Trial Run for Dogs in Resort Rooms

[Sarahraegraham]

Just wanted to post an update on our situation. Currently booked at POR for 4 nights right before Thanksgiving (celebrating my 50th birthday - woohoo!!) DH and DS12 very allergic to dogs / cats. We booked through a travel agent and she feels she can change us to Coronado - she's checking on that for me right now. I also made a reservation at the Embassy Suites Orlando, which is a good neighbor hotel, just in case. This new policy just won't work for our family - if they roll it out to all resorts, we won't be able to stay onsite anymore. I really hope that doesn't happen.

Please let guest relations and the executives know about your situation. The more examples they see of how this is affecting specific families the better.

 

[wdw4rfam]

That's it! I'm taking my business to Universal! Oh wait.....

The thing is, we go to Disney 1-2 times a year and add 2-3 universal days every other trip. We were booked at royal pacific one time and found out they allowed dogs and immediately cancelled and added the days at our Disney resort. We always just drive from our Disney resort now. We are glad as of now our DVC resorts are not included. If they are, we sell and move on to places that don't allow them. I'm over stressing over this.

 

[dreamer17555]

Disney is not going to randomly place dogs all over the resort. You guys should have more confidence in them. I'm assuming they will have a separate section for pets, and they will probably be furthest away from the pools, lobby, etc. If you don't like the idea, make a request at check in to be in a pet free location.

I have little faith in Disney to be able to enforce even their own rules and since CMs are giving out conflicting info on what rooms etc are pet friendly I can understand a concern. So if I book a room and request not to be near the pet area but there are no rooms to accommodate my request then what?

How does anyone at Disney expect a noise issue to be handled in 30 mins? Getting back to a resort can take longer than that and how many people will want to leave while waiting for a ride (let us pray that the dog owner is not in line for FOP) or a coveted ADR (because I can see many leaving mid meal at BOG, O'hana, or HDDR). For owners who do return promptly but therefore miss an upcoming FP or ADR is Disney going to help them rebook and waive the fee?

What are the consequences if they choose not to return right away for a noise complaint? Or if their phone is off (or dead)? How are they going to enforce seven hours? Are they going to monitor the electronic locks? What happens if Spot is left alone for eight hours? Is there a plan in place because it doesn't seem like it.

Disney made a bad call with this one. Those who hate it are going to hate it and those that love it will understandably be upset if Disney decides this is all too much work and scraps the program. Disney is in a no win situation now. If they keep it they alienate one group and if they pull back they upset another. Poor planning on their part.

 

[Sarahraegraham]

Fascninating. Though it can be found elsewhere on the site, the Disney Parks Blog no longer has this blog post listed under Walt Disney World.

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/destinations/walt-disney-world-resort/

Funny isn’t it? I did notice that they are posting some negative comments dated today.

 

[Disneylover99]

What would happen if one of your neighbors moved and another person moved in with a dog?

Unless the dog barked all the time, I would have no issue. Everyone in my area has a fully fenced yard.

 

[Jafar30]

My wife is allergic to dogs, she comes out in a full body rash, that is in side her mouth, eye lids and private parts. Making her extremely uncomfortable.

As we are from Europe we have been to dog friendly hotels in the past, they have promised a deep clean and twice she has got sick there and she also got sick saying in one of the universal hotels 5 years ago. Which the pro dog team will keep saying are fine. Well they are not always fine.

She isn't allergic to dog hair she is allergic to the oils in there skin, this sinks into soft furnature, like seats, mattresses, pillows ect. You can't get rid of it.

We never would have booked a dog friendly hotel, which should be the end of the conversation. It wasn't dog friendly when we paid £2500 for the trip and now 14 days before we arrive it is. My wife is in tears she has been crying since Friday and simply doesn't want to go. She is shacking with fear that she is going to get that sick again.

We are going to celebrate her 30th birthday and celebrate me getting out of hospital after 4 months in a coma. This was meant to be our magical rest bite. I have sold guitars to afford to go and it's been 4 years since our last wdw trip.

This has been emotionally devistating to my wife who is going to the doctors this morning to have allergies jabs, which means she will miss 3 days of work and have here depression meds re-prescribed. She had come off of those meds recently due to planning and getting excited for this trip.

This decision has effected our plans

Sorry to hear this but thank you for explaning

 

[croach]

How ironic that just yesterday, 2 different friend posted on their Facebook pages photos of things in their own home that their dogs destroyed.

I think this new pet policy is not well thought out and am putting in my 2 cents against it.

For those of you with the allergies, phobias, and the poster who is concerned about untrained dogs getting after his/her service dog-- you definitely have my sympathy.
Same to the folks who have had their resort booked for months, and having this tossed at them without ability to change (and we all know that changing resorts is tough, especially this busy time of year).

I do like the idea of a single, fully pet-friendly resort, if people are so bent on taking their pet dog (not service animal) to WDW. Keep them all in one place, with their noises and messes.
I am friends with some dogs and I don't mind meeting other dogs, but I am not a dog fanatic. I would certainly prefer to not sleep on a bed that someone else has let their dog sleep on.

What I would love to know from those who like this idea--
a) What exactly are your theme park plans like in this situation? We already have the issues of timing of FastPass+, ADRs, shows, parades, etc. Are you truly planning on taking time out of each and every park day to go back to the room at least once or twice and check on the dog? I think leaving a dog alone in a strange place, uncrated, for 7 hours is not a great idea. Sure, many have said that other hotels welcome dogs, but expect that those dogs are with their owners at all times. So-- Disney says you can be away for 7 hours-- what if you have a Fast Pass? What if you have an ADR? What if you are in a long line? Not to mention, it can take quite some time to go to the resort and come back to a park, even if you have your own car. Seriously, I would love to know what a sample day is going to look like for you.

b) So many say that their dog is so well-behaved and doesn't bark-- I am always curious about this, even in regular non-vacation life, as when I walk through my neighborhood, just my walking by a house, can set off a chorus of barking. Not to mention I had a former neighbor who would let their dog bark for up to an hour at a time (even while the human was home with the dog!). HOW do you know your dog doesn't bark while you're away, simply because you are not there to hear if the dog is barking or not? (Sort of like the tree in the forest-- I guarantee you it makes a noise when it falls, even if no one is there to hear.)

To the responsible pet owners-- that's great.... and I know many of those. However, I see on a daily basis in my neighborhood and on local walking/running trails, there are people who don't think leash laws apply to them, there are people who refuse to pick up after their dog, even when the free poop bags are within 10 yards and are pointed out to the owner.

In answer to your question a - I have traveled to WDW with three dogs before. We stayed offsite at a house and of course we adjusted our park time because of this. We go for maybe 4 or 5 hours at a time and sometimes only once a day. We had been to the parks multiple times and didn't need to spend whole days there. But in regards to seven hours unaccompanied - not a huge deal for a dog in regards to needing to use the bathroom. Dogs are left alone longer than that in a lot of kenneling situations and never go in their runs. I understand the barking issue is a different story but dogs that are house trained don't suddenly start going to the bathroom because they are now in a hotel room.

question b - barking can issue for sure but so can an unruly child or sometime's television. I'm not trying to downplay the barking I'm just pointing out that you're in a hotel. There are kinds of sounds and noises going on during a day.

 

[alicecooper]

Wait, dogs will be allowed to ride the bus to Disney Springs? My son is also afraid of dogs - guess we would have to get off the bus and wait for the next one.

Correct Dogs on the Magic Express and theme park busses. After your long flight, you queue up for the DME. No seats left all taken by the 101 Dalmations. You get on the next bus you get a seat which has a sprinkling of Dog pixie dust. You get to the POR and ask for a no pet room. You enter the room you say "what is that interesting smell?" and 'what are those stains?" You go to reception to complain but you are told that unfortunately we are all booked up. Welcome to Walts Dog World.

 

[Disneylover99]

I think most people are going to spend more time in this thread complaining about dogs at the hotels than actually seeing or hearing a dog at a resort. You all act like there is going to be 100 dogs running wild around your favorite resort with mounds of poop for you dodge. Maybe this idea could actually be given its trial run before everyone determines it is the end times. Or maybe you funnel all this angst into a real problem.

I hope that's true. I'm not interested in seeing or hearing any dogs at my resort.

 

[Octoberbaby]

The map of POR (as posted in the POR thread and elsewhere) shows four dog relief areas evenly spaced around the edge of the resort, including one near Bldg 15 which is rather near the lobby.

Looking at the map posted much earlier in this thread, there are two dog relief areas right by the quiet pool at YC.

The dog relieving area is right next to the hot tub and quiet pool at YC. At POR and AoA there are at least 3 of these areas and they are pretty spread out. At YC they are allowing dogs at all levels of rooms including Club Level. There is only one elevator and CL is on the 5th floor so I'm not sure how you separate them from people who don't want to be around dogs.

Well, okay. At least they won't allow the dogs to relieve themselves IN the pool, like some kid did last week. I still think it is a great idea for those of us who love their pets. However, I was assuming they would have the pet friendly rooms separate from everyone else. People also need to remember that not everyone who has a dog will actually want to pay extra to bring them. People are acting like the dogs are going to take over the whole resort.

 

[skyp4WDW]

No....Disney has stated that dogs will not be allowed on buses. Service animals are the exception under ADA which also allows dogs in any hotel room that a non ADA person can reserve.

Not yet...this is a very slippery slope.

 

[BigAlsGal]

The thing is, we go to Disney 1-2 times a year and add 2-3 universal days every other trip. We were booked at royal pacific one time and found out they allowed dogs and immediately cancelled and added the days at our Disney resort. We always just drive from our Disney resort now. We are glad as of now our DVC resorts are not included. If they are, we sell and move on to places that don't allow them. I'm over stressing over this.

Sounds like you will soon be running out of options. Pet inclusion is only increasing. Not decreasing.

 

[gwynne]

The dog relieving area is right next to the hot tub and quiet pool at YC. At POR and AoA there are at least 3 of these areas and they are pretty spread out. At YC they are allowing dogs at all levels of rooms including Club Level. There is only one elevator and CL is on the 5th floor so I'm not sure how you separate them from people who don't want to be around dogs.

My best guess on CL is they will assign guests a pet room, but give CL access via magic band to the guests only.
I totally agree with you about the hot tub and quiet pool issue at YC. Not nice.

 

[ironz]

To those who keep equating a barking dog (which may not even have a human in the room to calm them) to a crying child or a loud television-- at least the child can be somewhat controlled by their parent (or they're sick or tired, and may calm down) and a television can be turned down once the guest is made aware of it.
A barking dog can go on for hours and hours-- I know-- my previous neighbor subjected me to this on many occasions. Especially if no one is present to control the dog.

 

[Darbie]

I'm thrilled with this news and I know many people who also are. The only place I've heard anything negative about this new change is on here.

You haven't been reading their FB page before comments are deleted, then. Lots of negative posts about it on there and on the Main Street Mouse FB page.

 

[ShadeDK]

View attachment 277317

That was a rather insensitive thing of Buzz to say. In all seriousness - and not to make light of either people's concerns or criticisms of overreaction - I can see both sides of this. I come down on the "against" side for reasons stated in earlier posts - while also not thinking it'll be as catastrophic as many of the predictions. Much of my complaint now is how Disney is rolling this out (which has helped fuel that overreaction). In the long run? We just don't know yet, but time will tell.

 

[Jennasis]

A major part of the problem is Disney's wishy washy stance on the wording and enforcement of their rules as well as the fact that CM's seem to have conflicting info to give out willy nilly.

Using words in their literature like "should" and "may" leave gray areas for folks to push the boundaries of what they can get away with.

Disney is LOUSY at enforcing any rules or policies. They don't even crack down on line cutters. There is not only no way for them to enforce this loosely worded "7 hour policy" but they simply WON'T. Disney is horrible at telling people NO. Then we will have people taking Fido for a walk around the resort and touting how many CM's they passed along the way who smiled and said hi or asked to pet the dog so Disney "must be okay with it".

HOGWASHERY.

 

[ironz]

In answer to your question a - I have traveled to WDW with three dogs before. We stayed offsite at a house and of course we adjusted our park time because of this. We go for maybe 4 or 5 hours at a time and sometimes only once a day. We had been to the parks multiple times and didn't need to spend whole days there. But in regards to seven hours unaccompanied - not a huge deal for a dog in regards to needing to use the bathroom. Dogs are left alone longer than that in a lot of kenneling situations and never go in their runs. I understand the barking issue is a different story but dogs that are house trained don't suddenly start going to the bathroom because they are now in a hotel room.

question b - barking can issue for sure but so can an unruly child or sometime's television. I'm not trying to downplay the barking I'm just pointing out that you're in a hotel. There are kinds of sounds and noises going on during a day.

Thanks for posting in regard to that question-- though, I wonder if other guests would be adjusting their park time. Not everyone goes as frequently as you, and for what I think is the majority of people, there is quite a large proportion of time spent in the theme parks vs the resorts.

Hopefully, the people doing commando-style park touring are not going to bring dogs. That just wouldn't make sense.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Correct Dogs on the Magic Express and theme park busses. After your long flight, you queue up for the DME. No seats left all taken by the 101 Dalmations. You get on the next bus you get a seat which has a sprinkling of Dog pixie dust. Welcome to Walts Dog World.

As far as I remember (and I could be wrong) from the comments and whatnot its only Magical Express they would be allowed on. I do believe service animals are allowed on busses transporting to theme parks and Disney Springs but under this actual pet policy I believe the only bus they are allowed on is Magical Express to and from the airport.

 

[P'colaBeachBum]

To those who keep equating a barking dog (which may not even have a human in the room to calm them) to a crying child or a loud television-- at least the child can be somewhat controlled by their parent (or they're sick or tired, and may calm down) and a television can be turned down once the guest is made aware of it.
A barking dog can go on for hours and hours-- I know-- my previous neighbor subjected me to this on many occasions. Especially if no one is present to control the dog.

And I would hope no one would leave a crying child alone in a hotel room for hours. If a TV is loud and no one in the room call housekeeping or go to the front desk.