Looking for info on the Kennels at WDW

[ChrisinNJ]

My Dad & his wife are spending 3 months in FL this winter. I am trying to convince them to go to Epcot & maybe DHS or Animal Kingdom. She would like to go. My Dad thinks that both she & I are nuts for suggesting it. But, he hasn't been to WDW in 35 years.

Problem is they are 3 hours from WDW & they have a dog. So next time I talk to him about it, I was hoping to give hime some info on the Kennels.

If you have used them,

Were you happy with them?
What is the cost?
How do you go about making a reservation to use them?
Are the kennels open the same hours as the parks? or longer?
Is there a kennel at each park?

My Dad & his wife are very picky when it comes to this pooch. So I don't want to recommend a service & then have them annoyed with me that it was not up to their standards.

Thanks!

 

[Prinny27]

Here is the link to the Best Friends Pet Care who run the kennels at WDW: http://www.bestfriendspetcare.com/centers.cfm#FL

I can't give a recommendation because I board my dogs up here, but my mother lives in SW Florida and will be going up next month with her new dog and will most likely use the Epcot kennel, so I can let you know what she says then. I did notice when I was looking up this information with her that the kennels in Epcot, Fort Wilderness, and the TTC will walk your dog for you and have extra 'treats' you can purchase, whereas the other kennels you will need to be there to walk your dog twice a day.

 

[LuckyMistletoe]

Greetings! We have boarded our dogs twice -- once at the Magic Kingdom Kennels, and once at the Fort Wilderness. We had a very positive experience, but don't bring our dogs any more because we found it took such a big chunk out of our day to go over there and walk them. Now, we board them at home and enjoy the parks in full.

Here are the things we loved:
1. The kennels were very clean.
2. The staff were friendly and helpful. They don't mind when you call during the day to see how things are going.
3. The rates were cheaper if you are staying on property.
4. When we stayed at the Poly, the MK kennel was very close by -- walking distance.
5. We received an adorable certificate when we checked out.

Some tips:
1. There are different size kennels/cages, and some locations (but not all) have an outdoor kennel with a run (Ft. Wilderness). I believe these are a first come/first serve basis. So the earlier you arrive,the better your chances of getting the kennel you want.
2. Check to see if you can bring your own food. At the time we boarded, there was an extra charge for that.
3. If your dogs are found to be "aggressive" then they won't feed or walk them and you have to come to the kennel and do this yourself. My dogs get freaked out during the fireworks, so they were not on their best behavior during one of our boardings. So we had to come take care of them ourselves.
4. You need to show proof of vaccinations or you cannot board.

One thing that bothered us:
- One boarding situation was during the Millenium New Year's Eve, which was enormously high attendance. We were required to board our three dogs in the same cage, which was very tight. We chose to move to the outdoor kennel with the run, but the temperatures were very low at night (down to 40 degrees). There was no option to bring the dogs indoors, so I found I was worried a lot of the time. This may have been situational to this time of year, but I wanted to mention it just in case it applies to you.

In general, we really loved the kennels and recommend them highly. Good luck to you!