What do you do with your dog while you spend the day at the theme park????

[David Johnson]

We are proud new owners of a Vizsla ( Hungarian Pointer). He will be a camping dog. What do you do with your dog when you spend the day at a theme park.

Do you leave him/her in the camper all day?
Do you go back and check on him/her to let him out at some point during the day?
Do you board him/her? ( would rather not do this).

Just looking for some advice as our october weekend and our christmas trip are fast approaching.

Thanks,
Dave

 

[mja451]

I believe there is a Kennel at the outpost where you check in. Not sure about costs etc. I remember reading about it in the Unofficial Guide.

 

[ftwildernessguy]

We have used the kennels for the past 4 years. We drop our beagle off in the morning and pick him up at night. You are responsible for walking 1-2 times daily, as the staff will not walk pets. The kennels are immaculate and the staff is excellent. My wife has got to be the pickiest person when it comes to living quarters for the pooch (even though she CLAIMS she doesn't really like him) and the WDW kennels received the Carol seal of approval. The staff have gotten to know Mickey over the years and seem genuinely happy to see him every year. Last year he forgot his toy at home so they bought him a squeaky. That toy never left his sight the entire vacation.

Anyway, we pick him up every night to stay with us at the camper. I guess you can say what you will about kennels and leaving your pet there, but I personally like the idea that he isn't left alone all day. Price is very reasonable - as I recall it was about 9 bucks a day for a resort guest. If you are going to be late picking your dog up, they will make arrangements for someone to let you in. Be sure to bring your dog's vaccination record and statement of health, which you should have with you when camping anyway. They will provide one feeding per day, but Mickey doesn't like Friskies so he doesn't eat it. Cages are extremely clean and get cleaned every time you walk your pet.

I highly recommend them!

 

[campingcorgi]

Gunnar, the camping corgi, prefers to stay at home (in the rv) alone. He gets a good walk before we leave the rv, and we aren't commando types so we are usually back in 6 hours or so. He will get several more walks and I will go for a bike ride with him running alongside. That will usually wear him out nicely to be left alone again.

Gunnar is a senior citizen now (he's nine) but he's been enjoying his vacations at WDW for about 4 years and has never been kenneled. I worried at first that he might bark while alone, but he never has (till he hears us come up!) He just does in the rv what he does at home--snooze till his people return.

Now, if your new dog is a puppy you will probably not be able to leave him/her alone for very long periods, but you will be fine camping with an older dog.

 

[Krisu]

We kept our dog in the RV while we were at the parks. He kept his same schedule as when we are home....sleeping while we are at work/school!!!!

 

[tim5055]

I agree with ftwildernessguy's description of the kennel

The Fort Wilderness kennel is for your standard house pets. It will probably be best to leave your tiger at home. The kennel does NOT accept reservations at all, so don't bother trying. Current rates are $6 for a day stay and $9 for overnight. If you check in for the week you will pay the overnight rate. Pets must be kept in the pet area 1600 - 1900 or the preferred loops which are all pet loops now, or on the canal pet walk. You must drive them to the kennel, you can NOT walk them to the kennel.

FW employees do NOT remove the pets from the cages for any reason. You must stop by to walk them yourself. Most of the cases are stacking models, one over the other. Interior dividers can be removed to allow space for larger dogs. In addition to these cages which are indoors, they still have a number (I'd say 15 or 20) of outdoor cages/runs. While they have ceiling fans over them it does get quite warm during the summer.


The kennel is open from 7:30AM to 10:00PM, but if you are out late the staff at the reception outpost can walk over to the kennel to get you dog to allow them to come to the site for the night.

For pop up owners, be careful. The Disney website states:

"Q. Can you tell me more about keeping my pet at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground?

A. Specific areas of Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground have been made available to Guests with pets. These are full hook-up campsites. There is a $5.00 per day pet charge. (This is a per day, per site charge only, not per pet.) Sorry, Guests in tents and pop-up campers may not keep pets at their site - they must be kenneled.

Rest assured if you are camping in a tent or pop up you can bring your pet to the site. I have spoken to FW Cast Members several times and they state that the statement should be that pets can not be left unattended in a tent or pop up. If you have any questions regarding this give the reception outpost a call at 407-824-2900.

 

[mamarobin24]

Whoo Hoo, Dave: We own a Vizsla as well!!!

Now here's the thing: if yours is anything like ours (Viktoria the Original Velcro Vizsla), the kennels are out. Nervous wreck. However, leaving her in the TT works well. We are assuming that the Class C we just traded up to will work just as well, or even better, as it's more secure for her.
Now, we haven't done this at WDW, and we go camping other places a lot.

 

[arcruiser]

Mabel staying in the MH while we were at the parks, we always came back early, or in the middle of the day to let her out and give her a break. We were pleased to find out that she did not bark while we were gone (per our neighbors).

 

[Jackalope]

Left our two cockers in there every day. They loved it. Slept on the sofa all day just like at home!

The first day I did it, I even set up my video camera to record while we were gone (for just a few hours the first time) to see what they did. They stared at the door until we were out of sight then hopped up on the sofa and crashed. Just typical fur-persons having fun!