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Hidden Mickey
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (September 2007) |
A Hidden Mickey is a subtle formation of a silhouette of the head of Mickey Mouse and his two ears, a more complete representation of Mickey Mouse (such as Mickey mixed in with a crowd or in the background), or a representation of another character (such as the huge hidden Jafar at the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail in Africa in the Animal Kingdom). Mickeys may be painted, made up of objects (such as rocks, or three plates on a table), or be references such as someone wearing Mickey Mouse Club ears in a painting.
When the shape of Mickey Mouse is used as an obvious part of the design, such as Mickey ears on the top of lampposts, it is considered decorative. A true Hidden Mickey is one that is not obviously meant to be seen, such as when a Disney artist places the shape of Mickey in a context that would normally not contain Mickey Mouse.
Hidden Mickeys are slipped into animation cels in nearly all Disney animated classics, hidden in architecture and attractions in Disney parks and resorts and studio buildings and many other Disney related features.
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There are many Hidden Mickeys in the Disney theme parks. At Epcot in Walt Disney World, a list used to be available documenting the official Mickeys that the resort knew about. One of the first publicly documented Mickeys was in a mural above the entrance to the Body Wars attraction at Epcot. This Hidden Mickey was featured as a trivia question in an Epcot center kiosk.
Although once considered a secret, Hidden Mickeys are now quite public; with modern Internet communication and digital cameras, Hidden Mickeys are easy to learn about and document. Since Imagineers can not put their names on their works (whether a ride, an ambient entity, or topiary), they can place a Hidden Mickey as their signature.
The Walt Disney World Explorer CD-ROM was possibly the first official Disney material to actively promote Hidden Mickeys. While touring the virtual theme parks, shapes of Mickey Mouse were inserted into pictures and the user could click on them to find them. Finding ten of the Mickeys on the disc played a bonus video, in which after the video causes the counter to go back to zero and the found Hidden Mickeys to be rehidden.
The Virtual Magic Kingdom multiplayer game offers multiple quests that involve searching for Hidden Mickeys, although these Mickey hunts do not involve locations of real-world Hidden Mickeys from the actual resorts. (Likewise, the Walt Disney World Explorer's Hidden Mickeys do not correspond to in-park ones.)
In many Disney resort attractions, there are Hidden Mickeys. Some rides include Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular!, The Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, It's a Small World and Soarin' Over California.
Guests at some Walt Disney World resorts, such as Disney's Wilderness Lodge, can ask for hint sheets containing riddle-like clues that indicate Hidden Mickeys concealed within the resorts' decorations. If guests are unable to find the Mickeys on their own, they can ask the resort staff for additional clues or to reveal them outright.
The rotunda above the lobby at the Tokyo DisneySea Hotel MiraCosta outside Tokyo, Japan features seven murals depicting the park's themed ports. They each contain a Hidden Mickey although not in a traditional three-circle figure. Instead, they are designed as very detailed profiles of Mickey facing towards the left or right.
A book, fittingly titled Hidden Mickeys: A Field Guide to Walt Disney World's Best Kept Secrets (by Steven Barrett), is sold at kiosks throughout the parks.
Possibly one of the largest Hidden Mickeys, the center of the Disney-MGM Studios theme park was laid out so that, when seen from above, it resembled a very large Mickey Mouse head. The layout has since changed; Mickey's right ear has been removed by the construction of Sunset Boulevard, and his face is covered up by The Sorcerer's Hat.
Others are hidden in plain sight, or more properly in "plane" sight. Satellite views show a Mickey-shaped lake on the infield of Walt Disney Speedway near the parking lot entrance to the Magic Kingdom. While not in a park, or even on Disney property, a plot of land on the shores of Trout Lake in Clermont Florida has been landscaped into the world's most recognizable mouse.
Probably the easiest Hidden Mickey to spot is a Mickey-shaped high-voltage power pole near Disney World in Orlando.
The world's only "Hidden Minnie" can be seen in Disney World's Great Movie Ride, hidden in the shadows of the Hollywood backdrop as you board the moving tram.
 A Hidden Mickey mixed in the spots of a closed Disneyland shop. |
 The Hidden Mickey is in the honey drops on the Winnie the Pooh ride. |
 The Hidden Mickey is the laid out wheel cogs on the Thunder Mountain ride. |
- In Tom Morrow's lab jacket, there is a pad of paper with the icon written on it.
- In New Orleans Square, one of the storm drains was painted a golden Mickey. It was taken away as it required daily painting.
- In the haunted mansion 3 plates in the center of the dinner table make a hidden mickey.
- On the new Space Mountain, as you walk into the area where you are boarded onto the ride, look at the giant screen that shows the huge red planet. Once it is in the bottom left hand corner while you are skimming over the surface, there is a slight impression of a mickey face on it.
- On Disney property off of Rt I-4, is the Casting building that looks like a castle, that has a sign saying "Casting" in front of it. Along the top of the building are cutouts in the familiar Mickey's head shape.
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It has been suggested that this section be split into a new article entitled Hidden Mickey 50 Ears. (Discuss) |
As part of the Happiest Homecoming on Earth at Disneyland, the park had been decorated with 50 hidden Mickey 50 Ears, the official icon of the 50th anniversary of Disneyland. The symbol is the traditional Mickey face and ears, but with a 50 in the center.
According to the official Disney website, "we've hidden 'Mickey 50 Ears' icons throughout Disneyland park." They listed some hints on finding the icons:
- Search for hidden Mickey 50 Ears of all different sizes.
- Be alert-- some icons are easy to spot, while others are a bit trickier.
- Keep your eyes open while in attraction queues.
- Spot your first 12 hidden Mickey 50 Ears icons on the golden lampposts that line Main Street, U.S.A.
Before the 50th anniversary of Disneyland ended in September 30, 2006, the Hidden 50 Mickeys were slowly removed.
There were a total of 56 Mickey icons made for this part of the celebration; however, only 50 hidden Mickey icons were displayed at one time. This is a complete list of all of the icons.
- 1. The first Mickey icon in the park is the flower bed as you first enter the park. Usually the face of Mickey Mouse, it his been replanted with golden flowers, and Mickey is now a standing topiary displaying the large icon.
- 2-13. There are twelve Mickey Icons that appear on six of the golden lampposts, each icon appearing on either side of the lamp.
- 14. There is an icon on the City Hall building.
- 15. Just above the entrance to the Opera House you will find an icon.
- 16-17. The train station has two icons, both above the clock on the tower, one facing the entrance gate, and the other facing Main Street, U.S.A.
- 18. There is an icon above the entrance to Fantasyland on Sleeping Beauty Castle.
- 19. In the brush around the Enchanted Tiki Room you will find a totem pole icon.
- 20. Above the entrance to the Jungle Cruise is another icon.
- 21. Hidden in a tree above the queue line for the Indiana Jones: Temple of the Forbidden Eye is an icon tied in a cargo net.
- 22. On the front of the Mark Twain Riverboat is a prominent banner with an icon in the center.
- 23, 24. There are two on the Sailing Ship Columbia, one on the stern, and one at the bow.
- 25. There is an icon made up of washbasins hanging on a cabin on Tom Sawyer Island. You can see it from across the river.
- 26. At the left of the exit heading toward the hub of Main Street, U.S.A. hanging on the fort wall are metal wash basins forming a hidden Mickey icon.
- 27. An icon appears on the cigar store Indian near the Shooting Gallery as a trinket.
- 28. On the Shooting Gallery sign is an icon that has been hit with a few stray bullets.
- 29. On the water tower at the entrance to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is a painted icon.
- 30. On the Disneyland Stage Line stagecoach you will find an icon in the decorative trim. The stagecoach was taken backstage in December of 2005 when Santa Claus took over Big Thunder Ranch. It was never reintroduced to the park.
- 31. There is a large Mickey icon on the banner over the entrance to the streets of New Orleans Square
- 32. There is a smaller icon on a balcony over an archway in the back streets.
- 33. Look carefully at the front columns of the Haunted Mansion, a cobweb forms a Hidden Mickey icon.
- 34. Above the entrance into the Pirates of the Caribbean building is a small icon.
- 35. On the train bridge overpass is a wooden Mickey icon.
- 36. The rocks to the right of the drop on Splash Mountain form the hidden Mickey icon.
- 37. One of the small crests at the entrance to the Matterhorn Bobsleds is a hidden Mickey icon.
- 38. On Sleeping Beauty Castle at the entrance to Main Street, U.S.A you will find a hidden icon.
- 39. On the Dumbo ride you will find one of the decorative birds has been replaced with a hidden Mickey icon. On windy days, they remove the hanging medallions, so this Mickey icon may not be displayed.
- 40. One of the lanterns above the Mad Teacups attractions is in the shape of a hidden Mickey icon.
- 41. The spectacles of Mr Toad above the entrance to Mr. Toad's Wild Ride have been replaced with an icon.
- 42. On the roof of Pinocchio's Daring Journey has a weather vane that is in the shape of a hidden Mickey icon.
- 43. The doors of the clock of It's a Small World have a decorative Mickey icon displayed.
- 44. Go to Mickey's House and you will find a Hidden Mickey icon at the entrace.
- 45. On the Jolly Trolly station is another icon
- 46. At the entrance to Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin, the icon appears as the hood ornament of Benny the Cab crashing through the building.
- 47. On the Astro Orbitor Attraction one of the spinning caibration arms is a hidden Mickey icon.
- 48. On the Observatron you can see one of the satellite dishes has been made into a hidden Mickey icon.
- 49. On the Imagination Institute sign for Honey, I Shrunk the Audience you will see an icon.
- 50. On the rotating mosaic of Innoventions contains a hidden Mickey icon.
 #1: Train station flowerbed |
 #16: Above the clock on the clocktower |
 #18: Sleeping Beauty's Castle |
 #19: Adventureland Tiki Room |
 #31 New Orleans Square overhead banner |
 #33: In the cobweb on the Haunted Mansion |
 #36: Rocks on Splash Mountain |
 #40: Fantasyland Teacups lanterns |
 #41: Mr Toad holding his Spectacles |
 #43: Fantasyland Small World Facade |
 #46: Toontown Roger Rabbits Car Toon Spin |
 #47: Tomorrowland Astro Orbitor |
 #35: Critter Country train overpass |
- On top of the house on Tom Sawyer's Island, the Mickey Mouse that denotes the stage position for Sorcerer Mickey during Fantasmic! was repainted to a 50 Mickey
- The set design at the Big Thunder Ranch included a 50 Mickey icon on Santa's chair when Santa took over the Ranch
- On a trash bin in Mickey's ToonTown hung a 50 Mickey icon.
- Projected on the curtains in the Opera House for the show "50 Magical Years". This is the last and only hidden 50th Mickey left in the park. It will remain until the show is retired.
- Offical Disneyland Information
- Photos of all 50 icons at MousePlanet
- FindingMickey.com - Hidden Mickeys of Disneyland Resort, Anaheim CA
- A photo gallery of many hidden Mickeys
- Aladdin (When Rajah the Kitten is being transformed back into a tiger, the shape of Rajah's head turns into the shape of Mickey for a split-second.
- Bambi 2[citation needed]
- Beauty and the Beast (When Gaston entered Belle's house in preparation to propose, the mud on his feet as he put them on the table formed a Hidden Mickey)
- The Black Cauldron[citation needed]
- A Bug's Life (As the ants are retreating into the ant hill when the grasshoppers first arrive, they run through a hole in the wall shaped like Mickey's head)
- Cinderella (When Cinderella is singing "Sing Sweet Nightingale," three bubbles form the head and ears of Mickey Mouse.)
- Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (In the bedroom, you can see that the foil wall has Mickey pressings in it.)
- Enchanted (The bus driver's hair is shaped like Mickey's head)
- Drawn Together (In the episode Breakfast Food Killer, there's a line of characters to attempt to replace Quackers, and a Mickey sillouette is standing in the line.)
- A Goofy Movie (If you look closely at the crowd at the Power Line concert, you can see Mickey.)
- The Haunted Mansion[citation needed]
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame (The gaps in the brick railing of the cathedral are shaped like Mickey's head.)
- Lilo & Stitch[citation needed] (On Jumba's platform while awaiting his sentence in court.)
- The Lion King[citation needed] (On the praying mantis that is shown during the scene when Timon is pulling out a beetle from a knothole.)
- The Lion King 1½[citation needed]
- There are 20 different Hidden Mickeys seen in the backgrounds of The Lion King 1½. The DVD features a DVD game entitled Hidden Mickey Hunt which allows the viewer to find all 20 Hidden Mickeys.
- The Little Mermaid (at the beginning of the film, Mickey, Donald and Goofy can be spotted in the audience of the recital)
- Meet the Robinsons[citation needed]
- Mulan[citation needed] (On Shang's horse's rear end.)
- Mulan 2[citation needed]
- The Nightmare Before Christmas (After Jack delivers his Christmas presents, the little girl with the scary teddy bear has on Mickey pajamas & the little boy has on Donald pajamas)
- One Hundred and One Dalmatians (When the whole family sings "Dalmatian Plantation", a puppy that looks like Mickey Mouse is at Roger and Anita's feet. Also, during the opening credits of the film, some of the 'dalmatian spots' beneath the text "Walt Disney presents" combine to form a Hidden Mickey.)
- Peter Pan[citation needed]
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
- On Sao Feng's navigational charts.
- In the Sails behind Elizabeth when she's on deck of the Pearl giving the "Hoist the Colors" speech.
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl
- In the Black Pearl's attack on Port Royal. A cannon on the fort fires and the smoke forms a hidden Mickey.
- In the clouds behind Jack Sparrow on the top left corner of the screen in the scene where he tells Will Turner about his father.
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
- On the self said dead man's chest, Jack Sparrow turns the key in the lock, the lock forms a hidden mickey.
- Pocahontas[citation needed]
- Recess: School's Out[citation needed]
- Santa's Workshop (1932, a partially obscured Mickey can be seen in Santa's bag at the 5:54 mark)
- Sleeping Beauty[citation needed]
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs[citation needed]
- The Incredibles (When Mr. Incredible was launched off the airplane to the island, several trees on top of a hill on the island form a hidden mickey.)
- Toy Story[citation needed] (When buzz first comes into the film and 'flys' around the room the clock on the wall which looks like a large wrist watch has mickey mouse on the face)
- Toy Story 2 (one of the ones from the original can be seen again)[citation needed]
- Treasure Planet[citation needed]
- Tron (When the Solar Sailer is flying across the landscape (just after Flynn joins Tron and Yori), a high angle shot shows a clear view of a flat section of the ground below that is in the shape of Mickey's profile.)
- The shadow of the captain's head and hat on the sail on the Peter Pan's Flight attraction in Florida's Walt Disney World Resort will form a Hidden Mickey when he moves the right way in the spotlight.
- In Nintendo's GameCube game Super Smash Bros Melee, a Mickey Mouse head is on one of the rocks in the Pokemon Stadium.
- In Blizzard Entertainment's MMORPG 'World of Warcraft' a gigantic Hidden Mickey is located in the Valley of Honor within the Horde town of Orgrimmar. It can only be viewed by manually increasing the game's maximum zoom setting.
- In Gremlins, when a troop of Gremlins hang out in the cinema enjoying a showing of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs a Gremlin with Mickey Mouse ears can be seen.
- Phantom Manor[citation needed]
As part of the wildly popular Pin Trading phenomenon, Disney has released a set of "Hidden Mickey" pins. The pins are the same as pins previously released, but each has a small silver Mickey logo hidden on them. Some are obvious, some are hard to find. Hidden Mickey pins may be purchased at any Pin Trading location or traded for with cast members, who may try to conceal them among regular pins.