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As millions of guests scurry throughout Walt Disney World Resort
to see Mickey Mouse, little do they realize they may be passing
him right by.
And though the Mickeys they miss are not the life-sized, two-legged
and three-fingered variety, they are "Hidden Mickeys" -- silhouettes
and abstract images of Mickey Mouse cleverly hidden by Disney Imagineers
across the 47-square-mile Vacation Kingdom.
Hidden Mickeys began as an inside joke among Walt Disney Imagineers,
the artists and engineers who design Disney parks and attractions.
As word spread of these subtle tributes to Walt's famous mouse,
guests sought to find them all.
That search continues today.
Like Easter eggs, Hidden Mickeys have been placed secretly (and
not so secretly) by Imagineers at locations across Walt Disney World
Resort. Imagineers include Hidden Mickeys when designing, building
or putting the finishing touches on a new attraction or hotel, hiding
silhouettes, profiles and other images of Mickey Mouse in murals,
queue areas and even golf course sand traps.
Mickey Mouse's image has also been incorporated into many designs
as a decorative enhancement to new and refurbished areas. You might
say they are "Deliberate Mickeys" because they are specifically
intended to make Mickey Mouse a visual addition to the surrounding
artwork or as an identifying logo.
"The popularity of Hidden Mickeys has just snowballed with guests,"
says Dave Smith, founder and main archivist for the Walt Disney
Archives, and author of Disney: A to Z. "Many will almost use a
magnifying glass through the parks to find as many as they can."
No one knows how many Hidden Mickeys exist throughout Walt Disney
World Resort, since Imagineers have never kept an official roster
documenting their existence.
In fact, no one knows when the first Hidden Mickey even appeared.
And, since attractions are renovated and updated periodically, many
have appeared and disappeared through the years.
Where the next Hidden Mickey will appear is anyone's guess.
A Hidden Mickey is best defined as an image of Mickey Mouse concealed
in the design of a Walt Disney World attraction or resort. The most
common image is the head and ears silhouette: a large circle with
two smaller circles of the same size attached on top. Other known
forms are silhouette profiles of his head, with a pronounced nose
and ears set in back; an actual "cartoon" image of his
face, where you can make out his eyes, nose and mouth; his full
figure, in silhouette or in the "cartoon" form; and finally,
a three-dimensional figure, as in the form of a doll.
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