4 Walt Disney World Resorts to accept dogs

[GoofGoof]

Just got off the phone with POR. It now seems dogs will be allowed in any available standard or garden room with no floor restrictions. There will be four areas on the grounds, look at the map, so the dogs can do their business. I'm wondering how many people will be willing to walk their dogs to the designated areas in the middle of the night or very early in the morning. Or will they just let the dogs "go" at the first convient hidden spot?

Why would they switch back to that? It’s so short sighted. They really need to figure this all out and roll out an effective plan. Maybe they should consider suspending the plan for now and take some time to reorganize and roll out a more complete policy with an effective date 6 months to a year from now. This way no need for cancellations or room switching and the people with dogs checking in then will know where to go and what to do. What was the reason for rushing this incomplete policy out anyway? The place survived just fine for almost 50 years without it, what would another 6 months hurt?

 

[GoofGoof]

To add to my last post, I wonder if Disney looked at other similar type resorts to determine how the program should work. I know for a fact that Caesars Palace in Vegas allows dogs but they have rooms designated pet friendly that I think are all on the 3rd floor. Loews hotels typically have specific rooms designated pet rooms too. Not sure if the ones at Universal do or not but I would suspect they might. It just makes logical sense in a high turnover, high occupancy resort. So many other places already have working dog policies why does this seem so difficult for Disney to figure out?

 

[21stamps]

I read them, but I can’t really follow what you are trying to say.
@Chernaboggles said this:

And your response was this:

So you respectfully but strongly disagreed that Disney should just switch the reservations with a smile and a hassle free transfer should be the default. You gave as your reason for disagreeing that you saw people flip out and demand an upgrade to a deluxe resort during construction. My response was that in this case people are not asking for an upgrade just an equivalent room. You told me I needed to reread your post. What am I missing?

The entire conversation. It’s ok.

To add to my last post, I wonder if Disney looked at other similar type resorts to determine how the program should work. I know for a fact that Caesars Palace in Vegas allows dogs but they have rooms designated pet friendly that I think are all on the 3rd floor. Loews hotels typically have specific rooms designated pet rooms too. Not sure if the ones at Universal do or not but I would suspect they might. It just makes logical sense in a high turnover, high occupancy resort. So many other places already have working dog policies why does this seem so difficult for Disney to figure out?

How do we know it’s difficult for Disney?

They made an announcement, they have maps with dog relief areas, they have a welcome kit for the canines.

These are dogs. It’s really not as complicated as way too many people are making it sound.
They don’t need to build anything specific for them.

 

[xdan0920]

I read them, but I can’t really follow what you are trying to say.

They all essentially boil down to this.

“Look at me. Look at me.”

 

[GoofGoof]

How do we know it’s difficult for Disney?

They made an announcement, they have maps with dog relief areas, they have a welcome kit for the canines.

These are dogs. It’s really not as complicated as way too many people are making it sound.
They don’t need to build anything specific for them.

I agree it’s not that complicated but they sure seem to be making it that way. Did you read this:

This is a link from a POR FB group.

http://www.portorleans.org/news.php?first=131017

So within a few days of rollout they changed the policy from being available in any room to only certain rooms per the posted link. Then today this guy calls and is told this:

Just got off the phone with POR. It now seems dogs will be allowed in any available standard or garden room with no floor restrictions.

Seems like they are having a really hard time to me.

 

[21stamps]

I agree it’s not that complicated but they sure seem to be making it that way. Did you read this:

So within a few days of rollout they changed the policy from being available in any room to only certain rooms per the posted link. Then today this guy calls and is told this:

Seems like they are having a really hard time to me.

And this is all confirmed that Disney released each twist and turn? Or could it be misunderstandings on the part of either a phone rep or customer?

The emails from Disney that were posted in this thread, along with the maps, don’t quite appear that they’re changing their policy. But I admittedly haven’t searched for their announcements and blogs. If there is conflicting info officially stated then I apologize.

I’m just amused that this big a deal is being made about Dogs, and that some kind of huge rollout appears to be needed for people to wrap their brains around it.
Ya know, those animals that everyone probably encounters several times per week. The ones that a ton of hotels have been accepting for years, who have events all over cities where they attend, who are in airports, and parks, and walking down your street.

All of this over dogs.lol

 

[Tony the Tigger]

I'm going by the ridiculous and self-centered behavior I've seen personally, and that friends of mine have seen personally at the parks and resorts. This is not going to be a pretty situation.

No worries. I hope they agree to waive the fees for you, I agree with the consensus that they should accomodate resort-swaps for guests with existing reservations.

So do I.

I respectfully, but strongly, disagree. I watched it when one of the Moderate resorts announced construction.. people flipped out, called, demanded something different.. wanted upgrades. Told stories of staying on hold until they got AKL or Beach Club etc...or even other more expensive ‘moderates’.

Come on now. Upgrades should happen in certain cases, but you can’t upgrade an entire resort because of construction or a closed restaurant, or because people just don’t like dogs.

I think there's a difference between those scenarios. People generally aren't construction-phobic or allergic to anything construction-related (except maybe dust.)

As with most situations, some people will have reasonable requests, others will have unreasonable requests.

As with most businesses, they're going to try to give away as little as possible. If someone is OK with an even swap, the business would have no reason to offer an upgrade.

But they should offer that swap without upgrade fees.

Here’s the funny thing. Everything was going swimmingly. I was even offered a room at POFQ, even though that resort was not included in the BounceBack offer I had booked less than 4 weeks prior.

The CM then checked for a standard King room at CSR and advised that there was availability. As I am gushing with relief and thanking him profusely, he then sprung the $397+ difference on me.

View attachment 239417

Yeah, didn’t see that coming. At all.

Sometimes you just get a CM who "doesn't get it." Sometimes you get a CM who gets it but just isn't authorized to make the change you need. Sounds like they were just reading what popped up on the screen during the normal rebooking flow.

We all know some rooms are allocated for some discounts and others are not. We all know some discounts don't even make sense to us. I've seen POR mostly less expensive than POFQ, but once in awhile, POFQ is cheaper. It could be based on occupancy, time of year...but I'm not telling you anything you don't already know.

If the CM understands and wants to help, but the computer won't let the change go through, I can see how your scenario may have happened.

I've been on the other side of the phone (not at WDW) so I have some empathy for the CM's.

The point is, what is obviously and even swap to you and me, may not be to "The System," and then a higher-up needs to get involved to override it.

I'm glad they corrected it, and sorry it took so much aggravation first!

 

[GoofGoof]

And this is all confirmed that Disney released each twist and turn? Or could it be misunderstandings on the part of either a phone rep or customer?

The emails from Disney that were posted in this thread, along with the maps, don’t quite appear that they’re changing their policy. But I admittedly haven’t searched for their announcements and blogs. If there is conflicting info officially stated then I apologize.

I’m just amused that this big a deal is being made about Dogs, and that some kind of huge rollout appears to be needed for people to wrap their brains around it.
Ya know, those animals that everyone probably encounters several times per week. The ones that a ton of hotels have been accepting for years, who have events all over cities where they attend, who are in airports, and parks, and walking down your street.

All of this over dogs.lol

The official stuff released isn’t even the complete policy. A bunch of things have been pieced together online but nobody has the full story yet. That’s the whole point.

It doesn’t need a huge roll out. It should actually be almost completely seamless for most guests. They should have given people ample notice so anyone who wanted to either bring their dog or avoid dogs altogether would know where to go or avoid. They also would have had plenty of time to train phone operators and staff to answer questions.

I don’t know why it’s so difficult for you to grasp the concept that some people do not like this change. Just because you travel with your dog and it’s no big deal to you doesn’t mean it’s no big deal to everyone else. You keep trying to paint a picture that people who are against this are being irrational or overreacting, but it’s a big deal for them. It has nothing to do with how often people see dogs in regular life at parks or airports or walking down the street. They don’t see them at Disney resorts and they did not stay in the room they are about to check into until now. It’s a big change for WDW.

I love dogs but I just don’t want to stay in a hotel room where other people’s dogs have stayed. I don’t know how well they take care of their pets. I don’t want to deal with the potential for dog hair on the furniture and potential for other issues like fleas and there are other people who have more serious reasons to not like the plan. If I had the choice I would not stay in a pet friendly hotel room. Many chains allow pets but a lot have specific rooms designated (so you can request a pet free room) and other specific rules that Disney has failed to adopt so far. I think it’s a terrible idea to just allow all rooms to potentially be used by dog owners. I also think it’s a bad idea to allow dogs unattended in the rooms. Correct those 2 things and I’m OK with this. Others probably won’t be so easy to convince.

 

[SamN'Dean]

Hard Rock and Portofino at Universal have been allowing dogs for years.

And the Royal Pacific at UO!

We've brought our 100 lb. Golden Retriever (just the best breed, so well behaved!) with us to Royal Pacific a couple of times, and had a wonderful experience both times. We were treated wonderfully, including a bag of goodies: Lowes branded water bowl, a small dog toy (too small for our Dakota frankly), a frisbee that he LOVED, and a Lowes branded dog tag. Dogs his size need their daily exercise, so I was glad to be able to walk him on the large grassy area reserved for dogs. There were even free doggy "pickup" bags at stations around the dog area. He even got to play with another dog almost his size for short while one afternoon.

I think it would be obvious that it was expected (and written into the check in agreement) that dogs were to stay in the section of the hotel reserved for dogs, and the outside dog play area. I can't imagine they would be allowed in the POOL or other common areas; that seems silly to me.

 

[GoofGoof]

And the Royal Pacific at UO!

We've brought our 100 lb. Golden Retriever (just the best breed, so well behaved!) with us to Royal Pacific a couple of times, and had a wonderful experience both times. We were treated wonderfully, including a bag of goodies: Lowes branded water bowl, a small dog toy (too small for our Dakota frankly), a frisbee that he LOVED, and a Lowes branded dog tag. Dogs his size need their daily exercise, so I was glad to be able to walk him on the large grassy area reserved for dogs. There were even free doggy "pickup" bags at stations around the dog area. He even got to play with another dog almost his size for short while one afternoon.

I think it would be obvious that it was expected (and written into the check in agreement) that dogs were to stay in the section of the hotel reserved for dogs, and the outside dog play area. I can't imagine they would be allowed in the POOL or other common areas; that seems silly to me.

Sounds like Loews has a pretty good policy that works well. Maybe Disney will gravitate towards that.

 

[ford91exploder]

I respectfully, but strongly, disagree. I watched it when one of the Moderate resorts announced construction.. people flipped out, called, demanded something different.. wanted upgrades. Told stories of staying on hold until they got AKL or Beach Club etc...or even other more expensive ‘moderates’.

Come on now. Upgrades should happen in certain cases, but you can’t upgrade an entire resort because of construction or a closed restaurant, or because people just don’t like dogs.

People flipped because amenities they paid for were suddenly no longer available with no notice.

 

[TeriofTerror]

Out of curiosity, has anyone actually experienced one of these doggy dorms yet for themselves, or are we still in the realm of baseless hyperbolic conjecture?

 

[Pixieish]

Here's my issue with the new dog policy - lots of it going smoothly is contingent on people following the rules. If any of you have spent any time in a Disney FB group, you can very quickly see how BAD humans are at following rules and/or feeling that they should be excluded from the rules, hence all my comments about further abuse of ADA laws.

Temper tantrums to get free (and ridiculous) upgrades? Check!
Fist fights while waiting in line? Check!
Falsely claiming a dog to be a service dog? Check!
Not watching children? Check!
Letting children urinate where they shouldn't? Check!
Flipping out over being given a gray MB at check-in? Check!
Character didn't spend enough time with child - flip out and scream? Check!
Bus broke down = trip ruined? Check!
You didn't plan ahead and make ADRs or FP+ and you want a refund because you didn't get to do anything? Check!
You got too drunk and behaved obnoxiously at 2am and people asked you to be quiet but you flipped out? Check!
The trash can was 10 feet away, so you left a huge pile of trash next to your room door? Check!

I could go on and on and on.

Do I think all dog owners are like this? Heck no. I don't hate dogs, either - I hate humanity's inability to curb its own behavior or to have empathy. I also think there is a large segment of the population that is extraordinarily selfish (see above list) and that doesn't treat their pets with any kind of dignity and will drag them all over God's creation regardless of how the dog feels about it or whether the dog is welcome there, and they will lie through their teeth to do it.

EDIT: Honestly, among some people it's like it's a contest to see who can get the best free upgrades/freebies.

 

[Pixieish]

Oh - and here's a perfect example of that selfishness I just referenced. I run a Disney FB group and this question was asked:

I want to go to Disney during Christmastime, will it be crowded?

To which many of the veterans answered that it's the busiest time of the year, etc. etc.

MANY comments and back-and-forths later, she admitted that she was planning WDW, SeaWorld AND Universal during a 5-day trip with her autistic son who doesn't do well with crowds.

She heeded NONE of the virtually expert advice she was given that I know of.

 

[AEfx]

No, but it all but blatantly encourages abusing the ADA laws. The Feds need to up their game and do something about the abuse of services meant to help people who truly need them.

The problem is, it's congress that would need to do any changes. And that's not happening, because no one who lobbies for people with disabilities are going to want to change a thing because, in effect, it would be seen as limiting it to take care of any abuses. I understand, because the ADA has done wonders in a lot of ways. It's just frustrating because at places like WDW, the abuses make them reduce the services they provide to the legal minimum because all the abusers make the operational impact significant. If it wasn't for the internet and people learning how to abuse it so badly, the GAC would have never been an issue at all.

 

[Pixieish]

The problem is, it's congress that would need to do any changes. And that's not happening, because no one who lobbies for people with disabilities are going to want to change a thing because, in effect, it would be seen as limiting it to take care of any abuses. I understand, because the ADA has done wonders in a lot of ways. It's just frustrating because at places like WDW, the abuses make them reduce the services they provide to the legal minimum because all the abusers make the operational impact significant. If it wasn't for the internet and people learning how to abuse it so badly, the GAC would have never been an issue at all.

It's really frustrating and infuriating. All they need to do is up the security in the dog's credentials and allow those to be requested to stop the abuse of this section of the law. It wouldn't violate HIPPA, nor would it curtail the benefits for those who need them.

 

[SamN'Dean]

Yes, please! If Disney had an adults-only DVC resort (with or without dogs), I'd never book anywhere else!
Heck, I'd settle for an adults-only pool with a really good pool bar.

Exactly! Sounds like Heaven!

 

[21stamps]

The official stuff released isn’t even the complete policy. A bunch of things have been pieced together online but nobody has the full story yet. That’s the whole point.

It doesn’t need a huge roll out. It should actually be almost completely seamless for most guests. They should have given people ample notice so anyone who wanted to either bring their dog or avoid dogs altogether would know where to go or avoid. They also would have had plenty of time to train phone operators and staff to answer questions.

I don’t know why it’s so difficult for you to grasp the concept that some people do not like this change. Just because you travel with your dog and it’s no big deal to you doesn’t mean it’s no big deal to everyone else. You keep trying to paint a picture that people who are against this are being irrational or overreacting, but it’s a big deal for them. It has nothing to do with how often people see dogs in regular life at parks or airports or walking down the street. They don’t see them at Disney resorts and they did not stay in the room they are about to check into until now. It’s a big change for WDW.

I love dogs but I just don’t want to stay in a hotel room where other people’s dogs have stayed. I don’t know how well they take care of their pets. I don’t want to deal with the potential for dog hair on the furniture and potential for other issues like fleas and there are other people who have more serious reasons to not like the plan. If I had the choice I would not stay in a pet friendly hotel room. Many chains allow pets but a lot have specific rooms designated (so you can request a pet free room) and other specific rules that Disney has failed to adopt so far. I think it’s a terrible idea to just allow all rooms to potentially be used by dog owners. I also think it’s a bad idea to allow dogs unattended in the rooms. Correct those 2 things and I’m OK with this. Others probably won’t be so easy to convince.

I think people don’t realize that they’ve most likely already stayed in a hotel with dogs.
At a Waldorf? Hilton? Four Seasons? Marriott? Loews? Etc etc etc etc etc. Many of their properties accept dogs. They do not have some huge explanation on their websites.

Unless you have a phobia and purposely seek out hotels who do not allow dogs, looking for a pet policy on every website, then really you probably have already stayed in a hotel that allows them.

That’s why I think this is being overblown. Everything with Disney is always overblown into a huge drama and ignores reality. Lol

People flipped because amenities they paid for were suddenly no longer available with no notice.

Read my above response.

 

[ford91exploder]

It's really frustrating and infuriating. All they need to do is up the security in the dog's credentials and allow those to be requested to stop the abuse of this section of the law. It wouldn't violate HIPPA, nor would it curtail the benefits for those who need them.

This is a proper role of government to ensure a service animal is indeed that and the animals could be issued an 'id' with photo certifying status as service animal. That card could be tied to licensing and vaccination records as well.

 

[ford91exploder]

I think people don’t realize that they’ve most likely already stayed in a hotel with dogs.
At a Waldorf? Hilton? Four Seasons? Marriott? Loews? Etc etc etc etc etc. Many of their properties accept dogs. They do not have some huge explanation on their websites.

Unless you have a phobia and purposely seek out hotels who do not allow dogs, looking for a pet policy on every website, then really you probably have already stayed in a hotel that allows them.

That’s why I think this is being overblown. Everything with Disney is always overblown into a huge drama and ignores reality. Lol



Read my above response.

When you are expecting a fully functional food court with 6am-11pm when you book and you arrive to find a mess tent with limited hours. Thats not an inconvenience thats a major change in the hotel's offerings just like pools being out of service.

Thats a situation which requires compensation, Sorry but we ALLOW Disney to get away with this kind of bovine excreta