People with pets who want to visit Walt Disney World have to make a hard choice, leave them home or bring them with. Bringing them with has meant options for staying on property were very limited (overnight kennels or off-site hotels or vacation homes). But now the welcome mat is out for pups thanks to a pilot program at four Walt Disney World resorts.
Beginning this past weekend four resort hotels, Disney’s Yacht Club Resort, Disney Port Orleans Resort – Riverside, Disney’s Art of Animation Resort and the cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground.
The new service permits up to two dogs per guest room. Each resort also offers easy access to outdoor pet exercise areas and green spaces with pet relief areas.
Dog lovers will find plenty of Disney amenities and special touches for their four-legged friends.
- At check-in, Pluto’s Welcome Kit includes a mat, bowls, a pet ID tag, courtesy plastic disposable bags, puppy pads and dog walking maps. Also included: a Pluto “Do Not Disturb” door hanger indicating to hotel staff that a pet is in the room.
- Day care and other pet services are offered nearby at Best Friends, an on-property full-service pet care facility. Fees apply.
- Coming soon – select pet merchandise at the four resort properties.
The resorts’ per night/per room pet-cleaning rates are:
- Disney’s Art of Animation Resort $50/night
- Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort $50/night
- Disney’s Yacht Club Resort $75/night
- Cabins at Disney’s Ft. Wilderness Resort $50/night
We are hearing that some guests have been calling Disney to ask to be moved from the new dog friendly resorts. This seems reasonable, if you have an allergy or fear of dogs and booked a hotel believing it would be dog free.
Even if you don’t want to bring your dog to your hotel, Disney still has a kennel. Although I don’t have a pet at the moment, I feel like Disney veered off course when they closed the kennels at the parks themselves. With kennels located near each park entrance a guest could pop out two or three times a day to walk their pet. Now they have to get to their car, drive to the kennel, or back to their hotel room, and then walk their pet.
For those worried about unwanted dog encounters. The rules state that dogs staying in a Disney resort rooms must be well behaved, leashed in resort public areas and properly vaccinated.
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I love dogs – I hate this idea. Terrible idea. These resorts are off my list. Allergy issues, potty issues, fleas, leaving dog in room all day, and there will be barking/noise issues.
A huge concern is what will this do to the maintenance fees. Don’t the vacation club owners have a say I this?
Often, dog-friendly hotels do not allow dogs to be left unattended in the room at any time. You’re required to take the dog with you or to a kennel when you leave the room. I wonder if this will be Disney’s policy?
As a dog lover and DVC owner, my family has driven nearly 20 hours to WDW with one of our dogs, reserved VIP accommodations at Best Friends (which is a fantastic facility with great staff) during the day for her, and then picked her up each evening and stayed off property to be with her. While we no longer do this, I think this is a great test and I have always thought there should be a property where this is possible. I am not an advocate of leaving a dog in a hotel room alone for the day and feel there should be a requirement to prevent that. Many who don’t want to stay in a room that a dog stayed, might be surprised that they may have already considering the prevalence of service dogs that visit. There are many luxury boutique hotel groups that have always been welcoming to pets and haven’t experienced issues with the policy. Few guests will cross paths with a dog staying on property; I wish the same could be said for ill behaving children that we are all subjected to on Disney transportation and in signature restaurants while their parents turn a blind eye. Being a DVC owner, I’m confused why the concern from other DVC owners considering none of the properties in the test are DVC properties. It would be beautiful to see everyone less concerned about dogs in hotel rooms when there are unfortunate families across the country that have lost everything as a result of hurricanes and fires.
As a fellow DVC member and dog owner…. Well Said!
I know someone with severe allergies who is staying at the Art of Animation in a few weeks. They called to ask if this new policy was for a block of rooms or the entire resort. It is the entire resort. They are furious! I am also, and I love dogs. Every room will be contaminated with animal dander and people with allergies will be sick their entire vacation. Plus people are not going to leave the park every few hours to walk their dogs so the floors will be ruined. And many children are terrified of dogs. This is just a horrible idea. They should have picked a single area of the resorts to be open to dogs or just done this at one resort.
This is the worst idea I have ever heard….I am super sensitive to dog dander…so have never owned a dog. Not to mention I was attacked my a dog twice..once as a child and once in my own neighborhood while riding a bike for exercise when an unleashed dog came charging out of a garage at me. Would I want to “meet” an dog in the hallway or elevator while someone is taking their dog out for a walk? NO!!!!! Will people clean up dog poop out on the grounds? I doubt it since so many dog walkers I see almos never do the cleanup. They will never…ever..be able to get rid of all the dog dander…..bedspread on the beds are notoriously rarely washed…rugs are rarely shampooed….dog hair is everywhere. I am hoping Disney will rethink this and cancel plans. They have a kennel for those who must bring their dogs with them…that is enough. Are you listening Disney????????????? This continues, I may rethink my annual Disney trip since this would no longer be a happy time for me.
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