4 Walt Disney World Resorts to accept dogs

[21stamps]

The one difference I see between Disney and Most high end hotels and resorts is that Disney will allow the dogs to be left unattended in the room all day (or per the rules at least for 7 hours which is completely unenforceable). Most hotel chains I have seen with pet friendly rooms state that the dogs cannot be left unattended in the room. This includes Lowe’s hotels at Universal. I imagine most dog owners would make every effort to curb the dog’s barking while they are in the room, but if you are out for hours how do you know if the dog is barking or not. I get that some special snowflakes never bark but they are the exception and you can’t make rules based on one person’s super well behaved dog.

More than likely most pets who travel with their owners on a regular basis aren’t dogs who bark Non-stop, if they were then they wouldn’t travel regularly. Kinda makes sense, doesn’t it?

 

[GoofGoof]

I guess we could start designating certain sidewalks as “pet owner only” and “no pets” as well.. put police and security dogs in costumes to make people feel less afraid at the sight of the dog...tell every other hotel which already accepts dogs, that they should build a new structure for the dog families.

I’m joking of course.. but people’s fears and imagination are going so high right now. The world doesn’t need to change because a minority of people may need therapy for dog phobias, or have a lack of understanding on actual time between potty breaks for dogs when left alone.

My thoughts on why this is probably shocking to the people freaking out here-
You’ve never noticed a dog across, in front, or behind you on a plane.
You’ve never noticed a dog in the same hotel as you.
But at some point during your travels, there probably was, more than once...and they weren’t the monsters being fantasized about here, so you didn’t notice them.

You don’t see the irony here do you? You are poking fun at people with a phobia and saying the world doesn’t need to change because of a minority of people while this change is being made for a minority of people who want to bring their dog to WDW.

 

[GoofGoof]

More than likely most pets who travel with their owners on a regular basis aren’t dogs who bark Non-stop, if they were then they wouldn’t travel regularly. Kinda makes sense, doesn’t it?

I get that’s your dog, but not all dogs are the same. Why do other chains ban people from leaving their dogs unattended? There has to be a reason, right?

 

[21stamps]

You don’t see the irony here do you? You are poking fun at people with a phobia and saying the world doesn’t need to change because of a minority of people while this change is being made for a minority of people who want to bring their dog to WDW.

Disney is following the industry. Not doing anything radical. And they are providing a small amount of rooms for the change.. not resort wide. The reactions from a minority of people with phobias.. complaints before it ever starts, are completely over the top. Avoid those 4 hotels if you’re that scared.

I get that’s your dog, but not all dogs are the same. Why do other chains ban people from leaving their dogs unattended? There has to be a reason, right?

Not quite sure where the “snowflake” that you’re repeatedly using comes into play, I think maybe mixed up terminology? Anyway, if it was just my dog who was comfortable or quiet when traveling, then I’d say I have some super special canine. But while he is super-special to me, I realize that he’s not some prodigy. I realize this because most dogs we meet when on planes and hotels are just as well behaved.

Do you guys think dogs are never left alone? Do you think anyone would have a dog if all they did was pee and poop all over the house and destroy furniture while barking the entire time?lol

 

[cslafferty]

Too some their dog is as much a part of the family as anyone else, ok I get it.

I’m one of those people. I have 3 dogs and they are our “kids.” BUT, I think this is a HORRIBLE idea! Allergies, noise, mess . . . but I’m also thinking about the dogs. We are at the parks from opening to closing, with maybe a short nap break in the middle of the day. It’s not fair to the dogs to leave them locked up all that time. I hope this is an unpopular trial, and Disney changes their mind on this one.

 

[networkpro]

We can all agree to say "this is new" and "it's a change". Past that it's going to devolve rather rapidly into personal opinion and desires. So unless you're a major shareholder, your posts impact will be to consume seconds you'll never get back.

 

[cslafferty]

It sounds like people think dogs are vicious, smelly animals that bark all night from reading these comments. LOL... Our dogs are treated like royalty (better than some people), don't smell, sleep in bed with us (I know some people think that's appalling), are polite and definitely don't bark at night. I think for the responsible dog lover it's a great idea. Dogs are a part of the family, so why not have the option to bring them along. Disney must have had a lot of requests to test this. Their choice of hotels are interesting as well.

But how dogs behave at home is WAY different than how they behave in a strange environment with strange noises, especially if you’re at the parks all day and all evening. Our dogs are treated like members of the family, and sleep in bed with us, too, but I would NEVER think to bring them to Disney with us and leave them locked up all that time. Not fair to them.

 

[Incomudro]

The dogs in my mind have never been the problem It's how the resorts are managed and its the obvious corner cutting on Mousekeeping which concerns me the most WRT to Dogs at the resort.

If I had done this I would have created a fixed block of 'pet friendly' rooms with pet resistant surfaces as well as adding 'doggie day care' facilities to the resort so the Dogs could enjoy their stay as much as the humans which as a side benefit helps maintain room quality.

Indeed, and I wouldn't have a problem with that.

 

[Incomudro]

The one difference I see between Disney and Most high end hotels and resorts is that Disney will allow the dogs to be left unattended in the room all day (or per the rules at least for 7 hours which is completely unenforceable). Most hotel chains I have seen with pet friendly rooms state that the dogs cannot be left unattended in the room. This includes Lowe’s hotels at Universal. I imagine most dog owners would make every effort to curb the dog’s barking while they are in the room, but if you are out for hours how do you know if the dog is barking or not. I get that some special snowflakes never bark but they are the exception and you can’t make rules based on one person’s super well behaved dog.

I've lived near more than one house on more than one street over the years, where the owners dog or dogs literally howled much of the day while the owners were out.

 

[GoofGoof]

Disney is following the industry. Not doing anything radical. And they are providing a small amount of rooms for the change.. not resort wide. The reactions from a minority of people with phobias.. complaints before it ever starts, are completely over the top. Avoid those 4 hotels if you’re that scared.

I agree with this. It’s pretty common these days. I stated before that I had no problem with the concept and even look forward to meeting a few dogs if I happen to be at some of those resorts. My only issues are with the execution of the plan. I think it’s a mistake to allow dogs unattended in the rooms. Many hotel chains don’t allow this and there’s a good reason for it. If dogs are regular travelers it’s unlikely that they are accustomed to being left in the room for 7 hours at a time because a lot of dog friendly hotels would not allow that. It also makes for a lot of unnecessary potential conflicts. How many times does the dog need to bark before the owner is contacted? How do you enforce the 7 hour rule?

As far as the people with phobias go, I guess I just have a little more empathy. I love dogs and couldn’t imagine being afraid of them myself but that doesn’t make it any less real for those people. In this thread the majority of the people who stated they had phobias seemed to be pretty level headed and not over the top. The main complaint was not having enough notice to avoid those 4 hotels which I think is completely valid.

Do you guys think dogs are never left alone? Do you think anyone would have a dog if all they did was pee and poop all over the house and destroy furniture while barking the entire time?lol

I know dogs are left home alone all the time. I’ve had dogs most of my life and they always stayed home with only a small number of incidents. The difference is that’s at home in their environment. Most dogs tend to be good travelers as long as they are with their family. They usually enjoy new experience and new places to explore. In my experience it only takes a day or even less for them to acclimate to a new environment. I do think it’s a different story when you take a dog to a new environment like a hotel and then leave for a day at the parks. Being left alone in an unfamiliar place is not common for most dogs. That’s where I think this plan falls apart. A dog that’s well behaved most of the time may get anxious if they are left for a long period of time in an unfamiliar hotel room especially when there is a lot of noise coming from outside the door as people (especially kids) walk by the room on their way to the parks.

 

[SpoiledBlueMilk]

Im just gonna say this, why not build an pet friendly hotel only for pet owners with their pets to stay at.. I mean i know it wont work that way.

I generally dont like the idea, housekeeping cant find where the owners pet has soiled the carpets and such and would require alot of cleaning, but again if its based apart from the regular rooms ill be fine with it.

My guess is that a pet-only resort wouldn't drive 100% occupancy - or close to 90% on a regular basis so it's a nonstarter.

On the second point, I bet the reaction would be the same to the messes some family's little "prince" or "princess" leaves behind.

 

[Incomudro]

My guess is that a pet-only resort wouldn't drive 100% occupancy - or close to 90% on a regular basis so it's a nonstarter.

On the second point, I bet the reaction would be the same to the messes some family's little "prince" or "princess" leaves behind.

Build it and have Weather Tech line it with mats.
Just hose the whole place out when needed.
Sound proof it too.

 

[mikejs78]

As someone who is against this policy, I think there are ways that it could have been done to minimize most of the complaints and still try out the policy.

• Announce the policy and that it will go into effect one year from now. This gives *everyone* time to adjust plans if necessary. And of all the items on the list, this is probably the most important.
• Make it clear that there is a certain section of each resort dedicated to dogs, and as someone else suggested, retrofit them with pet-friendly surfaces and increased soundproofing.
• Make the policy apply to fewer resorts - FW and one other, either AoA or POR.
  
• Require that dogs could not be left in the room alone for more than 30 minutes. Offer a "Magical doggy-sitter" service and Doggie Day Care Kennel to care for dogs when their owners are at the parks.

Alternatively, rather than doing this at all, since Disney is all about building new resorts these days, how about a resort built for families with pets from day 1, with doggie play areas, activities, etc...

I think if the above were done, there would be a lot fewer complaints from all of us.

 

[rnese]

Human beings are also animals.

And mammals...

 

[GoofGoof]

My guess is that a pet-only resort wouldn't drive 100% occupancy - or close to 90% on a regular basis so it's a nonstarter.

On the second point, I bet the reaction would be the same to the messes some family's little "prince" or "princess" leaves behind.

You are probably right that it would be hard to fill a Disney sized hotel. Maybe it could be a smaller boutique style hotel. They are looking to fill out the Flamingo Crossing area. Maybe use some of the land for a small dog park and a hotel. It could still have a shuttle to the parks and other Disney type amenities.

 

[GoofGoof]

As someone who is against this policy, I think there are ways that it could have been done to minimize most of the complaints and still try out the policy.

• Announce the policy and that it will go into effect one year from now. This gives *everyone* time to adjust plans if necessary. And of all the items on the list, this is probably the most important.
• Make it clear that there is a certain section of each resort dedicated to dogs, and as someone else suggested, retrofit them with pet-friendly surfaces and increased soundproofing.
• Make the policy apply to fewer resorts - FW and one other, either AoA or POR.
  
• Require that dogs could not be left in the room alone for more than 30 minutes. Offer a "Magical doggy-sitter" service and Doggie Day Care Kennel to care for dogs when their owners are at the parks.

Alternatively, rather than doing this at all, since Disney is all about building new resorts these days, how about a resort built for families with pets from day 1, with doggie play areas, activities, etc...

I think if the above were done, there would be a lot fewer complaints from all of us.

I agree with all of this.

I wonder if the timing wasn’t done to try to catch the second half of food and wine this year. That event attracts lots of locals who may be more flexible in travel plans. Otherwise, I would think people on both sides would be caught off guard by this. If you wanted to avoid dogs it may be too late to change now and guests who want to bring their dog but couldn’t before may already be booked elsewhere. It’s odd that they didn’t announce this with at least three to six months of lead time.

 

[fngoofy]

And this is different how from screaming/running children in the common areas and hallways all hours of the night ?

1) Because locking your kid in your room for 7 hours:
a) Ilegal
b) Most kids don't bark for hours while unattended for up to 7 hours
c) Most kids don't pee on the floor while unattended for up to 7 hours
d) There is no way to monitor or enforce the 7 hour rule
2) Most kids don't shed
3) Most kids are potty trained / use diapers
4) Most kids don't bite other people
5) Most kids don't leave a lingering smell
6) Most kids don't eat off the floor
7) Most kids (other than Jenny McCarthy's) are up to date on their shots (Disney is only requiring proof IF they ask, not at check in.)
8) Most kids don't bring and leave fleas in the room (that can then spread to other rooms
9) Most housekeeping staff won't be field stripping all the soft goods out of the room after a pet stay
10) Most kids don't drop a deuce on the sidewalk as you are walking by with your breakfast tray

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY

When I pay WDW levels of money I don't want to deal with Doctor Doolittle and his two dogs.
If I could talk to the animals I wouldn't, because they are flipping ANIMALS.

 

[larryz]

d) There is no way to monitor or enforce the 7 hour rule

You mean to tell me with all that technology and RFID and stuff, they can't see whether or not someone opened their hotel room door within the last 7 hours...?

 

[Andrew C]

You mean to tell me with all that technology and RFID and stuff, they can't see whether or not someone opened their hotel room door within the last 7 hours...?

All/Most hotels can...but I believe they have to read that information directly from the lock itself. Unless technology has changed and they can read this from a central location.

 

[Incomudro]

You mean to tell me with all that technology and RFID and stuff, they can't see whether or not someone opened their hotel room door within the last 7 hours...?

Do you actually think they are going to watch or monitor this?
Probably violates some privacy rights of sort.