Hidden Mickeys at Pop Century

After about two months away from the blog, it is great to be back!

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My last post covered Hidden Mickeys at Art of Animation. In this post we head across Hourglass Lake to Pop Century, a value resort located in the Epcot Resort Area. Pop Century opened in 2003. As I talked about in my previous post, Pop Century was supposed to have two sections to the property: the “Legendary Years” and the “Classic Years.” Unfortunately due to 9/11 these plans were changed and only the “Classic Years” were built. Like Art of Animation, Pop Century is also accessible via the Skyliner and the two resorts share a station. This station is unique because it is located in the middle of Hourglass Lake. The cost of rooms at Pop Century have increased because of its Skyliner access, but if you are looking for a trip that is focused on Hollywood Studios and Epcot then the Skyliner access is definitely worth it.

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Everything POP Shopping & Dining

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The first set of Hidden Mickeys listed in the book can be found in Everything POP Shopping & Dining, the store and quick service location in the Classic Hall lobby. In the store, Mickey can be found hiding on light fixtures, display racks, and I am not sure how to describe the third location. The book describes them as makeshift ovens or microwaves and the Hidden Mickeys app portrays them as faux package locker windows. All of these Mickeys are easy to find except for the the light fixture, which is no longer there.

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After checking out the gift shop, head into the quick service location. This location is known for the Tie Dye Cheesecake, which I have unfortunately never tried. This colorful cheesecake has a red velvet crust and I will have to get one on my next trip to Pop Century. You can also take the Skyliner over to Pop Century if you are looking for a midday break from Hollywood Studios or Epcot. This first Hidden Mickey in here is A Real Tuffy and they are not kidding! The book says that the shape can appear in a variety of light fixtures depending on the day and the Hidden Mickeys app even mentions that there are times when this Hidden Mickey changes or even disappears. Personally, I do not believe I have actually ever seen this one. I think in my photo above that is just dust on the light fixture, but let me know what you think in the comments!

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The last Hidden Mickeys in the food court can be found by looking down at the tile floor. When I first searched at this resort three years ago, I did not read carefully that there are actually four Hidden Mickey shapes in this tiled area of the food court. The second time around I was able to find all four easily.

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There is one bonus Hidden Mickey to be found! As you enter the food court from the gift shop, along the walls of the food booths there are circles. Some of these form a classic Mickey shape like the one above.

Main Lobby

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Leaving Everything POP and heading back towards the main lobby, shadow box cases can be found opposite of the check-in desks. The resort covers the “Classic Years” from the 1950s-1990s and so do these shadowboxes. These displays are very fascinating and definitely worth slowing down to take a deep dive. This is an opportunity for all generations to connect, for Grandma and Grandpa to show their children and grandchildren and tell stories from each decade. Some notable cases have references to Walt Disney and Mickey himself. In the 1950s case, there are references to Disneyland and the Mickey Mouse Club. Mickey and Minnie can be seen walking in front of Carefree Corner, the old informational center at Disneyland. This building has now become Photo Supply Co. shop.

In the 1970s case, there are references to the opening of Walt Disney World Resort and its first decade. This case is neat to look at as the Walt Disney World Resort celebrates its 50th anniversary later this year.

One last case I would like to point out is in the 1990s which features memorabilia from the Disney movies released in this decade. References to The Lion King, Toy Story, Pocahontas, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and Hercules can be found in this shadow box. Many guests look for rainy day activities or things to do at the resort on a non-park day and I would definitely put spending some time in the lobby to enjoy these cases on the list!

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Our last stop in the lobby is the children’s area. Here kids can go to be entertained while their family checks in. On the wall, there is a mural that includes a fish tank and one of the bubbles inside resemble our favorite mouse. This photo is another example of why I’m glad I went back to take updated pictures because when I first went to Pop Century, this section was closed so I was unable to get the photo.

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The last easter egg in the lobby is the Mickey phone pictured above. Keep this in mind for later.

1960s building exterior

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Leaving Classic Hall and heading towards the Hippy Dippy Pool is the 60s section. On the left hand side, there are larger than life figures of Mowgli and Baloo from The Jungle Book. To the left of Mowgli there are green leaves and you have to look very carefully, but you should be able to find the Hidden Mickey. On the middle green leaf there is a faint outline of the mouse. I think this one should be considered A Real Tuffy because it easily can be missed.

1970s building exterior

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Leaving the 60s sections, next head to the 70s section. This “hidden” Mickey is pretty obvious as Mickey appears thirty feet high as a phone. Remember the Mickey phone in the lobby, this is a larger than life version! I had two different versions of this icon, one from ground level and for the other one I went to an upper balcony of the building across the way. I could not decide which I like better so I included them both!

1980s building exterior

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Continuing on to the 1980s section, there are a plethora of Hidden Mickeys to be found here. By the computer pool, there is a laptop which serves as the icon for this building. On the screen and on the keyboard are the obvious Hidden Mickeys, but do take the time and look at all of the detail that is included on the screen. From the website tabs, email, and even shortcut icons this large symbol shows a lot of Disney history from that time period. Some important details I noticed include a message that Mickey is sending as an email to guests and CCing the rest of the Fab Five. In this email is a picture of the castle as its 25th anniversary cake version. There is also a shortcut icon on the desktop for MGM Studios, know known as Hollywood Studios. There is also a drop down selection showing Disney’s water parks at the time, which is actually not accurate because in the 90s River Country, Disney’s first water park, was still open.

One flaw in the book is that this computer is considered part of the 80s section when really it is part of the 90s. Not a major deal, except when you think about the content on the screen that definitely places it in the 90s, from the Magic Kingdom 25th anniversary Castle Cake and Animal Kingdom opening there is no denying this screen belongs to the 90s.

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Another Hidden Mickey found in this section is behind the Roger Rabbit figure. The one depicted in the book is on the right hand side and is considered to be A Real Tuffy. To me the bush some what resembles a cactus and I can kind of see the Hidden Mickey, but I think this is considered A Real Tuffy because the true Hidden Mickey is actually on the other side of Roger Rabbit. In my opinion, there is a better silhouette of Mickey on the other bush. To find this Hidden Mickey follow where the stop light is pointing at the top. What do you think? Which one is a better Hidden Mickey?

On the grounds

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The last Hidden Mickey found at Pop Century is actually in front of Classic Hall by the bus stops. The guardrails have overlapping rings that form the shape of Mickey. If you are having difficultly seeing it, tilt your head to the left. This is so ingenious and I wonder why they do not have these on all of the railings for bus stops throughout property.

Toni’s Favorite Hidden Mickey

Looking back at all of the Hidden Mickeys at Pop Century, my favorite would have to be the computer screen icon in the 80s/90s section. This Hidden Mickey has so much more latent details regarding what Walt Disney World looked like in the 90s. Cinderella’s Castle was decorated as a cake for the 25th anniversary, Animal Kingdom was opening, and Hollywood Studios was still called MGM Studios. A lot has changed over the last 25 years Walt Disney World and its fascinating to look back at its history as well as think about what the next 25 years will look like.

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A close second would have to be the larger-than-life Mickey phone. I love that photos that I was able to capture of this building’s icon and it’s also neat that they have an actual size version of this phone in the lobby. I wonder how many people notice this detail.

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Thank you for joining me, I will see you next week. Any requests on Disney resorts or areas of the theme parks you would like me to cover next, please leave in the comments!