Dogs at Fort Wilderness

[Dashonthedash]

I will be going to Fort Wilderness with my dogs in mid-August. I've been trying to get information on rules about leaving the dogs in the RV (motorhome) by themselves. I can't find anything that forbids leaving the dogs, as long as they're not a nuisance (as in barking). I was planning to leave them a few hours at a time, returning for potty breaks. They are all well-behaved. Has anyone done this, and is it OK? Also, has anyone ever experienced a power outage at Fort Wilderness while there (as in loss of A/C)?

I considered leaving the dogs at the off-site kennel, which is about 2 miles from the campground. Unfortunately, I have no way of getting the dogs to or from the kennel, since I will not have a toad or car. I asked the folks at the kennel for options, and they only suggested a pet-friendly taxi, which would likely require multiple trips for all 3 dogs. When I called Fort Wilderness and asked there, they just transferred me to Yellow Cab, so I hung up. Also, the kennel advertises a "doggie day camp" online, which sounds great but, when I called them, they told me that is only for "locals". The only advantage to boarding them there over leaving them in the RV is not worrying about the A/C going out (of course, they could get sick at the kennel).

So, who here has been to Fort Wilderness with their pets, and how did you handle it? Thank you in advance for your responses.

[Dashonthedash]

That's what I was hoping when I called the campground earlier today, but the lady I talked to was totally clueless. I got the general impression she was just there to handle the phones, and had nothing to do with the campground, even though she answered with "Fort Wilderness".

[CC_Crabman]

I wonder if park management could help you find a dog sitter to stay with your pets?

[Dashonthedash]

How many neighbors are going to stay at the campsite all day? I know there are monitors that can alert you to high temperatures, are there devices that can send an alert to your phone if power goes out?

I didn't read anything about campground hosts. Are there hosts in any of the loops that could phone about outages? Also, I did notice on one site that babysitting services are available there. What about petsitting?

[Steeljag]

Leaving the windows open in you RV here in the summer heat will still result in temps close to 100 degrees. Disney is top notch, however, sever T-storms pop up quick here, and a lightning strike could knock the power out.

Kennel is the best idea, second would be AC and plenty of water and visits back to the RV every few hours.

Maybe give your neighbor your cell # ?

[2edgesword]

As you mentioned you could leave the A/C running but if it should shut down it could getting brutally hot inside. It might be a better option to leave the A/C off and keep windows partially open in the RV. You would probably want to break up your day at the park to return to the campground to check on them at some point during the day. The bus transportation from Ft. Wilderness to the parks runs on a regular basis and has pick-up/drop-off areas near each section of the campground.

Beyond that, have a great time :). My wife and I camped there back in April and had a wonderful time.

[Pawz4me]

We've done it. No problems at all. But that was in January, so heat or a power outage wasn't a big concern. WDW/Fort Wilderness is so well run I wouldn't worry about a problem with the power supply unless it's from a thunderstorm.

[Craig_A]

It's OK to leave your dog(s) in the RV alone during the day. I've done it several times. There's also a dog park in the campground where you can let them run.