Towel Animals

[BouncingTigger]

Hi all!

Just got back from my first trip to Disney World! :mickey:

I had heard that mousekeeping will often leave towel animals in rooms. I tipped $2 a day (just me and my bf) and got no towel animals. So one day I left a $4 tip with a note thanking them for the hard work they do and asking if they could make towel animals if they had time. When I got back to the room, I had two adorable towel animals waiting on the bed! :D

Would I have gotten any if I hadn't requested them? I stayed in All Star Movies...do higher-end resorts get towel animals more often?

When we got to the room on our first day, there was a Mickey outline with towels on the bed. That was cute! Also, in the window there was a washcloth with a pipe cleaner wrapped around it - I couldn't tell if it was supposed to be something or if it was just a random decoration.

The towel animals we got were adorable though! We stayed in a 101 Dalmations room and one of the towel animals looked like a dalmation!

[Strmchsr]

I don't think the tip amount matters. It was probably more the asking for them and being considerate enough to thank them for their work. It seems pretty random, though I think the towel Mickey on the bed on the first day is becoming pretty common. We had one of those, too. Other than you asking, it really is random. After all, these folks have a LOT of rooms to clean, so they can't be staying in one room making towel animals all day.

[DisFan01]

Most times we go, there are those little animal towels waiting for us... I guess it depends on who you get, or how busy they are. :mickey:

[FlaTinkRAMESAM]

Our last trip was at WL and all we received was the Mickey head thingy when we first got to our room... So I don't think it is a deluxe thing more over the mods over the values... random seems to be that word of the day.

[broadway_chick72]

I got them a few different nights when we stayed at Port Orleans.

[Pirate Granny]

I spoke to a mousekeeper once, and she said that she doesn't have time to make the animals, so she brings the washcloths home and if not too tired, makes them at night or on the weekend...and brings them to work with her.

I was at ASMovies over the holidays and I saw window decorations (all the same) for the entire floor and around the corner...obviously the MK had put them in the window...what a cute idea...and at her own cost...

:pirate:

[luvnwdw]

We had several small ones left for us when we were there in June, not each day, but it was a nice surprise to come back and find them in our room, this was our very first trip to WDW and I called the guest services to see if I could buy them and take them home, I was told if I liked them I could have them. As stated before this was our 1st trip so I was not sure if this was allowed. I agree I do not believe tipping makes the difference, it seems to be random.

[jennsky]

I always seem to get towel animals. When we stayed in the FW Cabins last year, our mousekeeping even took a little cookie monster stuffed animal we had and propped him up in the window so that when we returned home, he was looking out the window to greet us! Ha ha!

[Tink#64]

OK - I'm bummed & I guess a little ticked! In 4 trips we've never received the 1st towel animal! And we tip! I also make the beds or at least straighten them most days! It always seems that all of the rooms around us have these cute things on display in their windows! Maybe I will try what you did - and leave a note asking for one! DS's are always so disappointed when we gt back to the room & again no towel animal! I'd pay for them! Our last trip - Mousekeeping was not so good and after leaving tips several days & could tell for sure that the bathroom floor wasn't being swept & no towel animals, I finally hung the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door, made the beds myself, we carried our little bit of trash to the big cans & I gave DS's the tips for helping! We put the stuffed animals that we had purchased in our window & gave up! :(

[Mikey Piano 23]

Never had any of them left for me...when I go in August I am gonna write them notes and maybe tip everyday instead of just leaving it at the end of our trip. My girlfriend and I really want those animals!!!

[RaRaRoundTheWorld]

We tip well and daily, but we have never gotten towel animals. I remember seeing this represented as an "extra touch" at most Disney hotels on the Samantha Brown show on WDW. I think it depends upon the skills of the maid. I have heard of people sometimes getting them, unprompted, at POR.

[offwego]

In 9 trips (and tipping daily for all) we have received 2 towel animals or displays of DS's animals when he had them.

My Mom (in 3 trips) has gotten them on each trip...when we were at the same resorts.

I'd say it's fairly random and not something anyone should depend on. Of course the fact that it is cute would always be mentioned by folks who do get them so you'll often see it discussed because it is a "fun thing that happened".

[stephntampa]

The only towel animal I have ever received was at WL, and that was a mickey head..sigh.. and we have stayed at various on site properties many, many times and always leave a generous tip. My DH jokingly asks why we receive mousekeeping in the first place..since I pretty much pick up the room and have everything in order for the mousekeeper (when you clean at home, we all know if everything is in its place how much faster the job is ;)). Slightly off topic, on our visit to WL we happened to be in our room when mousekeeping showed up, and as soon as she finished cleaning our room she picked up the phone, punched in some numbers, and hung up. I guess it is way of proving mousekeeping was in your room?

[laprana]

We've stayed at the Poly twice and WL once and the only towel animal we've received was a cute Mickey head on our first night in WL. My sister stayed at POR for a week in October and she got a new towel animal every single day. She was there for a conference and the other 2 people she was with never got any towel animals in their rooms at all. I definitely think it's random. While we were at WL, we walked by a mousekeeping cart one morning and saw a stack of "pre-made" towel animals. Kinda cool!

[May524]

In the past year we went to Disney World on 3 vacations and stayed at the Boardwalk, Old Key West, POP and the Polynesian...not ONE day did we receive any towel animals...we tipped every day so I'm unsure of why this happend. Our 1st trip was even our honeymoon :( I was very dissapointed.

[MickeyChick]

I am so hoping we get one! It's my kids' first trip to the world and I want it to be filled with magic for them. I may look up ways to make them myself for my boys!

[#1donaldfan]

After many trips we've rec'd a few.....I understand that mousekeeping is very busy and I'm just happy that they keep the room very clean.........we've had some towel animals, and the kids stuffed animals are always positioned neatly....once our DD#2 had just bought one of the aristicat kittens, and mousekeeping had her in the middle of the floor tearing up toilet paper...it was very cool and our DD loved it....

[JMTStone]

We must have had that very creative Mousekeeper at ASM. Every day, my daughter would come back to the room with all of her dolls and towel animals playing on the freshly made bed. I made a point of commending our service with a nice tip and a word to the front desk.

Thing is... we haven't seen any since. AKL, SS.... So its not just the type of resort you're staying in.

Maybe next time.

[PrincessCandaceMarie]

It really doesn't matter what resort you stay in or what you tip your Mousekeeper...it depends on them, their day, and how busy they are. I've received them from all of the resorts and sometimes I've had none, it just depends, but it is nice to get them. And I always tip my Mousekeeper, no matter what...;)

[MMFreak]

Every year we have been since the onslaught of towel animals we have been the blessed recipient. Maybe we have just been lucky and caught the right person at the right time (shrug). My Kids love them and look forward to them every year. We have even had the staff do fun things with our room window and our purchased stuffed animals.:thumbsup:

[Disneyatic]

On our first trip a few years ago, we stayed at POP and didn't get any and we would always see them in the other windows and wonder how they got them. (I honestly didn't know about tipping housekeeping on that trip and we didn't tip.)
This last trip, we made up little bags and tipped each day and we had towel animals and our stuffed animals arranged every day except 1. It was so fun to come back to the room and find the surprise each day. One day we had the coolest alligator on the bed!

It is a very unique extra surprise and I hope we are lucky again on our next trip!
I would try writing a short note along with your tip and mentioning that you'd like to receive a towel animal.
It can't hurt to ask!

[Caroleh]

On my first trip we stayed at GF and received no towel animals. This last trip we stayed at WL, on the day we arrived there was a mickey head on the bed. I ended up receiving 3 towel animals. It was just exciting to get them!!!

[ncscgirl2005]

I got them a few different nights when we stayed at Port Orleans.


I have heard of people sometimes getting them, unprompted, at POR.


We stayed at POR and got a new one every day. On our last day MK left the word "THANKS" (spelled out in towels) on one of the beds as well as two towel animals.

I wonder if it just depends upon whether or not they actually know how to make them.? If someone asked me to make one right now, I wouldn't be able to do it. Perhaps it is part of their training?

[DisneyCrazyET]

When we stayed at POFQ we came back to swan towels looking at each other.
At POP we had different towels, a fan with stickers, a cake with stickers, and a little dog (called pup) hiding in a different place every day. Also when we were at POP in Aug. the MKs set up tables in the lobby by the gift shop and raffled off bigger towel designs to guest staying at POP. (no cost, the MK kept telling everyone this was at no cost) You could also get in line and the MK made towel designs for you to take with you. It was fun.
This doesn't happen to us every trip.
We have gone a few times and never received any surprises upon returning to our room.

[tinksmom02]

Last January (almost a year ago, sniff) we stayed at POR and didn't get any towel animals. Mom and Dad were next door and they didn't get any, either.

September, we stayed at POFQ, and upon entering our room for the first time, we found FIVE towel animals hanging out. We got 1 or 2 more during the week, as well.

Both times Mousekeeping straightened up DD's stuffed animals (a massive, continuously growing collection when we went w/ Grandma and Grandpa!), and had them hanging out on the beds.

I know it's just an extra thing they do, but it really is cute and I was happy to have received them!

[MNNHFLTX]

To those of you who've stayed at Disney World resorts and did not receive a towel animal, I understand that it was a bit disappointing. I've stayed at many of the resorts and only received towel animals a couple of times. And it does seem pretty random--I've stayed at Wilderness Lodge three times and never received a towel animal there. But when I was at Pop Century a few years back, I got several (and I didn't even have my son with me that trip!) They are one of those "magical touches" that get discussed a lot here on INTERCOT, so maybe that makes them seem more common-place than they really are.

[Aggie97]

Do you think the mousekeepers might be more likely to leave the towel animals and other cute touches if they sense that there are children staying in the room? My DH and I have never received any, although we've seen them in neighboring rooms. It doesn't bother us at all because it's just one of those little extras that you can't plan on -- but we've always wondered if the fact that it's pretty obvious there aren't any kids in our room could play into it. :mickey:

[kdsjjb]

We always tip one dollar per day for each person staying in the room, up to five of us.

Our first trip to WDW we were three days in before we got our first towell animal. We (OK, DW) left a note thanking MK for their work and for adding that extra touch of magic.

We had a different towell animal each day for the rest of our trip.

Now, we leave a similar note on the first day, because there is usually a mickey head or figure of some kind there upon check in.

On each day of our subsequent stays, since we started leaving the note on the first day, we have only been without a figure on one day. As it happened, we only had two dollars to leave and nothing else under a $20. When we got back to the resort that night, there were five figures between the two rooms.

[TheRustyScupper]

Let's talk about towel animals.

1) All direct-hire WDW maids are taught basic animals.
2) Temp-agency maids (lots of them) are not taught animals.
3) Requirement for getting animals
. . . it is not a mandatory part of his/her job
. . . it is up to the maid
4) Why maids don't leave them
. . . not that interested
. . . too busy
. . . too tired

NOTE: Leaving notes requesting animals do not always work, either does leaving tips - although both do help. Animals are strictly up to the whims of the individual maid.

[mickeytravel]

last year (first week of july) we stayed at WL and recieved a towel animal every day and didn't tip till the end.

[LudwigVonDrake]

I tip for every night stayed and have only gotten towel animals once. I think it depends on what Mousekeepers you get :smickey:

[kadesha]

We stayed at Pop last year. There was a towel animal in the window when we arrived in our room. There appeared to be a towel animal in every window. My daughter disassembled it after a few days, so I left a note with our daily tip and explained what happened and asked for another one. They had left us 2 when we go back! :mickey:

[MickeyChick]

Just got back from Pop and sadly, no towel animals for us at all. We tipped $5 daily in decorated envelopes and even spoke with our Mousekeeper Kathie a few times. One day she did leave my son's stuffed Nemo on the bed, remote in fin, watching tv. That was pretty awesome but I was still disappointed.

I did get the impression from Kathie that she was really busy. While we were there Pop was booked solid-- not an empty room in the place-- so I understand.

[BelleLovesTheBeast]

We never get them but we always see them in the windows of other rooms.

[baby minnie's mommy]

We never found towel animals till we took DD(2) and stayed at a deluxe. At our first visit to AK Lodge, Mousekeeping obviously knew our child was a girl before we even arrived, because there was a tiny purse and a little rabbit waiting for her in the room when we checked in! :)

Whether kids have any factor in it, I don't know. However, my thought would be that knowing kids are staying in the room makes it more inspiring for the MK to make animals and leave surprises. I like that it's a surprise. We don't tell DD she's getting anything. If it's there, we gush about it and treat it as a special surprise, not an expected amenity.

tinksmom02 mentioned about the toys being "straightened" ;) ...

It's awesome! Let your child leave their stuffed animals and souvenirs out of the luggage and bags, and Mousekeeping might "rearrange" them for you! One time all DD's toys were watching cartoons, one of them was even holding the remote, and another was reading a new book we had bought. Wow, did she think that was so cool! Her friends had decided to have some fun while we were gone...:D We tell DD to pick up her toys, but secretly make sure she puts them somewhere other than in the luggage or bags. Same as the towel animals - we don't want her to expect anything, just be surprised.

[Carol]

Towel animals are not to be expected.

They're part of the Disney magic. Some things should be a surprise - not demanded.

[hunnyluvsthemouse]

I agree that it is a nice surprise to come back to the room and find a towel animal, and not expected because you left them a a tip and note to make you one.

We have stayed at almost every resort from the Value, Moderate, and Deluxe. We always leave a tip every day, but I don't expect to get a towel animal because of it. I just appreciate coming back to a room that is neat and tidy (even though I already have it cleaned up before we leave.)

We have randomly gotten towel animals at every hotel level, it is nice to come back to your room and see one. But, when we come back and don't see one, that's okay too.

[jpH/keD]

We stayed at ASSports in 05 and didnt get the first towel animal. We didnt even know about them! This last trip in Nov 07 :thumbsup:at Movies we got the Mickey head the 1st day! After that we were so psyched to come home to the room at night!! My kids brought tons of stuffed animals and usually they were just arranged cutely on the bed holding the remote! :) But we had special mousekeeping tipping envelopes for EVERY day and we never got another towel animal! They always did the stuffed animal thing instead! It was still cute but next time we might ask for one, one day Nothing big deal tho! It is a nice surprise!

[snerd475]

My dd9 and I just got back from The World a week ago after a long weekend. There was a washcloth bunny holding a pen on the nightstand, but we didn't get any other ones. I tipped $3 a day, and the 2nd day, left a note on the MK envelope saying that we LOVED towel animals! Well, we didn't get any (we passed several on the ground floor - different MK, I assume), but we had 3 extra bottles of shampoo and 6 extra soaps. I guess our MK didn't have much time to make the animals, and wanted to compensate in some way. I was appreciative of that very much. My daughter saw a towel turtle in a window we passed, and was a little envious, I think. I try to downplay it, calling it the luck of the draw, and she's ok with that.

[Followthatmouse]

Several years ago, we returned from the parks to find a bunny sitting on our television. This was the only time we have experienced this treat. It was despite the fact that we were two adults - just my DM and me. It made our trip!

[gardenia]

OK - I'm bummed & I guess a little ticked! In 4 trips we've never received the 1st towel animal! And we tip!(

One more time: TOWEL ANIMALS ARE NOT PURCHASED BY TIPPING!!!

[mrsgaribaldi]

One more time: TOWEL ANIMALS ARE NOT PURCHASED BY TIPPING!!!


I feel quite sure that the OP realizes that, she was just expressing her feelings, as we are all doing. No rights, no wrongs, just feelings.
We stayed at Pop and got them a few times there. No kids, just us. We have gotten them in other places on arrival day. Most times we don't let them in to clean anyway.

[baby minnie's mommy]

They are one of those "magical touches" that get discussed a lot here on INTERCOT, so maybe that makes them seem more common-place than they really are.

Agreed - I never knew about the towel animals till I read it here on the boards. It may seem like a commonplace amenity because all of us like to post about them. (It's the cute factor!) :mickey:

[lynnrapata]

My family stayed at POFQ in August 2007 and we received 4 towel animals in 5 nights!!! We got a bird, a sea turtle, an elephant and an alligator that was the width of the bed!! The only one I couldn't mash into my suitcase was the alligator. We tipped every day and I did leave a note everytime saying how much we appreciated the exceptionally clean room and her taking care of us so well. Hoping for the same treatment when we stay at AKL in October of 2008!!

Lynn:thumbsup:

[NotaGeek]

Towel animals are not to be expected.

They're part of the Disney magic. Some things should be a surprise - not demanded.

Amen! And if you remember I was SO excited when I got one I took a million pictures of it!


We got a bird, a sea turtle, an elephant and an alligator that was the width of the bed!! The only one I couldn't mash into my suitcase was the alligator.
Lynn:thumbsup:

Did you take the towel animals home in your suitcase? :huh:

[ºoºalyssaluvsmickeyºoº]

Just returned from WL Left 3 dollar tips every day.We had towel animals 3 out of 7 nights.The first day my kids 3s 8d left a note thanking them so maybe that had something to do with it.And we never left the room a mess so maybe it gave them more time in there busy day so they wanted to thank us.

[snerd475]

Did you take the towel animals home in your suitcase? :huh:


I was wondering about that comment myself. I didn't think you were supposed to do that. :huh:

[ºoºalyssaluvsmickeyºoº]

we took a duck and a flower in a pot hope they don't charge my credit card.I mean a six pack of beer is 13dollars so I cant imagine how much a Disney wash cloth will cost

[mrsHerbie53]

When we stayed at CBR, we did get a couple of towel animals and we were quite surprised and pleased. But the part that I remember far more and with greater Disney pleasure, is that one day we got back from the park and our MK had arranged DS's stuffed animals on the bed so they could see the TV and she turned the channel to what else??? The Disney Channel!!!! It was priceless and we did take pictures of that!!!!!
:mickey:

[PirateLover]

I don't expect animals and as far as I can recall we've only received one... a boo boo bunny upon check inn at CBR. That being said it was a bit of a bummer on our last trip when we checked into Pop and every room had a towel animal in the window... except for ours which was right in the middle of the ground floor.

[threeh]

I just got back from a stay at the Polynesian and we got towel animals (and a towel man, wearing dh hat and ds sunglasses). I totally forgot about them and we were really suprised to find them. 2 times we got a mickey on our bed. My kids loved them and thought they were neat.:mickey:

[conwayjohn71]

While we were there in June 2007 we stayed in POFQ for 7 nights

We got something every night....some times it was just our stuffed animals placed or propped, and sometimes it was towel animals

First night we got a bird
Second we got another bird along with all of stuffed animals we bough tthe first day on the bed in a circle
3rd night - Mickey mouse was on our bed along with all of the other items with the remote
4th night - Bird, dog, flower and something I can not remember in the window with a sign saying welcome back
5th night - 2 rows of stickers going from the door to each sink, where the girls MM and DD animals where propped and holding brushes
6th night - we got the alligator, it took the whole bed and Mickey and friends were on there back
last night - everyone was in the window again and they had a balloon that said Happy Birthday, we told the CM at the front desk when we checked in that it would be DD birthday, but did not ask for anything


We did not tip until the last night, but after each surprise, we did write Thank You notes

[yjgirl715]

We had towel animals the first two days of our trip which was my ds first trip and then she would prop all his stuffed animals all over the place or any other toy he had- he had a blast trying to find them (when he wasn't too exhausted) especially if they were positioned near the windows! I left them a very nice note saying how much fun that was for my sona dn thanking them for making our trip magical! In our other room we had nothing so i'm sure it's just random. :mickey:

[disneyworld55925592]

:thumbsup:We got a few when we stayed at port orleans!

[Daisy712]

We have always taken a few stuffed animals with us or bought a couple while at WDW. We have really enjoyed seeing the arrangement of our beloved stuffed animals more than any towel animal. This way you aren't relying on something to be made. We have found our Stitch all wrapped up in toilet paper sitting on a towel on the toilet - very cute! Our kids grab the camera and take pictures of them. Also, every day that we would return to our room, our animals were always arranged to greet us.

[EeyoresBestFriend]

We were very fortunate in our first stay at FQ to have an awesome mousekeeper.:mickey:
The first night we got a dog and we were so tickled with it we put it on our TV so we could see it better. By the end of the trip, we had a herd of animals, (that took over almost the whole coffee table) and they were adorable.
I ran into our mousekeeper(Lorenza) on our second to last day and she told us to take a couple to remember our trip by.
So, I always smile and think of her when I see our "Mom and baby bunny" and "the Dog"! They are amazing little pieces of art!
Thanks Lorenza - hopefully we'll see her there in a month!:cloud9:

[tadshome]

On both of my trips we have received quite a few towel animalsand also a toothbrush holder made from towels, it was lovely. The MK always did some funny things with DS stuffed toys, it was lovely :)
We tipped $3 every day for the first 14 days and $10 on the last day

[RoosMomKanga]

We just got back and receive a towel animal 2 of our 3 nights. It wast "Just Us" (see my trip reports posted yesterday), and no kids this trip. We did tip $2/day ($1/person/day). We've had trips we've gotten none (even with kids and tipping $5/day for all my gang).

I couldn't figure out what they were, but I didn't care, they were fun:cool:...I'll have to post the photo if I can figure it out. One might have been the sun or a flower. The other looked like it may have been a princess (base was a cup with washcloth-skirt, top looked like it had a chest-:blush:my DH had other word.).:confused:

[ledudes]

We don't tip until the end of our stay, but we have gotten them at POFQ I think and at BC they actually sit in the lobby in the mornings and let kids decorate them with stickers and pick which animals they want so we got a few there too.

[SAnderson70769]

I've stayed on property over 15 different stays and the towel animals have always been random - random trips, random days, etc. We even got them the first few trips before we even knew about leaving tips for MouseKeeping so I'm not even sure it has to do with tipping (of course we tip now that we know). I think its just part of that extra magic that may be one small thing that adds to your Disney experience but not something that you can always expect.