About

Meet Toni

Hi there! My name is Toni and while I am originally from the DC area, I now live in Orlando. I have been going to Walt Disney World since I was about seven years old. Now, I am fortunate enough to be a Florida resident and annual passholder. After going to the parks multiple times, as magical as they are, I found myself looking for other things to do besides enjoying the rides, watching the parades and fireworks, and eating at new places. That’s where the Hidden Mickeys come in.

On our Thanksgiving vacation in 2017, we were in Epcot with my family. Inside the Mexico pavilion I saw a Hidden Mickey book that I was interested in, but I was willing to wait and get it as a Christmas present. The next day at Magic Kingdom I was having a conversation with my Grandma as we were waiting on Main Street for the Festival of Fantasy parade. She was telling me how she hears about Hidden Mickeys, but never knows where to look for them. As we were looking up at the buildings on Main Street I was really wishing I had that Hidden Mickey book.

After I received the book for Christmas, and went back to Epcot during the International Festival of the Arts, I started looking for some of those Hidden Mickeys. After finding some that in my opinion were questionable, not finding some because they were no longer there, and having some pretty awesome interactions with cast members I started to think this could make an interesting blog. What if I did a Julie & Julia project with this Hidden Mickey book where I would take on the task to find every Hidden Mickey in the book (at least the ones that are still there), take pictures of them, and write about my experiences.

Some disclaimers, this is the Hidden Mickey book that is sold in the parks. From research that I have done I am aware that there is another Hidden Mickey book that is on their ninth edition, but I wanted to focus on the book that you can get in the parks (at least for the time being). Another point to note is that this book was published in 2016 which predates the opening of Pandora – The World of Avatar, Toy Story Land, and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. I hope to finish finding all of the Hidden Mickeys in the current book before they publish an updated version.

Here is a link to purchase your own copy of the book.

Thank you for joining me on this journey! I am so excited to see where this takes me!

TTFN, ta ta for now.

Why do I love Hidden Mickeys?

  1. Scavenger Hunts Within the Parks. My family loves to do scavenger hunts while on vacations. I think this started in 2006 when my family traveled to Italy, and my skating coach at the time gave us a scavenger hunt with clues such as: a Pizza in front of Pisa and capturing all 3 different types of columns. Ever since, it feels like we have had some sort of scavenger hunt on our trips. With hundreds of Hidden Mickeys throughout the Walt Disney World property, in the theme parks, resorts, and water parks, there are plenty to search for, some easier to find (and capture) than others.
  2. Great Way to Pass Time. Have you ever experienced this? It is 2 o’clock in the Magic Kingdom and there are members in your party that need a break. They are tired and thirsty just like their devices. They want to sit somewhere, drink some water, and charge their phone. While there are other members of your party that are bored. What do you do? You whip out your handy dandy Hidden Mickeys book! Those that need a rest can take one, while the rest scour that land for Hidden Mickeys. Another idea for when you are waiting in a queue and need to pass the time, besides playing the Heads Up Game, you can search for Hidden Mickeys. There are plenty of opportunities to slow down and find these special details of Walt Disney World.
  3. Cast Member Interactions. When I am struggling to find a particular Hidden Mickey, I love being able to talk with cast members and spark a conversation with them. You never know the answer you’ll get! Sometimes the cast members know exactly what I’m talking about and are eager to help me out. Often these are College Program members who learned about this Hidden Mickey during their training so are happy to show off their new knowledge! Other times they need to ask a fellow cast member and see if they remember or have heard about it. You will get stories about how the hotel acquired new carpet or the restaurant obtained new chairs and the Hidden Mickey is no longer there. You never know what you will learn from talking to a Cast Member and they are always happy to help.