Have you ever seen the head of Mickey Mouse embedded into the rocks while waiting for an attraction or in the decor of your favorite restaurant? Maybe you have seen one in the sidewalk or in the carpet of your resort room. These Mickey Mouse silhouettes were no accident and known as Hidden Mickeys! Imagineers strategically place and design things to resemble the head and ears of Mickey Mouse! Not only does it make it fun for guests to find, it also adds a little bit of extra magic to your day! Hidden Mickeys can found throughout the parks, attractions, restaurants, and resorts. They can also be seen in films, TV series, and other Disney products. Now that you know, you will be begin to notice them even more! There are over 1,000 recorded Hidden Mickeys from a fan, but there is no official list or count from Walt Disney World to confirm or deny any Hidden Mickeys that guests spot, so it’s really in the eye of the beholder.
Hidden Mickeys can be traced back to the beginning of Epcot. Since this park was created to be more of an adult park, where alcohol would be served; Disney characters were deemed inappropriate to be ‘mixed’ with alcohol. In order to include Disney characters in the park but in a different way, Imagineers got creative and started to include Hidden Mickey silhouettes into various design elements. Since then, characters can be seen in the park, but Hidden Mickeys were popular and here to stay. They became a tradition moving forward and continue to be a special gem for guests to find!
Even though Hidden Mickeys are fun to find during your visit there are a few that are so grand that you can only see the from the sky! Check it out!!
Hidden Mickeys that can only be seen from the AIR!
Disney’s Hollywood Studios
The whole entire park was designed as a Hidden Mickey! This picture is a bit dated and the park has had many changes since then, but the basic park design stays the same. Here, Imagineers designed this Hidden Mickey to not only have the three circles to represent Mickey’s head and ears, but it also includes some of Mickey’s facial features in the design of the walkways and landscape placement. The bottom of Mickey’s head is the Chinese Theater and Echo lake makes up one ear. The other ear is the Grand Avenue area leading guests towards the Tower of Terror.
Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom
Little did you know that you were riding along a Hidden Mickey as you take your seat on Expedition Everest! Imagineers took this Hidden Mickey to a new level when designing the track and structure of this attraction. Mt. Everest represents Mickey’s head and the tracks were designed to create the perfect Mickey ears to complete this Hidden Mickey.
Lake Mickey
Nestled in the middle of the Walt Disney World Speedway, Lake Mickey was built 2 years after the speedway, in 1997, after drainage issues were discovered in the infield.The Speedway closed in 2015, but Lake Mickey still can be seen from above.
Walt Disney World Solar Facility
This solar panel farm spans about 22 acres. Duke Energy is in a 15 year agreement with Disney to build, own and operate the farm on Disney’s land. In return, the farm will provide solar power to Walt Disney World. It is located just west of Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club Resort near the east shoulder of World Drive and the intersection Epcot Center Drive.
Fun Fact: This is only one of the solar farms that Disney has.There is a newer farm of solar panels spanning 270 acres!!! This is the size of two Magic Kingdom parks put together. This solar panel farm is able to power two of the four theme parks.
Mickey Mouse Forest
In 1992, this Hidden Mickey forest started to take root. More than 60,000 trees were planted on 60 acres, just northwest of Magic Kingdom. Many volunteers came together to help plant and be apart of this incredible project. People flying out of Orlando airport can spot this Hidden Mickey as they take off or come in for a landing!
No matter how big or small, Hidden Mickeys are a classic treasure for guests of all ages to enjoy. During your next visit, see how many you can find and if you ever happen to be flying over the area, don’t forget to look down to see if you can spot these incredible Hidden Mickeys!
Source: Google Maps, Near Map, Disney
