4 Walt Disney World Resorts to accept dogs

[Chernaboggles]

What about mini Highland cows?

I had to look those up. THOSE ARE ADORABLE. Not service animals, to my knowledge, but gosh darn are they cute!

 

[David L.]

You might have a point if there were no other options.

There are far more Disney hotels with no pets than there are with pets. Therefore, you have no legitimate gripe. If pets bother you for any reason, real or imagined, don't stay at either of the four hotels testing the new pet policy.

There is no need for whining and crying and victimhood here.

 

[David L.]

To all those who say do not book at these resorts, we made our reservations months ago. Why should we change our plans.

 

[21stamps]

Mine would bark a decent amount, especially in his younger years. When we moved houses he was a nervous wreck when we left for a couple weeks. You know, being left alone in an unfamiliar area

Moving was rough for my dog, but our change was a lot more than an address. Never stressed at traveling, but had to go on doggie holistic-Prozac after our move...not because of barking, he started biting his paws. I only kept him on the supposed holitistic meds for a week because it made him lethargic..took him off the “holistic” meds and then realized (at the vet) that he Now had allergies.. and I did too. Fun times.


Most of the “unfamiliar” stuff that people keep talking about is coming from people without dogs, or who don’t travel with dogs. I can’t reiterate that enough.
I never trained my dog how to “play dead” or to high five.. but he knows exactly what to do when we’re going on a plane, or to a coffee shop, or to a hotel, he knows not to bark unless he needs something- out, food, water, a dropped rawhide...and it’s just a small “I need your help, mom” half bark.. not some repeated barking....dogs are a lot smarter than people are giving them credit for.

 

[disneygeek90]

Moving was rough for my dog, but our change was a lot more than an address. Never stressed at traveling, but had to go on doggie holistic-Prozac after our move...not because of barking, he started biting his paws. I only kept him on the supposed holitistic meds for a week because it made him lethargic..took him off the “holistic” meds and then realized (at the vet) that he Now had allergies.. and I did too. Fun times.


Most of the “unfamiliar” stuff that people keep talking about is coming from people without dogs, or who don’t travel with dogs. I can’t reiterate that enough.
I never trained my dog how to “play dead” or to high five.. but he knows exactly what to do when we’re going on a plane, or to a coffee shop, or to a hotel, he knows not to bark unless he needs something- out, food, water, a dropped rawhide..dogs are a lot smarter than people are giving them credit for.

We moved from Ohio to Florida so he was confused to say the least. That was the longest car ride he'd ever been a part of. Though he did not miss the snow, hated it.

 

[GoofGoof]

To all those who say do not book at these resorts, we made our reservations months ago. Why should we change our plans.

This is a completely valid complaint. One of my biggest issues with this plan is the haste with which it was rolled out. They should have given at least 6 months lead time.

 

[21stamps]

We moved from Ohio to Florida so he was confused to say the least. That was the longest car ride he'd ever been a part of. Though he did not miss the snow, hated it.

We did the exact opposite. The cold freaked him out.. and apparently this area has the highest allergen content in the world. Never had allergies in my life until age 36...me and my dog we’re both miserable at first. He still is miserable in the winter. He has hats, sweaters, a coat..still hates being outside if it’s very cold. I don’t think he’ll ever forgive me.lol

 

[disneygeek90]

We did the exact opposite. The cold freaked him out.. and apparently this area has the highest allergen content in the world. Never had allergies in my life until age 36...me and my dog we’re both miserable at first. He still is miserable in the winter. He has hats, sweaters, a coat..still hates being outside if it’s very cold. I don’t think he’ll ever forgive me.lol

My dad used to "shovel" a path in the snow when he had to go out otherwise he wouldn't even be able to walk out there.

When you travel with your dog though aren't you usually with them the majority of the time? That's still the thing I question the most out of the whole process. WDW is an atmosphere where people admittedly spend time at hotels to "only sleep."

 

[GoofGoof]

Moving was rough for my dog, but our change was a lot more than an address. Never stressed at traveling, but had to go on doggie holistic-Prozac after our move...not because of barking, he started biting his paws. I only kept him on the supposed holitistic meds for a week because it made him lethargic..took him off the “holistic” meds and then realized (at the vet) that he Now had allergies.. and I did too. Fun times.


Most of the “unfamiliar” stuff that people keep talking about is coming from people without dogs, or who don’t travel with dogs. I can’t reiterate that enough.
I never trained my dog how to “play dead” or to high five.. but he knows exactly what to do when we’re going on a plane, or to a coffee shop, or to a hotel, he knows not to bark unless he needs something- out, food, water, a dropped rawhide...and it’s just a small “I need your help, mom” half bark.. not some repeated barking....dogs are a lot smarter than people are giving them credit for.

This is true for your dog and for most dogs that are accustomed to staying in hotels. The only issue is this policy doesn't restrict it to just well traveled dogs. I agree with your opinion that the vast majority of people taking advantage of this will be the people who take their dogs everywhere already, but all it takes is one or two people whose dogs don't travel much to cause a problem.

There is no way to restrict which dogs can come but I think the only practical reason to bring a dog that doesn't usually travel is to use this as a replacement for boarding the dog. Someone way back in this thread mentioned that it would cost them $100 a day to board their 2 dogs but this is only $50 so its a cost savings. Maybe not a very common scenario, but if dogs not accustomed to traveling are left in the room all day they are much more likely to make noise, rip things apart or have accidents. I still think the best way to avoid that scenario is to not allow unattended dogs in the room. This way only those serious about traveling with Fido will use the service because you would still have to pay to board the dog while you are at the parks. Problem solved.

 

[Chernaboggles]

When you travel with your dog though aren't you usually with them the majority of the time? That's still the thing I question the most out of the whole process. WDW is an atmosphere where people admittedly spend time at hotels to "only sleep."

We have no problem leaving our dog for about 6 hours at a stretch when we take him along on vacation. He adapts quickly to new environments because we've trained him to do so, his routine is the same no matter where we go.

That said, we don't leave him alone in hotels, only rentals/condos. For him there's no difference, for me there's a big one: at a hotel, other people can access the room, either on purupose (housekeeping) or by mistake (front desk accidentally assigns wrong room). Best case scenario, they leave immediately and the door locks behind them. Worst case? He gets out and is lost, gets hurt or gets stolen. Call me paranoid if you want, but no way am I taking that risk.

 

[21stamps]

My dad used to "shovel" a path in the snow when he had to go out otherwise he wouldn't even be able to walk out there.

When you travel with your dog though aren't you usually with them the majority of the time? That's still the thing I question the most out of the whole process. WDW is an atmosphere where people admittedly spend time at hotels to "only sleep."

No. I do leave him.. yes I’ve broken rules in “must be attended” hotels so I could go down and get a latte.
And I’ve stayed in several hotels that don’t have that rule and left him alone. The difference though, is that if he is alone it’s usually at dinner, sometimes a couple of hours in the afternoon, but always after a day or morning of being out and about, now completely tired.

This is where size of the dog comes into play as well. If I brought my dog to Disney I know that I could realistically take him on a morning walk, have room service and play with him in the room.. and he would be tired for a good 4-5 hours or even 7, completely content sleeping until we got back. Then we could do another walk, play.. have dinner in the room.. take him out again, and he would be ready for bed. Do I want to do that? Probably not, because there are a few days where we we stay at the parks longer.. the Day Care would work for those days.. but I don’t think I want to deal with the responsibility and added cost for a vacation where I can’t even bring my dog to breakfast, lunch, or dinner with us.

 

[englanddg]

Miniature horses acting as service animals are already allowed at WDW. From the relevant Guest Services page:

"At Walt Disney World theme parks and Resort hotels, a service animal is defined as any dog or miniature horse trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability."

I imagine there are many fewer fakes, though. Mini-horses are way more work and investment than dogs.

Ha! Probably!

They do that because ADA recognized them (if trained).

ADA does not recognize other species (outside of dogs or horses), or roles (like emotional support animals) as part of reasonable accommodation under II and III.

Anyhow, I just thought it would be an amusing injection.

Plus, they are cute!

 

[21stamps]

We have no problem leaving our dog for about 6 hours at a stretch when we take him along on vacation. He adapts quickly to new environments because we've trained him to do so, his routine is the same no matter where we go.

That said, we don't leave him alone in hotels, only rentals/condos. For him there's no difference, for me there's a big one: at a hotel, other people can access the room, either on purupose (housekeeping) or by mistake (front desk accidentally assigns wrong room). Best case scenario, they leave immediately and the door locks behind them. Worst case? He gets out and is lost, gets hurt or gets stolen. Call me paranoid if you want, but no way am I taking that risk.

I close mine in a bathroom with his bed. I don’t think he would bark if a housekeeper came in the room.. but I’m hoping he would bark if the tried to open the bathroom door, so they would know he was there and leave. So far I’ve been lucky and no one has come in when I’ve been out, to my knowledge anyway.

 

[righttrack]

Given the number of working animals already in and around the resorts, the idea of animals at the resorts have already been handled by Disney. The main issue here would be the rising of untrained pets and their owners who may lack the travel savvy to handle them. I imagine the main complaint will be excessive barking. Having a "pets section" of rooms sounds like a good idea. Otherwise, we are already here whether we realize it or not.

 

[ABQ]

Not that I would bring my dog to WDW, but I just thought of one thing, and I know my dog isn't the only one like this, but if she were at the Yacht Club and Illuminations was under way, she'd be an absolute basket case as she cannot stand fireworks.

 

[21stamps]

Not that I would bring my dog to WDW, but I just thought of one thing, and I know my dog isn't the only one like this, but if she were at the Yacht Club and Illuminations was under way, she'd be an absolute basket case case as she cannot stand fireworks.

This is where the owners have to use their brains.lol Dogs who have lived in downtown areas, already used to loud sounds, sirens, fireworks, they’ll be fine.. or go hide if they’re scared.

But dogs from quite suburban or rural areas? I think it depends on their exposure..but has anyone’s dogs not heard fireworks before? Hopefully the owners already know how the dog reacts and will plan accordingly.

 

[ABQ]

This is where the owners have to use their brains.lol Dogs who have lived in downtown areas, already used to loud sounds, sirens, fireworks, they’ll be fine.. or go hide if they’re scared.

But dogs from quite suburban or rural areas? I think it depends on their exposure..but has anyone’s dogs not heard fireworks before? Hopefully the owners already know how the dog reacts and will plan accordingly.

Mine just shivers and shakes, uncontrollably, but you know others get worse.

 

[JenniferS]

Yes of course they can take medication.
Have you seen the maps of the resorts where the dog areas will be? I laughed out loud.
Is the dog park at Ft Wilderness new or has that always been there?

On the abuse subject- I wonder how many people are using this as an excuse to get a free upgrade to a different resort.

So far, I believe I am the only person to mention switching resorts and refusing to pay an “upgrade fee”.

A $400 fee to switch from a higher rated mod to a lower rated mod with 11 months notice? Yeah, I’m an “abuser”. Whatever.

 

[21stamps]

So far, I believe I am the only person to mention switching resorts and refusing to pay an “upgrade fee”.

A $400 fee to switch from a higher rated mod to a lower rated mod with 11 months notice? Yeah, I’m an “abuser”. Whatever.

I didn’t view your move as an upgrade.

Sometimes a comment might just be a comment.. not based on any particular person.

 

[Chernaboggles]

I close mine in a bathroom with his bed. I don’t think he would bark if a housekeeper came in the room.. but I’m hoping he would bark if the tried to open the bathroom door, so they would know he was there and leave. So far I’ve been lucky and no one has come in when I’ve been out, to my knowledge anyway.

Ours won't bark at strangers at all. He just stands in his crate, silently wagging his tail.
He's basically a big yellow suprise party of one.