Actual Dog Experiences

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I guess my question for this thread should be, is anyone seeing dogs walked on public areas like the Boardwalk and the path going to the Disney Studios?

I plan on asking when we check into BCV on the 27th. Will try to update this thread with the info.
 
Thank you for sharing. I'm curious as to how your dogs will never be left alone? Are you planning on brining them to a kennel during the day? And while you are at the room, if you want to use the pool, won't you have to leave them in the room? Just thinking in terms of restrictions and yes, anxious to hear about how you will be received. at AOA.

Since this is a short stay, just an overnight before our DVC stay begins, there will always be one adult in the room with them. We will switch off to pick-up food and go to the pool. We won't be doing parks during the two days that we will be at AoA with our dogs, and one adult will watch them while the other needs to go to the ESPN center for a few hours. It's exactly like handing off young toddlers.

If we have the opportunity in future to reserve a full visit with our dogs (probably exchanging points for the Ft Wilderness cabins), we would schedule doggie daycare slots for them when we were planning to go to the parks.

While I am not a fan of the new pet policy, I hope it goes well for you (and should, since you indicate you'll be there with the dogs). Curious, though, where will your dog stay during the DVC portion of your vacation?

Our dogs will be staying at a boarding center that is pretty close to Lake Buena Vista that we've used before. Not Best Friends, as there has never been availability during one of our trips, but it is a less than 20 minute drive to check up on them. One of our dogs has a spinal cord injury that results in her dragging her hind legs and needing to be carried every where, so we tend to coddle her. She will be the dog in the stroller people will question "why can't she just walk?!":rotfl:
 
Just so you know, pets were allowed in the hotels during Irma, so there is no way of guaranteeing that no dog has ever slept in the room. I know of someone who had their 3 dogs at the Wilderness Lodge for 2 days.
There was no way of guaranteeing that no dog has ever slept in the room well before Irma. Service dogs have and still continued to be allowed to stay in any room. They cannot legally be separated from the public on grounds that they have a dog.
 
Providing "emotional support" does not qualify as a service dog. Some PTSD dogs are trained in other tasks, and therefore are service dogs. Those who simply calm fears by being near are not. What you mention are not tasks a dog has been trained to perform, therefore not a service animal. No gray area to interpret. But I do agree with you that people who wish to abuse or cheat the system can do so easily by being prepared with the "right" responses that cannot be challenged.


I do not think the new policy will have any particular increase in "fake" service dogs. People who were so inclined would have brought their dog without a pet-friendly policy.
You and I are in agreement here- I was not meaning to imply that they were actual service dogs. I was trying to say that I have seen people putting a vest on a dog, calling it an emotional support dog, and finding a way to bring the dog. I think the pet friendly policy is an attempt to curb that.

I can say absolutely and that is my biggest fear. I am legally blind and until ADA in the early 1990 you hardly ever saw a service animal except the rear guide dog. ADA opened the door and seeing eye dogs became guide dogs, guide dogs became service dogs and so on and on. Here is a need, so don't get me wrong, but the amount of service animals has grown and my estimated guess would be that many of them are no more than pets with a service dog vest that you can buy on line. It is very hard to regulate when the law requires no certification, no license, no guide lines. Which is a double sword, and I u derstand both sides but I as a service dog owner still think they need some guidelines. At the moment any person anywhere can take any dog and put a vest on it and call it a service dog for the cost of the vest, or the price of a piece of paper. ADA makes no regulations, which I can understand, because it is very expensive to train a dog and if you can train one for your own needs that is great. My problem with it is, I feel there should be some guidelines, sorry I don't think pit bulls should be allowed to be service dogs, JMHO. I personally believe all service dogs should be spayed or neutered at the least, yet there is no regulation to that. I personally believe that all service dogs should be vaccinated and on flea and tick and heart worm meds, but there is no regulations. I believe personally that all service dogs should be able to pass good citizen canine class, yet there is no regulation.

I have had a guide dog for many years. Whenever I start to bring my guide dog into an establishment that I use on a regular bases, within months the amount of dogs quadruples. I moved 4 years ago, bring my service dog to bingo, they never had a service dog and we are talking Indian laws but they gave me no problem. Within months they started kicking fake service dogs out. And now four years later they still kick at least 1 fake service dog out a week, they have had flea problems, barking dog problems, bitting dog problems, dogs eating off counter problems and so on. Will there be more fake service dogs in the park to get away from paying the fee, yes. Although Disney already has a fake service dog problem and have no policies or practices to stop the problem JMHO. Actually I hope this forces Disney to find a policy to stop the fake service dogs.
I have actually read your posts on another thread about you bringing your dog- and it was very informative to me. I appreciate your willingness to share your experiences, and I can't imagine having to deal with the fake dog issues. I think there should be a policy about them, especially since it makes it harder on people who actually do need them. Your concerns are valid, but I believe that part of this is Disney trying to pacify, deter, or otherwise deal with the people who feel the need to fake the status of their dog as a service dog just so they can bring them on vacation. At least I hope this is the case.

Disney is asking for up to date vaccines, so hopefully pet owners bringing their pets will also have flea, tick, and heart worm medicine as well.
 


I can tell you about my dogs in the resort experience during Irma. We didn't have a dog with us (we don't have a dog), but there were a TON of dogs in the resort (All Star Sports). We were told that dogs other than service dogs were not allowed in the food court, but there were a ton of dogs in the food court anyway. I was not happy because I have a child who has a dog phobia (and I sort of do myself, too after having been attacked by my Grandfathers dog when I was a child). I am NOT happy about this new dog friendly policy.
 
I can tell you about my dogs in the resort experience during Irma. We didn't have a dog with us (we don't have a dog), but there were a TON of dogs in the resort (All Star Sports). We were told that dogs other than service dogs were not allowed in the food court, but there were a ton of dogs in the food court anyway. I was not happy because I have a child who has a dog phobia (and I sort of do myself, too after having been attacked by my Grandfathers dog when I was a child). I am NOT happy about this new dog friendly policy.

This is what everyone is afraid of. I have no faith that Disney will deal with issues like in the food court.

Please send an email to the people on this list and let them know your feelings.

WDW.Guest.Communications@disneyworld.com
george.kalogridis@disney.com
ken.potrock@disney.com
robert.a.iger@disney.com
robert.chapek@disney.com
 
I guess my question for this thread should be, is anyone seeing dogs walked on public areas like the Boardwalk and the path going to the Disney Studios?

That's is my exact question and when Disney called me to talk to me about my email, she "kind of" said no, they will not be there. But also didn't confirm it. My son is afraid of dogs so I am hoping for an answer before our 11/11 arrival date at Boardwalk. I will let you know what I see.
I told them I was ok with them being at YC and on YC property, but not on the Boardwalk or public walk ways.
 


That's is my exact question and when Disney called me to talk to me about my email, she "kind of" said no, they will not be there. But also didn't confirm it. My son is afraid of dogs so I am hoping for an answer before our 11/11 arrival date at Boardwalk. I will let you know what I see.
I told them I was ok with them being at YC and on YC property, but not on the Boardwalk or public walk ways.

I'm in full agreement with you there--- they need to stay at YC and that loop around the lake over to the boardwalk side or the path to HS need to stay pet dog-free.
 
Since this is a short stay, just an overnight before our DVC stay begins, there will always be one adult in the room with them. We will switch off to pick-up food and go to the pool. We won't be doing parks during the two days that we will be at AoA with our dogs, and one adult will watch them while the other needs to go to the ESPN center for a few hours. It's exactly like handing off young toddlers.

If we have the opportunity in future to reserve a full visit with our dogs (probably exchanging points for the Ft Wilderness cabins), we would schedule doggie daycare slots for them when we were planning to go to the parks.



Our dogs will be staying at a boarding center that is pretty close to Lake Buena Vista that we've used before. Not Best Friends, as there has never been availability during one of our trips, but it is a less than 20 minute drive to check up on them. One of our dogs has a spinal cord injury that results in her dragging her hind legs and needing to be carried every where, so we tend to coddle her. She will be the dog in the stroller people will question "why can't she just walk?!":rotfl:
Thank you for sharing. And "awe" your poor dog. She must love you so much for taking care of her.
 
I can tell you about my dogs in the resort experience during Irma. We didn't have a dog with us (we don't have a dog), but there were a TON of dogs in the resort (All Star Sports). We were told that dogs other than service dogs were not allowed in the food court, but there were a ton of dogs in the food court anyway. I was not happy because I have a child who has a dog phobia (and I sort of do myself, too after having been attacked by my Grandfathers dog when I was a child). I am NOT happy about this new dog friendly policy.

For the life of me, I cannot figure out why anybody would want or need to bring a pet dog into a food court. That is so whack!

I mean, you're already leaving the dog to go to the parks. What's another 15 minutes to get some food to go from the food court? Because I can't even imagine eating there with your dog...
 
I've just posted a sticky thread that I hope to use to gather information for a FAQ thread on dogs at resorts. If you've been given information on pet policies, locations where guests with pets will be placed, or locations where dogs can be walked, please share it on that thread. Thanks!


Help us gather information on Disney's policies on dogs at resorts
Is there anyway we can make sure that this thread remains about real experiences with pets at WDW and doesn't devolve into more "I hate this policy" talk. There are now at least three other threads devoted to why the policy is awful it would nice to have one thread that is at least neutral. Thanks.
 
Hi All. I wanted to share with you my experience speaking with a guest services Cast Member. We had a reservation for Yacht Club for three days at the end of an 8 day trip in early December. I sent an email to the Guest services Resort and reservation option. I expressed my concern with allergies, etc, in the email, and asked for it to be escalated to management at the Yacht Club for clarification of rules, rooms near dog, etc.

I received a call back later the same day, and was able to have my issues resolved fully and satisfactory. I was not pushy, and did not ask for anything except to be away from the dogs area, but the cast member offered to move our resort, so we accepted. When the Cast Member explained the situation at the Yacht Club that I was not going to be in anyway guaranteed a room away from dogs, it seemed logical to accept the move, even though we were looking forward to being at Yacht Club for the location and Storm Along Bay. We had two dining reservations at Yachtsman and Cape May, two at Epcot Le Cellier and Tutto Italia and an Epcot tour in those three days, so it was impractical to move further away.

The reason the Cast Member could not guarantee me a room in the non dog section is because, according to her there is no non dog section of Yacht Club. This Cast Member told me that dogs can be assigned to any Garden View, Woods View, Water view or Pool view, so basically scattered around the resort. I was looking at the touring plans Yacht Club room finder map as she was explaining the categories to me, and I could pick a pool view room and look and see that it was a few doors down from a garden view. I asked her specifically about the rumor that rooms would be only on the first floor, and she stated that this was inaccurate. She also stated that the only rooms that were not pet friendly were the standard rooms, which she could have moved me to, but I would have the same issue with them being near by. So if I wanted an entirely dog free (except for service dogs) area, I would have to move resorts. The Cast Member offered to move me to Coronado Springs, since this is where my first 5 days were, Animal Kingdom Lodge, Wilderness Lodge, Beach Club or Boardwalk. We accepted Beach Club, when she reassured me that the dogs are not to be in the Beach Club side. Basically, the dogs need to be in the room or in the pet grass areas, and nowhere else. I asked about the pools, the walkways to Boardwalk, the Boardwalk itself, the beach area, the Beach Club side of the resort, restaurants, and she said that they were not to be in any of those areas, and guests who do bring their dogs there will be asked to leave, and guests can report this to a Cast Member if they see anything like this. This should also be explained explicitly at the resort to guests checking in with pets.

I cannot speak to the layouts at the other pet friendly resorts, because I was only inquiring about the Yacht Club and general area around this resort. The Cast Member I spoke to was very nice, and going out of her way to assist me. She suggested that anyone who had issues with this new policy to contact them, and reminded me that this was only a trial run, and that based on the feedback so far, many people are not happy about this policy. I hope this helps someone else. I never have complained formally to any Cast Member in the past three years we have been coming regularly. I've stayed over 40 nights at Disney resorts in three years, and have 20 more days planned for the next 8 months. I felt this issue warranted an explanation from Disney and I was pleased with the response.
 
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Hi All. I wanted to share with you my experience speaking with a guest services Cast Member. We had a reservation for Yacht Club for three days at the end of an 8 day trip in early December. I sent an email to the Guest services Resort and reservation option. I expressed my concern with allergies, etc, in the email, and asked for it to be escalated to management at the Yacht Club for clarification of rules, rooms near dog, etc.

I received a call back later the same day, and was able to have my issues resolved fully and satisfactory. I was not pushy, and did not ask for anything except to be away from the dogs area, but the cast member offered to move our resort, so we excepted. When the Cast Member explained the situation at the Yacht Club that I was not going to be in anyway guaranteed a room away from dogs, it seemed logical to except the move, even though we were looking forward to being at Yacht Club for the location and Storm Along Bay. We had two dining reservations at Yachtsman and Cape May, two at Epcot Le Cellier and Tutto Italia and an Epcot tour in those three days, so it was impractical to move further away.

The reason the Cast Member could not guarantee me a room in the non dog section is because, according to her there is no non dog section of Yacht Club. This Cast Member told me that dogs can be assigned to any Garden View, Woods View, Water view or Pool view, so basically scattered around the resort. I was looking at the touring plans Yacht Club room finder map as she was explaining the categories to me, and I could pick a pool view room and look and see that it was a few doors down from a garden view. I asked her specifically about the rumor that rooms would be only on the first floor, and she stated that this was inaccurate. She also stated that the only rooms that were not pet friendly were the standard rooms, which she could have moved me to, but I would have the same issue with them being near by. So if I wanted an entirely dog free (except for service dogs) area, I would have to move resorts. The Cast Member offered to move me to Coronado Springs, since this is where my first 5 days were, Animal Kingdom Lodge, Wilderness Lodge, Beach Club or Boardwalk. We accepted Beach Club, when she reassured me that the dogs are not to be in the Beach Club side. Basically, the dogs need to be in the room or in the pet grass areas, and nowhere else. I asked about the pools, the walkways to Boardwalk, the Boardwalk itself, the beach area, the Beach Club side of the resort, restaurants, and she said that they were not to be in any of those areas, and guests who do bring their dogs there will be asked to leave, and guests can report this to a Cast Member if they see anything like this. This should also be explained explicitly at the resort to guests checking in with pets.

I cannot speak to the layouts at the other pet friendly resorts, because I was only inquiring about the Yacht Club and general area around this resort. The Cast Member I spoke to was very nice, and going out of her way to assist me. She suggested that anyone who had issues with this new policy to contact them, and reminded me that this was only a trial run, and that based on the feedback so far, many people are not happy about this policy. I hope this helps someone else. I never have complained formally to any Cast Member in the past three years we have been coming regularly. I've stayed over 40 nights at Disney resorts in three years, and have 20 more days planned for the next 8 months. I felt this issue warranted an explanation from Disney and I was pleased with the response.


There's also a sticky at the top of the boards for you to post your experience there..... https://www.disboards.com/threads/h...-disneys-policies-on-dogs-at-resorts.3641677/
 
Seems so odd to me that CM phone calls always yield different answers to same questions. They also put out a map with where the dog rooms are for YC and that seems inconsistent too.
Part of the reason this is so frustrating. Always a moving target.
 
She suggested that anyone who had issues with this new policy to contact them, and reminded me that this was only a trial run, and that based on the feedback so far, many people are not happy about this policy.

A year-long trial is Crazytown if you ask me. If this becomes the disaster that many of us are predicting, they can't end it suddenly and stick it to the people who booked reservations with their dog. They will have to "grandfather" in any dogs whose owners planned on taking them.

This kinda thing happened to us. We were attending a wedding out of town and booked a dog friendly hotel to bring my old dog. He didn't take to kennel life that well, and since we were driving, we figured it was easier to bring him.

Couple of weeks before the wedding, I saw on the hotel's website that pets were not allowed. I called and they told me he was grandfathered since we made the reservation while they were still pet friendly.
 
A year-long trial is Crazytown if you ask me. If this becomes the disaster that many of us are predicting, they can't end it suddenly and stick it to the people who booked reservations with their dog. They will have to "grandfather" in any dogs whose owners planned on taking them.

This kinda thing happened to us. We were attending a wedding out of town and booked a dog friendly hotel to bring my old dog. He didn't take to kennel life that well, and since we were driving, we figured it was easier to bring him.

Couple of weeks before the wedding, I saw on the hotel's website that pets were not allowed. I called and they told me he was grandfathered since we made the reservation while they were still pet friendly.
Yeah but it's been said on the other thread that a year long isn't enough...in the respects of getting enough dog owners to actually know about the policy in order to take Disney up on the offer and then because of that Disney wouldn't have enough guests with dogs to get a true understanding. I pointed it out that it can't really be both too long and too short of a time. For a place that people tend to book in advance I think Disney might have been keeping that in mind (though on the flipside several days notice to implement this in a place that people tend to book in advance was a poor decision without a doubt on Disney's part).

As far as grandfathering in stuff..well yeah wouldn't you want to be grandfathered in if you booked a room and then whatever policy (pick one it doesn't matter) was altered or removed and you no longer fit into the new policy or not at all if it was removed?

Really the key is booked. Before any actual booking anything is subject to change and even after booking things are subject to change but as a customer most people would hope some sort of consideration was given to them if they were booked and then things changed on them (thus a lot of frustation on several threads where people feel like they weren't given this consideration--of which I totally get and many people agreed with). I would hope that if indeed the trial is removed or altered prior to the actual end date that people on the Boards would let us now via this thread if Disney worked with them if they booked prior to the change.
 
Yeah but it's been said on the other thread that a year long isn't enough...in the respects of getting enough dog owners to actually know about the policy in order to take Disney up on the offer and then because of that Disney wouldn't have enough guests with dogs to get a true understanding. I pointed it out that it can't really be both too long and too short of a time. For a place that people tend to book in advance I think Disney might have been keeping that in mind (though on the flipside several days notice to implement this in a place that people tend to book in advance was a poor decision without a doubt on Disney's part).

As far as grandfathering in stuff..well yeah wouldn't you want to be grandfathered in if you booked a room and then whatever policy (pick one it doesn't matter) was altered or removed and you no longer fit into the new policy or not at all if it was removed?

Really the key is booked. Before any actual booking anything is subject to change and even after booking things are subject to change but as a customer most people would hope some sort of consideration was given to them if they were booked and then things changed on them (thus a lot of frustation on several threads where people feel like they weren't given this consideration--of which I totally get and many people agreed with). I would hope that if indeed the trial is removed or altered prior to the actual end date that people on the Boards would let us now via this thread if Disney worked with them if they booked prior to the change.
And as of right now, can you book the dog-friendly room?
 
And as of right now, can you book the dog-friendly room?
IDK on that TBH haven't looked into it in-depthly. I vaguely remember on the other thread it being mentioned about a drop-down option?? But that you were advised to call. There's been so much information floating around that I can't really remember with utter confidence if that's true or not.
 
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