet the animals in the fenced in garden areas. So more than once actually...

I saw a man get bit by a squirrel he was feeding in MK.

 

[GusGusTheMouse]

What you described is not an instance of a duck chasing a person without provocation.

I am confused.... was there news recently that a dog chased children unprovoked at the parks? Because while my duck experience may not have been unprovoked, I am positive there have been other instances where animals did come up to guests. Like I said, lots of wild animals roaming AK, I have a video somewhere of some furry critter walking the paths of AK and people jumping out of the way. It was like the little thing had a VIP pass to the park!
Actually, never mind, I have heard of one dog coming up to guests unprovoked, and his name is Goofy!

 

[DaisyDuck001]

I am confused.... was there news recently that a dog chased children unprovoked at the parks?

1) I did not say that there was such news, and I do not know of any.
2) However there was a report on the sticky thread that a dog was loose at YC during the fireworks and ran through a crowd of guests, barking. I think some guests would be uncomfortable with this behavior, even if the dog had not specifically been chasing them.
3) So far I have not seen it happen at WDW, but I have seen it happen at other places that a dog chases a person when the person did nothing to approach or provoke the dog.

 

[GusGusTheMouse]

2) However there was a report on the sticky thread that a dog was loose at YC during the fireworks and ran through a crowd of guests, barking. I think some guests would be uncomfortable with this behavior, even if the dog had not specifically been chasing them.
3) So far I have not seen it happen at WDW, but I have seen it happen at other places that a dog chases a person when the person did nothing to approach or provoke the dog.

That is truly unfortunate to hear a dog was not on leash at YC, but a lot of things happen that are not according to Disney rules. I have seen people change diapers on tables at the food court, people smoking in non-smoking areas, and guests injured by other guests, either by accident or because of negligence. To say pet dogs should not be allowed because of a few people breaking the rules or incidents outside of the resort, is unfair.

So far, the reports and my personal experience seem to show well behaved pets (minus the bad owners at YC and the AOA dog at the food court ), to take away this option because of several rule breakers or because people fear something might happen would be unfortunate. Some people may only be able to go on vacation if they can bring their pets along, so this makes a happy vacation possible for some families. If families do not want to be near dogs, then do not stay at the pet friendly resorts (which there seems to be plenty!).

In all honesty, Disney is going to do what it decides is best for them. If more people come because of it, then it will remain. If more people cancel or those resorts become unpopular because of it, then it may stop. Whatever is financially best for the corporation! But since there is no news of anything happening, and nothing has happened at Universal either, which has had a pet friendly policy for many years now, I personally think it is unlikely it will change anytime soon.

 

[LSUmiss]

I am confused.... was there news recently that a dog chased children unprovoked at the parks? Because while my duck experience may not have been unprovoked, I am positive there have been other instances where animals did come up to guests. Like I said, lots of wild animals roaming AK, I have a video somewhere of some furry critter walking the paths of AK and people jumping out of the way. It was like the little thing had a VIP pass to the park!
Actually, never mind, I have heard of one dog coming up to guests unprovoked, and his name is Goofy!

There have also been snake bites &, of course, the alligator. All unprovoked.

 

[Jennasis]

There have also been snake bites &, of course, the alligator. All unprovoked.

You bring up an interesting point. It only took 1 incident (a horrifying, unthinkable accident) with the gator for them to fundamentally change EVERYTHING (fences, rock berms, signs etc). I wonder if it would take but 1 incident with a dog (service or otherwise) for them to do the same? The company went for 40+ years without a gator incident...without "forseeing" one. We've gone this far too without a dog incident. Do they wait until something happens to spring into action?

 

[LSUmiss]

You bring up an interesting point. It only took 1 incident (a horrifying, unthinkable accident) with the gator for them to fundamentally change EVERYTHING (fences, rock berms, signs etc). I wonder if it would take but 1 incident with a dog (service or otherwise) for them to do the same? The company went for 40+ years without a gator incident...without "forseeing" one. We've gone this far too without a dog incident. Do they wait until something happens to spring into action?

I think it was b/c someone died. Think if that happened absolutely they would. But, there had been reports of other gator attacks on property years before that that weren’t fatal. But, it’s unlikely they’ll ever be a fatal dog attack at WDW. And if it does happen & it’s from a dog in the park b/c the owner lied & said it was a service animal, WDW’s liability will be limited b/c they have a duty to follow ADA. Like a pp said, all of the outrage is misdirected. Unless ADA rules become stricter, ppl are going to abuse it & WDW can’t do much about it. Now if an attack happened at a dog-friendly resort that would be a different story. But, like many have said in previous threads there have been many pet-friendly hotels for years & there has not been an epedemic of dog attacks.

 

[mckennarose]

The OP's original question of "how's the dog thing going?" Can be directed to the sticky thread on here about ACTUAL experiences at dog friendly resorts. If you look on there about actual experiences, not second or third hand stories, or something someone saw on FB, you’ll see there have been more favorable experiences posted than poor ones. Yes, DIS may only represent a small portion of overall guest experiences, but all things on here fall in that same category. This is a large community and we look to others on here for advice or information. Why take someone's word on "how to get a FOP FP" and ignore "guest experiences at dog friendly resorts" because it only represents a small portion of overall Disney visitors? We don’t know any actual data from Disney and we can’t go on “what if’s” or “could happens” because those are not facts. But looking at the sticky thread shows more positive experiences than negatives. If the negatives would pass the positives in the future Disney would pull the plug.

I am not for or against the policy but I’ve seen far more resistance to it than people waiting to see what happens. To the extent of posting pictures online of supposed violators (not to mention the call to go out and take pics of supposed violators!) and the copying of negative posts onto other threads as concrete facts (ex: poo everywhere in the campsites, dogs eating off tables at restaurants, and more fake service dogs in the parks than ever. I'm paraphrasing and this is tongue in cheek so don't get uptight! lol).

I get it, some people don’t like the idea of dog friendly resorts. Or they don’t like the fact that Disney sprung it on those who already had reservations at those few resorts. Yeah, I would be upset too if something I didn’t like was shoved on me last minute. But if anything, take comfort in the fact that there have not been many negative issues since this was implemented. If you don’t like the idea in general that the dog friendly resorts exist then tell Disney about it. But don’t go on a witch hunt after people who are taking advantage of the new policy or assume that everyone is now also misrepresenting therapy or service dogs. I'm totally not ignoring or excusing the fact that people will take advantage of that as with so many other things at Disney and society in general! But if you happen to see a dog in Disney don’t automatically assume the worst. Or worse, take pictures of strangers without their permission to publicly post online to shame them or support your agenda/opinion. I don't agree with that at all. If you see something that seems against the rules that Disney put out, tell a CM. If there are enough issues Disney will have to deal with it.

And in full disclosure, I have two dogs, neither of which I would bring to Disney. I don't agree with leaving a dog in a strange hotel room for hours on end, nor do I agree with dragging my poor dogs into parks claiming they are therapy or service dogs. But I'm not automatically opposed to the new policy of dog friendly rooms because I can see how it could work for some people. Definitely not for us! And I'm certainly not supportive of people allowing dogs to eat from tables anywhere. My dogs are not allowed on chairs at all! But that pic didn't show a dog eating directly from the table. ???

Again, actual experiences have been posted and there are only a few negatives.

You bring up an interesting point. It only took 1 incident (a horrifying, unthinkable accident) with the gator for them to fundamentally change EVERYTHING (fences, rock berms, signs etc). I wonder if it would take but 1 incident with a dog (service or otherwise) for them to do the same? The company went for 40+ years without a gator incident...without "forseeing" one. We've gone this far too without a dog incident. Do they wait until something happens to spring into action?

Good question.
I remember distinctly when that tragedy happened I looked at my past vaca pics of the Poly beach with the beach chairs right up against the water. And we were right there. Disney is at least attempting to put guidelines in place with the dog rental agreement (not sure what it's called) so people have the information and sign that the agree and will comply. It wasn't the same with the horrible incident that happened with the gator. IMO.

 

[Poutine]

I don't find animals to be a bother at all. I have a huge problem with irresponsible children owners (yes, it is a place geared towards children...but other guests are not your babysitters). Control your kid, hold onto them...other people shouldn't have to dodge your kid running around out of control...or going 2nd knuckle deep up their nose and wiping the results on the monorail seats (which I find more offensive than the occasional dog poop pile). Dogs are far more well behaved than some people's offspring.