WHAT IS A "HIDDEN MICKEY"?
My favorite definition of "Hidden Mickey" is:
An image of Mickey Mouse concealed in the design of a Disney attraction.
Looking for Hidden Mickeys is kind of a "Easter egg scavenger hunt" activity. Imagineers and Cast Members have gotten very creative with where they place them; some are easy to spot, and others are nearly impossible.
WHAT DOES A HIDDEN MICKEY LOOK LIKE?
Most Hidden Mickeys are "tri-circle", consisting of one large circle ("head") and two smaller circles above it ("ears"). People sometimes refer to these as "Classic Mickeys". While there are no official rules as to the form it can take, the word "Hidden" implies that the Mickey must be deliberate placed and somewhat difficult to find. Here's some examples:
DO YOU HAVE SOME SORT OF SYSTEM FOR KEEPING TRACK OF HIDDEN MICKEYS?
If I didn't have a system, there wouldn't be a wiki! Hidden Mickey Wiki puts all sightings into six classifications:
- Hidden Mickey - confirmed and verified by Hidden Mickey hunters
- Unknown - Unconfirmed sighting
- Other Hidden Character - Not a Mickey, but a different Disney character (Eeyore sign in Indy Jones)
- Decor - Mickey heads that aren't hidden, and clearly placed for decoration (Ticket booths in the Esplanade)
- Wishful Thinking - Mickeys that are clearly accidental or are not tri-circle (Scrollwork over the Plaza Inn)
- Lost - Hidden Mickeys that no longer exist (ex: Mickey tarot cards at Esmerelda's Fortune Telling Machine)
If there's a dispute over the authenticity of a Hidden Mickey, the sighting can be put up for a vote on the Ballot page.
WHERE IS THE OFFICIAL LIST OF HIDDEN MICKEYS?
Unfortunately, Imagineers and Cast Members have never kept records of where Mickeys were originally placed. Attractions change, get refurbished, and this can lead to Hidden Mickey disappearances, such as the tires in Goofy's Garage which vanished after the refurb of Toon Town in 2021. New Hidden Mickeys are always being created, particularly on new or refurbished attractions. A Cast Member once told me there were over 100 Hidden Mickeys on the Runaway Railway attraction alone, as the Imagineers were told to "Go Wild".
WHERE DID HIDDEN MICKEYS COME FROM?
Since there's no official history of Hidden Mickeys, fans are left to speculate as to their origin. According to Jim Hill, Hidden Mickeys got their start during the construction of EPCOT in 1981. At the time, Disney wanted Epcot to appeal more to adults and did not want the classic Disney characters like Mickey Mouse featured in the new park. But the Disney Imagineers working on Epcot couldn’t resist secretly slipping a few Mickey Mouse heads and silhouettes into the designs. When guests began discovering these Mickeys and pointing them out, the concept took off. Disney management embraced the idea, and Disney employees (both Cast Members and Imagineers) began intentionally hiding more Mickey shapes in rides and attractions.
According to Tom Shaw, the first published sighting of a Hidden Mickey was made by Arlen Miller, who wrote an article in 1989 on Hidden Mickeys for a Cast Member publication called "WDW's Eyes and Ears". This was the first time it was made publicly known. Months later, the author was contacted by Disney News for more information for an article on Hidden Mickeys.
Going back further in time, it's possible that the first Hidden Mickey of Disneyland was created by Walt Disney himself. The street address of Disneyland is: 1313 Disneyland Drive, and the original street address of Disneyland in 1955 was 1313 Harbor Boulevard. The 13th letter of the alphabet is "M", and there are two 13s in the address. In 1955, Anaheim probably assigned addresses from 1300 to around 1325 based on how many feet between addresses. 1300 would have been at Ball Road, and 1325 would have been at Katella. According to ChatGPT, it's fair to say that the number range was a coincidence, but the selection of "1313" as the official address for Disneyland is likely to have been a deliberate choice on Walt's part (emphasis mine):
"The range of possible addresses for Disneyland in 1955 would likely have spanned 1300 to 1325 on Harbor Boulevard, given Anaheim’s addressing practices for large parcels. The number 1313 falls within this range, and while its selection may have been coincidental, it also aligns with Walt Disney’s creative sensibilities, making it a deliberate choice for the park's iconic entrance."
Going back even further to 1939, the Sorcerer's Apprentice segment of Fantasia has a Hidden Mickey in the water, and this Hidden Mickey was used in Fantasmic. While it's possible there are Hidden Mickeys in Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs, it's highly unlikely as it never would have occurred to Walt Disney to create such a thing. It's possible that this is the first Hidden Mickey ever created.
ARE THERE ANY TIPS FOR DISCOVERING HIDDEN MICKEYS ON MY OWN?
Here's some guidelines to use while searching:
- Any Mickey that seems very large and elaborate or very intricate, such as the shape of Disneyland itself, is probably not a Hidden Mickey
- A Mickey should be proportioned correctly; while there is no "official" measurement for a Hidden Mickey, if the ears are too small or too close together, or if the circle sizes are very different and/or not in perspective, it's probably not a Hidden Mickey
- The ears of a Mickey don't need to be connected to the head for it to be a Hidden Mickey (ex: dinner plates in the Haunted Mansion)
- Be careful when searching that you don't just find a group of circles. For example, if you "see" Mickeys in a bunch of bubbles, it's probably not a Hidden Mickey. Disney didn't create water, so H2O that looks like a Hidden Mickey is probably not one
- A true Hidden Mickey should not have to rely on imagination. If you have to squint your eyes, tilt your head, or have lighting at a certain angle, it's probably not a Hidden Mickey. A Mickey can be upside-down or sideways, but should be relatively clear and not difficult to see.
- Many Hidden Mickeys are found when you look away from what your eyes are attracted to. For example, the battle scene in Pirates Of The Caribbean draws your eyes towards the ship to the left ... and away from the Hidden Mickey formed by cannon balls in the wall to the right. When searching for new Hidden Mickeys, look away from the most interesting thing, and you just might spot a new one!
- While a lot of Hidden Mickeys have circles that are "perfectly proportioned", it's not a requirement. The Hidden Mickeys found in sourdough breadbowls are not (and can't be) perfectly proportioned, because they consist of Cast Members ripping bread in half and positioning it above the main bowl.
WHAT DO I DO IF I FIND ONE THAT ISN'T ON THE SITE ALREADY?
Anyone can contribute to the Hidden Mickey Wiki, via the reporting page. New reports, confirmations, updates -- all are welcome.
ARE YOU CREATING OTHER CHECKLISTS?
Currently working on a "Disneyland In A Day" checklist. It's sort of working, but not 100% on mobile devices yet. You can see it here.
Happy Hunting!
-- Pianoman
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