Will you book a dog friendly resort?

[Nancyg56]

I have two spoiled dogs who vacation with us to appropriate locations.

No I will not book DF hotels.

Based on response from Disney (call to me) I will likely avoid the sister resorts as well.

I have been booking offsite backup plans for all trips. (AP who goes often)

It's funny that you should say this. I voted that I am avoiding dog friendly resorts, and I have discussed my reasons on prior threads.

Last night my DD and DSIL told me that they are not going to stay at a resort that is within any walking distance of a dog friendly resort, and their reasons were compelling.

 

[cdnusagurl]

I voted I will avoid dog friendly resorts. Mainly because I don't trust Disney to actually enforce their policies which are already way too vague.

 

[22Tink]

I love my dog but I’m not a dog lover in general so I have no interest in staying at a resort where there will be dogs. I get that service animals can stay anywhere and that’s fine but I will avoid the advertised ‘dog friendly’ resorts. I don’t ‘need’ to stay at any particular resort so I’m fine avoiding them.

 

[DisMommyTX]

I have no problem staying at a dog-friendly resort. If a dog is barking for an extended period, I will call security. If the matter is not resolved sufficiently, I will escalate my concerns until it is. Otoh, I would love the option to avoid an infant/toddler/ friendly resort. There is nothing security can really do about screaming babies, dogs are easy.

 

[KenHutch]

I am worried about irresponsible owners more than the dogs. In my neighborhood I have 3 neighbors with big dogs and every night one starts barking and before long they all are. I don't need or want this on vacation and sadly everyone knows that there will be dog owners who think the rules don't really apply to them and they can take their little pets everywhere.

 

[LSUmiss]

I also have no problem staying in a DF resort. I don’t expect dog owner behavior to be any worse than some of the other terrible neighbors that I’ve had on other previous stays.

 

[sndral]

I voted I won't book a DF resort. Not entirely relevant to me these days as I mostly stay on my DVC points and so far AKL and GF are not on the list, but I do love the YC & might have booked it for the I'm out of points visits.
My concern is that CMs do not enforce the rules as it is, so while 70% of dog owners follow the rules the 30% who don't will negatively impact other guests w/ impunity.
If I read reports of CMs actually proactively kicking out dog people when their dogs bark in the rooms, are off leash, are in non DF areas, get in fights w/ other dogs, bark at, jump on or rush up to strangers, etc. then I'll change my opinion.
But if I know Disney the rule breakers will get a strong talking to and a free anytime FP+ to soothe their hurt feelings because you can't blame unleashed Muffy for nipping at and knocking over the 2 yr. old in the no dogs area of the resort because the parents should have been keeping a closer eye on that 2 yr. old. [sarcasm]
Done well it might work, but Disney seems to accommodate/reward the bad apples.

 

[soccermom54]

I will not stay at a dog friendly resort. I do not trust Disney to keep the rooms clean and odor free.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Doesn't personally matter to me. If it's the resort I want to stay at sure. Would I actively avoid one? no

 

[maxiesmom]

No Disney resort has ever been dog free. Service dogs have been allowed. So even if you avoid a dog-friendly resort you could still end up with a room next to a dog.

Just want to make sure everyone is aware. Don't kid yourselves that it is possible to avoid all dogs. It isn't.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I have no problem staying at a dog-friendly resort. If a dog is barking for an extended period, I will call security. If the matter is not resolved sufficiently, I will escalate my concerns until it is. Otoh, I would love the option to avoid an infant/toddler/ friendly resort. There is nothing security can really do about screaming babies, dogs are easy.

I've dealt with a night club 1 floor down from me in Hawaii (though it was for only 1 night), a noisy highway somewhere in TN, construction in the floor above me for a week everyday hammers and drills, etc in Vegas, a hurricane in WDW and I couldn't tell you how many times kids have run down the hallways, or the child crying or screaming or the doors closing..honestly I think the doors closing might be my #1 annoyance since just about nowhere can you avoid that..oh oh I forgot...hearing footsteps on the floor above me (a personal reason why when I was living in apartments I chose the top floor). Dogs, while they come with their own noise concerns, is far from the most annoying noise I could deal with in a hotel room for me personally.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

No Disney resort has ever been dog free. Service dogs have been allowed. So even if you avoid a dog-friendly resort you could still end up with a room next to a dog.

Just want to make sure everyone is aware.

Yup it's been mentioned on almost every single dog thread. My honest thought is before the new pet-friendly policy came around it probably wasn't even on someone's radar that a service dog may have slept in the same room that the guest was now booked in.

 

[ncc1701]

I would book YC if we ever stay at a Deluxe as it is the one that appeals to us the most. Would have no issue staying at POR if POFQ wasn't available. We have stayed at several resort hotels in California that were dog friendly and had no issues. FWIW we are not pet owners.

 

[gillep]

Probably won't be something I need to consider any more (unless expanded to DVC) as we now have enough points to do all of our stays using our DVC points however, I would currently still book a DF resort. If there are a lot of first hand bad experiences then I might change my mind. I have stayed in dog friendly resorts before, and have hardly ever encountered them, although they are very different types of stays than Disney ones so I am much more skeptical of the new Disney policy. My Disney time is one of the few times I get away from dog fur, and can wear black with abandon, so I really hope that the Disney DF rooms are cleaned well.

 

[gwynne]

Yup it's been mentioned on almost every single dog thread. My honest thought is before the new pet-friendly policy came around it probably wasn't even on someone's radar that a service dog may have slept in the same room that the guest was now booked in.

Well yes, trained service dogs have been allowed for years. It's probably good to point out the difference in case someone isn't aware.

The CM from Guest services that gave me a call back said he hadn't talked to anyone in his calls that had a concern about service dogs. On the other hand, news guests can now bring along their pets to 4 WDW resorts has caused some major unhappiness and generated a lot of emails.

 

[cdnusagurl]

No Disney resort has ever been dog free. Service dogs have been allowed. So even if you avoid a dog-friendly resort you could still end up with a room next to a dog.

Just want to make sure everyone is aware. Don't kid yourselves that it is possible to avoid all dogs. It isn't.

There is a big difference between a service dog and someone's family pet. A service dog is actually trained for one. Can't guarantee that with anyone's pet Fido.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Well yes, trained service dogs have been allowed for years. It's probably good to point out the difference in case someone isn't aware.

The CM from Guest services that gave me a call back said he hadn't talked to anyone in his calls that had a concern about service dogs. On the other hand, news guests can now bring along their pets to 4 WDW resorts has caused some major unhappiness and generated a lot of emails.

Well I would actually expect that. Have you (general you) ever saw something or heard something and now that's all you can think about? Anytime I see lips moving but audio not in sync when watching something it drives me crazy and I can't end up watching it. But until I've noticed that I was fine. It's just once I did--it was all over from there.

When people say "I demand Disney guarantee I get a dog-free room" it's an unrealistic expectation as service dogs are allowed in any room. If ones says "I want Disney to designate those bringing their pet dog to the resort to specific rooms" now that I understand-don't actually know in the end what will happen but I do understand that desire. But to say "I will not sleep in a room where a dog could have stayed at"..well perhaps ignorance was bliss then?

 

[maxiesmom]

There is a big difference between a service dog and someone's family pet. A service dog is actually trained for one. Can't guarantee that with anyone's pet Fido.

Service dogs still shed and they still have to "go" outside. Two of the things many posters have brought up as being the problem with dogs.

 

[gwynne]

Well I would actually expect that. Have you (general you) ever saw something or heard something and now that's all you can think about? Anytime I see lips moving but audio not in sync when watching something it drives me crazy and I can't end up watching it. But until I've noticed that I was fine. It's just once I did--it was all over from there.

When people say "I demand Disney guarantee I get a dog-free room" it's an unrealistic expectation as service dogs are allowed in any room. If ones says "I want Disney to designate those bringing their pet dog to the resort to specific rooms now that I understand-don't actually know in the end what will happen but I do understand that desire. But to say "I will not sleep in a room where a dog could have stayed at"..well perhaps ignorance was bliss then?

Might be misinformed, might (more likely) be semantics. I think sometimes people use "dog" and "pet" interchangeably.
Trained service animals are something entirely different.
Some guests don't wish to stay at a pet resort, but they totally understand the access given to trained service animals at all WDW resorts.

 

[loves to dive]

I will book where I want to stay if it's available. I don't care about the dog issue, heck I was in Jacksonville over the weekend with my little yorkie. A dog friendly hotel (Omni Jacksonville) and I didn't see another dog there, my son said he saw a bulldog but I didn't see it. We only left the dog alone in the room for about 4 hours on Saturday evening, the reason we were there was for my son's best friend's wedding and honey was travelling, our dog can't be boarded because she is submissive and people reliant and won't eat for days if one of us isn't there. She is potty pad trained and went on her pads, which were in the bathroom, the entire time. I did take her out for walks often but just to get us both out of the room. We did drop into the bar one morning, that was where you got coffee and muffins but I had her in a body sling. I did let her walk in the lobby and common areas and we got stopped so many times with people just wanting to pet her. She never approaches anyone unless we say she can and when she does, she goes down on the floor in submissive posture until they pet her.