4 Walt Disney World Resorts to accept dogs

[GoofGoof]

Actually, repeat and loyal WDW guests probably have the least say, precisely because we keep coming. Repeat guests are a known quantity, Disney already know what we'll do, how we spend our money and what we'll put up with before sayin "no more!" and going elsewhere. People who travel with dogs are an untapped market for them, one that currently gives their money to other companies. Disney makes money by appealing not to a loyal core, but by appealing broadly to as many different revenue streams as possible.

Agreed, but let’s face it this is mostly a money grab for Disney too. A very small fraction of the additional fees will go towards the actual additional costs to upkeep. The rest is pure profit. For example at POR the average rack rate is around $200 so an extra $50 a night is a 25% increase in revenue and a lot of guests don’t pay rack so the percentage increase is even greater. If Disney wanted to do this out of the kindness of their hearts for the benefit of dog owners it would be free or practically free. This goes for any other hotel that accepts dogs too. It’s a windfall profit too lucrative to pass up.

 

[GoofGoof]

Who can we complain to about this ridiculous idea?!? Surely the repeat and loyal WDW guests should have a BIG say in this atrocity?

The same people you complain to about anything else. It probably helps your case if you are actually cancelling a reservation but I’m sure they will log your complaint either way.

 

[Chernaboggles]

Agreed, but let’s face it this is mostly a money grab for Disney too. A very small fraction of the additional fees will go towards the actual additional costs to upkeep. The rest is pure profit. For example at POR the average rack rate is around $200 so an extra $50 a night is a 25% increase in revenue and a lot of guests don’t pay rack so the percentage increase is even greater. If Disney wanted to do this out of the kindness of their hearts for the benefit of dog owners it would be free or practically free. This goes for any other hotel that accepts dogs too. It’s a windfall profit too lucrative to pass up.

No arguments here. It's like the overnight-guest version of a dessert party or the early/late hours upcharge events. It's expensive, the offerings aren't that great, and it takes up some space that was previously available to people who weren't paying the charge.

From a corporate perspective, it's an easy way to make some extra cash with minimal investment, and therefore is a smart decision. From a customer perspective, most people aren't invested enough to care about the issue one way or another, and those that are will have opinions that vary based mostly on whether they want the experience or not.

 

[GoofGoof]

No arguments here. It's like the overnight-guest version of a dessert party or the early/late hours upcharge events. It's expensive, the offerings aren't that great, and it takes up some space that was previously available to people who weren't paying the charge.

From a corporate perspective, it's an easy way to make some extra cash with minimal investment, and therefore is a smart decision. From a customer perspective, most people aren't invested enough to care about the issue one way or another, and those that are will have opinions that vary based mostly on whether they want the experience or not.

If they run this properly this change should have virtually no impact on most people who don’t have severe dog allergies or a phobia. The biggest assumption is that they will segregate the dog rooms. As long as that happens it’s not going to be a problem.

 

[njDizFan]

Except your basis for the claim is a TV show that is about individuals who have difficulty training their pet which as a source is biased as often these style of shows involve scripting and harsh editing to make things more dramatic and theatrical to entice viewership. I'm sure the dogs on that show are hardly an accurate representation of the 78 million dogs that can be found in 44% of the homes in America.

That's like saying most parents can't raise their kids and have little to no control over their kids based on watching a show like "Supernanny" and should not be allowed to parent a child without proper training.

Based on your logic I should expect to be attacked by a misbehaving child as much as I should a dog when using Reality TV as a sample spread of the average American Household.

No to put words in anybody's mouth but...I think the OPs intent was not to showcase the average behavior of a dog from that show(we all should know reality TV is "scripted" for dramatic reason). Just referencing a specific well know trainer. Who trains the dog is superlative to the message. The message is that many dog owners may think their animal is well behaved but if they have to yank on their leash to avoid runaway situations or barking, jumping, licking may be considered a friendly gesture by the dog owner but may be abhorrent to someone else.

 

[jaklgreen]

Except your basis for the claim is a TV show that is about individuals who have difficulty training their pet which as a source is biased as often these style of shows involve scripting and harsh editing to make things more dramatic and theatrical to entice viewership. I'm sure the dogs on that show are hardly an accurate representation of the 78 million dogs that can be found in 44% of the homes in America.

That's like saying most parents can't raise their kids and have little to no control over their kids based on watching a show like "Supernanny" and should not be allowed to parent a child without proper training.

Based on your logic I should expect to be attacked by a misbehaving child as much as I should a dog when using Reality TV as a sample spread of the average American Household.

You can not compare children with dogs. Second, even taking away any show about how dogs and people, my own experience on this planet for over 4 decades has shown me that most people have no idea on how to handle a dog. No dog should ever get out of the control of their human, if they did then the human failed in their responsibility.

 

[Hockey89]

Children are human beings. Dogs are animals.

True... I like dogs better....

 

[GoofGoof]

True... I like dogs better....

Me too...don’t tell my kids

 

[larryz]

Me too...don’t tell my kids

You better hope they never find out why you got them a dog...

 

[tnemgif]

I just called to try to change resorts for an April trip, currently booked for three rooms at POR. There were no options within our hotel bracket, so we were offered to either downgrade to All-Star/Pop, or pay an additional 1300 per room for Beach Club (Old Key West was available for a little less, but we strongly dislike that hotel). We put in a request to stay in a room that hasn't housed a pet, but it doesn't seem guaranteed. Customer Service seemed just as surprised/unsure of the policy. They were very helpful and friendly, but it's indisputably surprising that Disney isn't offering some sort of contingency plan to guests affected by this.
I break out in hives when I'm in close contact with pet dander, so I'm just trying to avoid oozing during my vacation (or overdosed on Claritin all week). And some members of my party don't handle animals well. This isn't about being angry over the policy, just trying to make our vacation actually enjoyable.

 

[21stamps]

I just called to try to change resorts for an April trip, currently booked for three rooms at POR. There were no options within our hotel bracket, so we were offered to either downgrade to All-Star/Pop, or pay an additional 1300 per room for Beach Club (Old Key West was available for a little less, but we strongly dislike that hotel). We put in a request to stay in a room that hasn't housed a pet, but it doesn't seem guaranteed. Customer Service seemed just as surprised/unsure of the policy. They were very helpful and friendly, but it's indisputably surprising that Disney isn't offering some sort of contingency plan to guests affected by this.
I break out in hives when I'm in close contact with pet dander, so I'm just trying to avoid oozing during my vacation (or overdosed on Claritin all week). And some members of my party don't handle animals well. This isn't about being angry over the policy, just trying to make our vacation actually enjoyable.

Can you request top floor? That should guarantee it, based on what has been posted.

 

[jaklgreen]

I just called to try to change resorts for an April trip, currently booked for three rooms at POR. There were no options within our hotel bracket, so we were offered to either downgrade to All-Star/Pop, or pay an additional 1300 per room for Beach Club (Old Key West was available for a little less, but we strongly dislike that hotel). We put in a request to stay in a room that hasn't housed a pet, but it doesn't seem guaranteed. Customer Service seemed just as surprised/unsure of the policy. They were very helpful and friendly, but it's indisputably surprising that Disney isn't offering some sort of contingency plan to guests affected by this.
I break out in hives when I'm in close contact with pet dander, so I'm just trying to avoid oozing during my vacation (or overdosed on Claritin all week). And some members of my party don't handle animals well. This isn't about being angry over the policy, just trying to make our vacation actually enjoyable.

I don't think anyone needs to justify why they do not want to stay somewhere that allows all types of dogs in any room. Especially since they just sprung this on everyone and now so many have no options to change to a resort that is similar. They should be upgrading you for free since they can not guarantee a room that has not housed a dog recently. I personally do not want to be at a resort where people are walking around with their dogs(I have no issue with well trained service dogs). I can't stand the smell of dog poop, makes me gag. Our old neighbors were horrible dog owners that obviously did not give a crap about their dogs. They bred them every year to sell the pups and they would only pick up the dog poop maybe once every few weeks. Not only that they did not train them at all and the stupid dogs would bark at us non stop whenever we went outside in our back yard. Our kids could not play out there half the time because they would leave them out all day when they were at work. We had to move.

 

[21stamps]

I don't think anyone needs to justify why they do not want to stay somewhere that allows all types of dogs in any room. Especially since they just sprung this on everyone and now so many have no options to change to a resort that is similar. They should be upgrading you for free since they can not guarantee a room that has not housed a dog recently. I personally do not want to be at a resort where people are walking around with their dogs(I have no issue with well trained service dogs). I can't stand the smell of dog poop, makes me gag. Our old neighbors were horrible dog owner that obviously did not give a crap about their dogs. They bread them every year to sell the pups and they would only pick up the dog poop maybe once every few weeks. Not only that they did not train them at all and the stupid dogs would bark at us non stop whenever we went outside in our back yard. Our kids could not play out there half the time because they would leave them out all day when they were at work. We had to move.

When did Disney say that dogs will be in all rooms?

And seriously, it must be difficult for you to go anywhere besides Disney World.
I knew the “entitles upgrades” would come out sooner than later.

 

[jaklgreen]

When did Disney say that dogs will be in all rooms?

And seriously, it must be difficult for you to go anywhere besides Disney World.
I knew the “entitles upgrades” would come out sooner than later.

We don't really know what rooms they will be in do we? It seems that every time someone asks then they get a different response. First it was certain wings and rooms, then at POR it is only standard or garden view rooms on the first floor, then we heard on any floor. If they assign someone a room and they show up with a dog and the rest of the resort is sold out, then they will be put in whatever room they were assigned in the first place. Disney does not guarantee that you will absolutely be in a room that has not housed a dog only that they will try and they plan to do a better job cleaning it. Not to mention running into a dog walking around the resort. And it is not an "entitlement" to expect to have what you booked. Since they gave no warning about this then that is Disney's bad and they should do what they can to make the guest happy. That is basic customer service. If you don't get what you bargained for then you should not be forced to down grade. I am sure you would love that if it happened to you.

 

[tnemgif]

Can you request top floor? That should guarantee it, based on what has been posted.

Thanks - I didn't know that! I'll give it a shot.

When living with my ex, his cat ate a special salmon oil diet that seemed to keep my allergies at bay. We always joked that I should try eating cat food to 'cure' me.
So maybe I'll bring along some cans of Friskies just in case... Drastic times, ya know?

 

[disneygeek90]

We don't really know what rooms they will be in do we? It seems that every time someone asks then they get a different response. First it was certain wings and rooms, then at POR it is only standard or garden view rooms on the first floor, then we heard on any floor. If they assign someone a room and they show up with a dog and the rest of the resort is sold out, then they will be put in whatever room they were assigned in the first place. Disney does not guarantee that you will absolutely be in a room that has not housed a dog only that they will try and they plan to do a better job cleaning it. Not to mention running into a dog walking around the resort. And it is not an "entitlement" to expect to have what you booked. Since they gave no warning about this then that is Disney's bad and they should do what they can to make the guest happy. That is basic customer service. If you don't get what you bargained for then you should not be forced to down grade. I am sure you would love that if it happened to you.

Some on this board are continuing to struggle to realize that just because dogs in the hotel are not a big deal to them, doesn't mean it's not a big deal to others.

 

[21stamps]

Thanks - I didn't know that! I'll give it a shot.

When living with my ex, his cat ate a special salmon oil diet that seemed to keep my allergies at bay. We always joked that I should try eating cat food to 'cure' me.
So maybe I'll bring along some cans of Friskies just in case... Drastic times, ya know?

Lol! I put salmon oil on my dog’s food every day too, for the hair benefits

I thought someone had posted an official statement from Disney, saying that it would be ground floors or certain areas only.. this is a huge thread, and I don’t want to be wrong in your case.. but I’ll try to think on who posted it. Or maybe they’ll see this.

 

[JenniferS]

Some on this board are continuing to struggle to realize that just because dogs in the hotel are not a big deal to them, doesn't mean it's not a big deal to others.

Some more than others. Same as in every other thread that she takes over.

 

[EOD K9]

leash-pops to gain compliance from dogs is not as effective as positive reward training where the dog voluntarily performs the behaviors requested. Training done with positive techniques produces more durable results too.

I've been handling police dogs for fourteen years. We always try to use rewards over compliance....however, sometimes a good lead-pop works wonders.

 

[GoofGoof]

When did Disney say that dogs will be in all rooms?

And seriously, it must be difficult for you to go anywhere besides Disney World.
I knew the “entitles upgrades” would come out sooner than later.

If you read what @drumbum67 wrote they said the person on the phone was unsure of the policy and couldn’t guarantee the rooms would be dog free. There are also going to be dogs in the lobby and shops and around the rest of the resort too which may cause a problem.

This isn’t asking for an upgrade it’s asking Disney to honor the reservation that the person made. When the reservation was booked the resort was dog free. It’s very easy for them to see that the reservation was booked before the policy change. Anyone with an existing reservation who requests a move to another resort because of this policy should be accommodated with an equal or higher level room free of charge. Going forward if you book at the resort you are taking the risk of running into dogs. Book at your own risk.