Customer Reviews

Disneyland's Hidden Mickeys: A Field Guide to Disneyland Resort's Best-Kept Secrets, 2nd Edition

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

If you think there's nothing to do at Disney World except ride the same old rides and stand in the same old lines then author Steven Barrett has a surprise for you. It seems that all around Disney World there are lots of "hidden" Mickeys. From classic front profiles to side profiles they are everywhere. For example, one of the ones you would never suspect is the shadow cast on the ground from the railing in front of Cinderellas's castle. Hidden in maps, shadows, well placed stones, or even table settings, once you get the hang of it you are sure to find lots of them. Some of the ones in the book are a bit of a stretch and others are obvious once you know it. Once you start looking for them you wonder why you've never noticed things the place setting in the Haunted Mansion that makes a classic Mickey with the dinner dish and two side dishes for ears. I even found a couple that were pretty easy to spot but not in the book (like a key against the wall in Mickey's House).

Not only is the book a great guide on finding the hidden Mickeys but if you follow the suggested itinerary it really minimizes the wait times in line. Mr. Barrett has done an excellent job of suggesting how to go from ride to ride and the book is well worth the price just for that information. We waited only 20 minutes in the longest line and generally waited less than ten.

In summary, it is a great twist on visiting Disney World, Epcot, MGM Studios, Animal Kingdom and other Disney attractions and a recommended purchase for anyone heading to a Florida Disney location.

This interesting handy-sized 4" x 9" book of 160 pages covers all aspects of WDW. The whole family will want to look for all of the "hidden" Mickeys spread all over WDW. They're virtually everywhere. Scavenger Hunts throughout the book offer clues to finding the hidden Mickeys. Special hints are provided to help you in the scavenger hunts. It can keep the kids busy and you don't have to spend money while your "hunting." Its a fun guide that you'll enjoy each time you visit WDW. We'll take ours everytime we visit Orlando. This book covers not only the parks, but also hotels, restaurants, shops and more. You'll notice many of these for the first time, even if you have visited WDW many times. Worth the low cost.

If you or your kids love "I Spy," then this book's for you. We just returned from a family vacation to Walt Disney World where we used both the "Hassle-Free Walt Disney World Vacation" and "Hidden Mickeys" books. Both were invaluable to maximizing our enjoyment during our trip. I don't know who had more fun spotting the hidden Mickeys...me, my husband, or our two sons, ages 9 and 11. The competition was on with our 9 year old beating out the rest of us. You can use the book to either go on a hunt using clues to find the Mickeys or take the easy way out and just follow the author's directions. In all, it is an extremely clever and fun book. Definitely worth the buy.

Want to make your visit to DisneyWorld a little more fun? Want to engage the family in a scavenger hunt through the parks and resorts? Hidden Mickeys by Steven M. Barrett will help make your visit to DisneyWorld more entertaining.

Contents:
Acknowledgements
Read This First!
Chapter 1: Hidden Mickey Mania
Chapter 2: Magic Kingdom Scavenger Hunt
Chapter 3: Epcot Scavenger Hunt
Chapter 4: Disney-MGM Studios Scavenger Hunt
Chapter 5: Disney's Animal Kingdom Scavenger Hunt
Chapter 6: WDW Resort Hotels Scavenger Hunt
Chapter 7: Hither, Thither & Yon Scavenger Hunt
Chapter 8: Other Mickey Apprearances
Chapter 9: My Favorite Hidden Mickeys
Chapter 10: Don't Stop Now!
Index to Mickey's Hiding Places
Maps

Barrett takes a trip to DisneyWorld to a new level. Most people walk through the parks oblivious to the little details that the Imagineers have included in each park and resort. This slim book, 220 pages and 8.9" x 4", fits easily in your backpack to provide you with scavenger hunts for all of the known Hidden Mickeys at the DisneyWorld parks and resorts. Each chapter begins with clues to the locations of the Hidden Mickeys at each location. If you follow the clues, you will have a quick tour though each park/resort. If you just want the answers, Barrett provides the answers at the end of each chapter. Either way, you will learn more about the parks and resorts and also find these little treasures.

Using this book, it was easy to engage everyone in the family in the search. The kids will enjoy discovering these Mickeys and will also make you look at your surroundings. While searching, I was surprised at the number of people that took interest in our hunts. They never thought to look closely at their environment. In the Magic Kingdom, I told a few people that there windows, above Main Street, that actually meant something. They never thought to look above eye level. Since we visited the parks more than once during our stay, this book made the additional forays into the parks more interesting and fun. If you feel as though you have seen and done everything in a particular park or resort, this book will make your next visit more engaging. Two of my favorite Hidden Mickeys were found at Coronado Springs. The third was in the concrete at Hollywood Studios.

Barret explains why some of these are significant, which will add a little Disney history to your visit, too.

This is a great book for anyone that is planning a visit to DisneyWorld and want to experience something a little different. And it will probably entertain your kids, too, no matter how old they are.

Just when you thought you've seen and done everything there is to do in WDW, along comes Hidden Mickeys! The cleverly-disguised tributes to our favorite mouse can be found all throughout the WDW Resort, and Steve Barrett does an amazing job in not only helping you find them, but creating a fun scavenger-hunt type book to add an extra dimension to your visit! (Oh, and don't worry, he has hints if you get stuck, and detailed descriptions of the locations if you still can't find them!) No more "down time" walking through the parks or standing in line - once you start looking for Hidden Mickeys, you'll be hooked! The book is a perfect, pocket-size companion that I have taken to the parks on my visits.

The Second Edition has some of the best new Hidden Mickeys that Imagineers have planted, and is not only a great companion while at the parks, but a fun read even at home! Steve's initeraries really help pass the time, and next thing you know, you'll be looking for Hidden Mickeys everywhere! Fun for Disney fans of all ages, and a great activity for kids, too!

My highest recommendation!!!

My family have passes to Disneyland and we're there often enough. I have heard about the Hidden Mickeys and have found some on my own. When they had the 50 Mickeys for their anniversary my young sons had a ton of fun looking for and finding them. It's a lot of fun for those of you with young children who love scavenger hunts! It's a way to pass the time while waiting for rides or walking around.
I highly recommend the web site that goes with the book as there are many more that are not listed in the book. But it's a great "beginner" book to the whole Hidden Mickey thing and is great if you're only there for the day.
It's definitely worth picking up!

An inexpensive book that gets to the point. Great first book because there are still so many more undiscovered hidden mickeys and definitely more will be created by Disney's imagineers as the Disney Resort keeps evolving. It's a great beginner's guide to Hidden Mickeys, although half the fun is discovering one on your own. Its small size is great to take along with you while traversing through the resort. Overall, a good buy.

Been there, done that...think you've done everything there is to do at Walt Disney World and the surrounding areas? (Yes, the hotels, the Sports Complex, EVERYTHING.) Just like making something out of an old pair of jeans, this book tells you how to have more fun at same-old-place Disney! (Of course, I would never think of WDW like that, but some people do.)

Hidden Mickeys are special Mickey Mouses that the Imagineers have hidden all around WDW. Some are easier to find than others. Some are even off-limits to guests. Some are found in shops, some are found ON RIDES! That means you have to ride Thunder Mountain Railroad to find a Mickey on this special scavenger hunt.

It works on a point system. What you do is go to the certain place, let's say MGM-Studios, and it tells you certain vague areas of where to look, say Jim Henson's Muppet 3D Vision. If you're stuck, you can look at the clues. That narrows down the search a bit. Then, if you're STILL stuck, you can go back and look at the answers.

You can either choose to use the index or the whole walkthrough. You could say, "Well, we're waiting in line for the Great Movie Ride, so let's see what Mickeys are in here." Then you go back to the index, look up Great Movie ride, and you can see the locations for the Hidden Mickeys. Or, you could just go through the whole MGM-Studios section and do exactly what it says. Yes, it will say something similar to this: "After you leave the Villians in Vogue shop, head over too Mama Melrose's Restaurante Italiano for three Hidden Mickeys." It gives you an entire itinerary!

Well, I hope that this review helped. It is recommended for all ages!

My 8 yr old son, my husband and myself had fun with the book. It was like a treasure hunt! We looked for hidden Mickeys on the rides and while waiting in line. It gave my son something to do instead of complaining about the wait.

The only drawback... The size of the book. It did not fit into my fanny pack. So I had to tear the sections. ie the Magic Kingdom chapters.

I definitely recommend the book.

This book was a lot of fun when we were at WDW in Aug 07. We visited resorts and restaurants we wouldn't have other gone to and we noticed details that would have been overlooked if we hadn't been on our Hidden Mickey's quest. We even found hidden Mickeys that weren't in the book. We also had the PassPorters Treasure Hunts at Walt Disney World, but doing both was too much so we choose the Hidden Mickeys.