Walt Disney World Resort Begins Trial of Modified Dog Policy at 4 Hotels

[Figment!]

Effective October 15, 2017; the Walt Disney World Resort has modified its dog policy at 4 resort hotels as part of a trial program:

• The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground.
• Disney Port Orleans Resort – Riverside
• Disney’s Art of Animation Resort
• Disney’s Yacht Club Resort

The Dog Policy has been modified (only at the listed 4 hotels) on a trial basis as follows:

>> Guest rooms eligible for dogs will only be designated on specific floors or sections at the 4 participating hotels. Guests with dog allergies or anxiety around dogs may request to have their Guest room not near these areas.

>> Limit two dogs per guest room.

>> A $50 per night fee will be charged per participating Guest room at Art of Animation, Port Orleans Riverside, & Cabins at Fort Wilderness.

>> A $75 per night fee will be charged per participating Guest room at the Yacht Club.

>> The 4 participating hotels will provide “Pluto’s Welcome Kit” as a new amenity for Guests staying with dogs.

The kit includes:



A pet mat
Food & water bowls
A pet ID tag
Plastic disposable waste bags
Puppy pads
Dog walking maps
A “Do Not Disturb” door hanger


The "Do Not Disturb" door hanger must be placed on the outside of the door if the dog is unaccompanied inside the Guest room. During these times the Guest Room will not be eligible for housekeeping services and Guests may alternatively schedule a time for cleaning when they can be present with the dog or accompany the dog outside.

>> Dogs are only permitted in their carrier aboard Disney’s Magical Express & Minnie Vans to and from the 4 participating resorts.

>> Dogs are only permitted in their carrier aboard the internal transportation buses at the participating resorts (only applicable at Port Orleans and Fort Wilderness).

>> Dogs staying at the participating 4 hotels are subject to a “Code of Conduct” including being leashed at all times outside of the Guest room, being quiet if left unattended in their Guest room, not being allowed on any furniture in common areas, and other similar behavior.

>> The 4 participating hotels have designated and marked Dog Relief Areas:

Fort Wilderness
-Waggin' Trails Dog Park
-Grassed Area in Loop 2300
-Grassed Area in Loop 2200

Art of Animation
-Grassed Area between building #7 and Hour Glass Lake
-Grassed Area between building #6 and Hour Glass Lake
-Grassed Area between building #5 and Hour Glass Lake
-Grassed Area between building #2 and Road Way

Port Orleans-Riverside
- Grassed Area beyond parking lot near building #24
- Grassed Area beyond parking lot near building #15
- Grassed Area between parking lot and building #95
- Grassed Area between walkway and building #80

Yacht Club

- Grassed Area beyond the Quiet Pool area
(Nearest Guest rooms are 1054-1032, 1030-1012, & 1001 - 1009)


>> These policy modifications to not affect standing policies related to service dogs.

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Moderator Note


These policy changes have already elicited impassioned responses both approving and disapproving of the change across the internet. As always on INTERCOT, please keep the discussion constructive & civil.

[Cinderelley]

I'm so excited about this. When I stayed at the Ft. Wilderness cabins, I had wished my dogs were there. It would be nice if they had a service that transported the dogs to the Best Friends Pet Care Kennel while you went to the park.

[missymouseworld]

Do you think they implemented this program because the recent Hurricane event in FL allowed guests to bring pets to the hotels during evacuations? I was watching some video of the pets participating in talent shows, etc. and it looked like it was a positive experience for many people/animals. Or was this something they had in the works for awhile? I know there are usually a lot of surveys sent out to guests regarding parks, resorts, dining....maybe there was a pet survey recently.

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

I'm 100% good about having them in the cabins, it makes perfect sense, especially since there are already dog loops at the campground.

The others worry me. I was surprised at POR (where we frequently stay) that the areas were so spread out. I thought (and if it was me), I would have had the "dog section" in well, one section. Maybe a way to fill the "less desirable" buildings?

We're a family that will have to avoid the dogs. Between allergies and my daughter being terrified of dogs, having dogs, even wonderful dogs who are well controlled won't be a good match for our trip.

[Dulcee]

We are very excited about this. Our dogs are great hotel travelers and its hard at times for us to find someone to watch them.

[1DisneyNut]

I was wondering how long it was going to take for them to see the profit potential in allowing dogs. You would be amazed how many people stay at offsite hotels that allow dogs just for that reason. We have done so a number of times ourselves.

[marlyn]

I was there during Irma and we saw lots of dogs around with evacuees. They weren’t any problem. My only concern would be doge who were barkers left in their rooms. I would hope people would take them to the Doggie Daycare if they are out of their rooms all day

[baldburke]

Here's another vote for no pets please! We have allergies. When we stay at other hotels that are pet friendly my wife and children can immediately tell if it is or was a pet room. We have to change rooms or leave. It's that bad! I understand that there will be designated rooms for pets only. However I agree with Marlyn that barkers could be problems. Plus I would imagine that the wear and tear on pet based rooms would be greater. Will there be an up-charge for pet based rooms? Will they allow pets to come via Magical Express next?

[1DisneyNut]

Here's another vote for no pets please! We have allergies. When we stay at other hotels that are pet friendly my wife and children can immediately tell if it is or was a pet room. We have to change rooms or leave. It's that bad! I understand that there will be designated rooms for pets only. However I agree with Marlyn that barkers could be problems. Plus I would imagine that the wear and tear on pet based rooms would be greater. Will there be an up-charge for pet based rooms? Will they allow pets to come via Magical Express next?

The answers to your questions are in the original post. The answer to both is yes. There is a $50 or $75 per night additional charge per night depending on which resort. They are also allowed on magical express as well as the internal resort buses as long as they are in a carrier.

I will go ahead and predict that this pet policy will go permanent after the test and will be rolled out to other resorts. I can see them getting an extra $100 per night at deluxe resorts. It is way too much additional money for them to pass up on plus they were losing guests to offsite hotels due to the no pets policy.

[ThanxForNoticin]

The one that concerns me is the "code of conduct" where dogs must be quiet when left unattended in the room. That's all fine, but how will they enforce it? If a family is out at a park until midnight and the dog is barking in the room - it's not the owner's problem at that point. It becomes a problem for the people in the adjoining rooms. We had a situation like this last year at AKL, where they allow service dogs to stay with the family. I have no issue with service dogs - those who really are service dogs. This "service" dog was left behind alone in the room next to us and just whined and barked for hours until after midnight. We called the front desk and security came, and they said they couldn't do anything - they wouldn't knock and they certainly weren't allowed to go into the room. Again, service dogs do a lot of great things. But if the dog was a service dog, why wasn't the dog with the family member it was assisting?

Not a big fan of this new policy, but it was only a matter of time. Seems to me Disney should build a new PLUTO Resort, and make that the pet-friendly on-site place for families who travel with pets.....

[CynBeth]

Do you think they implemented this program because the recent Hurricane event in FL allowed guests to bring pets to the hotels during evacuations? I was watching some video of the pets participating in talent shows, etc. and it looked like it was a positive experience for many people/animals. Or was this something they had in the works for awhile? I know there are usually a lot of surveys sent out to guests regarding parks, resorts, dining....maybe there was a pet survey recently.

I wondered that as well.

[texas211]

I was there during Irma and we saw lots of dogs around with evacuees. They weren’t any problem. My only concern would be doge who were barkers left in their rooms. I would hope people would take them to the Doggie Daycare if they are out of their rooms all day


Thats why they should only allow mastiffs. Quiet, don't move for 6-10 hours, minimal shedding, turds are easy to find in the grass.



I am curious, why POR has turned into the experimental resort (the soap nightmare, the dog thing, etc).

[Cinderelley]

The one that concerns me is the "code of conduct" where dogs must be quiet when left unattended in the room. That's all fine, but how will they enforce it? If a family is out at a park until midnight and the dog is barking in the room - it's not the owner's problem at that point. It becomes a problem for the people in the adjoining rooms. We had a situation like this last year at AKL, where they allow service dogs to stay with the family. I have no issue with service dogs - those who really are service dogs. This "service" dog was left behind alone in the room next to us and just whined and barked for hours until after midnight. We called the front desk and security came, and they said they couldn't do anything - they wouldn't knock and they certainly weren't allowed to go into the room. Again, service dogs do a lot of great things. But if the dog was a service dog, why wasn't the dog with the family member it was assisting?

Not a big fan of this new policy, but it was only a matter of time. Seems to me Disney should build a new PLUTO Resort, and make that the pet-friendly on-site place for families who travel with pets.....

I love the idea of a Pluto resort. Maybe this test is to see if there is enough interest before they spent all the money on a new resort. They could have the kennel incorporated with it.

Personally, I wouldn't take my dog to a strange place and leave them alone in a room all day and night. Why even bring your dog if that is what you are going to do?

The service dogs I have seen in the hospitals are very well behaved. They don't bark. They very rarely need to be taken out to the bathroom. They don't leave their owner's side. I have seen some that don't even get a drink unless their service dog outfit is taken off. Maybe the one that was barking in the room was a service dog in training.

[luvdiznee]

I wonder why they chose AoA, one of the newer resorts as part of this trial. Well at least it's only certain parts of it so there's a chance we could still stay there. My son and daughter are both allergic to pets so this wouldn't play out well for us.

[DisneyFan1979]

Someone posted the complete new dog policy on Twitter: management will call the guests if the dog barks when they're out and they're expected to address the issue within 30 minutes.

I'd be willing to bet that on an internal basis Disney has designated certain rooms for guests with dogs. It makes the most sense from a business perspective, especially during this test phase, as I'm sure they're monitoring wear and tear.

Personally, everywhere I go now I see and encounter dogs. In Target, in Starbucks, on my daily subway commute, outside my house, outside my office, etc. So to me this is simply Disney reacting to this trend.

[texas211]

30 minutes? Too bad it takes an hour to get on a disney bus back to the resort. Or its like a 30 minute walk from the back from Springs or Epcot to even get out of the park.

[brad192]

So, they're only allowing modified dogs at WDW? ;) Back in the day, we had our dog modified so she wouldn't have puppies. :D

Seriously, WDW is not the place for non-service dogs. You're gone morning 'til night, the dog is left alone in a strange place for that time with no recourse but to relieve themselves in the room, and obviously, Mousekeeping will not refresh your room. Where's the up-side?

Leave your l'il buddies at home with a friend or family. They, and you, will be more comfortable, happier, and less stressed. :thumbsup:

[Cinderelley]

So, they're only allowing modified dogs at WDW? ;) Back in the day, we had our dog modified so she wouldn't have puppies. :D



Lol. All of my dogs have been modified too.

Not everyone's trip consists of being at the park from dusk til dawn. I would love to just relax at the Ft. Wilderness cabins with my dog. Maybe leave for a horse back ride. Visit hoop dee doo one night. Sit on the porch drinking some tea.

Unfortunately, the doggie love of my life is 15 years old. I'm too afraid to make the trek from Arizona to Florida on a plane with her. I'll take my two other dogs at some point. I still <3 them. Just not as much.

[texas211]

Lol. All of my dogs have been modified too.

Not everyone's trip consists of being at the park from dusk til dawn. I would love to just relax at the Ft. Wilderness cabins with my dog. Maybe leave for a horse back ride. Visit hoop dee doo one night. Sit on the porch drinking some tea.

Unfortunately, the doggie love of my life is 15 years old. I'm too afraid to make the trek from Arizona to Florida on a plane with her. I'll take my two other dogs at some point. I still <3 them. Just not as much.

Amen. You can't trust the airlines to get you and our luggage to Florida. I wouldn't put my dog there, unless I had to. We'd drive. My mastiff, he'd be asleep the entire time, from 8-5pm. Wouldn't notice.

I'm not in love w/ more dogs in the rooms, as the rooms already have a cleanliness issue as it stands. But, at least with an official policy that will help w/ all the people bringing/sneaking their dogs in.

[1DisneyNut]

So, they're only allowing modified dogs at WDW? ;) Back in the day, we had our dog modified so she wouldn't have puppies. :D

Seriously, WDW is not the place for non-service dogs. You're gone morning 'til night, the dog is left alone in a strange place for that time with no recourse but to relieve themselves in the room, and obviously, Mousekeeping will not refresh your room. Where's the up-side?

Leave your l'il buddies at home with a friend or family. They, and you, will be more comfortable, happier, and less stressed. :thumbsup:

You don't have to leave them in the room. There is doggie day camp that opens about an hour prior to the earliest park opening. You take your dog over there and drop him off and then come back after you leave the park and pick them up. We have used it several times and been very pleased and our dog didn't mind going back so apparently she had a good experience as well.

I imagine that after they do this test and decide to roll it out permanent, you will see doggie day cares added to the resorts or at least a pick up and drop off where they handle it all for you.

[Cinderelley]

I was just looking at the Kid's Nite Out website to book someone for our trip in May. I noticed that they have Pet Sitting services! This would be great if you bring your pet to WDW and plan to spend the whole day in the park. :)

[1DisneyNut]

I was just looking at the Kid's Nite Out website to book someone for our trip in May. I noticed that they have Pet Sitting services! This would be great if you bring your pet to WDW and plan to spend the whole day in the park. :)

I figured pet sitting service was coming. That will be very convenient.

[baldburke]

Wow...pet sitting services?

[Mrs Bus Driver]

Wow this sounds great. I was a little concerned reading about a service dog being left in a room, that makes no since to me. As the owner of a service dog he goes every where with me otherwise he can't do his job. Which is to help me. Right now I'm in the hospital so he is staying with my son but I would never leave him alone in a strange place. I have often thought about using the kennel during fireworks because he can't handle them but would never leave him in the room. BTW I can understand why some might lie about their dog but people can be asked to leave if their service dog isn't well behaved.