Towel Animals, has this happened to you?

[Dis4evr]

We had the best Mousekeeper when we went last month. She did something funny everyday and our kids were so excited to see what she would do!

Below is a video of a day we came home from a long day at the park, and what we found
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=2000330735740&saved

The next day, my DH, the jokester that he is, put all the stuffed animals in the pack n play crib that we found in the closet!! The animals didn't act up anymore!!

 

[TisBit]

And for Disney to improve the towel animal policy, they would actually have to have one to begin with. But they don't as towel animals are not something made or sold or handed out by the Disney corporation.

Great, now we are all going to have to buy our towel animals in the gift shop!

We had the best Mousekeeper when we went last month. She did something funny everyday and our kids were so excited to see what she would do!

Below is a video of a day we came home from a long day at the park, and what we found
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=2000330735740&saved

The next day, my DH, the jokester that he is, put all the stuffed animals in the pack n play crib that we found in the closet!! The animals didn't act up anymore!!

If you were a true Dis member you would have posted that the Mousekeeper failed to clean the room and left toilet paper all over the floor, trash can tipped over and didn't even put the phone back on the table!

 

[Lynne M]

This kind of bugs me....so, what's Disney's position on this? They train them to make at least the basic animals, but don't really care if they have the energy or initiative to give a crap? And if Disney doesn't care, then why bother? I also find it hard to believe that the Mousekeepers have to pay for the washclothes, rubber bands, and stickers themselves.

Because Disney doesn't, and hasn't ever, intended towel animals to be a resort amenity that you can request or pay for, like dry cleaning or turndown service. They were never intended to be put in every guest room. It's not a matter of Disney or the housekeepers not caring.

I'm sure it started as just a random little cute thing that a housekeeper did once in a while. If she saw stuffed animals in a room, she might arrange them. She might take a washcloth and fold it into an animal shape.

It's very much like the other random little surprise bits of magic that happen at WDW every day. A CM might give your kid a sticker. Mickey might do a little dance with one of the kids waiting to see him. Someone wearing a birthday button might be surprised with a cupcake at a restaurant. A family might get picked to ride with Minnie on a parade float. Part of what makes WDW so special to so many of us are those little surprises.

If towel animals are in every room every day, they're not surprises anymore, and they're not very magical. They're just part of the room decor like the hidden mickeys on the bedspread. If you could order one up by calling the front desk or paying the housekeeper, nope, no happy surprise for the guest.

When housekeepers see money left for them, they're not thinking "oh, the guest wants me to make them a towel animal". They're thinking "oh, the nice guest left me a tip", as many guests do. I understand that the OP specifically left a note requesting one, but I can't imagine the housekeeper thinking they should not take their tip if they can't make a towel animal. I'm sure they thought it was a tip, not payment for a service.

On your visit to WDW, you and your children will often see other people getting a little bit of 'pixie dust'. You may get some as well. You may not. As far as disappointed children go, I'd say just handle it as you do in 'real life', when your child sees someone else given something, but not them.

 

[crissy1974]

Okay, here's my story!

During our last trip (Oct 2010 at POFQ), we received 4 towel animals and 1 towel tooth brush holder. Some days I left a tip and others I simply forgot. One thing that we did do was always leave a surprise for mousekeeping. My daughter would arrange her toys that we purchased at WDW all around the room. It kind of turned into a game between the two of them. During our stay my DD turned 5. We had b-day decorations in the room and anytime we would purchase a picture we would display. Our very last day we ran into our mousekeeper. She purposely stopped us to tell us how much fun she had walking into our room everyday to see what was new. She also told us that she would have left a town animal every day, but she didn't have time during the week to make more.

So, in a nutshell........it just depends on who you have and what they feel like doing. We ended up bringing 3 of them home because they were so cute. They sit on my DD's shelf in her room as a dust collector, but to her they are fun memories.

 

[uicbear]

I had visited the World several times and had not received a single towel animal...and really, even as an adult, hoped for one. Then one trip my brother came down for a few days, and on the second day of his visit, we walked into his room and it look like the forest scene from Bambi... towel animals everywhere. He was like, "Oh, doesn't everyone get this?" I admit, I stole a bunny for my room.

 

[sjaakie]

Alright, I'm going to bite. You had poor housekeeping, twice, and you still tipped daily??? Why? Housekeeping isn't considered, by Disney, to be a tippable position. No, they do NOT make minumum wage...closer to about $13-14 an hour. So, they are not depending on tips. Do I tip? Sometimes. If I get outstanding service, then I'll tip. But I refuse to tip someone for merely making my bed and swiping my vanity area, then emptying the trash. For crying out loud, that's what they are paid to do. I leave my room very neat...even make my own beds for the most part.
I can't imagine tipping each day and still be getting poor service.

I can't imagine anyone getting so upset about some silly things made out of towels. Does everyone get them? Heck no. And that's what makes them special I guess....sometimes you get 'em, sometimes you don't. And children need to know that they are special and that they don't automatically get them. If that is very important to you, then call housekeeping and let them know that your child really has to have one...hopefully they can get one to your particular housekeeper.
But really.....this mentality that everyone gets the same as everyone else has really gotten out of hand. Look at team sports....just because you're on a team doesn't mean you get a trophy. Sure, give out something small for participating but a trophy?? No.
Sheeshhh, some people get all sorts of free stuff on their birthdays. Free food, fast passes, drinks, cakes. balloons, etc. Not us, not once. We have been to WDW for 3 actual, on the date birthdays. Disney was alerted to the fact and nothing special happened, not one thing. Did I get in a tizzy? Nope. AI had already made my own plans for those birthdays..things to make them more special. That way, no one was disappointed.

Sorry to rant and rave here. But sometimes it just gets to me. Kids need to learn to deal with disappointment at some point. Seems that many parents don't feel that needs to happen. If my child put up a stink about not getting a cute animal made out of old towels, it would be her last trip to WDW, that's for sure. But, again, that's me. Others feel differently. I just needed to get it all off my chest.

Wow I wish I wrote this.
Kids have te learn that they can't always get what they want and encouraging "snowflake" behaviour is not going to help them.
Btw I'm in Disney World at this moment and we old snowbirds got Towel Animals every day.

 

[maxiesmom]

.

If towel animals are in every room every day, they're not surprises anymore, and they're not very magical. They're just part of the room decor like the hidden mickeys on the bedspread. If you could order one up by calling the front desk or paying the housekeeper, nope, no happy surprise for the guest.

I wish more people would get this. You can't demand Disney magic for your trip, you just have to be open to receiving it. And not get all mad or offended if it doesn't come your way.

Think of it this way: It is your birthday. It is more special if someone just comes up to you and says "Happy Birthday!" then it would be if you ran around going "It is my birthday. You better wish me Happy Birthday!" and then the person you accosted said "Happy Birthday." The first is magical, the second, not so much.

 

[smkohn]

Alright, I'm going to bite. You had poor housekeeping, twice, and you still tipped daily??? Why? Housekeeping isn't considered, by Disney, to be a tippable position. No, they do NOT make minumum wage...closer to about $13-14 an hour. So, they are not depending on tips. Do I tip? Sometimes. If I get outstanding service, then I'll tip. But I refuse to tip someone for merely making my bed and swiping my vanity area, then emptying the trash. For crying out loud, that's what they are paid to do. I leave my room very neat...even make my own beds for the most part.
I can't imagine tipping each day and still be getting poor service.

Sorry, but housekeeping does not make $13-14 an hour. I did a college program 2 years ago and two of my roommates were in housekeeping. They made around $8/hr. Typically, non-college program CMs make a little more than CPers, but not much. On the WDW CM opportunities page it says that housekeeping starts at $8.35/hr.

On another note, they had fun with towel animals and arranging stuffed animals when they could, (I remember one time in particular one of them found a Stitch in a room and had him get into a bit of trouble while his family was gone) however, many times they had a lot of check-out rooms, where they had to do more than just tidy up. If they didn't finish all of the rooms on their list before a certain time, they got a point against them on their record card. And, their rooms weren't always in the same area of their resort, so they could have been stuck with plenty of check-out rooms every day. While they tried to do what they could, a lot of times there just wasn't time.

 

[HotMama]

We have go towel animals without leaving a tip. And we have not got towel animals when we did leave tips. It's a hit or miss. Disney sprinkles magic in several different ways, I wouldn't stress about a towel animal.

 

[summerlady]

We've always left a daily tip and intend on doing so again. Sometimes we have DGD with us, sometimes it's just DH and I....now and then we get towel animals, and then there are times we don't. We don't leave tips to get these things. *shrug* No big deal, ya know?

 

[JerseyJanice]

We always tip housekeeping when we stay in a hotel--Disney or otherwise.

Getting towel animals, though, just seems to depend on the housekeeper you get. We've been on trips where we got none, and others where we got a new one every day.

This is funny--last year, friends of ours were placed in adjoining rooms at Pop. When we checked in, there was a small towel dog in our window, but nothing in our friends' window.

Every day of the trip, we got a towel animal added to our collection--the Mystery Machine from Scooby-Doo, a girl, a rabbit, etc. Our friends next door got none.

Now, we love our friends dearly, but they have a tendency to brag about spending money. So on the sixth day or so, after we got a towel cat, my friend complained that they had gotten no towel animals.

So I said, "you must not be tipping them as well as we are."

Their reaction was priceless! I knew saying that would make my friends crazy.

There is no rhyme or reason to getting towel animals, as far as I can tell both from my own trips and from what I read on this board. Sometimes, you get them, and sometimes, you don't.

 

[larryz]

I admit, I stole a bunny for my room.

For penance, you must go play three rounds of Fantasia mini-golf and give away your next set of fastpasses for TSM...

 

[larryz]

Think of it this way: It is your birthday. It is more special if someone just comes up to you and says "Happy Birthday!" then it would be if you ran around going "It is my birthday. You better wish me Happy Birthday!" and then the person you accosted said "Happy Birthday." The first is magical, the second, not so much.

Interesting perspective... consider the wearing of a "Happy Birthday" button while at WDW.

That pretty much tells the world it's your birthday, and we know CMs are "supposed" to wish guests a happy birthday (even if it's the third day that week on that particular guest...).

I consider that part of the magic, although I can certainly see it from your view as well.

That's quite a conundrum you've presented us -- how to get birthday wishes without telling anyone it's your birthday...

As it was, I put my birthday button on the towel mickey head our Mousekeeper left in the room, and also used it to encircle the tips I left every other day and on departure...

 

[GOOFYsince71]

There is no rhyme or reason....
There are no rules......
I have stayed at WDW approx 30-40 times in the last 40 years...
Random acts of kindness were more obvious in the 80's...where Easter
Baskets were left at the door of every room that had children in it...(At the Contemporary)...Picture it...row after row of rooms with Baskets waiting outside the door....
Welcome Back Gift Baskets every time you returned to a WDW resort....filled with goodies and toys,,,,(Dixie Landings (Port Orleans,Riverside) Carribean Resort, Grand Floridian)
Signed Mickey Photo's welcoming you to your room on arrival,,,,,,
"Guest of the Day" Presents on the bed...stating you were chosen from housekeeping as the "family of the day".......Pop....Wilderness Lodge.....Coronado Springs....
and yes.....towel animals,,,,,,,
I actually stayed in March,,,and had a few new towel animals left EVERY day at Pop....I finally called the front desk and said,,,,WHY???? she said it was noted on the "reservation"....that a C>M> at check-in requested it....I NEVER said I wanted ANY......2 adults....no children..
So....basically,,,all I am saying,,,,,is,,,,You are Lucky, if you receive a gift.,,,,if you don't......sometimes they just end up in the wrong place!!!!
Who doesn't like a "surprise" once in a while!??

 

[MsPeggySue911]

Wouldn't taking a towel animal, that is made from wash cloths and towels, be considered stealing hotel property and thus against the law?

I doubt very seriously that Disney ever intended for their wash cloths and towels to be "taken back home" with guests or they wouldn't have the mousekeepers do them at all.

I am shocked at how many of the posters here have openly admitted to stealing them from the resort, some ppl taking more than one.

 

[maxiesmom]

Interesting perspective... consider the wearing of a "Happy Birthday" button while at WDW.

That pretty much tells the world it's your birthday, and we know CMs are "supposed" to wish guests a happy birthday (even if it's the third day that week on that particular guest...).

I consider that part of the magic, although I can certainly see it from your view as well.

That's quite a conundrum you've presented us -- how to get birthday wishes without telling anyone it's your birthday...

As it was, I put my birthday button on the towel mickey head our Mousekeeper left in the room, and also used it to encircle the tips I left every other day and on departure...

Oh good grief, I didn't even think of all of that!

I guess for me the wearing of a birthday button is somewhere in the middle, between reminding and not reminding. But it is not the same as going up to someone, and reminding them verbally it is your birthday, and they must wish you a happy one.

A birthday button doesn't demand a response. Rather, whispers the request nicely.

 

[summerlady]

Not to be a pain but this thread is starting to bug me. I know this whole site is a free speach site and we are all entitled to our own opinions so I shall share mine.....

The OP is annoyed because her child didn't get a towel animal she feels she paid for....hmmmm

Other posters are reporting that you should just call the "front desk" and demand one....hmmmmm


For me why I love Disney so much is the unexpected magic. Not the attitude that I am going to stamp my foot until I get treated how I want to be.....

I try and teach my kids to share in others joy and be grateful for what you have. I have stayed at WDW 3 times and I am not going to go on about if I did or didn't get towel animals or leave tips. Housekeepers come to my room to clean it, I expect nothing more or less. The more people demand and complain the less "perks" Disney will offer.

Ready for the flames...again just my 2 cents.

 

[goofy4tink]

Sorry, but housekeeping does not make $13-14 an hour. I did a college program 2 years ago and two of my roommates were in housekeeping. They made around $8/hr. Typically, non-college program CMs make a little more than CPers, but not much. On the WDW CM opportunities page it says that housekeeping starts at $8.35/hr.

On another note, they had fun with towel animals and arranging stuffed animals when they could, (I remember one time in particular one of them found a Stitch in a room and had him get into a bit of trouble while his family was gone) however, many times they had a lot of check-out rooms, where they had to do more than just tidy up. If they didn't finish all of the rooms on their list before a certain time, they got a point against them on their record card. And, their rooms weren't always in the same area of their resort, so they could have been stuck with plenty of check-out rooms every day. While they tried to do what they could, a lot of times there just wasn't time.

That may well be so. I'm sure that not all housekeepers are making $13-14 an hour. Those that are entry level are most likely making much less. But, I have talked to several housekeepers, as well as other resort workers, and management. And that is what I have been told. That is the reason that Disney doesn't consider housekeeping to be a tippable position. Just saying what I have been told on multiple occasions by those who would know what they are talking about.

 

[kimcshan]

I'm fascinated by this thread for a whole bunch of reasons, but most of all because some pp seem to be able to get towel animals home in one piece! We had a really cute dog once left on our bed and when I tried very carefully to move it to the table it fell apart and was just a hand towel and some wash cloths again. I admire the agility of those who can make the animals stay together.


Kim from Kansas

 

[5boyz]

I go to WDW several times a year. Some trips I get one towel animal at the very beginning of the trip, some trips I get several towel animals, and some trips I don't get any. Some housekeepers know how to make them and have the extra time to do so, others do not. When we were at POFQ April 30th-May 8th we had a towel animal when we arrived and got two more during the week. Obviously our housekeeper knew how to make them. We left all three towel animals there when we left. If the housekeepers happened to change for that room and the new one didn't know how to make the towel animals, there is a good chance that the new people in that room may have gotten the three towel animals we left, but then not gotten any more their entire trip or the housekeeper may have left one and took the other two and placed them in two more rooms, so the people arriving may have gotten one, but then no more. If we had taken those towel animals with us and the new housekeeper didn't know how to make them, then whoever checked in after us would not have received any towel animals all week.

Tipping doesn't matter. We tip housekeeping every day. If the housekeeper doesn't know how to make towel animals or chooses not to do so, no amount of money left is going to change that.

I think that if you leave a note with the money then one of 2 things should have happened.....1. the towel animal should be sitting waiting for the little girl and the money gone. 2. the money should be still sitting there if no towel animal...it is clear the money was left with the note for a towel animal..if money was there with no note then that is different.