What do you mean hidden Mickey's, how can a six-foot tall mouse be hidden?

Well, as if Walt Disney and his imagineers didn't give us enough to look at when we visit their wonderful parks, they also had a little inside joke running.

Hidden Mickey's were always meant to be just that, hidden. They were originally placed in certain attractions by the imagineers so they could show their friends and family that they actually did work on that attraction, it became their little secret, a kind of signature only to shared with a select few. But now the secret is out.

Still baffled as to what a Hidden Mickey is?

Firstly, to make things a little more interesting, there are two main types of Hidden Mickey's. The first type, and the original, is the most obvious, and consists of three circles, one large circle with two smaller circles placed above and to either side of the larger circle to give the famous Mickey Mouse silhouette, . The second type of Hidden Mickey is sometimes slightly harder to see, taking the form of a side profile of the great Mouse, think side profile of Hitchcock at the start of his movies and you will get the idea.

So where are these Hidden Mickey's?

Well this is the fun part. You have to find them yourself. If you have never visited any of the Disney parks then we are sure that when you do make your first trip the last thing you will be thinking about is Hidden Mickey's, but, if like us you have visited several times, you can consider the Hidden Mickey's as a new challenge, something else to do other than standing in line for Test Track (by the way, we know of at least two Hidden Mickey's in the queue area for Test Track!).

There are books out there to help you, all unofficial of course, and we are sure that you have seen people running around with the books, or looking behind them on an attraction instead of straight ahead like everyone else, well these people are probably looking for a Hidden Mickey, it might even be us. Some people dedicate an entire visit to the parks just to looking for Hidden Mickey's. It is great fun!!

Want to know where to start?

Well first of all, if it isn't hidden then it isn't a Hidden Mickey, for example Mickey shaped ice cream cookies are not Hidden Mickey's. And not every set of three round objects are Hidden Mickey's, like oranges in a fruit bowl, they are just oranges. Also, if it is very obscure, such that you need to tilt your head to one side and squint with both eyes to see it, then it's not a Hidden Mickey.

I will give you one to get you started. In Walt Disney Worlds Magic Kingdom, on the Haunted Mansion, as you are passing through the ballroom scene with all the ghosts, take a look at the big table. Pay special attention to the place setting on the far left bottom corner. You will see that two saucers have been placed along with a dinner plate to form a great Hidden Mickey silhouette. Have a look the next time you are there. Although this is not an official Disney Imagineer Hidden Mickey, the cast members working Haunted Mansion reproduce it when the Imagineers reset the attraction.

Don't forget that Hidden Mickey's can take any form. Another quick example would be at Disney/MGM Studios, in the Tower of Terror. Watch the video with the family closely and you will see that the small girl is carrying a plush Mickey Mouse.

Have a look next time you are in the parks, or if you see someone looking behind them on an attraction, ask them if it's a Hidden Mickey, they will love to share it, and that's what Disney is all about, having fun.