>There is an Unknown Magic that most first time visitors don’t see or get involved in, but seasoned Disney guests get all excited about. It usually doesn’t occur on your first trip and rarely on a second trip to Disney, but starting with your third trip, you start getting interested in this Magic. And then it becomes an obsession. You start looking for it even when you aren’t in Disney. I’m talking about the Hidden Mickey. According to Hidden Mickeys Guide.com, a Hidden Mickey is:

a partial or complete impression of Mickey Mouse placed by
the Imagineers and artists to blend into the designs of
 Disney attractions, hotels, restaurants, and other areas.

There are Websites, Books and even I-phone apps dedicated to the Hidden Mickey. The Hidden Mickey is even more looked for than the five legged goat on the mural in the Grand Canyon concourse at the Contemporary Resort. (Yes, there is a five legged goat in the mural to see it look at the side facing you when you are facing the monorail station.)

So, what does a Hidden Mickey look like? Well, before I get into that I need to throw out this warning. Just like Pin Collecting, looking for and finding Hidden Mickeys is addictive. It is Fun, and can make Magical Experiences, but it’s addictive. With that said, a classic Hidden Mickey is any three circles placed together to form a Mickey Mouse head. You can also have the side view Mickey, which is often harder to find. There are also Hidden Mickeys that aren’t Mickey Heads, but Donald and Goofy and Minnie. As stated above they are all over the Walt Disney World Resort.

In your resort room, you can find them in Bedspreads, carpets, shower curtains, and woodwork. In the resort lobby, common areas and even at the front desk you may find a Hidden Mickey. In the parks they are plentiful. Not every attraction, but most will have some form of hidden Mickey. They can be in the queue or during the ride itself. Some are easy to see and others you really have to look for. It is fun to look for them, and will create many Magical Experiences for you and your family looking and finding them, but as I said be careful, you may become obsessed.

Knowing what to look for still doesn’t always help you find them though. In the Animal Kingdom, at Conservation Station, a Cast Member pointed out to me that the main mural as you walk in contains more Hidden Mickeys than some whole other areas of Walt Disney World. And before he had started pointing them out to me, I didn’t see any of them. After he started pointing them out, I still was missing some. When we were just staying in the Saratoga Springs Resort, we were disappointed because the only Hidden Mickeys we found were in the woodwork around the kitchen area. After looking at some web-sites when we got home, I found out we were looking right at them in the headboard of the bed and not seeing them. This is why this Unknown Magic is great for Magical Experiences with the family. Because it takes more than one set of eyes a lot of times to see something.

We enjoy finding the Hidden Mickeys. Below are some of my favorites that I have gotten pictures of:

Hallway Carpet at the Boardwalk Resort
Wine Bottles at Le Cellier Steakhouse, Epcot
One of the Hapsburg Emperors in Germany, check out the crown

Outdoor market in Morocco. Epcot
And this one is my Favorite because I don’t know how they did it.
Fireworks in the Magic Kingdom
As I said though it does become an obsession; the following two pictures were taken here in New Jersey, because they look like Mickey Heads and well, we are obsessed with the Hidden Mickey.
Delivery truck passing me on the road

Plums that fell off the tree in my front yard. They are actually stuck together like that.

 

 

So, now, you know, you can have a Magical Family Experience by keeping your eyes peeled and looking for The Hidden Mickeys. And when you find one, make sure you share with others the Magic.

The Hidden Mickey Guru is Steven Barrett you can read all about them on www.hiddenmickeysguide.com/