Hi Autumn!
I think your best bet for pet-friendly hotels are any Loews property, and it just so happens that Loews runs The Portofino Bay, The Hard Rock and the Royal Pacific hotels, respectively, in the Universal area. Sure, it's 15 minutes or so away from the Mouse, but your dogs (I assume?) will love it...
Loews has a "Loews Loves Pets" program that we took advantage of during a recent trip to New York. I've read up on this in Orlando, but we won't be travelling with our two babies this trip. Anyway, they let you keep your pet in the room, they give you an adorable little gift bag upon check-in that includes treats, local vet and groomer info, dog walking areas, etc. They also have a "Did You Forget?" closet at every property which holds exra leashes, collars, beds, toys, and of course pooper scoopers! They even offer a dog "room service" option, which we didn't use because our babies are not *quite* that spoiled rotten. I can't emphasize enough how wonderful the Loews Hotels are for animal lovers, and I think they're incredibly smart for trying to capitalize on this untapped part of the vacation market. I realize that many non-animal-lover-folks look at us like we're crazy, but at Loews we were welcomed with open arms, guilt-trip free and nobody treated us like we were freaks! In fact, I don't remember encountering a single person who didn't smile and play with our dogs when they saw them. Of course, they are incredibly well-behaved and well-mannered due to their upbringing and socialization to people in dog-friendly Europe!
(As an aside, DH and I lived in Paris for a few years, where the citizens are notoriously "dog friendly!" Dogs in France are so used to going everywhere with their owner that they are well-socialized and even people who don't adore dogs tend to deal with them better because of this. Coming back to the States was a bit of a shock in this respect, discovering how many people aren't terribly charmed by our little guys!)
We would be traveling with our darling dogs Stu and Strider this trip, except that DH wants a "vacation away from EVERYTHING" so they're headed for the kennel in less than a week! Poor things...

We have a kitty too, but, like most kitties, he doesn't care for traveling!
Check out this link if you'd like; be sure to scroll to the "Loews Loves Pets" column for more info!
http://www.loewshotels.com/aboutus_programs.asp
Good luck to you in your quest; I'm sure you'll find a pet-friendly hotel in Orlando, even if it isn't at Universal!
No, I don't work for Universal or Loews... I just love my pets! The hotels are finally beginning to listen to pet-lovers who want to bring the
*entire* family with them on vacation!
- Jennifer in Cincinnati