We had an opportunity to use
Best Friends Pet Care At Disney World in December, 2010. Since we just moved to Charlotte this past summer, we didn't have a go-to boarding place, and didn't know anyone well enough to care for Gus in our home, so we just took him with us and boarded him at Best Friends!
The place is brand spanking new - just opened in the Fall of 2010. Here's a picture of the front entrance:
The place is really, really nicely done, and fun!
Our guest, Gus, is a 2 year old, 15 pound long-haired dachshund:
He's only been boarded twice before, so this is still a bit new to him.
Overall, our experience was excellent! The staff was great, and the facility was clean and well-maintained. We booked Gus in a Vacation Villa, which runs around $53 a night. Now that might seem like a lot, but I am glad we spent the extra money, and it's in line with another place we used in Minnesota that was top-notch.
The standard kennels are more like you would expect for boarding, and were a little louder with barking dogs. The Vacation Villas are quieter which I think helped Gus. We also added a daily frozen peanut butter ice cream treat for a few more dollars a day.
The outside area consists of a water fountain play area:
...a grassy area (part real, part artificial):
...and a walking path:
The off-leash play area outside is half artificial turf, and half real grass, with a patch of gravel to one side.
Gus would go on either the real grass or the gravel, but not the artificial grass.
The walking path is nice, but would be better if it were a little longer. It was more productive for us to take Gus for a walk outside the front of the pet place along Bonnet Creek Parkway.
They have several benches for the humans to sit on while watching their dogs. Here's a picture of me and Gus on on such bench....he's the one on the right here (in case there was any doubt):
And there are plenty of water bowls to make sure our little furry family members stay hydrated:
While they take him out for walks once or twice a day, his villa has a doggie doorway that opens up several times a day for him to go to another enclosed area to do his business. It's a great idea, but the area is concrete. Gus didn't seem to want to "go" on concrete - it just wasn't something he was used to.
We called the first night to see how he was doing, and they told us he was shy around them (normal), and had not gone to the bathroom since we left him at 3:00 pm.
When we called the next morning, he still had not gone, so that's when we decided we just needed to go over and visit him. As soon as we got him and took him outside, he peed. A lot. If you've seen the first Austin Powers movie, after he's initially un-frozen, you get the idea!
In the end, we adjusted our schedule so that we would go visit Gus 3 times a day - once in the morning, again in mid-afternoon, and finally on our way back to the resort. This way we knew he was going, and he really seemed to settle in once he realized we were coming back regularly.
And at night, it was so much fun to see the holiday lights they had outside:
This worked well since the POFQ was right down the street, but if we were at any other resort, it would have been more of an effort. One really good part is they open (for visits) an hour before the first park opens, and stay open for visits an hour after the last park closes that day. So we did not have to sacrifice any park time to make sure he did his business.
The last thing is regarding the playgroups. Gus hasn't spent a lot of time in doggie playgroups, but he does like to play with other dogs his size. Unfortunately, they don't have separate play groups for small dogs and large dogs - it's all one playgroup. After watching the play group for a few minutes, it was clear it was just too many big dogs for us to feel comfortable leaving Gus there in one. Many places have separate groups based on size, so that surprised us. A playgroup was included in the price, but since we opted out, he got an extra daily walk.
We were very excited to get an e-mail from Gus while we were at the parks on Sunday - picture included!
That was a nice little perk!
We also got a hand-written report from the staff at the end of his stay telling us how he did, what he liked and didn't like, etc. It was cute!
Again, the staff was fantastic and they treated Gus really well. I wouldn't hesitate to take him there again, but now that I know what I know, I'd make sure I could visit a few times during the trip. And keep in mind this is our dog - he's not been boarded much. There were plenty of other dogs that seemed to have no problem figuring out the concrete thing.
We'll definitely use them again - as a matter of fact, we just booked his stay for our trip later this year. And since we will be staying at the POR, it will be super convenient to visit.
