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3. Cast Members create Mickeys too

Hidden Mickey in the Hoses

As mentioned above, Cast Members are responsible for many hidden Mickeys. Few are as obvious as the plates at the Haunted Mansion, though. In many cases, Cast Members simply add their own sprinkle of pixie dust here and there by arranging things in this iconic shape as they’re going about their jobs. If you spot carefully coiled ropes on a boat dock, or a Mickey-shaped hose on the ground, these are the work of Cast Members.

Pay close attention around you and you may even see little Mickeys pop up in the course of Cast Members’ everyday activities. Working in housekeeping, we would spray window cleaner in the shape of a Mickey before wiping it off, just in case a guest was watching us. It didn’t add any extra work, but it did make something as mundane as scrubbing the glass look a lot more magical if someone was watching.

4. Signature details aren’t always shaped like Mickey

Great Movie Ride Alien Computers

Hidden Mickeys are the most common detail to look for, but some Imagineers leave their signature in a different way. In the Great Movie Ride, the computer screens in the Alien scene have Imagineers’ names hidden in the text. A cloud in Splash Mountain’s finale scene is rumored to be a hidden Minnie rather than Mickey because of what looks like a bow on its head. In Disney’s Animal Kingdom, a rock on the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail looks like Jafar.

Disney is filled with fun little details that call to mind well-known characters or add more depth to a scene. While the most popular ones look like Mickey, there are plenty of other fun inclusions to look for.

5. There’s no official number of hidden Mickeys

Since Disney has yet to publish its own guide to hidden Mickeys, there’s no official number indicating how many of these little characters are lurking around the parks. Many Cast Members can point you to hidden Mickeys in their area, but ask around a place like Rafiki’s Planet Watch where the mural at Conservation Station contains dozens of Mickeys, and you’ll find dissention even among those who work there as to the actual number.

The fun thing about hidden Mickeys is that you never know when you may find one. While there are some guides to get your started, it’s entirely possible to find a new one that’s not mentioned in these publications, either because it was missed or because it’s a recent creation. This also means that you may start spotting Mickeys even where there aren’t any, but it’s all part of the fun. In general, if you’ve found three circles in the right configuration you can go ahead and count it.

The lore of hidden Mickeys adds a lot of fun to the parks, particularly for frequent visitors looking for something new and different to discover. Keep a sharp eye and you never know what you’ll find.

 
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