Find the famous three-circle Mickey Mouse shape all over Disney World.
One of the most enduring free pastimes in Walt Disney World is the search for Hidden Mickeys. In the early 1980s, Imagineers were designing Epcot as the second park in Disney World. Disney management felt that the cartoon characters belonged only in Magic Kingdom, but the Imagineers disagreed. They began hiding Mickey Mouse shapes all over Epcot, and a game was begun. Today, cast members and Imagineers build and create hidden Mickey Mouse silhouettes everywhere from the carpeting in resort hotels to the ceiling in rides. Finding them is a fun hobby for anyone visiting .
Get a Guidebook
Find one of the handbooks published about Hidden Mickeys if you are a novice at this game. You'll be surprised at the lengths to which some people have gone to incorporate in their designs. The guidebooks will tell you where to look for the designs, and they can be used as a paperback life list, much like birders have a life list of birds they have spotted. Check off a Mickey every time you spot one, or put the spotters initials next to it if you are having a family competition.
In the Parks
It takes a while to train your eye to find Hidden Mickeys, but after a while you'll start to see them everywhere. Mickey shapes are stamped into manhole covers, cut into intricate home gingerbread decor, painted into scenes of the galaxy and even hidden on larger pictures of Mickey Mouse himself. Look up and down, at ceilings and carpeting. Check out paper goods and posters. Investigate everywhere to find hidden mouse head designs.
In the Resort Hotels
Designers of the resort hotels in Walt Disney World have gotten into the Hidden Mickey game. You can find HMs in every resort on the property. Look for Hidden Mickeys woven into the carpeting in your hall, printed in the wallpaper design, incorporated into the artwork on the walls in your room and even hidden in the floral design on your bedspread. Spend a day visiting the lobby of all the different resorts for a fun afternoon relaxing and hunting Hidden Mickeys. It's enjoyable and free, a nice change from the rest of Walt Disney World.
The Cast Members
Walt Disney World has some of the most dedicated employees in the world. Some of them seem like they live to make other people's days more enjoyable. One of the ways they do this is to create temporary Hidden Mickey shapes for guests to find. Maintenance workers rake the sand at the beach into a Mickey shape, janitors mop the floor using three swirled circles and cooks will arrange round food items into Mickey heads on your plate. Cast members have even been known to shave HM symbols into the horsehair on the white steeds that pull Cinderella's coach during weddings. Temporary Hidden Mickeys are often the most special ones to find because they only last a moment, and a cast member created them simply to give someone else some fun and joy.
Tags: Disney World, Hidden Mickeys, Walt Disney, Walt Disney World, Mickey Mouse, Hidden Mickey, even hidden