We experienced our first Disney World trip with a service dog! We are novice Disney vacationers, only being our second trip. With that said, I had no earthly idea how to do Disney with a service dog. I packed lots of treats, his shoes, a travel water bowl, and my confidence. Some things to remember before I go in to more details:
- Blaze is a service dog, he has been trained very well. However, he is still a dog..not a robot! Which means as his handler I have to remind him not to eat stuff off the ground, to walk nicely and not pull on the leash, and to praise him for a well done job!
- Blaze synchronizes with his environment very easily! If the energy is high...his energy is high.
- Blaze is a lab...labs love food.
Ten things I want to share about our Disney trip with a service dog:
1) Blaze was able to ride the majority of rides that we rode. If he wasn't able to ride, they provide a kennel with his own personal body guard (this is not a joke...someone at Disney is paid to stand by the dogs kennel...see picture below). Super awesome that they provide this service, as we enjoyed riding rides together as a family. Secretly there were many times I was very envious that he got to rest in a kennel.
2) For those of you who have meet Blaze know he isn't a huge dog. This was very handy at Disney. When Blaze rode the rides, he had to squeeze into tight spaces, and stay in his "down" position. The first ride we rode was at Tomorrowland in Magic Kingdom, it was race cars....race cars big enough for a parent and child. Imagine a parent, child, and a dog. Blaze did awesome, only popped his head up 3 times to see why the hell I was driving so horribly.
To the mom waiting to get our race car, after we were finished. Who was surprised when a dogs head popped up from the floorboard. Who saw the panic on my face as I tried to figure out how to appropriately get Wyatt, Blaze, and myself out of the tight space. Who saw the fear in my eyes as I was wondering how I was going to ride these rides with Wyatt and Blaze for 5 days. Who said "mom, good for you! awesome that you are doing this for your son". Thank you! Those words were so needed!!!
4) Holy Cow...where does all the popcorn on the ground come from?!?! Every step that you take at Disney, imagine at least 3 kernels of popcorn. Blaze did pretty well at the "leave it" command, but damn he is fast. Thank you Disney guest for treating Blaze to popcorn.
5) The ground at Disney is HOT. Therefore Blaze wore his shoes to protect his feet. Pretty sure 99% of people at Disney have never seen a dog in shoes. He was more popular than Mickey Mouse...no kidding!!
6) Most people were super respectful when they saw us with a dog. We received lots of smiles and "awe, he is the cutest dog ever". However, I was amazed by the "drive by" petting, the whistle sounds to get his attention, and those who just walked up and greet him like he was there dog. Working at Disney takes a lot of focus! Oh and the people who would randomly come up and took his picture...what the hell?! So not cool!
7) Having a service dog attached to your child at Disney means I received lots of questions. I loved it!! It was such a great way to educate others about Autism and Good Dog!.
8) Laura and Rick...the Good Dog name is a very clever one! I heard at least 400 times..."awe, his vest says Good Dog!".
9) Blaze made such a difference for Wyatt. I was amazed by how much of the parks Wyatt walked, how he got on and off the rides with more confidence and overall so much more calm and happy. Most people were so much more patient with us and provided smiles instead of stares.
10) Disney has won me over. I was never the parent who was so excited to take my kids to Disney. Actually the first time I went kicking and screaming. Now I am ready to book our yearly trip! Disney is so accommodating for families like ours. We had several Disney employees stop us and ask if Blaze needed water. They were so quick to provide an extra hand and support. Thanks Disney!
Oh one extra thing...
11) No Blaze did not like Pluto. Maybe wasn't helpful that Pluto came up to Blaze waving his arms and jumping up and down like a crazy "dog". Blaze said...pluto needs some training.
