On King Triton's Carousel
*The "cast members" will know how to accommodate your dog. They have to ride laying down at your feet for most rides. If you are planning on going on a ride that is on the list, which your dog can not go on, you will need to have someone with you that is able to hold your dog while you are on the ride. The Disney staff can not watch your dog for you. We did this on Soarin' Over California, which Cole really loved and went on 3 times.
*For the record, Slugger's favorite ride was It's A Small World. He was really interested in all of the little people :) He struggled with what to do on the first few rides and I actually had to lift him in to the first one, but by the end he was working like a pro. He immediately knew what to do. Hop in, lay down, stay still. I was so proud of him-especially one night when it was shoulder to shoulder on Main street trying to get out of the park and I was certain that he was going to get trampled because he was so low to the ground and it was dark. He weaved in and out like a champ and I kept praising him the entire time! I am so glad that we practiced in crowded public places before we left.
*Disney has a kennel where you can leave your dog if you feel like they are slowing you down, or they are getting tired. You just need to bring their shot records. It costs to leave them there, but if you are going for more than a couple of days it might be nice to give them a break. I know that Slugger was exhausted by the end of the day. He had probably never walked that much in his life, even with all of our breaks.
*You will get random people who bring their kids up to play with your dog, or others who make snide remarks. Just remember that you are always an ambassador for other people who have service animals. I think that my favorite comment was, "I think that is the saddest thing I have ever seen! I feel so bad for that dog!" Uh, did you notice that he is at Disneyland? Plus, this dog LOVES his job. His life is not one of sadness! It made me chuckle. We actually saw another dog there who was barking and jumping up on their owner, while they were frantically trying to keep it quiet and tell it to get down. Slugger behaved like a professional the entire time.
*Make sure that you have bottled water, enough treats and everything else you need when your dog is in public. We also carried a serving of food in our backpack since we did not know when we were going to be leaving the park. We just fed him when we started eating and then he rested while we were having our meal.
We are really glad that Slugger was able to come with us and think that with his help, we might even try something like this again!
*I wrote about how to take your special needs child to Disney, here,
Amazing, the whole entire experience just sounds amazing!
ReplyDeleteWe just came back to the hotel from taking our service dog, Diesel, to the STL zoo. He is my 15 year old daughter's helper, also seizure response and mobility assistance. Without him, going through a zoo that size would've been very difficult, if not impossible. It was his first big trip. Alternatives would have been very unappealing to her (wheelchair, much more pain) had we not taken him. Service dogs are angels in dogs clothing :)
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