disneymom3
<font color=green> I think I could adjust!! <br><f
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2002
- Messages
- 9,511
When we were planning our trip, I found it challenging to find a lot of information about service dog accommodations at WDW so, I thought I would share our experiences.
A Few details—my son is 19, almost 20 and has his service dog for reasons I would rather not go into. After all, a service dog is a service dog for whatever reason you have them for travelling purposes.
For the most part, we found traveling with Max (the dog) at WDW very easy. Magic Kingdom was the easiest and most comfortable for the dog. We split these rides over two days. He was able to go on most rides with my son which was great. We started in Adventureland. Our first ride was Big Thunder Mountain. The CM’s there had us go to the exit where you go when you have an ECV, which I was using anyway. They felt that the rider switch was the best option so that’s what we did. They escorted both of my boys to the opposite side entrance and Max waited with us. Then they came out and my husband and I rode. We then headed to Pirates and it was still close to a walk on. Max was able to ride with my son and he loved the ride, especially the canon firing. We had been a bit concerned by the drop, but he didn’t even seem to notice.
Jungle Cruise was next and went perfectly. He was again able to ride with us. Same experience on Ariel, Pooh, Buzz and People Mover. He really liked Carousel of Progress because their was a potential new friend in the dog on stage. On Peter Pan, we again did the rider swap. The CM who was arranging that was quite rude but the set up worked okay. She was mad that we didn’t want to stand right next to the other service dog that was already waiting there. You just never know so we’d prefer to keep some distance. I did not ride Space Mountain or Mine Train so Max stayed with me. But I did see the area where he would have gone on Mine Teain which was an area behind a door with a large sized crate in it. While the dog is in there, a CM stays with them the whole time.
Our next day was at Disney Studios. Unfortunately, when it comes to rides, there weren’t any that can accommodate a service dog. We did a mix of rider swap and leaving him in the service dog kennel. The kennel at Star Tours was in an out of the way, private location where a CM stayed with him. My son was very comfortable with that arrangement so we rode it twice. At Smugglers run, we asked about the kennel option but they didn’t have it there so we did rider swap. In Toy Story Land, we decided to get a DAS as my son was getting overwhelmed. We used that for Slinky dog and had the dog go in the kennel. That wasn’t a great arrangement as the kennel is in a completely open area where all of the cars pass by. We discovered that day, that apparently Max worries about people who are screaming on roller coasters. So while we rode we could hear him howling/whining/crying. He makes a very distinctive noise. That wasn’t great and unfortunately, the Alien Swirling Saucers arrangement is very similar. He didn’t whine about everyone else, but he was quite worried about his boy every time he went past. At that point, my son went back to our resort. He took an Uber and while the driver was mad about the dog, it was fine.
Our next day was Epcot. At Spaceship Earth, they prefer to stop the ride for the dog to board so we needed to go through the wheelchair entrance. There were a few people needing wheelchair assistance so they loaded several of us at once. My son had an episode on the ride, but Max alerted and mitigated in time to avoid anything major so that was great. We were thankful that he was able to be on the ride with my son. After that, my son didn’t want to go on anything that he might be separated from Max so we just walked around seeing the sights etc. He eventually took another Uber back to our resort and that driver was great. We stayed offsite so that’s why he needed an Uber. In the future, I’d like to stay onsite so that my son has more transportation options.
He didn’t go to Animal Kingdom as he needed time off so I can’t share about that.
The restaurants that we went to were extremely accommodating. They offered water to Max and checked to make sure that where we were seated was the best option for him. At Beaches and Cream, we were seated by the door, and our waitress was concerned that it was not a good place for him, but he is very well trained and he knows that at a restaurant, he goes under the table and sits at my son’s feet.
The only negative experience we had was at our resort. My son opened our door to the hallway and two little yippie, York I’ve type dogs rushed in barking their heads off and tried to bite Max. Now, Max is a solid dog. He's a mix of Beagle and Australian Cattle Dog. He is also extremely unflappable. He wasn’t phased by these dogs thankfully. We have known people who had to retire their dogs after being attacked by other dogs in public. Later, we heard these same dogs barking very aggressively in the hallway outside of our condo. We called and checked if non service dogs were allowed and since they are not, we made a formal complaint. They could take the complaint but couldn’t really do anything about it. Which is completely screwed up. All of the other dogs we saw out and about at the parks etc, were all clearly well trained service dogs.
I know this is long and possibly rambling, but I do help it can help someone in future planning.
A Few details—my son is 19, almost 20 and has his service dog for reasons I would rather not go into. After all, a service dog is a service dog for whatever reason you have them for travelling purposes.
For the most part, we found traveling with Max (the dog) at WDW very easy. Magic Kingdom was the easiest and most comfortable for the dog. We split these rides over two days. He was able to go on most rides with my son which was great. We started in Adventureland. Our first ride was Big Thunder Mountain. The CM’s there had us go to the exit where you go when you have an ECV, which I was using anyway. They felt that the rider switch was the best option so that’s what we did. They escorted both of my boys to the opposite side entrance and Max waited with us. Then they came out and my husband and I rode. We then headed to Pirates and it was still close to a walk on. Max was able to ride with my son and he loved the ride, especially the canon firing. We had been a bit concerned by the drop, but he didn’t even seem to notice.
Jungle Cruise was next and went perfectly. He was again able to ride with us. Same experience on Ariel, Pooh, Buzz and People Mover. He really liked Carousel of Progress because their was a potential new friend in the dog on stage. On Peter Pan, we again did the rider swap. The CM who was arranging that was quite rude but the set up worked okay. She was mad that we didn’t want to stand right next to the other service dog that was already waiting there. You just never know so we’d prefer to keep some distance. I did not ride Space Mountain or Mine Train so Max stayed with me. But I did see the area where he would have gone on Mine Teain which was an area behind a door with a large sized crate in it. While the dog is in there, a CM stays with them the whole time.Our next day was at Disney Studios. Unfortunately, when it comes to rides, there weren’t any that can accommodate a service dog. We did a mix of rider swap and leaving him in the service dog kennel. The kennel at Star Tours was in an out of the way, private location where a CM stayed with him. My son was very comfortable with that arrangement so we rode it twice. At Smugglers run, we asked about the kennel option but they didn’t have it there so we did rider swap. In Toy Story Land, we decided to get a DAS as my son was getting overwhelmed. We used that for Slinky dog and had the dog go in the kennel. That wasn’t a great arrangement as the kennel is in a completely open area where all of the cars pass by. We discovered that day, that apparently Max worries about people who are screaming on roller coasters. So while we rode we could hear him howling/whining/crying. He makes a very distinctive noise. That wasn’t great and unfortunately, the Alien Swirling Saucers arrangement is very similar. He didn’t whine about everyone else, but he was quite worried about his boy every time he went past. At that point, my son went back to our resort. He took an Uber and while the driver was mad about the dog, it was fine.
Our next day was Epcot. At Spaceship Earth, they prefer to stop the ride for the dog to board so we needed to go through the wheelchair entrance. There were a few people needing wheelchair assistance so they loaded several of us at once. My son had an episode on the ride, but Max alerted and mitigated in time to avoid anything major so that was great. We were thankful that he was able to be on the ride with my son. After that, my son didn’t want to go on anything that he might be separated from Max so we just walked around seeing the sights etc. He eventually took another Uber back to our resort and that driver was great. We stayed offsite so that’s why he needed an Uber. In the future, I’d like to stay onsite so that my son has more transportation options.
He didn’t go to Animal Kingdom as he needed time off so I can’t share about that.
The restaurants that we went to were extremely accommodating. They offered water to Max and checked to make sure that where we were seated was the best option for him. At Beaches and Cream, we were seated by the door, and our waitress was concerned that it was not a good place for him, but he is very well trained and he knows that at a restaurant, he goes under the table and sits at my son’s feet.
The only negative experience we had was at our resort. My son opened our door to the hallway and two little yippie, York I’ve type dogs rushed in barking their heads off and tried to bite Max. Now, Max is a solid dog. He's a mix of Beagle and Australian Cattle Dog. He is also extremely unflappable. He wasn’t phased by these dogs thankfully. We have known people who had to retire their dogs after being attacked by other dogs in public. Later, we heard these same dogs barking very aggressively in the hallway outside of our condo. We called and checked if non service dogs were allowed and since they are not, we made a formal complaint. They could take the complaint but couldn’t really do anything about it. Which is completely screwed up. All of the other dogs we saw out and about at the parks etc, were all clearly well trained service dogs.
I know this is long and possibly rambling, but I do help it can help someone in future planning.
Just as it would be illegal to refuse service to someone in a wheelchair, it is illegal to refuse service to someone with a service dog. A service dog is medical equipment. Even so, my son did ask the drivers if the dog was okay. He knew they technically couldn’t refuse him but he has no desire to cause someone problems. The first driver said yes but very crabby. Son asked if driver preferred for the dog to be on the floor or for him to be held on my son’s lap. Driver said, “Whatever.” Second driver, son asked again was the dog okay and the driver said, “Sure man, no problem.” When asked about the floor or lap driver said what ever was best for them was good. So there was a difference in their responses but neither refused him service. Nothing for a complaint but I wanted to be candid for others who might be planning their first trip with an SD.
