No more towel characters

[agavegirl1]

Ahhh...yet another "Our survey results indicate guests do not want (insert amenity or magical experience here)"

 

[manning]

The magical place is becoming less magical.

If they want to be creative and save time they can leave a molded character in its place. I bet they could buy them cheap.

wait a minute, that's one less item to buy.

Face it folks Disney has become a giant conglomerate acting in the interest of the shareholder. Now only they would raise the dividend.

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

Disney has approximately 30,000 hotel rooms versus 4250 staterooms on DCL. The towel animals were never placed in ALL of the rooms at the resorts, it was more of a pixie dust thing. Now, because of the internet, everyone wants one. 30,000 towels a DAY in order to keep the masses happy. DCL can afford to place a towel animal in each room as the prices for the staterooms allows it (and it has become an industry standard to have towel animals in cruise ship staterooms). I'm willing to wager that the front desks of the resorts receive numerous complaints every.single.day. from entitled folks not receiving a silly towel animal. I'd stop distributing them as well before I put them in 30,000 rooms.

We always had towel animals in our cabin on our Royal Caribbean Cruise so I'm think that's more a cruise industry standard. This isn't something that will be a big deal for us, since we usually didn't get one anyway (I don't really count the Mickey head towel on the bed at check in.) I don't even think our kids will notice.

 

[FTM22]

Is there somewhere to voice an opinion to Disney with regards to this issue? That would seem to be a productive use of my time, whether or not it makes a difference.

I like the towel animals myself and was also told face to face by a Mousekeeper to take them. We only took the little ones made with washcloths because of space constraints on the airplane. We left notes in our room requesting towel animals and we also tipped well. Our room was always nicely cleaned (of course we didn't leave a horrid mess either) and we met Mousekeeping each f the past two trips.

I just had an idea. Maybe they could treat towel animals in the same way as reusing/replacing towels. Have a card where you could check YES or NO for towel animals.

 

[Mouse of Mystery]

Towel animals are cute, but I don't see the big deal. WDW has a tremendous amount of rooms in their resorts and it has to be hard to maintain a quality staff that can maintain rooms, let alone take time making things out of the towels.

When we were there a couple of weeks ago, the staff arranged our kids' stuffed animals a bit and had fun with those throughout the week. That takes a lot less time and is a nice personal touch.

The hotel staff was very friendly, our room was well-maintained, and we had a few personal touches. We did not miss towel animals.

 

[GOOFY D]

Towel animals are cute, but I don't see the big deal. WDW has a tremendous amount of rooms in their resorts and it has to be hard to maintain a quality staff that can maintain rooms, let alone take time making things out of the towels.

When we were there a couple of weeks ago, the staff arranged our kids' stuffed animals a bit and had fun with those throughout the week. That takes a lot less time and is a nice personal touch.

The hotel staff was very friendly, our room was well-maintained, and we had a few personal touches. We did not miss towel animals.

I don't know. I think it is just another item/gesture that makes Disney different. Is it a huge deal? Maybe not. However, to those children who look forward to seeing them each night when they get back to the room, it is a memory that sets Disney apart. I think it is petty to take them away.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

I just checked out of the cabins in Fort wilderness and saw supervision tell a 27 year employed housekeeper she would be reprimanded if she made any characters

1 Yep, we were told no more towel animals, just in case guests ask what happened to them.
2) Reasons:
. . . people were talking the towels home, this is a big cost in cleaning "rags" . . . most are not fit for bathroom use any longer
. . . maids could be doing something else with their time . . . WDW does not like "idle hands"


NOTE:
In some resorts, maids are expected to do a room every 1/2-hour.
That can amount to more than 30-minutes "wasted" every work day times a lot of maids.
Some resorts have over 100 maids, so the "numbers" can add up quickly across all the properties.

 

[Duchie]

We've only received them a couple of time. A sweet touch, but nothing I'll really miss having.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

We've only received them a couple of time. A sweet touch, but nothing I'll really miss having.

1) we used to get them almost every day.
2) We never took them home, but IT WAS a nice touch when entering the room.
3) I am sorry to se them go.
4) ANYTHING to increase a guest's experience is worth it (at least to me).

 

[MainMom]

My kids liked the towel animals but I don't think they'll be broken up this next trip if they aren't there. However they would be devastated if the mousekeepers didn't decorate the front window with their stuffed animals in different poses.

This is totally my DD! I informed her that because we are staying DVC we only get our room cleaned every 4 days. Her response: but then they won't make our animals in fun poses! She's 14.

As far as the towel animals, they were fun but I won't miss them that much.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

As far as the towel animals, they were fun but I won't miss them that much.

1) Alas, it is not a MAJOR issue for us.
2) But, it was such a nice touch.
3) Something we always expected from Disney when we were just guests.
. . . the little extras that made Disney, Disney
. . . small things you would not notice at other parks, but you said, 'How Cool" when at WDW
4) Unfortunately, another "PLUS" that is going by the wayside.

NOTE:
One of my cohorts said, "Walt would be spinning in his grave."
Another CM added, "Who? You mean Pinwheel Walt?"

 

[rteetz]

NOTE:
One of my cohorts said, "Walt would be spinning in his grave."
Another CM added, "Who? You mean Pinwheel Walt?"

This is great

 

[Minnie-Maniac]

That is really sad. I love the Towel Characters in my room. It was a great added touch. This thing about taking away the characters to have the housekeepers give more time to cleaning the room is ridiculous. I have never had a room at Disney that wasn't spotless before and this was with the Towel Characters being done.

 

[maxiesmom]

This is what happens when people start demanding something that was started as an extra bit of pixie dust. Going by the amount of threads complaining about dirty rooms and resorts, it seems like a move that needed to happen. If a maid has to clean a room every half an hour, and they are taking 5 to 10 minutes each room to make towel animals, that adds up to a lot less cleaning getting done.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

If a maid has to clean a room every half an hour

{As an FYI}
1) At some resorts (such as hotels) the "quota" is 16-18 rooms per shift, or one every 1/2-hr or less.
2) At other resorts (such as DVC's), it could be one every 4-hrs.
3) Room quota examples: (at WDW, these are referred to as "Section Sizes", and excludes vacant rooms)
. . . All Star Resorts . . . 18 per shift
. . . AKL . . . . . . . . . . . .. 16 per shift
. . . FW . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 per shift
. . . PO (both) . . . . . . . 17 per shift (16, if trundle beds)
. . . DVC . . . . . . . . . . . 420 points per shift (different room types have different point values)

NOTE:
ALL maids who finish their assigned rooms early, may leave work up to 45-minutes early and still be fully paid.
Most non-DVC maids can enroll in a Flex-program to add rooms - there is up to $1.50 bonus per every room.
DVC maids also can get paid "Incentive Pay" (bonus money up to $35 per room) for cleaning quicker.

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

This makes me sad, like a bit of the magic is gone. Isn't that silly? My son always loved the towel animals, and my daughter hasn't been to Disney World yet but it makes me sad to think that she'll never get to experience that. As for the cleaning, I clean the room myself anyway. I always pack a package of clorox wipes and wipe every single surface, including the phone. Because other people's germs are gross. I'm sure I won't notice any difference in the cleanliness. Just sad.

 

[nooneshome]

A new Disney policy - "minusing"

 

[ArwenMarie]

{As an FYI}
1) At some resorts (such as hotels) the "quota" is 16-18 rooms per shift, or one every 1/2-hr or less.
2) At other resorts (such as DVC's), it could be one every 4-hrs.
3) Room quota examples: (at WDW, these are referred to as "Section Sizes", and excludes vacant rooms)
. . . All Star Resorts . . . 18 per shift
. . . AKL . . . . . . . . . . . .. 16 per shift
. . . FW . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 per shift
. . . PO (both) . . . . . . . 17 per shift (16, if trundle beds)
. . . DVC . . . . . . . . . . . 420 points per shift (different room types have different point values)

NOTE:
ALL maids who finish their assigned rooms early, may leave work up to 45-minutes early and still be fully paid.
Most non-DVC maids can enroll in a Flex-program to add rooms - there is up to $1.50 bonus per every room.
DVC maids also can get paid "Incentive Pay" (bonus money up to $35 per room) for cleaning quicker.

Is this turning rooms over for new guests or the daily housekeeping?

 

[gwynne]

Ahhh...yet another "Our survey results indicate guests do not want (insert amenity or magical experience here)"

I think they figure saying the above is "less offensive" that what may be the truth...a surprisingly large percentage of guests were taking the towel animals. Constantly replacing those items was expensive.

 

[Lisaloo]

I think they figure saying the above is "less offensive" that what may be the truth...a surprisingly large percentage of guests were taking the towel animals. Constantly replacing those items was expensive.

I didn't realize taking the towel animals is a thing. Lol. That would never cross my mind.