WHAT ARE "Hidden Mickeys"?

[WinnipegDisneyFanatic]

Yes...this might be the stupidest question ever asked in the history of WDW questions...and I've heard so much about them but am still confused...what can people tell me about Hidden Mickeys...what are they...where are they...what do you get if you find them...why were they made...as a journalist I guess I gotta ask all the questions on them lol.

Where can people look for them? How many are there?

If anyone can help me out that'd be great! We're going in May and I'd like to be on the lookout for them.

Chris

[GrumpyFan]

Hidden Mickeys are Mickey silhouettes (large circle with two smaller circles on top ) conveniently placed/hidden in various places throughout Disney parks and attractions. They are almost everywhere, but you have to look for them. There is at least one book that tells how to find them and a couple web-sites as well. There are no prizes for finding them, just the personal satisfaction and fun that comes in the hunt.

[cubbie]

Hidden Mickeys are the imagineers tribute to the mouse. Most of the time, they are the traditional Mickey tri-circle design (1 big circle, with two smaller "ear" circles). They are found on many attractions, and even some restaurants. You don't get anything if you find them, aside from the pride that comes along with having a keen eye. A couple of my favorites include the Mickey and Donald hieroglyphic in the Indiana Jones room on the Great Movie Ride, the plates in the shape of Mickey's head in the ballroom scene of the Haunted Mansion, and the Mickey head on the golfball on Soarin'. There are many websites out there that actually list where Hidden Mickeys can be found. I hope this helped a little bit to give insight about the phenomenon that is the Hidden Mickey.
Oh, and to answer the question of why they were made, I'll turn it around on you and ask, why not?

[Womble]

...why were they made...

There are two explanations, I’ve read for Hidden Mickey’s. As cubbie stated one is it started as imaginers “tribute to the mouse”.
The second was that they were done as an “inside” joke, which the public finally noticed in the mid to late 80’s.

[bradk]

officially speaking, the reason they are is because the imagineers were unable to sign their names to projects they worked on, so the hidden mickey was one way to sign their work without formally signining it. while it's now a past time, initially, an imagineer was able to brand their work because they knew where the hidden mickey was.

every attraction and almost anything worked on by an imagineer has a hidden mickey, especially murals. if not a hidden mickey, many also have some sort of hidden joke. one of the more famous such oddities is the 5 legged goat in the grand canyon concourse mosaic by mary blair in the contemporary.

there is also a hidden minnie, a hidden donald, amongst others.

interestingly enough, the aforementioned hidden mickey formed by the plates in the ballroom scene at the haunted mansion is NOT an 'official' hidden mickey. it was created by cast members, not an imagineer and is really known for being a bane of the imagineers (as it's reported, each plate has a photo underneath it showing precisely where it's meant to be, and none of those plates are supposed to be in the shape of a mickey head). there is an actual hidden mickey as designed by the imagineers in the HM (at least one) but you'd have to know where it is and then catch it at just the right time to see it (it's in the graveyard scene).

my personal favorite is the hidden minnie in the jungle cruise. mostly because it became a personal challenge to catch it in a photo, as did one of the hidden mickeys on test track in the crash test room (rode 4 times in a row just to get a decent shot).

[Maleficent's Dad]

Urban Legend has it, that when EPCOT was being designed and built, imagineers were not allowed to have characters - including the mouse - as part of the attractions.

They subtly added him in many various forms.

I have tons of pictures of them. But if you look here, you'll get the idea of what to look for (this taken in Morocco).

Have fun - they add a lot to our trips!

[bradk]

here's the hidden minnie on the jungle cruise
http://bradk.smugmug.com/photos/97253509-M-1.jpg

and speaking of morocco, here we get some help from some of the 'residents' in finding a couple of hidden mickeys in the mural
http://bradk.smugmug.com/photos/50435415-M-1.jpg
http://bradk.smugmug.com/photos/50435406-M-1.jpg

and since i'm on the streak and i mentioned it earlier, the troublesome one from test track
http://bradk.smugmug.com/gallery/1942645#98523176

[tyandskyesmom]

And since it appears you are heading to Pop in the future, Ty found one in the tile work in the floor of Everything Pop while getting breakfast one day! It is near the cash registers on the far side of the restaurant.

( I am apparently not picture capable but if you'd like to see it, drop me a PM and I'll send you the link to my pictures.)

104 more days!

[drummerboy]

I've seen the hard-to-find one in HM. There's also at least one in PotC toward the end, and one in Buzz Lightyear (Mickey in profile), among many others.

[joelkfla]

Perhaps the largest concentration of hidden Mickey's in one place is at Rafiki's Planet Watch (formerly Conservation Station) at Animal Kingdom. The walls inside the entrance are covered by a large mural of animals, and many of the animals faces and eyes are hidden Mickeys. There are even a couple of Mickeys hidden inside the animals' eyes.

It's also pretty common to find hidden Mickeys on the ground. Around Harambe, Africa, again at AK, there are several classic Mickeys formed by stonework, storm drains, and just pebbles embedded in the pavement. There's also a nice one formed by the colored pebbles in front of Mission: Space, to the left of the Horizons planter.

One of the largest hidden Mickeys is the central plaza at DIsney-MGM Studios. If you look at an old aerial photo, you can see that the entire plaza is Mickey's face from the original Mickey Mouse Club logo. The head was towards Hollywood Blvd., and the chin towards the Chinese Theater. Unfortunately, most of it has been lost to the big hat and Sunset Blvd. expansion, but you can still find Mickey's eyes on the plaza. Echo Lake at the Studio was Mickey's left ear!

[bradk]

the MGM studios one was pretty destroyed (if you can find a photo online if the park's original view, you'd be amazed how clear it is).

reportedly the largest one on property now is flamingo island in the savannah. there are also a couple of large ones popular on google earth, one is a planting of trees near the western edge of the property (which i've read has burned down, but no confirmation), but it was visible on the flight path into OIA. another is a lake in the middle of the speedway.

the largest one in the MK is reportedly the garden behind Mickey's House in toontown.