By Hello, fellow animal lover! We are the proud companions/minions of nine animals and counting during the course of our relationship.
We could bore you to death with stories about each and every one of them, including Billy, our dog, who lived happily for six years after being given six months to live.
David wrote about 15 million words with a cat named Jack-Jack sitting in his lap. You can guess where we came up with the name.
Let’s just say that we consider our pets to be our furry children and carefully consider their care when we vacation. So, we fully understand why you’re wondering about this topic.
In a perfect world, we’d take our pets with us everywhere we go. Those of you with dogs like to do that, and we totally get it. Thankfully, Disney is more than accommodating on this front.
Here are the four pet-friendly – well, dog-friendly — hotels at Walt Disney World:
- Disney’s Art of Animation Resort
- Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside
- Disney’s Yacht Club Resort
- The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort – A Disney Vacation Club Resort
Disney also allows pets at The Campsites at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort. Obviously, you must follow some rules, though.
First, as we hinted, Disney World hotels only accept dogs at this time. The rules state that you can bring “a maximum of 2 dogs per Guest room. All dogs are expected to be well-behaved, leashed in public areas, and properly vaccinated.”
Unless you’re traveling with a service animal, your dog won’t be able to do much outside the room. Here’s what you need to know:
“Other than service animals, dogs are not permitted in theme parks, water parks, or common areas such as restaurants, pools, and recreational spaces.”
You should know about a couple of other requirements as well. Disney adds a cleaning fee when you travel with companion (i.e., NOT service) pets.
You’ll pay $50 per night per room at three of the hotels. Disney’s Yacht Club Resort charges $75 per night, while The Campsites still require a modest fee of $5 per night.
Long story short, when Disney needs to keep staff to clean up after your pet, they’ll charge you accordingly. On the plus side, you’ll get some keepsakes from your trip.
Disney provides Pluto’s Welcome Kits to all guests who book dog-friendly rooms on-site. This package includes “a mat, bowls, a pet ID tag, plastic potty bags, a few puppy pads, and dog walking maps.”
You’ll also receive a special Do Not Disturb sign for your room. It lets the staff, especially housekeeping, know you have a dog in your room. In a (wildly unlikely) case of emergency, that aspect should comfort you. Disney will know to save your puppy.
Should you decide that your dog may not enjoy being confined to the room during your trip, you can still bring them along. In fact, this suggestion applies to cats, too!
Best Friends Pet Hotel offers doggy and kitty day care. Disney doesn’t own this business, but it’s on the Disney World campus anyway.
We’ve never used this company, as our pet sitter is like a part of our family, but Cast Members swear by it. That’s partially because the employees of Best Friends Pet Hotel are also the owners.
So, this is a business where the employees believe in what they’re doing enough to invest. They provide services such as boarding, grooming, and even training.
You’ll be relieved to know the pet hotel keeps a veterinarian on-site, guaranteeing that your fur baby will receive the best possible care.
Those of you who are clingier pet parents like us will love some of the side options here. You can choose “from an extensive menu of add-ons including extra cuddles, bedtime stories, even a little pampering.”
The rates at Best Friends Pet Hotel typically start around $60 per night and max out at $113, not including add-ons.
Finally, we want you to know – because we relate – that Best Friends Pet Hotel has webcams in all the rooms. So, you can watch your pet when you get lonely and miss them.
Similarly, when you bring them with you to your hotel room, you can set up a webcam there as well. We bought a Blink Mini for just this purpose. We recommend this device if you decide to leave your pet at home too. Our littles surely must know we spy on them from Disney.
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