Trial Run for Dogs in Resort Rooms

[ShadeDK]

Dear Halo Pet Foods - if the comments in this thread turn out to be accurate, many Disney guests will soon be able to put this hypothesis to the test. Thanks! - ShadeDK

P.S. - although a tad insensitive in this context, your ad-words are working great. Terrific synergy, but you may not be easing concerns.

 

[fla4fun]

I do not have the time to read all these again, but a few pages back like in the 30 range of pages people were saying that the dogs can be in any room. Well not by the information I am getting. Here is what I am getting....

Call
Me, I would like to modify my reservation.
CM, I can help you with that.
Me, yes I would like any resort that does not allow dogs.
CM, oh are you allergic to dogs.
Me, no I have a service dog and for our safety, I just can not see this policy as a good thing for our safety. We have enough problems with the non service animals in the park that are a distraction, and to have to deal with it at the resorts also, I'm just not able to do that, you see I'm blind and I am not able to see when another dog who is not in control comes running to my dog, we have both been attacked at a Marriott before, and after a full day of distractions at the park, I want my dog to be able to relax and enjoy our vacation, not deal with more distractions.
CM, please hold, I am going to call guess relations for you to clarify some information.
CM, comes back on, and tells me, dogs and service dogs will not be allowed in the same part of the resorts at all. You have POR and POFQ, POR will allow dogs but you have a preferred room, dogs will not be allowed in preferred rooms, only service dogs.
Me, yes but we will still be dealing with them as they walk around the resort.
CM, back to guest services, back to me, dogs will be contained to certain areas of the resort and not allowed to walk all around the resorts, the will be contained to a small area of certain rooms.

So we need to take it with a grain of salt because we are getting different information. Again, I think this is the worst idea I ever heard of for many reasons. I remember when I was bite by a dog at Marriott, being blind. The owner of the other dog just walked away, I went to the front desk and told them. Without a room number, without a discription of the dog, basically nothing was done. They did not even offer me help with the medical bills. Because they were not at fault. Since then, I try very hard never to stay in a hotel that has regular dogs because I need my service dog and I can not protect myself and my dog is trained to be kind and gentle not to fight dogs who are out of control.

We are still working on moving our resort.

I am sorry you are going through this. I hadn't thought that a pet dog might attack a service dog, but I can understand now how that could happen. Considering your service dog is legally allowed to be there, while pets are there at Disney's discretion only, I really feel you should be given a higher priority. I hope you are able to get the accommodation you need.

 

[xipetotec]

I don't really have an opinion on whether OTHERS should have dogs.

For me, I *love* my dog. My family makes fun of me because "I didn't want the dog" ( our previous dog had JUST passed away ) and since then it's basically been a love affair. I'm very fond of her.

But the last thing I want to do at Disney is have to rush back to my room to walk, feed the dog... She wouldn't have fun cooped up in a hotel room while we're out... It'd be a drag to have to go back and do that.

Now that being said, I didn't vote in the poll, because if others feel they want their dog along, more power to ya. I'm okay with that. Just not for me.

 

[LSUmiss]

I'm not serious at all about a trip with our dogs. Just trying to add some humor to the thread. Hopefully anyways?

No, I kinda figured that. Was my attempt at condoning your humor
I have a big dog too. Might one day see a need to bring the little dog but would never wanna be stuck in a hotel room with the golden retriever unless we had evacuated for a hurricane.

 

[Gryhndmom]

View attachment 277294
Dear Halo Pet Foods - if the comments in this thread turn out to be accurate, many Disney guests will soon be able to put this hypothesis to the test. Thanks! - ShadeDK

P.S. - although a tad insensitive in this context, your ad-words are working great. Terrific synergy, but you may not be easing concerns.

Yeah..this ad will only add to the Armageddon set....

 

[Belle5]

One of the reasons folks decide to stay on-site is the ability to nap (or bring babies/children back to the room to nap). While the doggies might be quiet while their owners are sleeping at night, I could definitely foresee a lot of yelping/whining from the dogs during nap time if their owners are still in the parks. One time, we stayed in a hotel where two dogs across the hall were left all day and the noise never stopped! We were finally able to get the dogs removed but it literally took hours to do so!

 

[LSUmiss]

Attractions Magazine has a poll going with 1700+ people about the new policy and it's at 38% love it, 32% hate it, 30% don't care.
Others that I have seen pop up have been even heavier for in favor.
The DIS definitely does not represent the general population. This has always held true.

I agree & said that earlier in a pp. Here locally there was a poll it was about 1/3 favor, 1/3 bad & 1/3 don’t care.

 

[Jason2015]

See this is the problem. Other people are calling with dogs who request a preferred room and they are granted it. I think they are just telling everyone what they want to hear and there’s no actual plan in place.

Ummm reading the post you quote it is clear the writer has a service dog and service dogs (under ADA) have always been allowed-and always will be allowed in any room in WDW.

 

[HopperFan]

I'm surprised how many people are against this. There are many other hotels that allow dogs. Universal hotels have been doing it for years. I brought my dog there and he had a great time and it was much better than boarding him back home. And I've been to those hotels without dogs and never even notice dogs in the building. I think this is great that Disney is finally doing this and I hope it becomes a permanent change.

Not to be mean but since you are one who takes your dog to theme park hotels, you probably don't understand why dog owners don't take their dogs to theme park hotels or those who have medical/health/fear issues about dogs in their room or presence. Since you have been to the Universal hotel then you know they have lots of rules about the dogs and that you are not to leave your dog unattended in room. Industry standards for pet friendly hotels have lots of rules. For some unknown reason, Disney has decided to basically have no rules, have nothing for other guests to depend on for their safety & comfort, nothing to keep dogs from interacting with other guests, nothing to restrict breeds and size. Disney hotels attract young families, health impacted families, older guests and the low intense theme park guest ... Universal is the opposite.

When we stayed at Universal we left our dog in the room. There is only a problem if your dog barks and needs to be removed. They told us it was fine to leave him there with the do not disturb sign up. He was very well behaved and we had no problem. I'm sure Disney isn't going to let the dogs be in every room in the hotel. They'll have designated rooms for them and people who don't want to be near dogs can request to be put far away from those rooms.

Well their pet agreement states that you can not do that ........... so that means their employees are breaking their own policy by encouraging you to do that, and you are at risk for having your dog removed and be charged by the hour. I assure you if your dog barked that employee who told you it was fine would not admit to that. Just because folks are breaking the rules and not getting caught doesn't make it okay.

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.

Plenty on twitter, facebook etc are very upset about this; complaining to Disney, changing hotels, moving offsite and even cancelling.

I do not have the time to read all these again, but a few pages back like in the 30 range of pages people were saying that the dogs can be in any room. Well not by the information I am getting. Here is what I am getting....

Call
Me, I would like to modify my reservation.
CM, I can help you with that.
Me, yes I would like any resort that does not allow dogs.
CM, oh are you allergic to dogs.
Me, no I have a service dog and for our safety, I just can not see this policy as a good thing for our safety. We have enough problems with the non service animals in the park that are a distraction, and to have to deal with it at the resorts also, I'm just not able to do that, you see I'm blind and I am not able to see when another dog who is not in control comes running to my dog, we have both been attacked at a Marriott before, and after a full day of distractions at the park, I want my dog to be able to relax and enjoy our vacation, not deal with more distractions.
CM, please hold, I am going to call guess relations for you to clarify some information.
CM, comes back on, and tells me, dogs and service dogs will not be allowed in the same part of the resorts at all. You have POR and POFQ, POR will allow dogs but you have a preferred room, dogs will not be allowed in preferred rooms, only service dogs.
Me, yes but we will still be dealing with them as they walk around the resort.
CM, back to guest services, back to me, dogs will be contained to certain areas of the resort and not allowed to walk all around the resorts, the will be contained to a small area of certain rooms.

So we need to take it with a grain of salt because we are getting different information. Again, I think this is the worst idea I ever heard of for many reasons. I remember when I was bite by a dog at Marriott, being blind. The owner of the other dog just walked away, I went to the front desk and told them. Without a room number, without a discription of the dog, basically nothing was done. They did not even offer me help with the medical bills. Because they were not at fault. Since then, I try very hard never to stay in a hotel that has regular dogs because I need my service dog and I can not protect myself and my dog is trained to be kind and gentle not to fight dogs who are out of control.

We are still working on moving our resort.

WELL ............. that doesn't match up to what they are saying ......... dogs are allowed in all the public areas except the "walled off" areas like food court, pool and fitness center. Dogs have relief stations throughout the resort ... so if they have to stay in their own area how do they get to the other stations ....... probably because there are rooms by those stations. There is a relief station right behind the Preferred area and the only way to get there is walk through the preferred area. So either they are staying there or they are walking through there.
When you publish dog relief stations you are giving permission to be walking about resort to get there unless they have built a "pet walkway" as Disney calls them on the perimeter of the resort.

Every call, email, statement, blog answer ............ Disney has no consistent answers about this other than which hotels and how much per night. The rest ............ the answer will be what works best for Disney's bottom line. If this is a problem for folks I really think you need a backup plan or change. They have proven over the last few years their word can't be trusted on just about anything that has to do with rules, interrupting cash flow and enforcement of anything that involves guest confrontation.

See this is the problem. Other people are calling with dogs who request a preferred room and they are granted it. I think they are just telling everyone what they want to hear and there’s no actual plan in place.

THIS^

Their job is to pacify the caller/emailer and tell them what they want to hear ... ask for forgiveness later. POR has Royal Rooms, Preferred rooms, Rooms for 5 .......... so are they going to discriminate against someone who needs bed for 5, or need to be close to food court for walking or really wants a Royal room?

I'll go back to one of the most stupid quotes a CM gave me. In the middle of BTG nightmare part II, I begged the front desk to move us to another part of the resort. It made no sense for my family and a couple others to be sharing a whole building with these out of control kids, that they should have that building blocked out. Her response "It is against the law. We have to mix families in with the groups." Okay .... next I'll hear is "It is against the law to segregate dog families so we must mix you all in".

 

[Belle5]

I'm sure Disney isn't going to let the dogs be in every room in the hotel. They'll have designated rooms for them and people who don't want to be near dogs can request to be put far away from those rooms.

But, as we're all regularly told...a request is NOT a guarantee! If you show up not wanting be near the doggie rooms, there is a fair chance you will be told, " Sorry, we are really full today. This is the only room available." This is what we have been told several times over the years when our requests have not been met.

 

[LSUmiss]

I doubt attractions magazine does either. That's the trouble with any of these unscientific surveys. But I know several people who are not on this board upset by this news. And I don't know anyone who is happy about it.

And everyone I know likes it or doesn’t care so I think there is just no way to really tell without a true scientific poll.

 

[wendy1974]

Love dogs but the answer is a big No. I have a hard time believe if Disney hasn’t thought of all the possible scenarios they could and will be dealing with as listed above by others. How are they going to ensure there aren’t any fleas in rooms? Do they want to use Resort staff time to constantly answer and check on calls from guests complaining about noise etc? Disney has already cut down on Resort staff so I can’t see this working. And are we going to see an increase in room costs to cover cleaning the rooms. No. Just no.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I think the Universal hotels handle it the right way. You write in the policy that pets can never be unattended. Room is marked as having a pet. People put up the Do Not Disturb sign so housekeeping doesn't enter.

If the dog is disruptive, they can say, oh, see here, you can't leave them alone, if you want to stay you need to find a daycare or petsitter.

Disney is going about it the wrong way with the 7 hour limit. They are saying that people are entitled to that 7 hours

 

[HopperFan]

Love dogs but the answer is a big No. I have a hard time believe if Disney hasn’t thought of all the possible scenarios they could and will be dealing with as listed above by others. How are they going to ensure there aren’t any fleas in rooms? Do they want to use Resort staff time to constantly answer and check on calls from guests complaining about noise etc? Disney has already cut down on Resort staff so I can’t see this working. And are we going to see an increase in room costs to cover cleaning the rooms. No. Just no.

This is what I keep thinking. What kind of staff will it take to enforce the barking, rule breaking? What kind of staff will it take to clean up after dogs, replace dead landscaping, replace poop bag stations, regularly empty poop station trash cans? What kind of staffing will it take to deep clean each of these rooms after a guest checks out? .... which would make me think those deep cleans won't be so deep, especially given the lackluster regular cleaning. I don't think they will up the staff, I don't think things will get addressed quickly or at all.

And as I type that I think ........... so the guest who is good about picking up poop, scoops after but not in the relief station, because let's face it most dogs won't make it there. So they are going to drop that poop in the first trashcan they come by. I assure you within a few minutes that poop will be stinking up the walkway. It either will get worse or staff will need to increase their trash emptying.

And what staff will stop folks from walking around Hourglass lake into POP Century, or along river to FQ to pick up some beignets ........ what dog won't like lounging on beach at YC? Do we really think there will be CMs where there are none now to stop dogs from going on long walks? ...

 

[Wood Nymph]

Conversely I know no one in my real life who likes this change and when I spoke with someone from Disney who called to speak with me after my email, he candidly told me they are surprised at how many people are unhappy with this change.

Different strokes.

I'm not surprised that Disney was caught off guard by the response to the dog trial. They could have done so much more to reduce the negative reaction if they had done a better job of warning the guests more than two days ahead of time and educating their CM's to all give the same answers when questioned about the policy. We are staying at POR in nine days and I wouldn't have booked it if I had known ahead of time that it would be a dog friendly resort. The short notice was upsetting. All I want is a guarantee that I will not get a room that has had a dog in it and will not be hearing dogs barking near our room. But they can't promise that. This is my vacation and I don't want to worry about these things.

 

[Ensusieasm]

I just thought of something. POR has the horse-drawn carriage rides. Do the horses like dogs? How will peoples’ dogs react to the horses? What is a dog is trampled by one on accident? (I know the horses are well-trained, so I’m not worried about them.)

I had this same thought, exactly. Thanks for posting.

 

[Tink-osophy]

I think the Universal hotels handle it the right way. You write in the policy that pets can never be unattended. Room is marked as having a pet. People put up the Do Not Disturb sign so housekeeping doesn't enter.

If the dog is disruptive, they can say, oh, see here, you can't leave them alone, if you want to stay you need to find a daycare or petsitter.

Disney is going about it the wrong way with the 7 hour limit. They are saying that people are entitled to that 7 hours

Since you are not permitted to leave dogs unattended in your room at Universal, that must put off a good percentage of dog-owners and mean numbers bringing their dogs are lower. How many would be as keen on this new policy if Disney had the same rule as Universal?

Also, to repeat from much(!) earlier in this thread, Irma wasn't a good guide as to the potential problems. It was very short-lived; most people were hardly going to raise issues, let alone complain, within the context of a hurricane; and dogs were with their owners in resort rooms rather than left alone.

 

[anomamatt]

I didn't read all of this thread (only the fist 10 pages), but it looks like I agree with the majority: this is a terrible idea. I emailed WDW (WDW.Guest.Communications@disneyworld.com) and told them what I thought... and that this will impact where I choose to stay in the future. For many reasons (all of which have been stated in this thread), I won't stay at a resort where we could get a room where the previous guests included a dog... So that means I won't stay at any Disney resort that allows them.

Those who feel strongly about this should email WDW.

EDIT - I will add one reason why I feel strongly about this. I have two daughters (5 and 3). My 3 year old LOVES dogs, always wants to pet them. My 5 year old is terrified, even if they are on a leash, she screams and needs to be picked up into a parent's arms. It's always been this way and we have been trying to get her to deal with her fear. However, the fear is real. And I won't subject my kids to terror (if I can prevent it) during a trip to WDW. So for now we won't stay in the dog-friendly resorts, and if this ends up resort wide, we will stay off site. Always wanted to try the four seasons anyhow...

 

[Ensusieasm]

• Here is the comment I posted on the Disney Parks Blog yesterday. I thought I would post it here because it still hasn't been posted there, as it is still "awaiting moderation".
  
  "I am very sad that my favorite part of Disney World, Port Orleans Riverside, will now be dog friendly. It is a very special resort because of its calm and tranquil beauty, unmatched by any other Disney World location. Here are just a few of my concerns starting with the worst 1. Barking will shatter the tranquility. 2. Being intimidated by dogs, especially certain breeds that some owners own because they actually enjoy the power their intimidating dog makes them feel over others. Some dogs may cause injury to people or other dogs. I’m not used to having these feelings of fear at Disney Resorts. Now I will have an uneasy feeling when approached by large untrained and undisciplined dogs on long leashes held by possibly careless owners. This will ruin the magic I’ve always felt walking along the river at Port Orleans Riverside. It’s not possible to avoid because it’s not like I can cross to the other side of the street. There’s a river in the way.
  3. Dog odors in rooms, many caused by bacterial skin diseases and mites that can be transferred to humans. 4. Fleas that leave eggs in the rooms to hatch and feed on humans causing very itchy bites. (fleas carry diseases). Fleas and eggs are very tough to get rid of and need several treatments due to their life stages. 5. Dog urine soaked into carpets that cleaning and deodorizing never gets rid of. 6. Dog feces, full of parasitic worms and bacteria not always picked up by owners, left behind to step in. These are my concerns, and I have had many loveable Labrador Retreivers as part of my family, so I have had experience with all of these issues, none of which are rare or unlikely to happen.
  So, yes, I am sad today because I understand this is going to happen no matter what. Port Orleans Riverside always seemed to be far too Magical to be really real, but I never thought the magic could be taken away with just two days notice.
  
  October 15, 2017 at 12:07 pm
  Your comment is awaiting moderation."
  

 

[Sarahraegraham]

I think the Universal hotels handle it the right way. You write in the policy that pets can never be unattended. Room is marked as having a pet. People put up the Do Not Disturb sign so housekeeping doesn't enter.

If the dog is disruptive, they can say, oh, see here, you can't leave them alone, if you want to stay you need to find a daycare or petsitter.

Disney is going about it the wrong way with the 7 hour limit. They are saying that people are entitled to that 7 hours

There’s also nothing in the official literature stating the dog must be crated when left unattended.