Walt Disney Imagineers have incorporated thousands of subliminal and more obvious images of their beloved mascot, Mickey Mouse, all throughout Walt Disney World.
Hidden Mickeys, you ask? No, no, I know what you are thinking..this is not a "Happy Pill"..slipped into your Snapple by sneaky Disney Cast Members. These are images of the beloved mouse that started it all, cleverly, deliberately concealed and incorporated into the design of many attractions and various other locations in WDW.
Rumor has it that these images began as pranks from bored Disney Imagineers. Although I have also read that they are, in fact, a veiled tribute to Walt Disney himself, who had unswerving loyalty to Mickey, and was repetitively fond of reminding his employees that they owed their Kingdom to a mere mouse.
No matter the reason, the practice of inserting these Mickeys into inconspicuous places grew into a full-blown inside joke amongst the Disney Imagineers. Sooner or later, WDW patrons began to notice that Mickey was turning up virtually anywhere and everywhere.
Now searching for them has become almost a sub-culturish trend among some hardcore Disney-philes. There is even a website dedicated to the subject, located at this url: www.hiddenmickeys.org. This site includes a message board where reported Mickey sightings are either confirmed by others, or eventually relegated to a slag heap, titled "Wishful Thinking".
Most of the Hidden Mickeys consist of the three circles that comprise his head and ears. Many do exist in other shapes and forms, however...and can even be stuffed toy Mickeys that are found in unexpected places. There is reported to be one of these hidden somewhere on Disney-MGM's "Tower Of Terror" ride.
Some of the Mickeys are more obvious than others. Some reportedly can only be seen from the air, or so deeply embedded into an attraction that only Cast Members are aware of their location. Some of the more easily spotted ones include the ring on the finger of Walt Disney's statue, located in front of Cinderella's Castle in the Magic Kingdom, or the thousands of Mickeys incorporated into the design of fence railings and scrollwork.
There are many subtly placed, and easily overlooked Mickeys. These can take the form of a Mickey-shaped radish growing in Rabbit's garden, ("Many Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh", Magic Kingdom), a constellation in the outer-space scene of Epcot's "Spaceship Earth", and a triple-pupilled eye in one of the ghostly busts of the "Haunted Mansion", (also in the Magic Kingdom). There are at least six confirmed Hidden Mickeys incorporated into the elaborate design of Animal Kingdom's "Tree Of Life." (My own children were able to spot two of these, and took great pride in doing so)!
A number of the more difficult Hidden Mickeys to spot can also be the result of clever design, so that at certain points a Mickey-shaped shadow appears under the right lighting conditions. One of these can be found in "Peter Pan's Flight", at a certain moment when a Lost Boy flies past. Also, the fencing around the aforementioned Walt Disney statue casts Mickey-shaped shadows when the sun hits it in just the right way.
In her book, "Inside Disney", Eve Zibart writes that a "legend" exists amongst Disney Cast members stating, "There is at least one Hidden Mickey in every attraction or ride at Walt Disney World." She also suggests that while waiting in line, ask the nearest Cast Member to point one out, as chances are there will be one or more Hidden Mickeys in close proximity.
The examples I have given here are just a small sampling of the many Hidden Mickeys located all over Walt Disney World. While I wouldn't recommend wasting an entire day at WDW searching for these images, it can be a fun diversion to try and spot them.
Our family enjoys looking for them during lines and while taking breaks from the often-frenetic pace of touring the attractions. They can be found in shows, murals, and even on the outer wrappings of the toilet paper in the Disney-owned hotels. They really are everywhere! One never, ever knows when and where the little guy might happen to turn up!
