Bringing pets to Walt Disney World

If you are planning a trip to the Walt Disney World Resort in the near future, your plans are likely to include your entire immediate family. But what happens when your immediate family also includes a family pet? Disney is a very pet-friendly place to vacation, with four pet kennels that offer day and overnight stays at all of the Walt Disney World theme parks, while Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campgrounds affords families the opportunity to have your pet stay right with you on vacation. Disney is also taking their pet services a step further, as they have recently partnered with Best Friends PetCare Inc., one of the leading pet care providers in the nation, to handle and manage all of the pet kennels on property and also to build a full-service luxury pet “resort” that will open on Bonnet Creek Parkway in 2009 and will provide services including dog and cat boarding, day care, grooming and a doggy day camp.

But what are pet owners supposed to do until then? As we mentioned above, Disney currently offers four pet kennels where your four-legged friends can stay for either a few hours while you enjoy the parks, or all day and night (Disney resort hotels do not currently allow pets to stay with guests in their rooms). These kennels are located at the Transportation and Ticket Center (just outside the Magic Kingdom Park), as well as at Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park. All of the above kennels open one hour prior to the opening of each park and close one hour after park closing.

Please be advised, however, that if you do indeed leave your pet at one of these kennels, you do have certain responsibilities for their care. While feeding is available for you, all guests must walk their dog twice each day – once in the morning and once at night – and dogs less than one year of age must be walked three times per day. Among the requirements for using the kennel include proof of vaccinations by a licensed veterinarian, and each dog or cat must also be at least 8 weeks old to be kenneled. Among the vaccinations required for dogs are Rabies, DHP (Distemper, Hepatitis, Parainfluenza), Parvovirus and Bordetella, while cats must have proof of Rabies, Panleukopenia, Rhinotracheitis and Calcivirus vaccinations.

These pet kennels do come at a price, although it is fairly inexpensive. For day care, each pet will cost per day, while overnight stays run at for Disney resort guests and for non-resort guests. There is also an additional charge if you would like to have your pet stay with you at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campgrounds. For just per day, your pet can stay with your family at one of the select full hook-up campsites on property, but you must make this request when making your reservation and they must still meet all of the vaccination requirements stated above. This resort also has a kennel on-site to look after pets during the day for just per pet per day.