4 Walt Disney World Resorts to accept dogs

[Chernaboggles]

I will say that leaving a dog in a hotel room for the entire day is the only downside to this, plus it's flat out horrible to the dog. I'm glad that Disney is giving the chance for dogs to be at the resorts, more chances for me to see adorable fluffiness!

It might help to remember that not everybody is a park warrior. Even without dogs, lots of people take breaks during their day, going into the parks for a few hours in the morning, then out for a rest in the afternoon, then back in for a few hours in the evening. There are a lot of ways to do a disney vacation and they don't all involve being out of the hotel room from dawn until midnight.

We travel with our large dog and usually stay in a pet-friendly rental house about 2 miles from the parks. We bring his crate, bed and toys so he has familiar things. We don't schedule anything for arrival nights, because he needs time to settle in. During the trip, we walk him or go to a dog park in the early morning, then hit the parks for about 4 or 5 hours, coming out around noon or 1. Then back to the house for a long break, walk the dog again, rest or shower, read a book, whatever. Give the dog dinner, take him out. Back to the parks around 6, stay until fireworks, then back to the house. Walk the dog again before going to bed. If we want to catch an afternoon parade or stay late for MNSSHP or MVMCP, we adjust the schedule accordingly. It may not sound like a vacation to you, but we enjoy it. We like having the dog along, we like the slower pace and we don't consider it an imposition to schedule around him.

That said, while everybody here seems to think all owners are desperate to dump their dogs in the rooms and go out all day, I'd be very nervous about leaving him alone in a hotel room. He'd be fine, but at a rental house, we control access. That's not true at hotels, where staff can enter rooms at will. It's not unheard of for front desk agents to accidentally give someone an occupied room, or for someone to pull off the "do not disturb, dog inside" sign as a joke. A crated dog is helpless if someone wants to mess with him or throw something in. There's also the possibility of theft: dog theft is a sad reality, especially if you have a friendly dog of a popular breed. Regular hotel theft (of laptops and so on) happens all the time. I do not want to be the one freak occasion where someone's dog got stolen out of a disney hotel. We'd send him to daycare and just have him with us at night.

I think our brand of crazy is fairly typical of peole who who travel with dogs and do play by the rules (no fake service dogs). If Disney is smart they'll work with Best Friends and offer a daycare discount...

...and if they're REALLY smart they'll put a pic of a sad, lonely looking dog alone in the hotel room on a flyer with the Best Friends number and have Sarah McLachlan's "In the Arms of an Angel" play whenever you try to leave the room without the dog.

 

[21stamps]

I’m sure your snowflake dogs don’t smell and have saliva that cures cancer.

Fur that has gotten wet smells. The moisture allows bacteria to grow. Like in those daily FL pop up t storms that appear out of nowhere.

Humans also smell, but we bathe more often, wear deodorant and perfume/cologne to mask it.

I'll try to explain again, some dogs don't have fur.. or undercoats. And are not prone to smelling when wet.
Dogs who do have fur and are prone to the wet dog smell can also be bathed, or even a much simpler while traveling option- dried, brushed and a conditioner sprayed on.

I think your chances of being next to a stinky dog at WDW are probably less than being next to a stinky human.lol

 

[GoofGoof]

Dogs won’t be in the room all day. That’s a cat.

Practically all day. According to the rules no more than 7 hours at a time but how are they going to enforce that? There is nothing for a dog to do at WDW. There’s only several small areas reserved for them to do their business but they aren’t allowed in the parks or common areas of the resort. Having dog relief areas also implies to me that you are only allowed to walk the dogs in those areas and not in other common areas or on other paths. If that’s enforced then no long walks with the dog through the Resort. No circling the lake from Yacht Club passing Boardwalk and Beach Club. You are basically allowed to keep the dog in the room and walk it in the relief areas and that is it. Either people will break the rules and take their dogs all over the resort anyway or the dogs will mostly be locked in the room all day with a few bathrooms breaks.

 

[MuteSuperstar]

Yes and do we really believe that people who are at MK all day and then maybe have sunk another 5 or 600 bucks on an After Hours event are going to come back midday just to walk their dogs? Some? Sure. All? No way.

 

[Chernaboggles]

How much does it cost to board the dog at a kennel? If you have a dog and no family or friends willing to watch it the $50 isn’t a bad price.

Usual costs are between $30-$50/night for full boarding at a nice kennel or at someone else's home. If you want a dog-sitter to stay at your own home so the dog isn't boarded, it's more, our guy charges $70/night for home stays.

By contrast, Marriott charges $100 for the entire stay to have a pet in the room. I think Hilton is $75/stay, but they often have weight restrictions (under 50lbs). Hotels that do nightly fees are usually lower, between $20-$40. Sometimes if you speak to a manager and offer proof of good behavior (such as a Canine Good Citizen certificate or video of the dog obeying complex commands) they will waive the fees, or even accept a pet dog when they usually do not take them.

Savvy dog travelers carry vaccination records, municipal dog license, rabies tags & proof of flea & tick preventative on them at all times, as hotels may ask for any or all of the above.

 

[GoofGoof]

It might help to remember that not everybody is a park warrior. Even without dogs, lots of people take breaks during their day, going into the parks for a few hours in the morning, then out for a rest in the afternoon, then back in for a few hours in the evening. There are a lot of ways to do a disney vacation and they don't all involve being out of the hotel room from dawn until midnight.

We travel with our large dog and usually stay in a pet-friendly rental house about 2 miles from the parks. We bring his crate, bed and toys so he has familiar things. We don't schedule anything for arrival nights, because he needs time to settle in. During the trip, we walk him or go to a dog park in the early morning, then hit the parks for about 4 or 5 hours, coming out around noon or 1. Then back to the house for a long break, walk the dog again, rest or shower, read a book, whatever. Give the dog dinner, take him out. Back to the parks around 6, stay until fireworks, then back to the house. Walk the dog again before going to bed. If we want to catch an afternoon parade or stay late for MNSSHP or MVMCP, we adjust the schedule accordingly. It may not sound like a vacation to you, but we enjoy it. We like having the dog along, we like the slower pace and we don't consider it an imposition to schedule around him.

That said, while everybody here seems to think all owners are desperate to dump their dogs in the rooms and go out all day, I'd be very nervous about leaving him alone in a hotel room. He'd be fine, but at a rental house, we control access. That's not true at hotels, where staff can enter rooms at will. It's not unheard of for front desk agents to accidentally give someone an occupied room, or for someone to pull off the "do not disturb, dog inside" sign as a joke. A crated dog is helpless if someone wants to mess with him or throw something in. There's also the possibility of theft: dog theft is a sad reality, especially if you have a friendly dog of a popular breed. Regular hotel theft (of laptops and so on) happens all the time. I do not want to be the one freak occasion where someone's dog got stolen out of a disney hotel. We'd send him to daycare and just have him with us at night.

I think our brand of crazy is fairly typical of peole who who travel with dogs and do play by the rules (no fake service dogs). If Disney is smart they'll work with Best Friends and offer a daycare discount...

...and if they're REALLY smart they'll put a pic of a sad, lonely looking dog alone in the hotel room on a flyer with the Best Friends number and have Sarah McLachlan's "In the Arms of an Angel" play whenever you try to leave the room without the dog.

I think the doggy daycare discount option is a really good idea. If you drive to the resort you could always drive your dog somewhere off property to a dog park or some other area for entertainment but for anyone who flies and doesn’t have a rental car the dog is trapped.

I do think a large number of dog owners would do exactly what you describe above, but there will still be some that leave the dog for most of the day while they enjoy themselves.

 

[GoofGoof]

Usual costs are between $30-$50/night for full boarding at a nice kennel or at someone else's home. If you want a dog-sitter to stay at your own home so the dog isn't boarded, it's more, our guy charges $70/night for home stays.

By contrast, Marriott charges $100 for the entire stay to have a pet in the room. I think Hilton is $75/stay, but they often have weight restrictions (under 50lbs). Hotels that do nightly fees are usually lower, between $20-$40. Sometimes if you speak to a manager and offer proof of good behavior (such as a Canine Good Citizen certificate or video of the dog obeying complex commands) they will waive the fees, or even accept a pet dog when they usually do not take them.

Savvy dog travelers carry vaccination records, municipal dog license, rabies tags & proof of flea & tick preventative on them at all times, as hotels may ask for any or all of the above.

So the $50 is in line with other option but on the high end which is not surprising, this is Disney where all prices are on the high end.

 

[Chernaboggles]

I think the doggy daycare discount option is a really good idea. If you drive to the resort you could always drive your dog somewhere off property to a dog park or some other area for entertainment but for anyone who flies and doesn’t have a rental car the dog is trapped.

I do think a large number of dog owners would do exactly what you describe above, but there will still be some that leave the dog for most of the day while they enjoy themselves.

I agree, but I think most of those people are the same folks who'd just call their pets "service dogs" to avoid a fee. There's no way to avoid unscrupulous, rude people at Disney, there's tens of thousands of people everywhere you go. Some will always be folks who abuse GAC, ram people with scooters, leave messes everywhere, fake service dogs, let their babies cry all night, wear big hats at shows, and all the rest of the things that we complain about in "bad disney guest" threads.

I think this change will mostly bring in dogs with responsible owners who have always wanted to have their dog along but weren't willing to break the rules, rather than more dogs owned by irresponsible jerks. The jerks were already there to begin with. It will probably mean a few more visible dogs around those 4 resorts, but probably not a lot of extra trouble.

 

[Chernaboggles]

So the $50 is in line with other option but on the high end which is not surprising, this is Disney where all prices are on the high end.

Correct. Unless you fake a service dog (and those people will do what they do regardless of what rules are in place), it's really much more trouble and expense to bring the dog than to board him. Especially if you fly, which adds more fees.

 

[eliza61nyc]

Dogs won’t be in the room all day. That’s a cat.

sorry, if a family gets to the park at 9 am and doesn't get back until dinner or worst until park closes, that most definitely is ALL DAY.

 

[GoofGoof]

I agree, but I think most of those people are the same folks who'd just call their pets "service dogs" to avoid a fee. There's no way to avoid unscrupulous, rude people at Disney, there's tens of thousands of people everywhere you go. Some will always be folks who abuse GAC, ram people with scooters, leave messes everywhere, fake service dogs, let their babies cry all night, wear big hats at shows, and all the rest of the things that we complain about in "bad disney guest" threads.

I think this change will mostly bring in dogs with responsible owners who have always wanted to have their dog along but weren't willing to break the rules, rather than more dogs owned by irresponsible jerks. The jerks were already there to begin with. It will probably mean a few more visible dogs around those 4 resorts, but probably not a lot of extra trouble.

I hope you are right and I do tend to give people the benefit of the doubt. I do think it’s going to be tempting to take the dogs outside of the relief zones. They seem a bit limited especially for a dog that just spent a bunch of time in a room and people can easily justify it since it’s just an outdoor path.

 

[Chernaboggles]

I hope you are right and I do tend to give people the benefit of the doubt. I do think it’s going to be tempting to take the dogs outside of the relief zones. They seem a bit limited especially for a dog that just spent a bunch of time in a room and people can easily justify it since it’s just an outdoor path.

This one I agree with. If a hotel allows dogs, designating a "dog relief" area and expecting guest dogs only to use that area is unrealistic. To most people, outside is outside, and it's not like the area is sterile to begin with, since Florida has wildlife around. It'll be like smokers - most rule-abiding people will use designated areas, and some won't see why they should have to, as long as they're outside.

 

[ToTBellHop]

sorry, if a family gets to the park at 9 am and doesn't get back until dinner or worst until park closes, that most definitely is ALL DAY.

The policy is 7 hours. There will be a staff member watching each dog ensuring that a human returns by 6 hrs 59 min. If not, Fastpasses automatically cancel.

 

[GoofGoof]

This one I agree with. If a hotel allows dogs, designating a "dog relief" area and expecting guest dogs only to use that area is unrealistic. To most people, outside is outside, and it's not like the area is sterile to begin with, since Florida has wildlife around. It'll be like smokers - most rule-abiding people will use designated areas, and some won't see why they should have to, as long as they're outside.

To be honest, if I was at Yacht Club with my dog I would be really tempted to take that nice long walk around the lake and then stop at the pool bar area for a drink or lunch. The dog could just sit by my feet at the outdoor table. The rules clearly state that only service dogs are allowed in food and beverage locations or other public guest areas but I agree that people will look at outdoor guest areas as OK.

I also don’t know why they specify that dogs cannot be on furniture in public areas in bullet point 3 but then in the 9th bullet point say that only service animals are allowed in public guest areas. If you can’t have your pet dog in a public guest area what is the point of bullet point 3. I think it will confuse people. If I read #3 it implies to me I can have my dog in public areas as long as they don’t go on furniture but then number 9 says no pets in public guest areas. I think it will lead to a lot of questions.

 

[Chernaboggles]

The policy is 7 hours. There will be a staff member watching each dog ensuring that a human returns by 6 hrs 59 min. If not, Fastpasses automatically cancel.

And the voice that does the stretching room at Haunted Mansion comes over the loudspeakers and booms: "MR AND MRS DOG PARENT, YOUR DOG HAS BEEN ALL ALONE FOR 6 HOURS AND FIFTY-NINE MINUTES! COME BACK TO THE ROOM NOW, PLEASE."

 

[GoofGoof]

The policy is 7 hours. There will be a staff member watching each dog ensuring that a human returns by 6 hrs 59 min. If not, Fastpasses automatically cancel.

The dogs will be issued magic bands too. They just let themselves out to use the relief area and use the band to get back into their room

 

[ToTBellHop]

How will the dogs feel nightly at 9 pm being 1/4 mile from World Showcase Lagoon?

 

[Chernaboggles]

The dogs will be issued magic bands too. They just let themselves out to use the relief area and use the band to get back into their room

Owners can go on MyDisneyExperience to schedule bathroom breaks for their dog.
We shall call these: "FAST PAWSES"

 

[GoofGoof]

How will the dogs feel nightly at 9 pm being 1/4 mile from World Showcase Lagoon?

That’s probably when the furniture has the best chance to be soiled. Alone, freightened and the rules clearly state they must remain silent at all times in the room.

 

[ToTBellHop]

That’s probably when the furniture has the best chance to be soiled. Alone, freightened and the rules clearly state they must remain silent at all times in the room.

It should be especially smelly during the Peace on Earth weeks. They’ll need a campaign to tell guests to make sure Fido “Pees on Earth” during “Peace on Earth”.