Trial Run for Dogs in Resort Rooms

[wdwlver]

Response to my email:
Thank you for contacting us regarding our dog-friendly Resorts.

Because dogs are considered beloved members of the family, we will soon
be offering a new way for Guests to enjoy their Disney vacations with
their favorite canine companions. Beginning Oct. 15, select Disney
resort hotels will offer an opportunity for Guests to bring their
favorite four-legged friends with them for an additional charge. Guests
may have up to two dogs per room.

Guests traveling with their dogs must register them with the Front Desk
at the resort and adhere to the pet policies they receive upon
registration. These include reminders about proper care and behavior, as
well as the need for the dog to remain on a leash at all times while in
public spaces. Guests must be able to provide documentation that their
dog's vaccinations and inoculations are up to date, upon request.

We will designate certain floors or sections of a hotel as dog-friendly,
while the majority of areas will remain canine-free to accommodate
Guests with allergies or other concerns. Should you have any concerns
during your visit, we encourage you to speak with a Cast Member at the
Front Desk.

We truly appreciate the time you took to share your thoughts with us.

Best Regards,

Lucretia Roma
Guest Experience Services
Walt Disney World Resort

I emailed yesterday as well and got word for word the exact same reply back today. Except signed by someone named Greg Nettles

 

[DisneyFive]

While I certaintly respect your thoughts regarding the Disney bubble I can think of many many different stimuli, events, factors, etc that could do the same thing to me as a seeing/being around/knowing a dog is there does to you.

I don't really want to see a mom slap her daughter in the face because she stepped on her flip flop--that can certaintly take you out of the Disney bubble--but it did happen at my resort lobby in front of a decent amount of people in September.

I don't really want to see a couple arguing loudly about the available space for getting on the parking lot tram at the end of the night--but it did happen at DHS in September.

Those are just a few examples.

I fully agree. However, those cases (and many, many more) are inherent to having people and families at WDW. The problem with this pet policy is that Disney is injecting potential issues on me that didn't exist before. Dodging other people's pets, or issues with nuisance barking, or allergies weren't in the Disney bubble before (or to a MUCH lesser extent). That's my point.

Dan

 

[WDW1979]

In my city, dogs taken outside legally have to be on a leash. They are often not. At the two elementary schools near my house, there are signs on the fences that indicate no dogs on the school grounds. Not "with leash", but "no dogs" at all. Dog owners not only ignore the signs, they let the dogs run free there. In the parks around my neighbourhood, there are city trash baskets with signs that read "No Animal Waste". Want to guess what makes up about 90% of the trash in those park trash baskets? You guessed it! Little bags of dog poo. Disney is going to need plenty of Cast Members to enforce the dog rules. They probably won't have such extra cast members though, as that would cost Disney more money, and based on what I've read about dogs at Fort Wilderness Campground, unless it's really serious Disney won't want to rock the boat with guests that have dogs.

This is no good.

 

[Madame]

I was curious about the rules for service animals at WDW and wondered why the rules are not the same for Dogs staying at the hotels. I had to giggle a bit at the mention of miniature horses. It states that guests must retain control of their animals at all times. BUT, according to the new policy you can leave your dog(s) out of your control by keeping them unattended in your room for up to 7 hours.

Service Animals
We value all our Guests with disabilities and service animals are welcomed at most locations throughout Walt Disney World theme parks and Resort hotels.


At Walt Disney World theme parks and Resort hotels, a service animal is defined as any dog or miniature horse trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability.

Guests who use service animals must retain control of their animals at all times and should keep them on a leash or harness while visiting. Cast Members are not permitted to take control of service animals.

Due to the nature of some attractions, service animals may not be permitted to ride. At these locations, please ask a Cast Member about available options, including Rider Switch with a member of your party or a portable kennel.

Yes. A poster on a FB group I follow was shocked that pets were to be given less restrictions than her son’s trained service dog at WDW. I believe she said she was going to contact guest services.

 

[mikejs78]

I emailed yesterday as well and got word for word the exact same reply back today. Except signed by someone named Greg Nettles

I just replied back indicating that this response was unacceptable and didn't address any of.my concerns. Time to email upper management...

 

[WDW1979]

Disney, you take my money, thousands of dollars, and more and more and more every year. And then more and more again. Prices up up up! And for all that money you now want to shove other people's dogs in my face at your hotels, have my kids get nervous around strange dogs at your hotels, and have me sleep in rooms previously occupied by dogs. NO GOOD!

 

[Darbie]

I just replied back indicating that this response was unacceptable and didn't address any of.my concerns. Time to email upper management...

I agree it is an unacceptable response. It is obviously a form letter and didn't address a single comment you made.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I fully agree. However, those cases (and many, many more) are inherent to having people and families at WDW. The problem with this pet policy is that Disney is injecting potential issues on me that didn't exist before. Dodging other people's pets, or issues with nuisance barking, or allergies weren't in the Disney bubble before (or to a MUCH lesser extent). That's my point.

Dan

I hear ya but at the same time what is a bother to you isn't to someone else. What is a bother to me isn't to you.

There are already service dogs and miniture horses allowed on property not to mention people's clothing, etc so it was never a true 100 pet dander allergy free space. If you listen to the threads on the Boards you would be led to believe there are a lot of fake service animals out there right now at WDW. I couldn't tell you if that's true because I don't pay attention enough to that type of detail and I didn't see any on my most recent trip (at WDW or USO) but there are a lot of threads on that and they are actually in the park versus a pet who cannot go to the parks with their owner like a service animal can.

The barking for sure is an issue but so is many other things like the kid who is screaming right by me or the people who won't be quiet during Carousel of Progress so I can enjoy it, or the ones who don't care if their kid runs all over and into people or who wander away through the actual ride/attraction queue with no concern to others, etc. People are the ones in control of the pets just as much as they are in control of themselves and their children. So those who don't respect others in general may not be the ones who respect others if they bring their pet to WDW..but the pet itself is just another stimuli, factor, event. If it isn't a pet it's something else that can be jarring to my time at WDW. That's more or less what my point was.

 

[tinker&belle]

I changed from POR to POP today. The dog issue was a factor.... anyone else?

 

[dwdeb]

I received the same email response as above.
Who should I contact next?

 

[Imnatari]

I changed from POR to POP today. The dog issue was a factor.... anyone else?

Going back and forth from POP and CSR in place of our AOA reservation for March... really wanted to be at AOA, but not willing to add this stressor to my vacation

 

[Sarahraegraham]

I changed from POR to POP today. The dog issue was a factor.... anyone else?

Switched our POR 2018 res to POFQ. Hoping they won’t allow those with animals to walk the path down.

 

[Sarahraegraham]

I received the same email response as above.
Who should I contact next?

I cc’d Bob Iger, Robert Chapek and George Kalogridis and got a phone call. The CM was polite and kind but didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know. Unless the policy changes, my opinion won’t either.

 

[Tink-osophy]

While it's true there are other factors at Disney that can be potentially problematic, those tend to be things like people, food, drink, weather, even wild flora and fauna - things that are necessary or unavoidable. They might need managing or policing, but they can't be removed entirely.

On the other hand, non-service domestic animals are neither necessary nor unavoidable. Just because other things can already create issues at Disney isn't a reason to add more.

As a whole, i.e. beyond their owners, domestic pets don't add to WDW vacations and aren't intrinsically necessary, so why bring them into the equation?

 

[Wubar]

Got off the phone earlier with someone from Disney's Guest Relations. I had sent them and some other executives an email expressing my thoughts and concerns with the new policy, and I had included my phone number. Didn't expect to hear back from them, but within a few hours, someone called me. She told me that my email had reached upper management, and they had been reviewing all emails related to this issue. Not sure that is true, but for what it's worth, this was what we discussed:

1. There WILL be specific areas and rooms that are set aside exclusively for dog owners and their dogs. This is also apparently the same case as with service animals, and the number of dog-friendly rooms per resort will be capped. I asked what if all the dog-friendly rooms at one resort were full and one more dog owner called them and asked to book a room? She said they would either have to find availability at one of the other dog-friendly resorts or not bring the dog.

2. Every room that has been occupied by a service animal (and "regular" dogs going forward) will automatically be deep-cleaned by mousekeeping upon their departure. Apparently there are different levels of cleaning, regular, deep-cleaning, and an additional higher level "medical deep clean", which can be specifically requested by those that have dog allergies. I asked why that would even be necessary, as those with allergies would most likely ask for a "no-dogs-ever" room, and she said the medical deep clean can be performed on any room, not just those rooms that had been occupied previously by dogs.

3. There will be dog rules and policies that must be followed by dogs and their owners, and owners are required to have certain conditions met (shots, proof of vaccinations, etc) as well as signing various waivers upon check-in. She was unable to tell me how they would be enforced, who would be enforcing them, and what penalties that will be incurred, other than something like Disney holds its guests to very high standards, and they don't foresee problems happening all that often. She stressed that dogs would not be overtaking the resorts and the parks as a result of the new policy.

4. Confirmed that yes, as of right now, 2 dogs are allowed, with no weight or size limits. I said what would prevent a family of 4 from bringing two adult akitas, to which she said, I doubt that would happen. I said, there are no rules to prevent it from happening, so are you prepared for what could happen if it does? She responded yes, and reinforced the standards that Disney expects from its guests.

5. I expressed concern over the short 48 hour notice, especially for those that had reservations booked many months in advance, and she noted that anyone who had a problem with the new policy, specifically dog allergies, would only have to call the hotline and they would try to be re-accomodated. I expressed that according to what people had been noting on this board that is often not the case, and she said Disney is trying to make it work for all. ????

6. She said Disney is absolutely NOT doing this for monetary gain, as any gain in revenues from dog fees would be minimal, at most. Not sure I believe that either, but I did ask specific questions about it.

Take all of the above with a grain of salt, and believe what you will. Thankfully we are staying at Pop in January which is not one of the resorts on the dog-testing plan. Good luck to any of those that are in one of the select 4 and are trying to rebook elsewhere.

 

[Kay123456]

I changed from POR to POP today. The dog issue was a factor.... anyone else?

If I could I would but there is nothing available when we are coming in December. I’m very upset.

 

[P'colaBeachBum]

I agree it is an unacceptable response. It is obviously a form letter and didn't address a single comment you made.

Ditto. I received the same form letter. She might not like my response.

 

[DisneyFive]

While it's true there are other factors at Disney that can be potentially problematic, those tend to be things like people, food, drink, weather, even wild flora and fauna - things that are necessary or unavoidable. They might need managing or policing, but they can't be removed entirely.

On the other hand, non-service domestic animals are neither necessary nor unavoidable. Just because other things can already create issues at Disney isn't a reason to add more.

As a whole, i.e. beyond their owners, domestic pets don't add to WDW vacations and aren't intrinsically necessary, so why bring them into the equation?

Well said. My thoughts echo this 100%. Wish I could like this 1000 times.

Dan

 

[megs1313]

If I could I would but there is nothing available when we are coming in December. I’m very upset.

It's the same for me. I was thinking I'd upgrade to BWI, but there's only one room available and I need 3. There's nowhere else for us to go.

 

[mikejs78]

I received the same email response as above.
Who should I contact next?

https://www.disboards.com/threads/c...dw-about-pets-in-rooms.3640521/#post-58326955