My mom and I went to
Disneyland about a year and a half ago (I think it was in April), and it was my first visit with my service dog, Radar. It was an absolutely wonderful experience.
I cannot say enough good things about our interactions with castmembers - they all seemed well-prepared to deal with a guest with a service animal, and were considerate, helpful, and cheerful every step of the way. It was AMAZING, and easily the best guest experience I've had anywhere when Radar was with me.
- My first tip is to make sure that when you arrive, you give you and your dog (especially your dog) some time to relax and recover from the trip before you head out on your big vacation. I don't remember why we weren't able to check in right away when we arrived - probably just too early a flight - but poor Radar would have seriously benefited from being able to spend an hour or two in the quiet of a hotel room before we went out and about. As it was, the combination of flying and then having to work right away for a few hours while we found someplace to eat and waited for our check-in time kind of fried him. I regret the way that went.
- We stayed at Paradise Pier. They were absolutely awesome, as was anywhere we went that was owned by Disney. I don't have any experience with any of the non-Disney hotels in the area while with my service dog, so I can't offer much help there to any future thread-readers who might be looking for that info.
- Cast members at each of the rides were very helpful, whether it was a ride not safe for service animals (Indiana Jones) where Mom and I needed to ride one at a time while the other waited with Radar, or a ride where it was really up to my discretion whether Radar should go along with me, in which case they offered great information quickly. Especially great were the folks at the Haunted Mansion, which I'd initially thought was too difficult for me to get onto with Radar. An awesome cast member said "Sure he can, if you don't think he'll be scared! Here's what we've done for other guests, would that work for you guys?" And it did, and we had fun.
(Note, HM is a little jerky, that was Radar's only didn't-love about it. He was fine, but I think if he'd been choosing the rides that wouldn't have made the must-do list.)
- On the note of deciding which rides are OK for your service dog, definitely go with your own best instinct. You know him/her best and the most important thing is to keep you and your dog safe so that you can enjoy your trip. (Duh, I know.
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- On a related note, make sure the dog gets water frequently! It's an easy thing to forget, especially because he/she will need water more often than usual, which is why I mention it. On an especially hot day during our visit (I'm guessing you won't have this problem in February) I used a cooling bandanna I'd picked up somewhere, meant for people. It had crystals in it, and when you soaked it in water the crystals swelled up. We tied it around Radar's neck, and the evaporation helped to keep him cool. (We're from Alaska - neither one of us is particularly sturdy in the heat.) It's also a good idea to keep an eye on their feet - hot pavement, or even just pavement, can get pretty rough on their paws after so many hours. A nightly paw-check is a good idea, with maybe some kind of conditioner to rub into the pads.
- The Monorail was Radar's favorite thing of the whole place, hands (paws?) down. He LOVED it. Loved loved loved.
- He didn't like the Submarine Voyage - I think it had to do with the way sounds echoed inside the submarine because of the water surrounding it. He's not generally super sound sensitive (the cannonfire in Pirates of the Caribbean didn't phase him at all) but he wanted to get out of the submarine almost as soon as we went in.
- He wore out faster at Disneyland than he does on a regular day of work. Partly because it's Disneyland, and partly, I think, because had a lot more mental to work to do in a brand new place with lots of new experiences to help me navigate through. It helped a lot to be able to go back to the hotel to nap for a couple of hours, or if not that, then to find a quiet spot at a seated attraction. (the Asimo robot exhibit in Tomorrowland was perfect for this. Dark, quiet, and long enough that he could decompress.) The quieter indoor walkaround exhibits were also helpful for this.
- Potty breaks! We were able to use the potty area at the Kennel Club, which is located to the right of the entrance of Disneyland, inside a green gate. It wasn't crazy fancy (I somehow expected a Toontown version of a dog show) but it was clean and pretty easy to get to from both Disneyland and DCA. I'm not sure if there are any other potty area options, but that's because the Kennel Club area worked just fine for us and I didn't ask about any other options. Note: Radar had to go more often than usual, a combination of heat, lots of activity, and plenty of water. Just something to keep in mind.
- One of the nicest memories I have is of a photographer castmember at DCA. As we entered the park, he asked if we'd like our pictures taken, and asked our names. As we left hours later, I heard someone call out "Bye, Summer and Radar!" from across the entry area - it was the castmember. Mom said he must have written our names down, but either way, it was a really nice thing, and totally made my day.
- Another cool memory is of some ladies at the gift shop at Paradise Pier Hotel. They were chatting with me and found out that while I'd been to Disneyland several times, it was Radar's first visit. "
JUST ONE SECOND!" One of them went behind the counter, and promptly returned with a big My First Visit button for his service dog vest. I know it's a silly little thing, but it was so cool to me that they thought it was neat that it was his first visit, too. I'm a big dork and was ridiculously excited to take him there for the first time (he LOVES seeing new places and interesting things), so it was neat that they shared my excitement.
I'll try to think of anything else that might be useful... it's about 5am here and I've been up all night (eep!) so I'm not even sure how much of what I've already written is helpful. If you have any questions I'll do my best to share what we experienced.
I do have to say again, Disney was amazing, the best experience I've had anywhere with my service dog. It was awesome, absolutely awesome. We visited Knott's during our visit as well, and the contrast between the experiences at the two places was enormous. (My family loves Knott's, and we were a little startled at how unprepared they were for a guest with a service dog. I recently heard similar from a friend who uses a wheelchair. I hope that's okay to say here, if for some reason it's not, please let me know and I'll gladly edit it out.) Disney did a fantastic job, and gets two thumbs and four paws up from us.
We go often but this is the first time my son has gone since he received his Service Dog in August! I can't wait to show her around.
