Who else would appreciate a pet-friendly DVC property?

[KNWVIKING]

Maybe the mystery OVAL at BCV was originally intended as a dog walking path and not a NASCAR track.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

I was doing a search to see if pets were allowed in FW cabins and this post popped up. This is funny, because DH & I just recieved a solicitation in the mail this week for Saratoga Springs. We discussed the fact that we would love to buy into Disney's DVC program, but the fact that they don't allow pets prevents us from doing so. We have a very well behaved mini-pin that we are very attached to and would not consider leaving her in a cage in a kennel any more than we would our son. She is part of our family. Just our opinion! By the way, don't most people take their pets with them on vacation to keep from leaving them in a kennel. We are a family of Fl. residents who went from 3 consecutive years of AP's and 5 or 6 visits a year to WDW to only one at FW campground after we got our pet. I personally think that WDW should open 1 resort in each category to pets.

As for the Universal hotels, they now get our business. We were just there last month and had no problems with her. Then again, I wouldn't have a pet in my home that I wouldn't feel comfortable with taking to any Resort. I don't want my home destroyed either. For those of you who have worried about going to Universal hotels, because they allow pet, my suggestions would be to try them one time. They are in as good of condition as any of WDW's Resorts and alot better than many that we have stayed at there. They have special filtering systems in their rooms, which WDW could also add if they would.

It's great for those of you who have family to sit for you, but there is alot of us who don't, and would love to be able to enjoy WDW also. JMO

 

[idratherbeinwdw]

Originally posted by KNWVIKING

I guess I'm lucky we only have cats. Just dump a bag of dry food on the bathroom floor, fill the tub with litter, leave the toilet lid up,throw the cats in and close the door.

When I go to WDW I leave my cats with food and litter (two boxes) and lots and lots of bowls of water, so I am not adverse to leaving cats unattended. Most cats do just fine, especially when you have two to keep each other company.

I am somewhat concerned about the odor the cats have to deal with being locked in a bathroom, but that's probably just me being overly protective. But leaving your cats to drink toilet bowl water, does not seem healthy to me, have you checked with the vet that this is OK?

Or were you just kidding and I am clueless?

 

[emememem]

We have a small chihuahua who loves to travel with us. We took him to WDW twice using the kennels at MGM and Magic kingdom, and animal kingdom. It worked out very well for us and our dog as we were able to see him several times a day throughout our stay. We moved him to the kennel at the park we were visiting that day and kept him overnight at MGM since we were at the Boardwalk and could walk over in the morning to pick him up. The cost was 9.00 a day.

 

[Deb & Bill]

As much as I love my dog, I just don't think I would do her justice by locking her up in a strange place every day and only see her at night. We board her at our vet's facility and they have a special program for the animals. She gets extra attention, several walks and playtimes a day, plus they can watch over her and make sure that she is safe.

I hate to see animals locked up in a car with the windows rolled down an inch or two. It's so deadly to them and I can't imagine not having to do that at least once if we took her with us on vacation.

Universal might accept animals, but they have far fewer resort rooms than WDW. They have fewer complaints to worry about.

 

[JessetheCowgirl]

Originally posted by GAIL HAYDEN
Actually, Nick, this topic is very interesting without the stupid smoking comparison.
I have two cats and one dog and we have people come in and take care of them. They are relaxed and happy at home, we are relaxed and happy knowing we don't need to worry about them destroying something that someone else will have to use after we leave or being upset that we have brought them to a strange place and left them. Everyone's pets are perfect angels and would never destroy or cause havoc anywhere, they never ever bark and are definitely parasite free.....NOT!!!! My dog barks when he hears strange noises, I imagine at DVC he would bark a lot, I would not subject anyone to that, my cats are very moody, they don't scratch, but, one could bite. Why would I subject a housekeeper to that?
I love my pets and I love animals in general, but, I don't want to vacation with my pets or other peoples' pets. I also do not want to be bitten by fleas, I am allergic to their bites, my pets are flea free and I would not want to bring them home. I detest pet odors, I don't want to smell them on vacation anymore than I want to smell them at home.
When I signed on at DVC I was assured that it was pet free, except for service animals, there were no kennels at DVC and there would not be. That immediately quelled any thoughts of bring my pets with me. If I did not like that rule when I signed up, I simply did not have to. I did love the rule and hope it stays that way, forever.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Even if DVC had a pet friendly resort, I doubt that we would use it for Buster. If one would be set up, I won't object. I just don't think it's going to happen.

There are people devoted to their dogs and other animals who make things like "dog parks" work, and I salute you!

Bobbi

 

[adriannabannana]

We bring Mickey with us when we stay at a Residence Inn, but I don't think we'd ever bring him with us to Disney, mainly because I don't want him traveling by plane.

We trained him from early on to behave in a hotel, and we bring our crate along as well as toys and chewies and his bed, so that he has continuity while away. (we did the same thing with our daughter, this way we can all get some sleep). The policy there is that the dog must be out of the room, or the owner must be present when housekeeping does it's job. That's easy enough, because we take him with us on these trips so that he can participate in the hiking/biking/swimming ect that we do during the day. This would not be the case at the parks, obviously.

One thing though, I'd never end up using the kennels at Disney, even if we drove down and Mickey would be able to come along. I'd rather just pay a house sitter a little extra to care for Mickey, or pay a relative to take him so that he's in familiar surroundings.

JMHO

 

[DrTomorrow]

Disclaimer: I am owned by two felines, Luna and Minerva.

First, I'd never travel with them (again). We moved from Detroit to Phoenix in May and it was NOT FUN for either the humans or the cats. We drove with them in a good-sized cage, and they were good girls, but they were also pretty stressed. And why would I take them to WDW, when we're not in our room most of the time - and when we are, we're dead tired. Nope, we leave them home w/2 boxes, lots o' food & water, and a trusted friend to check on them if we're gone longer than 5-6 days - I'm sure they're much happier.

Second, I'd never stay at a pet-friendly DVC resort. While the smells/stains are an issue ( and I'd like to hear from anyone who's darling dog or cat has never peed, pooped, puked or coughed up a hairball in the wrong place ), noise and behaviour would be my biggest concern. All it takes is one barking hound - or one yowling cat - to disturb a lot of people; and if they start setting each other off - well, the "Twilight Bark" isn't so great when you've had a long day....

Finally, if it came to an owner vote (yeah, right), I'd vote no. Pet-friendly places simply have more wear.and.tear, and cost more to keep up (IMHO, but there's a reason apartments and hotels have pet fees and pet deposits). I've read how some folks around here get upset (and justifiably so) when they check in and smell smoke, or find hair in the tub, or moldy food - think how you would feel if you checked in to your DVC room and found a present from Rover or Fluffy....

 

[RuthnPaul]

I think Dr. Tomorrow brings up a lot of great points. In addition, I'm highly allergic to cats so I certainly would not want to be suffering during my vacation! The only way I could see it working is to have a dedicated pet resort but don't use my maintenance fees for it!!

 

[dogcloud]

Hi all,

I am new to this board, just bought 200 points through disney at SSR.
We have 2 highly trained/ high energy boarder collies, they are like my children! But, sometimes like my child, my DH and I need a break from them. So that said, I think I would love to have the option to bring them, because we don't always like to leave them behind. We have never put them in the kennel, So I do agree there should be a place for pets!

 

[dogcloud]

Also I think it's intresting how many have posted a repl, I think someone @ Disney should take note!

 

[mom2rb]

I am the proud owner of two BAD dogs. They are very sweet, very big, and very dumb. The only people I leave them with are my little brothers ( because they deserve it ). I also pay them very well.

Now I know better than to bring my dogs with me but I don't know if every owner of bad dogs knows not to bring there's.

 

[WOW]

This topic is really very interesting. So many different points of view. We just took our dog (90 pound lab and not quite 2 years old yet) on a long weekend to Mystic Connecticut. While we were researching where we could bring her along, we were absolutely amazed at how many hotels are beginning to allow dogs. Spoke with several hotel managers and they have found that their business has very much improved since they started allowing dogs. These are very well known hotel chains. Marriott, Hilton, Holiday Inn,Amerisuites, etc. We stayed at a Residence Inn (owned by Marriott) and they were so very nice to us and our suite (2BR) was immaculate. Our dog shopped with us, ate with us (lots of outside seating), slept on the floor in the suite, and swam with us!!!!

Evidentally there are lots of people who love to travel with their dog and the hotel industry wants that business. I am sure that so many of us have been in a hotel room where a dog once stayed and didn't even know it!!!!! This was our first "travel with dog" short vacation and we enjoyed it immensely. Now we live in NJ and never drive, so bringing her to WDW will almost surely never be an issue for us, so I am not sure if I am for or against a WDW/DVC property being dog friendly since it really isn't an option for us.

We were at Epcot 2 years ago and there was a convention for "companion animals in training". They were allowed everywhere a human was and they were absolutely amazing. Now, I realize that these are dogs that will someday be an amazing companion for someone who needs that kind of help,
but these puppies and dogs were extremely well behaved at Epcot and they are trained by everyday people like us, not professional trainers(and they do it as volunteers). The professional trainers don't start their companion training until the
dogs are about 2 years old.

Just another point of view..............PS There was a $75 charge for the entire stay for having a dog.

 

[AFMom]

Just a few quick comments. Our lab has no problem in hotel rooms - we move constantly and obviouslay have to move him as well! Probably wouldn't take him to WDW, but if it was an option, it would be ok with me, as I'd rather take a pet room than a smoking room!
No one in my family has pet allergies, and owning a cat and dog - our house doesn't smell like pets at all - so I don't see why a hotel room would with proper cleaning.
As far as damage - my 6 and 7 year old sons are far more destructive than our big ole dog, who pretty much likes to sleep all day.
Smoking rooms.... it may be possible to get the smell out - but everytime we've been accidentally given a smoking room, I've gagged and had to stay in the hallway while we get re-assigned. I could never stay in a smoking room - the smell gets into everything - clothes, bedding - ick!! Smoking may not be an allergen - but the residue from smoking causes my son's cough-variant asthma to flare up and he's up all night coughing - not pleasant for anyone. Also - and I don't have statistics or the article in front of me - but anyone with a child under the age of 1 might consider that smoking residues are being connected with SIDs deaths.
I don't know that I would take my animals, but I think it is "doable" if done right, to have a few pet rooms available, especially somewhere like OKW or SSR.

 

[NMW]

We have a large Alaskan Malamute and I adore him. We always put him in a very nice kennel by our house when we travel. Several people in my family have very serious allergies to cats. They could NEVER stay in a room that had a cat in it (even a year ago) with out getting very sick. I think liability-wise it would be too dangerous for DVC to allow pets. It's just not the same thing as a hotel that has a "pet floor". DVC resorts are shared space that the members own "sort-of". I think Disney makes a nice effort with it's on-site kennels for pet owners. Also, aren't there other kennels in the Orlando area? At least you'd be able to see your pet every day if you wanted, and make sure he/she was being treated well. I would not want DVC resorts to start accepting pets. I just think it would cause problems and upset members (even more than the smoking issue-lol)!

 

[LisaSt]

No thanks to much to worry about with pets in the rooms. I know I do not want to get a room at a resort that smells of dog or cat urine and it would be a pain for mousekeeping etc to tidy up all the pet hair etc.

 

[CaptainMidnight]

OKW would be the first pick to convert to a pet friendly DVC given the parking right outside the rooms. Perhaps given the interest, that would be a good idea. I think many people take thier pets thier any way. As long as they police the grounds after thier pet.........

 

[CapeCodFam]

I must admit that I haven't read all of the posts except for the OP. But, WDW is pet friendly. They have a kennel.

While I'm sure everyone dearly loves their pets, not everyone shares the same feeling. I'm glad to be pet free at DVC.

 

[kathleena]

Absolutely no thank you. Don't want to have to think about/deal with pet issues in the room, let alone my allergy to dogs.

And as an owner, I don't want to have to pay for clean up and replacement of items from someone's pet. Cat urine and dog urine smells and virtually not removable from the carpets and beds, poop outside on the walks, wondering if a dog urinated on the tree the kids are playing on, pet hairs and who knows what else on the bedding. Yuk, yuk, yuk. The list can go on and on. This is not a matter of policing what they do outside - but inside as well.

Sometimes is hard enough to think of how many people we share our homes with, but pets would draw the line for me - if DVC changed and was made for pets, I would be asking DVC for my money back!

Nope WDW should be for human beings.

So go ahead and make a resort dedicated to pets - but like RuthnPaul - don't use my maintenance fees for it !!! Make it a separate DVC resort!