No. Pets are not permitted on the festival grounds or campgrounds; however, service animals are not considered pets by the federal government and are welcome at The Texas Renaissance Festival.
Under the American Disabilities Act (ADA), a service animal is defined as a dog that has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability. The task(s) performed by the dog must be directly related to the person's disability.
ADA is also clear that emotional support, therapy, comfort, or companion animals not considered service animals and are not permitted in the festival and campground.
Though we prefer that Service Dogs have proper identification (vest, documentation, etc.) when you bring them into the festival or campground gates, this is not required.
Please be prepared to answer two questions upon entry:
(1) Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability?
(2) What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?
Note, our staff is not permitted to request any documentation for the dog, require that the dog demonstrate its task, or inquire about the nature of a person's disability.
Our staff understands that service animals may be excluded and you may be asked to leave the premises if the service animal is disruptive, the handler is unable to take effective control of the service animal, the service animal is not housebroken and grounds not maintained, or causes the animals at our event to behave aggressively or become agitated.
We want all our guests to have a safe and enjoyable experience at the festival and campground.
For more information and guidance from the Department of Justice and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regarding your and business entity rights with respect to service animals please visit https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.html.