Trial Run for Dogs in Resort Rooms

[mexi]

I have volunteered at a pet shelter, all my pets (well, not my ferrets) were adopted from shelters, my THESIS was a marketing plan for a local non-profit animal shelter, I have animal tattoos, I LOVE animals.

I do NOT, 100% NOT want dogs at a resort I'm staying at. I do NOT want to hear or smell a dog. I do NOT want to be on MDE with a dog, nor should my family need to wait for another bus because someone's DOG is given more consideration then my son and his allergies.

That's your opinion and I respect that. All we are tying to say is let Disney try it and see how it goes before panicking sets in. My opinion differs from yours and others. Nothing anyone says here is going to change anyone's mind. We can all see that.

 

[Tink-osophy]

I've seen a lot of comments here and other places that point to Universal, which makes sense on one hand since it's an example that's been going on for a while. But on the other hand, I haven't been there but I've heard it's not quite as spread out in terms of travel time and pet supervision. The other thing that I think is a little different, is that I think that they seem to have clearer pet policies. Regarding supervision, it says "Pets should be supervised at all times while in the hotel or on the property", which is very different than saying a dog can be unattended in a room for 7 hours. To be clear, I'm not saying whether or not a particular dog could manage 7 hours, or whether it is people's intention to do that, just that from a policy standpoint, the expectations are pretty far apart.

Yes these comparisons with Universal keep ignoring the different rules regarding leaving dogs unattended in rooms. Not only must the fact that it's not allowed there mean quieter dogs at Universal, but it would, surely, put off some people from taking their dogs - if they'll have to stay in the room as well - and mean fewer dogs on property generally.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I've seen a lot of comments here and other places that point to Universal, which makes sense on one hand since it's an example that's been going on for a while. But on the other hand, I haven't been there but I've heard it's not quite as spread out in terms of travel time and pet supervision. The other thing that I think is a little different, is that I think that they seem to have clearer pet policies. Regarding supervision, it says "Pets should be supervised at all times while in the hotel or on the property", which is very different than saying a dog can be unattended in a room for 7 hours. To be clear, I'm not saying whether or not a particular dog could manage 7 hours, or whether it is people's intention to do that, just that from a policy standpoint, the expectations are pretty far apart.

ETA: I've heard via this thread that there are a lot of pet friendly hotel chains, but I haven't seen other policies posted so not sure how Disney's is in comparison.

Yeah, I don't know about other chains. I have brought my dog on vacation to private resorts and don't remember anything about hours. It was more like if he is disruptive, you have to stop him or leave. Honestly, I think even at Universal, I don't think that everyone is kenneling their dog every day while they are there. But if there is a problem, then they can pull out the policy

 

[Dis703]

No, of course not. I was surprised by a few things though...

Allergies and barking were mentioned but not fears and phobias.

The repeated mention of being "stunned by poll results".

Comments:

"Does everyone really believe Disney will not designate pet friendly and not pet friendly rooms?"

"Does everyone really believe people will bring a pet that doesn't behave with them?"

Well, based on CM responses and past performance by Disney and it's guests...yes and yes.

There was discussion of enforcement options which brought on discussion of the lack of availability at Best Friends should a pet have to be removed.

I just thought maybe they might have actually read some of the thread and not just looked at the poll results.

Agreed, I was a little surprised they only mentioned allergies and that they seemed so confident if there is an allergy that Disney won't place you anywhere near dogs. And the insistence it's likely a small block of rooms on the first floor somewhere like Universal. Their dog walking mappings and the CMs people have talked to both seem to indicate this isn't going to be the case.

 

[b2k1121]

You wouldn’t go check & make sure the parent & baby were ok if it went on too long? I would & if I got no answer I’d call the police. But again. A baby is not a dog & is not left alone for hours at a time.

Some of these babies are like dogs arguments are not logical.

Obviously. I'm trying to show how ridiculous the previous suggestion was. The original comment was not about checking to make sure the dog was ok, it was about the dog making too much noise for them and having them removed.

The hysteria over this has gotten to insane levels that I feel like I'm taking crazy pills reading this. I'm convinced if Disney announced they were allowing guests to bring assault rifles and any weapons they wanted there would less outrage than this.

 

[TheFloatingBear]

Yeah, I don't know about other chains. I have brought my dog on vacation to private resorts and don't remember anything about hours. It was more like if he is disruptive, you have to stop him or leave. Honestly, I think even at Universal, I don't think that everyone is kenneling their dog every day while they are there. But if there is a problem, then they can pull out the policy

And that's a good point. I don't know if they're following the policies or not at Universal, but I feel that if you have clear written policies in place, it makes it easier for everyone involved (including CMs) if there is an issue or a conflict. In theory, anyway! And I mean that's my opinion both just for general rules as well as this new policy. I'm just a fan of clear expectations!

 

[Kay123456]

Well, like the normal course of things. I emailed last night and and haven’t even received the normal run of the mill chain mail. Just the one that said it could take 7 days to reply. Atleast some other people are having luck.

 

[Tink-osophy]

That's your opinion and I respect that. All we are tying to say is let Disney try it and see how it goes before panicking sets in. My opinion differs from yours and others. Nothing anyone says here is going to change anyone's mind. We can all see that.

There's a difference between panicking and expressing concern. Most of what I have read has been the latter, but - and I mean this sincerely - that is easier to recognise if you are in a similar boat yourself, because you realize it's real and relevant concern (based on personal experience) rather than simple bluster or over-reaction (my words, not yours, based on this thread as a whole).

Expressing concern and having to avoid dogs doesn't necessarily mean not liking or loving dogs.

If you have direct experience of difficulties re. dogs (and people who don't are fortunate) you understand the backlash as people dread having to deal with this now on a Disney vacation.

 

[LSUmiss]

I’ve also been following since the beginning and have read every post. I am still 100% against the policy. I will always be against pets of any kind (especially dogs) at the resorts no matter how they amend the policies or enforce them. Some people will think I’m wrong to think that, and that’s ok. But it doesn’t change the fact that there are 85% of people who don’t think it’s ok and 15% that do. Wasn’t that a big social issue recently, about a certain small percent of people who control the rest of us? As long as the 15% are getting what they want, screw the rest of us, right?

The “15%” didn’t implement the change. WDW did for $$$. I think we can agree WDW doesn’t make any changes if $$ is not a huge consideration. They probably decided that those 15% (which it’s probably more in a more scientific poll) represent a market they haven’t tapped & decided it was financially worth the risk to dedicate 2% of their resorts to tapping this market. Think they’ll appease ppl who are unhappy about the sudden change to quiet the storm. But, a lot of ppl won’t know or care & will keep their current reservations as is. Unless all of these doomsday come to fruition (which is doubtful), moving forward ppl will move on to the next big outrage on social media & both groups will find a way to coexist & WDW will make more $$$ & the parks will be even more crowded.

 

[b2k1121]

So we are now well over 1000 replies to the poll in this thread, with 86% still not in favor of this policy, roughly 5 out of 6 of us.

Ok, based on the recent poll linked below, 70% of us (Dis members) have visited 6 times or more in the last 10 years, and 90%+ are those that have been at least 3 times in the last 10 years.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/whats-the-make-up-of-this-group.3631560/

As a whole, we know WDW better than the general public. As a whole, I would also say that we have a general affection to WDW, more than the general public.

I think I can say this with some level of confidence regarding the polling results:

• I don't see any reason that we would like or dislike dogs more than the general population.
  • I don't see a reason to believe more or less of us have phobias, allergies, or aversion to sleeping in rooms where other family's pets have been.
• I don't see any reason why dog ownership would be any less than the general population
  • In fact families tend to own more pets than singles, but the gap is closing according to this link https://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2013/06/05/single-pet-ownership.aspx, and I think it's fair to say, relative to the general public, that there are a greater percentage of families at WDW.

• In general, we are more informed of WDW resorts than the general public
• In general, we have a better understanding and background on which to vote in the poll.
• In general, we are the people who actually GO to WDW.
• I don't see why our general love of Disney would inherently bias our results against having dogs in the resort. If this was a policy that we liked and would make our vacations better, we would vote that way.

In summary, this is a very unpopular policy for the majority. It is also unnecessary. Will some be happy about this proposed policy? Yes. However, this policy comes at the expense and frustration of the many.

Kindly, Dan

A key point missing is that someone upset is much more likely to voice their opinion than someone that is neutral or positive. As seen in this thread, Disney will have many complaints to deal with and not many people are going to call up and say 'eh I don't really care'. The only poll that would have given solid results would be a poll with positive, neutral, and negative as the options and been introduced before the policy was announced.

 

[Tink-osophy]

Obviously. I'm trying to show how ridiculous the previous suggestion was. The original comment was not about checking to make sure the dog was ok, it was about the dog making too much noise for them and having them removed.

The hysteria over this has gotten to insane levels that I feel like I'm taking crazy pills reading this. I'm convinced if Disney announced they were allowing guests to bring assault rifles and any weapons they wanted there would less outrage than this.

If you think this is all hysteria, then you haven't stood where some of us stand and really don't understand the key issues. ...You're lucky.

 

[LSUmiss]

I'm wondering about this too. Don't dogs who have been cooped up all day need to walk? But they're not supposed to be allowed on the pathways? It makes no sense. I'd imagine there will be people walking dogs all over the pathways at the resorts.

Depends on breed, size & age. My little dog doesn’t do exercise. He goes outside to do his business & then sits quietly on the sofa with a toy or sleeps.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I was just noting that since he was "stunned" by the poll results, reading more of the thread would have answered some of the questions in his comments as well as provided him with the phobia concern and the responses CMs have been giving to those calling/emailing with concerns which have done little to allay their fears. It would have been nice for some of that to be addressed as opposed to how well trained Abby is and how fabulous this will be for the panel members covering events and stories for the podcast.

That's all. I think the poll results are interesting and have remained consistent throughout. Reading the thread gives better perspective.

I hear ya but I've never expected the podcasters read through all the threads in their full entirety when they talk about them on the Podcast. Most times when they bring up a thread it's a fairly quick talk or it's a talk that goes off into tangents.

They don't truly get into the nitty gritty of everyone's comments nor do I think that's realistic. But I truly honestly believe that at times they may not even want to go there. They may not have the full information to make that sort of comment, etc. And in cases where the topic is a very hot one there's no way they can keep up with the comments. I went to sleep last night and I swear I woke up to like 10 more pages to read! But really it should make all happy that they even talked about it and I mean that in a nice way-there are a multitude of topics that they can choose from--I don't remember if they talked about the closing of the loophole that shall not be named and boy oh boy was that some hot talk but then they did talk about the gator attack and I'm sure they didn't mention everything everyone wanted there as well. They are under no obligation to do so nor are they under obligation to talk about the topic in the exact way you (general you) want to.

As far as Abby goes, and again I haven't watched the episode, Pete is speaking with his experience that he has..isn't that what many posters have been doing as well regarding their concerns with dogs?

 

[Dis703]

Not sure if anyone noticed but the article on the Disney Parks Blog has posted a lot of those comments from Saturday that we thought they were excluding for their negativity. Mine showed up. There's quite a few posts against it now.

 

[Suziepeach]

Wherever the dog relief areas are located, I'm assuming the whole resort grounds are available for walking dogs? (Let's face it dogs need exercise.) If so, that does mean dogs will be throughout these resorts and not just in restricted blocks and dog relief areas. I noticed on the Disney parks blog, someone mentioned dogs should be required to be muzzled and on controlled length leashes. The latter, especially, seems important to me.

The actual Disney policy reads, "Please leash or restrain your dogs at all times while in public spaces on Resort property."

..."Leash OR RESTRAIN" - what does that mean? And it doesn't say "must be leashed" it says "please leash", which I know sounds pedantic, but these things do influence how seriously people follow rules, especially when they'd rather not!

Reminds me of the golf cart rules, LOL .... pfffttt no one will see what we do... rules, schmules, right out the window...

 

[Ensusieasm]

I'm wondering if they will put "No Dogs Allowed" signs between the connecting resorts; AoA and Pop, POR and POFQ, YC/BC/BWI. We are supposed to stay at Pop in December, and it looks like one of the doggie relief areas is right near the bridge. We were looking forward to walking across the bridge and exploring AoA. I actually thought that was a plus of staying at Pop and also having easy access to the Landscape of Flavors. But, with my DD8 having anxiety and animal phobia, we may be precluded from doing this.

I was wondering this same thing. Since you have an upcoming reservation, Disney Management will be more likely to get back with you about your concerns. Consider contacting Disney World Management:

WDW.Guest.Communications@disneyworld.com
And cc these folks too:
Robert.a.iger@disney.com
Robert.Chapek@disney.com
George.Kalogridis@disney.com

 

[LSUmiss]

Our ordinance says "Owners and the Agents of Owners of Domesticated Animals..." Wonder if WDW could be considered the "Agents of Owners"? (Assuming ordinances there may be similar, I haven't looked them up so I have no idea.)

I'm sure we'll find out soon enough.

It also depends on if it’s the county or city. Like is WDW supposed to handle their own complaints.

 

[P'colaBeachBum]

Hopefully she has good info but the problem I see is there are two dog relief stations right up against the Royal rooms and preferred. The only way there is to walk your dog by these rooms. They have no purpose unless dogs will be close by. Same goes for AoA.

I completely don’t buy they don’t think many will do this. Disney’s #1 goal is revenue and they wouldn’t be doing all this if they weren’t expecting a cash success story.

And none of those relief areas will be under cover. Fl has a pretty long wet season during the busy vacation time. So will the dog owners still use those areas if it's pouring down rain for hours? I wish I could find the ad I saw on facebook awhile back. It was a gadget with a doggie poop bag that attaches under the dogs butt. When the dog poops it goes right in the bag.

Orange County. Fl has a leash law. There is no "please" about it.

Pursuant to Chapter 5, Animals, Article II, Animal Services, Section 5-33 of the Ordinances for Orange County, Florida, dogs are required to wear a leash when off the owner’s property or on any piece of public property. If an officer observes a dog at learge, the officer may issue a warning or citation. If the officer cannot locate the owner after reasonable efforts, the officer may seize and impound the animal. Dogs are also prohibited from being tied, chained, or otherwised tethered to public property or the property of another without consent of the property owner. Therefore, you cannot tie your dog to a tree in a neighbor’s yard or public park without permission to do so. If transporting a dog in a vehicle, the dog may either be confined within a cage, crate or pen, which must be well ventilated and secured within the body of the vehicle, or restrained by leash to the center of the vehicle. The leash must be attached to the collar or harness of the dog and short enough to prevent the dog’s head from reaching the side or back of the vehicle.

 

[Tink-osophy]

I hear ya but I've never expected the podcasters read through all the threads in their full entirety when they talk about them on the Podcast. Most times when they bring up a thread it's a fairly quick talk or it's a talk that goes off into tangents.

They don't truly get into the nitty gritty of everyone's comments nor do I think that's realistic. But I truly honestly believe that at times they may not even want to go there. They may not have the full information to make that sort of comment, etc. And in cases where the topic is a very hot one there's no way they can keep up with the comments. I went to sleep last night and I swear I woke up to like 10 more pages to read! But really it should make all happy that they even talked about it and I mean that in a nice way-there are a multitude of topics that they can choose from--I don't remember if they talked about the closing of the loophole that shall not be named and boy oh boy was that some hot talk but then they did talk about the gator attack and I'm sure they didn't mention everything everyone wanted there as well. They are under no obligation to do so nor are they under obligation to talk about the topic in the exact way you (general you) want to.

As far as Abby goes, and again I haven't watched the episode, Pete is speaking with his experience that he has..isn't that what many posters have been doing as well regarding their concerns with dogs?

I think the podcast showed, like many posts on here, that if you haven't had to deal with dog allergies, phobias and/or inconsiderate dog-owners (the last of which would affect people dealing with the allergies and phobia much more) - then a lot of what we've talked about in this thread won't even occur to you, let alone be easy to understand. ...And this is true for all of us in different ways. We can't be aware of everything and understand all experiences fully.

So, it's more down to how open or closed our minds are when we're confronted with these things.

 

[ponygirl0nj]

I received a call a few hours later and, while polite, the CM stated that I'd probably already stayed in a room with a dog in it since service animals are allowed in any room at any time.

I totally understand what the cast member is saying, that service dogs have probably been in a room, however, these dogs stay with their handler at all times. They are not left alone in the room all day to have accidents. You brought up another good point in your post. Families with allergies that request a deep cleaning of their room prior to check-in, have a slim chance of ever getting early check-in again because of this. Don't get me wrong, I am an animal lover and I love my dog, but she doesn't belong with us on a Disney vacation. We hire a responsible pet sitter to care for her while we are away. I read in the comments on the Disney Park blog that people were happy to bring their dogs with separation anxiety with them to Disney on vacation. As an owner of a dog with separation anxiety, the last thing I would do is lock her in a strange environment alone for hours at a time. She would bark, howl, cry and get diarrhea. That would definitely add to a family's magical experience don't you think?