Trial Run for Dogs in Resort Rooms

[Dis703]

I have been to Disney World 6 times in the last 15 years. So I don't go all the time. But I have gone several times. I have never once seen a dog. Not once.

I've been around 15 times or so and only seen a handful. Always in the parks as service dogs, never in the resorts. I'm sure they are at the resorts but I've just never seen them around. I'm sure the number of actual service dogs is very low.

 

[Jennasis]

Not only have I seen dogs at wdw, last year on the last day of the Food and Wine Festival (Sunday) I saw a miniature horse at Epcot.

I will admit I saw the horse while carrying my 2 Tipsy Ducks in Love and thought maybe I had two too many...

My sister saw the horse again at Epcot not too long ago too, so I guess the horse owner goes frequently.

We've seen dogs on every trip. There is actually a guide dog foundation somewhere nearby that brings their dogs in training frequently (it's usually several standard poodles). The miniature horse was a seeing-eye horse. They are gaining in popularity as they live much longer than a dog. Though changing the diapers HAS to be a drawback.

 

[LSUmiss]

I also have a few more questions- Will the Disney kennel have open spots for any pets that prove to be unable to be quiet or well behaved at the resort? It was my understanding they were pretty well full most of the year...

As others have pointed out there are concerns about horses at POR. Is Disney going to make sure that both animals are safe? Pet relief areas are near the quiet pool at YC and relief areas all over the resort at POR, is Disney hiring extra help to maintain these areas and keep the resort clean? Is there a fee if you don't scoop up after Fido? I choose to believe most pet owners will be responsible but it only takes a few to cause problems.

The first time a dog bites a guest (let alone a child) Disney is going to be sued so hard and so fast their head will spin. Even the most well behaved dog could have issues with all the extra stimuli at Disney. Whoever made this call and rolled it to four resorts at once with 48 hrs notice should be fired. Disney is currently trying to white wash all complaints online, they will not have that luxury when dealing with guest complaints directly when at the resorts.

I’m sure Disney has calculated for these potential financial risks. As a large corporation, I’m sure Disney is sued quite often for a whole host of things.

 

[croach]

I better get out of this as it just does nothing but remind of the incredible amount of privilege there is. Especially in the Disney community. I truly hope none of your vacations(or your friend vacations that we'll more likely hear about) are ruined because of someones pet. I also hope the parade isn't rained out, the attraction you really wanted ride isn't closed, the character line doesn't close before your kid gets his/her picture taken, that your ADR isn't late by five minutes, and that you get the exact room, on the exact floor, in the exact building you want.

 

[Kay123456]

Ummm reading the post you quote it is clear the writer has a service dog and service dogs (under ADA) have always been allowed-and always will be allowed in any room in WDW.

Yes , service dogs can go anywhere. The caller was told regular people with dogs will not be allowed in preferred rooms (which is what he has). But from other posters who have called, they have been given reservations in preferred rooms with a regular dog. My point is many people are getting conflicting responses.

 

[Jennasis]

I better get out of this as it just does nothing but remind of the incredible amount of privilege there is. Especially in the Disney community. I truly hope none of your vacations(or your friend vacations that we'll more likely hear about) are ruined because of someones pet. I also hope the parade isn't rained out, the attraction you really wanted ride isn't closed, the character line doesn't close before your kid gets his/her picture taken, that your ADR isn't late by five minutes, and that you get the exact room, on the exact floor, in the exact building you want.

Going to Disney is nothing BUT privilege. That's what the entire DISBOARDS is about, so the boards in general may not be for you if reading about privilege is upsetting. And certainly nothing says privilege like taking Fifi on vacation with you.

 

[weeniecat2442]

I'm a HUGE animal person and I love taking my dog places with me.
That being said, this seems like an awful idea. If they had one pet-friendly resort with an onsite kennel and onsite dog walkers that would be awesome.
I feel for the people with allergies, those with dog fears and for the dogs that will be stuck alone in a room for hours.
I've stayed in dog-friendly hotels with my dog twice now and will definitely do it again, but it was for one or two nites. He was crated anytime we left the room and when we left it was for an hour or two. And I was so worried about his barking (he's a dog- he does bark) that I was stressed out and worried about people being disturbed. He's not an excessive barker but still something I was worried about. So many new sounds and smells, being cooped up for hours alone. Not a good mix.
I like the sentiment but does not seem like it's been well thought out.

 

[mexi]

Going to Disney is nothing BUT privilege. That's what the entire DISBOARDS is about, so the boards in general may not be for you if reading about privilege is upsetting. And certainly nothing says privilege like taking Fifi on vacation with you.

Why do you think it's privilege to take your dog on vacation with you?

 

[croach]

Going to Disney is nothing BUT privilege. That's what the entire DISBOARDS is about, so the boards in general may not be for you if reading about privilege is upsetting. And certainly nothing says privilege like taking Fifi on vacation with you.

We'll disagree since I think privilege is thinking the entirety of WDW should be exactly as you want it. Not inclusive of some folks that may want to travel with their pet. But to each their own I guess.

 

[Ensusieasm]

The article about Dog Friendly Resorts in The Disney Parks Blog is suddenly very hard to find. It's not even in "Disney World Related Articles", even though several older articles are still listed there. I did find it by clicking around a bit up in the tool bar.
Hmmm. I wonder why they buried it?

 

[Stuarotra]

Well, maybe I'm in the minority, but I just canceled my POR reservation because of this and will head off property to a non-Disney resort and will also drive to the parks or DS so I don't have to share transportation with dogs--this just blows my mind when they barely have enough room on the bus/monorail for guests, now we have to share with their dogs???--like I want someones dog panting in my face while I'm riding on the bus/monorail-are they allowed on the boats too?? Bad enough dealing with this at the resorts...the transportation too? Are they crazy!!! This is pathetic. I'm at the point where I am re-evaluating renewing our APs now and I'm not sure we're going to do it...this is just a big issue for us. If there are others out there that are as upset about this as I am (& based on the poll at the top of this thread) they will lose money over this and LONG TIME guests as well.

We are probably going to be doing the exact same thing. My travel agent is trying to find us another room on property but it’s been several hours and I haven’t heard back from her. If we can’t be moved, we will definitely cancel and stay off property. This is for our January anniversary trip at POR.

We have also decided not to renew our AP’s. We are stuck with our YC stay in November, as my husband has already paid for a continuing education conference and there are no refunds for the conference. We have emailed Disney about our dissatisfaction but have not received a response. They will no longer be receiving our money in the future. We are mostly upset because we were not given enough notice so we could have changed our plans or conference site. Now we are stuck.

Beach Club is full for the conference rate as well, I’ve already checked......

 

[mexi]

There's a place called Peddlers Village near me that we go to on occasion to shop and dine and walk around. It is dog friendly. In fact this past weekend we were there and there were a lot of dogs there too. I love it when people can feel free to bring their dogs with them.

I didn't see any kids being bitten or dogs running free. No one was acting like it was the end of the world either.

 

[sb127]

I hope this does not carry over to DVC. I hear barking dogs all day long at home and do not want to hear it on vacation.

 

[LSUmiss]

I believe this to be true also. Most people who decide to bring their pet on vacation with them do it because they love them and want to care for them rather than trusting a stranger at a kennel for a week.

Right. That would be the ONLY reason I would ever consider this. One of my dogs doesn’t eat while boarding. For little dogs that don’t board often, it can be an overwhelming & intimidating for them. I recently had a 16 yr old dog pass away that was even worse. I board at my vet so there have been times that he ended up in the hospital section which costs a lot of $$$ vs boarding b/c of not eating & vomiting. Ppl are talking about it ruining vacations, when we had him, we only went on short trips & many times I spent my entire time at WDW worrying about him. My current dogs are now both under 1 yr so they aren’t as fragile so I wouldn’t go through the hassle now. But, I like the idea that I could take them If I had to since I have considered canceling vacations before b/c I didn’t want to leave the old dog.

But, I do think it sucks that there was little notice & I’d be ok with there being just one pet friendly hotel. I think it should be a deluxe b/c it is a luxury to be able to do this.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Well, the Disney Cruise Line caved when complaints about smokers being allowed to smoke on verandas hit the email, etc. They reversed and banned smoking on verandas. There are only a couple of DSA's on board and only on one side of the ship.

ETA: Disney stock has , so far, not gone up since the news broke. Will wait and see how much other shareholders will profit from the so called "money grab"

Smoking is something that for a while now has seen social pressure to be removed from us as far as exposure and there is intense ad campaigns out there in an attempt to curb and eliminate teen smoking. Smoking was quite the norm years ago. I still remember when I was asked "smoking or non" at restaurants. However nowadays smoking around me isn't allowed inside restaurants. My alma mater banned sale of tobacco on campus grounds over 7 years ago. I can totally get why the decision was reversed so quickly.

 

[WDW4ME]

As a person who loves animals...but is severely allergic to pet dander, I would have to be more careful and scan people's clothes for pet hair before sitting beside them anywhere.

 

[no one]

Seems to me that by now with so many pet friendly hotels around the world that if it was the massive issue that everyone here makes it out to be then we would have heard about it. Reality is that many hotels allow dogs, which has been pointed out many times here. Ritz Orlando allows small dogs, so does the Four Seasons, Ritz Boston allows 60lb dogs. We stayed at the very nice Milestone Hotel in London this past April. They go out of their way to invite dogs, ie free mineral water every day for the dog, turndown treat every evening (just looking at their site, we did not bring a dog), could even get a bathrobe if you want. Savoy in London allows small dogs. I know I am bursting that Disney bubble but those hotels are just a wee bit nicer than Disney, and they seem to cope. But you can also go all the way down to Red Roof Inn and they allow it.
So then I googled "hotel dog bites" and there really is not many stories of it happening, one is St. Pete but was the family dog. So then I google "hotel dog allergies" that had a good NYT article about traveling pets and allergies. Residence Inn said less than 5% of their rooms had pets, allergies have not been an issue. An allergist is quoted that zero exposure to pet dander is not a realistic expectation even if you live in a pet free home. Many hotels are now offering hypoallergenic rooms and maybe Disney will go there (if there is money to be made).
This is not to say you should not raise issues, ie where will pet rooms be and where are they allowed. But there is enough evidence out there that it is not as big an issue as it is made out here. I know the response will be "But this is Disney" and still you have to come up with real examples of these issues. Yes there will be some, but not nearly as widespread as this thread makes it out to be. I think Irma skewed people's perception of what will happen, that obviously was a rare case and the resorts are simply not going to be overrun with dogs.

 

[megs1313]

I just wanted to say that I have an upcoming stay at one of the affected resorts (POR) and still haven't received any notice from Disney at all directly. If I was a casual vacationer (dare I say: average disney-goer) I still wouldn't even know about the change in policy. This, to me, is unacceptable.

 

[Best_Vacation_EVER!]

I'll preface this with the fact that we have always had pet dogs (mutts, poodles, Shiba Inus and Aussies) --- from when I was a child to now (middle age). Love every dog of any kind, breed, size, etc... and we have 2 immensely smart, mostly well-trained dogs now (..... who should never go to WDW.) Way too much change, fireworks, sounds, stimulation, people, lights, etc.. for them to have to cope with. I guess selfishly we could want them there but dogs aren't people and these things can cause them stress...

Totally get that certified therapy dogs (they should be allowed as they are extremely well trained and will not soil a floor, a bed, a carpet, etc... and won't bark a ton......) belong at resorts and parks --- people need them to be their eyes, ears, or other sense. These dogs are usually with their owners throughout the day so they won't be left in the room alone and again both owner and dog are well trained.... I have zero issue with such dog being in a room/park/bus....

The issue comes for me with non-certified therapy dogs and private non-therapy dogs.... They are in no way trained the same way as certified dogs (also mail/email/online certification is pure bunk for dogs.... ) with regard to dealing with new people, new places, etc... I have seen some people claim the most ill-behaved and unsocialized dogs to be "therapy" dogs --- totally insane.

We love dogs but think that aside from true certified therapy dogs (seeing eye, seizure-sensing, etc...) that dogs don't belong in hotels. We pay a lot of money to ensure that our dogs are safe while we are away and that they are stimulated, and having fun and wish others would leave their pet dogs at home too.

 

[millie]

There are so many comments on this thread but very few from anyone who is actually planning to bring their dog to WDW. As I have posted earlier - within hours of seeing this announcement I contacted my travel agent to book us a cabin at Fort Wilderness. We had stayed with our previous dog twice at Portofino Bay hotel and had talked about taking our new dog again at some point.

While at Portofino, despite being in the dog friendly room, I would never have noticed that a dog had been in their previously. Their rooms were immaculate. I am also allergic to dogs and cats (we have a first generation golden doodle so no problems) and have stayed in many pet friendly hotels and have never had a reaction. (I do understand severe allergic reactions as I had one myself over 30 years ago and went into anaphylactic shock and nearly died). There were other dogs there during both of our trips but we never paid them much attention. I also never heard any dogs at night.

We want to bring our dog with to Disney as it is a perfect marriage of our two loves - now that the children are grown and gone - our dog and Disney. While at Portofino Bay we had an in-room dog sitter or sent our dog to doggie day care. For this trip in May I am already booked for day care at Best Friends. Our dog will have a great time playing with other dogs during the day and then be with us in the cabin in the evening. We go to Disney and on Disney cruise line a lot and for those trips we leave our dog at a kennel or at home with one of our children. I don't think many dogs like being in a kennel overnight and it is a lot of work for a dog-sitter. Sometimes the worst part about going on vacation is leaving the dog. So now our dog came come with us - taking a couple of nights to drive to Florida - with some fun dog friendly stops along the way and back. We can have a good time during the day in the parks knowing that she will be having fun (she already goes to day camp once a week) and we will all enjoy being together in the evening. She will never be left alone in the cabin. She doesn't shed but despite that we always have her special blankets to cover the couch and bed if she climbs up on them.

This will more than likely be a one time trip to Disney for her. There are many other places to take dogs and I am sure that we will do so. The point I am trying to make is that we are putting a lot of thought and care into taking our dog on this trip. We don't want to bother anyone - and we won't. We are not going to take her where she is not allowed to go - she doesn't need to go to the parks or anywhere else where dogs are not permitted. I think that would be the case with most other families with dogs as well. It would be nice to hear from them.