pumba
DIS PUMBARIZER
- Joined
- Dec 28, 1999
"Last fall my husband and I spent 10 days at Disney with some very dear friends. I am in a power wheelchair, on a vent 24/7, and have a service dog. We have been to Disney many times since I've been disabled but this was my first trip with a service dog. As in the past, I found Disney to be very accommodating to my needs with the wheelchair and they were equally accommodating this time with my dog. I stopped as needed to give her a chance to rest and have a drink of water. Cast members frequently offered to get her some ice and were very kind and thoughtful of what we might need. I can not transfer out of my wheelchair so there are quite a few rides that I am not able to go on because they are not wheelchair accessible. For all the rides where I could stay in my chair I just took my dog on the ride with me. In all instances there was room for her to stay right with me and she did just fine. I personally would not leave her in a crate while going on a ride but that is just my personal preference. If there were a ride where I felt she wouldn't be comfortable I would have chosen to not do the ride. Again, it is just my personal preference to not leave her behind in order to get a few moments of enjoyment from a ride. There are so many other things to enjoy while at Disney. My dog handled the crowds, noises, fireworks, and the hustle and bustle of our busy days exceptionally well. This was her second trip to Disney as she had gone with her puppy raisers when she was a puppy. They were actually the friends who were at Disney with us this time and they had their next puppy that they were raising with them. Their dog did exceptionally well also and there were no access issues at all. She went on more rides than my dog did because they didn't have the challenges of a power wheelchair that I did. I found the staff to be very willing to work with me and help in any way that they could. It was a very magical vacation in every way possible and I'm definitely ready to go again with my service dog by my side. There were two different days where I did leave her at Best Friends for a few hours. I found the kennel to be clean and the staff were very attentive to the needs of my dog. My husband and I did have our van with us because we drove to Disney so getting to the kennel was not a problem for us."
