CT Disney
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2012
- Messages
- 855
I wanted to pass along an experience I had at a Disney restaurant last week. I'm not going to name the restaurant as I don't want to call out any specific managers or servers; and because I'm surmising this is probably as issue across property. All I will say is that the restaurant was in one of the theme parks.
We had an ADR for lunch at this location on our last day of vacation. After being seated at a nice table and ordering, two 20-something girls were seated at the two-top table right next to us. This is a restaurant where the tables are very close together. They had a small dog with a sparkly pink collar with them. It looked to be a Yorkie.
I have no problems with dogs in general and fully (one thousand percent) support service dogs. But...I am one hundred percent certain this dog was not a service dog as these are the things we witnessed over the course of our meal:
* the dog barked continually (every time someone passed their table)
* the dog jumped up on the waiter’s legs every single time he came to their table
* the girls passed the dog back and forth between them, letting the dog eat scraps off the table and from their hands.
* the girls put a cardboard take-out container on the floor and let the dog eat out of it. When they left the restaurant, they left the cardboard container on the floor.
* they played with the dog on their laps through the whole meal
* Each of the girls took turns getting up to use the restroom during the meal, leaving the dog behind with the person at the table (it didn't seem as though the dog was serving or assisting one of the girls in particular)
We considered asking for a new table but decided to stay put. Honestly, I think we were all a bit taken aback by the situation in general.
When the two girls finished their meal and left, the waiter looked at us and said, "Service dog...yeah right!"
A man in a suit (who I am assuming was the manager) then came over and took pictures of the cardboard doggy serving tray the girls had left on the floor.
We finished our meal a short while later and as we were leaving we passed the same gentleman in the suit in the lobby. I decided to ask him about the situation. Here is a general outline of how the conversation went:
Me: So, tell me about the dog situation at the table next to us.
Him: What about it?
Me: I thought only service dogs were allowed in the parks and restaurants. It's pretty clear that dog wasn't a service dog.
Him: Because of ADA, the Americans with Disabilities Act, I am not allowed to ask anyone about dogs. It's against the law to ask, and it covers dogs and ponies.
Me: I thought that the ADA specifies that you can ask two questions: Is that a service dog and what jobs is the dog trained to perform?
Him: Well, I'm in food services and that's the job of security and admissions people at the front of the park.
Me: So, are you saying that the ADA prevents you from asking the questions, or does Disney prevent it? And, does Disney ask the allowed questions before a service animal enters the park?
Him: I don't know what they do.
So, yeah, the conversation with the manager was pretty awkward.
Interestingly enough, we had an almost identical situation a few days earlier at the Grand Floridian in the Royal Palm Club. Different people, different dog, similar situation with the dog barking like crazy in the lounge all while being pushed in a baby stroller. I also asked one of the club level concierge CMs how they handle dogs at check-in. She said that they only ask if the dog is a service dog. I asked her if they ask what jobs the dog is trained to perform as allowed by the ADA and she had no clue what I was talking about. She said that they are only trained to ask if it's a service dog. If the owner says yes, the dog is allowed.
I thought these two experiences were pretty indicative of how dogs are being handled at the parks and resorts. Sounds like the waiters and the restaurant managers are in a tough situation. And, so are the other diners.
We had an ADR for lunch at this location on our last day of vacation. After being seated at a nice table and ordering, two 20-something girls were seated at the two-top table right next to us. This is a restaurant where the tables are very close together. They had a small dog with a sparkly pink collar with them. It looked to be a Yorkie.
I have no problems with dogs in general and fully (one thousand percent) support service dogs. But...I am one hundred percent certain this dog was not a service dog as these are the things we witnessed over the course of our meal:
* the dog barked continually (every time someone passed their table)
* the dog jumped up on the waiter’s legs every single time he came to their table
* the girls passed the dog back and forth between them, letting the dog eat scraps off the table and from their hands.
* the girls put a cardboard take-out container on the floor and let the dog eat out of it. When they left the restaurant, they left the cardboard container on the floor.
* they played with the dog on their laps through the whole meal
* Each of the girls took turns getting up to use the restroom during the meal, leaving the dog behind with the person at the table (it didn't seem as though the dog was serving or assisting one of the girls in particular)
We considered asking for a new table but decided to stay put. Honestly, I think we were all a bit taken aback by the situation in general.
When the two girls finished their meal and left, the waiter looked at us and said, "Service dog...yeah right!"
A man in a suit (who I am assuming was the manager) then came over and took pictures of the cardboard doggy serving tray the girls had left on the floor.
We finished our meal a short while later and as we were leaving we passed the same gentleman in the suit in the lobby. I decided to ask him about the situation. Here is a general outline of how the conversation went:
Me: So, tell me about the dog situation at the table next to us.
Him: What about it?
Me: I thought only service dogs were allowed in the parks and restaurants. It's pretty clear that dog wasn't a service dog.
Him: Because of ADA, the Americans with Disabilities Act, I am not allowed to ask anyone about dogs. It's against the law to ask, and it covers dogs and ponies.
Me: I thought that the ADA specifies that you can ask two questions: Is that a service dog and what jobs is the dog trained to perform?
Him: Well, I'm in food services and that's the job of security and admissions people at the front of the park.
Me: So, are you saying that the ADA prevents you from asking the questions, or does Disney prevent it? And, does Disney ask the allowed questions before a service animal enters the park?
Him: I don't know what they do.
So, yeah, the conversation with the manager was pretty awkward.
Interestingly enough, we had an almost identical situation a few days earlier at the Grand Floridian in the Royal Palm Club. Different people, different dog, similar situation with the dog barking like crazy in the lounge all while being pushed in a baby stroller. I also asked one of the club level concierge CMs how they handle dogs at check-in. She said that they only ask if the dog is a service dog. I asked her if they ask what jobs the dog is trained to perform as allowed by the ADA and she had no clue what I was talking about. She said that they are only trained to ask if it's a service dog. If the owner says yes, the dog is allowed.
I thought these two experiences were pretty indicative of how dogs are being handled at the parks and resorts. Sounds like the waiters and the restaurant managers are in a tough situation. And, so are the other diners.
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