It isn’t very often that you see a service dog at Walt Disney World. This past November, if you were there right around Thanksgiving, then you might have seen a beautiful boxer working as a service dog. Merlin is a working service dog for my boyfriend. He will alert us when my boyfriend needs his medication or just capture my boyfriend’s attention to lessen an anxiety attack. Merlin has been a tremendous help in our daily life and has given my boyfriend more freedom. So why WOULDN’T he go to Walt Disney World with us?
The Resort
We stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge. While Merlin felt the need to warn us about the strange animals outside our room by growling when we first checked out the balcony, he had no problem with giraffes, zebras, and various birds wandering around outside. Once we acknowledged his warning, he didn’t bother with them any more. He LOVED the bed though. Merlin was able to find a comfy spot on both beds, so whichever one he chose to nap on, he was comfortable. We made sure to bring a travel bowl set for him so that we were able to establish a “food area” for him. Because we know Merlin’s verbal cues so well, we knew when he needed to make that trip outside to relieve himself.
This was about the only thing that I felt could have been done better. (I know Disney does everything so well, what could they possibly need to have done better?) There is no designated area for a service animal to relieve itself. I had made sure to notify the resort in plenty of time to allow for any special arrangements that might be needed. We were staying Club level so I had been in contact with itinerary planning since before our 180 day mark. However, when we needed to take Merlin out, we had to walk along the path with grass, trees, or other flora on either side of the walkway. Then we had to find a spot that was at least somewhat accessible for Merlin without completely trampling all over the plants. Not to worry, we make sure to carry poop bags so we can clean up after Merlin.
The Buses
We normally boarded the buses first, not because of Merlin, but because of my daughter using a wheelchair. Merlin didn’t really care for laying on the bus floors. Like the rest of Walt Disney World, the buses were pretty clean. We weren’t worried about nasty stuff on the floor of the buses for him to lay on. No, what Merlin didn’t like about the bus floors was that they were cold. Merlin has short hair, and the hair on his underside is shorter than the hair on his back. So he doesn’t like laying on cold floors. What was the solution? Simple, he just climbed into my boyfriend’s or my lap and took a nap while we rode to our destination.
The Parks
Our biggest concern was the parks at Walt Disney World themselves. We had not taken Merlin anywhere with that many people before this trip. He did a great job. However, if you have a “large” service dog (meaning one that you can’t carry around or keep in your lap in a wheelchair) the one thing you need to watch for are the “petters.” Mostly kids, but some adults, the petters are those that will just walk up to your dog and attempt to pet him, despite the service dog vest. While we heard many kids tell their parents not to touch the pretty dog because he’s working, we also saw many kids try to surreptitiously come up behind Merlin to pet him.
We developed a touring formation to counter some of this behavior. I would push my daughter in her wheelchair while Merlin walked behind me and my boyfriend walked behind him. (By the way, Merlin was on a leash that my boyfriend held.) This way Merlin was able to navigate through the crowds by following behind me, and my boyfriend and I were able to keep people from trying to pet him. However, this formation really only worked when we were moving. While we waited in lines or waited to be seated at our dining reservations, we would stand around Merlin to keep others from coming up to pet him. We learned to do this after our first night at the parks. We had reservation at Cinderella’s Royal Table. We had some great photos taken with Cinderella and then went up to the dining floor. We ate a wonderful meal and our waitress was kind enough to bring Merlin a couple of bottles of water. While we dined, Merlin chose to sleep. When we got up to leave, we heard comments from all sides about how they didn’t even know there was a dog there. The problem came when we were heading to the stairs. (My daughter’s wheelchair had been taken downstairs while we ate because she is ambulatory, but needs the chair for long distances.) As we were at the top of the stairs getting ready to leave a little girl came up behind Merlin and began to roughly pat him on the rear. Merlin barked and scared her, startled us, and generally made his presence known. After that, we made sure that he was not open to others coming up to him. This was Merlin’s first trip to Walt Disney World and he did a fabulous job!
Tips
One thing to make sure of at Walt Disney World, is to stop in at Guest Relations in each park and pick up the Guests With Disabilities maps. These maps tell you which rides are accessible and which rides will require you to transfer from an ECV/wheelchair to the ride cars. They also tell guests with service animals which rides the animals are NOT allowed on and where the service animal relief stations are located. In Animal Kingdom, the Cast Member manning the entrance will need to make a call to let other Cast Members know that there is a service animal entering the park.
If you can’t really figure out where the service animal relief stations are, don’t be afriad to ask a Cast Member. They are there to help.
The Photopass photographers will make sure to get your dog in the picture as well. We even had a couple take pictures of just Merlin. Disney is wonderful at making their parks as accessible as possible to anyone and everyone. Their consideration of service animals is just one more example of that.
Merlin is a big part of our family now and we couldn’t imagine going anywhere without him now. While this was his first Disney trip, it will not be his last. If you or a family member has a service dog, don’t let that stop you from enjoying a truly wonderful Walt Disney World vacation.
Love this! Very informative. Thanks, Pamela!
Hey Pam!!! 🙂 Glad to see that everything went so well!! 🙂 🙂 🙂
“As we were at the top of the stairs getting ready to leave a little girl came up behind Merlin and began to roughly pat him on the rear. Merlin barked and scared her, startled us, and generally made his presence known.”
Yeap, we’ve had this happen too. It’s bad to sneak up behind a service dog, especially when the owner is prone to panic attacks – we’ve had this happen and Little Dude barked up a storm and Stitch almost fainted from the stress and adrenaline.
Interesting with the issues finding a place for him to do his business. We’ve stayed at the Boardwalk, French Quarters and Riverside and didn’t have a problem, BUT I know the grounds are different at the Animal Lodge. Also, Little Dude is so small we still use puppy pads with him so he doesn’t need to wake us up at 3am due to the super small bladder. 🙂
Two additional comments:
1. Using the Animal Relief areas – 90% of the cast members know about them, but I have had two cast members who didn’t know and I had to ask them to trust me. I walked backstage with them and pointed to the sign. Both times, the person was super understanding and very confused. Kudos to them though for not arguing or fighting or anything! Once they saw the sign, all was good.
2. Photopass. Maybe because Little Dude is so small and fits into a bag, we have had problems with pictures. Our first trip, first day, first picture = no dog. Cut him off right at the ears. So we always mention it. On the bonus side, we have some ADORABLE pictures of just him that we wouldn’t have been able to get otherwise 🙂
I’m not sure if you don’t travel much or what, but hotels don’t normally have potty areas for service dogs. Some hotels that allow pets don’t even have potty areas for the pets. We’re blessed at Disney to have dedicated potty areas in the parks (albeit they likely added them so the dogs wouldn’t mess up their pretty lawns) and that most of the hotels have lots of grass and mulch areas available. At Animal Kingdom Lodge, there is a large area just before the covered bus stop that is a wonderful potty spot. Sure, it can be a bit of a trek from the lobby (which might be a bit of a trek from your room) if you have a mobility issue, but it isn’t too bad and I’ve been in worse potty scenerios at hotels before.
Does your service dog’s vest have “Do not touch” (or similar) on it? That helps keep some people from touching the dog. If people do attempt to touch the dog, tell them to stop and move the dog away (if possible) if it was a child so they are not tempted to try again. And remember to make sure your service dog never barks, especially at a child (or adult). A misbehaving service dog can be kicked out.
PassPorter has a book all about going to Disney with a disability and it includes the locations of all the potty spots, as well as tells you how to load the rides as a service dog handler (and wheelchair user). What I do is make color photocopies of the maps from my regular PassPorter, apply stickers to each of the potty areas, and laminate the maps. I use a single-hole punch on one of the corners of each map and thread them onto a carabiner. I attach the carabiner to my water bottle holder (which I wear via a cross-body shoulder strap) so that I can reach down and pull up the maps quickly – much faster than unfolding the Disney maps (which are larger) and, of course, the PassPorter maps are much better than the Disney maps, including that they have the walking times on them.
Now, what was your dog’s favorite ride?!
Today’s reply is brought to you by my boyfriend, Ramoan:
Hi. my name is Ramoan. The service dog is MY dog. I’ve traveled plenty. I KNOW that most hotels don’t normally have potty areas, but there’s usually grass and some topiary, because my dog is not particularly picky (most of the time) where he urinates and defecates. My mentor for dog training happens to work with legislation in this country concerning service animals. So far as traveling? I’m going to San Jose the day after tomorrow, I’ll be in LA a few weeks after that, then will return home. Home in a place where people hardly ever see a service dog, much less have any kind of accommodations, people generally don’t know what to do when they see a service dog. Recently, in fact, there’s been legislation about the horrible conditions of ‘Pet Relief’ areas at airports. I know that when we got checked in and what not, I had to go to the other end of the building, go outside, then go to the opposite side of the building again to get to the spot where there was a cage and wood chips with plenty of dog poop on the ground to signify the “correct area” and then I had to go through the whole TSA process again.
Any man or animal wearing a bright orange vest with reflective strips should give people a clue that this is not someone to mess with. I heard lots and lots of children telling their parents not to pet my dog. Apparently a lot of children know better than adults about this situation. I fully expect my dog to respond when he’s assaulted. How would you react if someone ran up behind you and started touching your “no-no” places. Who is used to someone running up behind them and patting them on the butt repeatedly. I have the same reaction my dog does. Misbehaving would denote that my dog acted improperly in some manner, but when my dog is touched by a stranger from behind, I expect him to react. My dog is next to me. Someone not only ran up behind him, but me too.
“Do not touch” would be ignored just as much as the big orange vest, with the reflective stripes and a badge on either side that says, “I am a service dog” somehow doesn’t work with people that don’t or can’t read. Mostly people just don’t read. Many people ask and on occasion when it’s not too crowded FOR ME and my social anxiety, I’ll make sure he’s not nervous and let him be petted.
We have every single PassPorter book for years, and they’ve all been read, with enthusiasm.
As for a favorite ride, Merlin worked many long hours on this trip. No napping except for meals and on the rides, so I believe his favorite ride would be the busses because he could get the longest naps.
Pam’s Reply: This is the first trip Merlin had ever taken, other than a day trip to Houston for a doctor appointment. He has been a huge help to Ramoan in helping to calm his anxiety and depression. This was also MY first trip with a service dog, so I am learning what is available and what isn’t.
Hey Ramoan & Pam! 🙂
“I heard lots and lots of children telling their parents not to pet my dog. Apparently a lot of children know better than adults about this situation.”
Yes, we noticed the same thing again on this trip – and it’s becoming even more common than just two years ago during our first Disney trip with a service dog.
Some TV show out there for kids must have a service dog, and tells kids not to pet. Our first trip, maybe one kid a day would correct their parent. This last trip (just came back on Monday) at least three kids a day either told their parents not to pet or announced to their parents “that dog is working, I can’t pet it.”
Which is just wonderful! All these kids will grow up soon enough, and there will be a whole population of people who know what a service dog is and that there can be different types and that they should not be touched.
Oh, and just to let you know – the rest areas for the dogs have changed at Hollywood Studios. And most cast members don’t know, including Guest Services (we had a HORRIBLE experience there on Thursday). And the GAC line changed for Haunted Mansion, and not for the better. (Although it is in a test run, so hopefully they’ll change it back.) Anyway, I’ve now added to my routine to check with Guest Services for any changes in regards to lines or rest areas, even though we were just at WDW 4 months ago. Things keep changing…
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