New(-ish) Hidden Mickeys at Disneyland 2022

 

One of the magical and whimsical things adults love about Disney movies and theme parks is that they aren't just made for kids - there are references and subtleties that really only speak to the adult mind, or take repetition and minute attention to uncover. These mysterious gems can reveal themselves after the 20th time watching a favorite film, or elude us despite spending hours in a queue. They are generically known as Easter Eggs, and specific to Disneyland, we know there are hundreds of Hidden Mickeys.

There are some great reference books available on Kindle that detail the vast majority of known Hidden Mickeys, and I strongly recommend them. (You can get hard copies too, but I recommend the Kindle version because you can always have them with you on your phone, making it very easy to pop open in a queue so you can see what to look forward to for the current and next attraction. Also, many Hidden Mickeys in that book are at the start of the queues, so it’s a good idea to plan ahead towards your next destination.)

This post will not be a repeat of those you can find with the help of those books, but rather, amend the Disneyland book due to the new attractions and park updates which have brought forth new opportunities for crafty Imagineers to work in new Hidden Mickeys, and for regular visitors like my boyfriend and myself to discover them.

First, however, I'd like to outline what we consider to qualify as a legitimate Hidden Mickey. Because some are more obvious than others, there have been many a Mickey which was questionable as we observed and debated. So, here are the rules we play by in our quest for identifying Hidden Mickeys:

1.  The most common Hidden Mickeys are signified by three circles (outlined or filled / found objects), two smaller ones for the ears and one larger one for the head. However, two ears over an arch like a Mickey ears hat are acceptable.  

2.  The ears must be proportional to the head and at the approximate angle. In other words, three same-sized circles do not a Mickey make.

3.  Minimal separation between the circles for the ears and the circle for the head is acceptable, as long as the proportion and angles are accurate. 

 
4.  Repeats of the Mickey shape are no longer hidden unless they are truly well disguised (i.e. it takes a long look before you realize there's a Mickey there).
 

5.  Mickey can be oriented in any direction, could be upside down from the perspective you're allowed!

6.  A Mickey which has lots of detail, accurate coloration and is a prominent figure in whatever structure or piece it is in is not hidden.

Alright, so here are the new Hidden Mickeys I believe I've uncovered in Disneyland and California Adventure.

Queue of Rise of the Resistance at Galaxy's Edge: We often start our day by rope-dropping Rise of the Resistance, so this is a great place to start at Disneyland. At the start of the queue inside the rock formations, look right, there's a cutout that looks like Mickey when you get to the correct angle.

 

 

 

Central Plaza: There's a pond near the entry to Frontierland from the Central Plaza. If you look across the pond to rocks along the edge, there's one set of rocks which looks like a pretty well-proportioned Mickey.

 

 

 

 

 

Avengers Campus' WebSlingers queue: This new attraction had to have a throwback to the Mouse, and indeed, but I knew it wouldn't be as literal as other Hidden Mickeys, likely. While in the queue, take a look around and find the electrical box decorations between the colored brick wall and grey brick wall. The blocky screws seem to form Mickey proportions.

Bonus: Otherwise unreported Easter Egg from a recent Pixar film!

I don't talk about my day job very often on here, but it is not often when the specific knowledge from my work relates to my Disney fandom. One of the products I support at work is the F-22 fighter jet. As I was re-watching Soul one day, I caught a glimpse of a fighter jet that looked awfully familiar. There's a scene in the montage of the main character trying different theoretical "sparks", where a rocket launches. In the foreground on the right side of the screen, there's an airplane. So get this, I think it's an F-22, and the character's called... 22!

A Google image search confirmed it as an F-22, but I haven't seen anyone else confirm this Easter Egg, so, you saw it here first! Actually, I saw it on April 22, '22 in this tweet.

DIY Moana Sail Purse/Bag

A couple years ago, Jaiman and I decided we should try to move to Florida to be close to Disney World so we could go regularly. I was extremely lucky to land a wonderful full time job in Florida which I started in July 2018, and now that we're here, we've started going to Disney World roughly once a month.

While we both have some fantastic Disney shirts, he suggested a month or two ago that we start Disneybounding. If you're not familiar with the concept, it's basically a "lighter" version of cosplay, where you essentially just wear the colors and not necessarily the exact costume of your favorite Disney character. This actually opens up a lot of really interesting and creative directions, and you can find a ton of ideas if you search online.

Needtheless to say, we started looking for what characters we'd want to do, and I targeted Moana, because, well, she's awesome. I had pretty much what I needed already in terms of clothes, a burnt-redish shirt, khaki capris, and even a bright turquoise gem necklace. But my bag selection was lacking. And the colors themselves didn't necessarily scream Moana like I hoped they would.

So, I was inspired to create something that would be a little more literal Moana, and came up with the idea of making a sail-shaped purse. I spent a lot of time getting the fabric design just right, but luckily for you, this work is now done and you can simply purchase it! This was my first pass at making a purse or bag of this type, and I'm pretty happy with the results.

Below are the details of my project for anyone else who may want to make something similar. I will also add, this fabric would make for great sail-shaped pillows too!

Materials needed:

Tribal Sail fabric (I used 2 yards of Modern Jersey fabric, order it here: https://www.spoonflower.com/designs/8441542-tribal-sail-001-by-lowa84)
Pins
Thread (any neutral color is fine, I used white)
Cotton cord (I used https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0728K3QJ4/)
Sewing machine (I used https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003VWXZKG/)
Fabric scissors
Black marker
(Optional) Chiweiner or other lovable pet to cheer you on (Carly is always trying to get in my pictures!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Time: 2 - 2.5 hours

Skill level: Basic

Instructions:

1 - Lay the fabric out on a flat surface with the spiral pattern centered. Imagine and then draw a large sail shape with the marker. Make it about half an inch in each direction larger than you need it, since you will be sewing seams on each side. 

2 - Use fabric scissors to cut along the sail shape you've drawn. The cuts don't have to be perfect, because you'll end up hiding the cut edges on the inside of the purse.

3 - Find another section of fabric with the spiral pattern and flatten it out with the spiral pattern centered again. Take your first cutout and lay it upside down so that the two faces of the pattern are together. This is to make a symmetrical copy. Trace around the edge of the upside down piece. 

4 - Use fabric scissors to cut along the sail shape you've traced.

5 - Lay the pieces together so that the faces are towards each other and you are seeing the white underside. Line up the edges and pin them. 

6 - Take the cotton cord, measure and cut one piece double the length of the top of the shape with a little extra slack. 

7 - Tie the two ends of the cord together and place along the knotted end on top of the fabric.

8 - For each side of the purse, wrap the top edge of the fabric around the cord and pin. 

9 - Sew the seams at the top of each piece holding the cord in place.

10 - Sew the other two edges of the fabrics together, just like you would if sewing a pillow. You sew them with their patterns facing each other so that when you're done, you'll flip them inside out and the seam (and messy cut edges) are on the inside, and the outside looks clean. Helpful tip: When you get to the end of the first edge and you want to turn the corner, make sure the needle is in the fabric (manually roll it if needed) and then lift the foot, adjust the fabric and then set the foot back down. This gives you a continuous thread and ensures you don't have any gaps. 

 





















11 - Once both edges are sewn together and all pins are removed, flip the fabric inside out through the open edge. 

12 - To make the purse strap, cut a long straight strip of fabric, however long and thick as you'd like. Make sure to make it a little more than twice as thick as you want the final strap to be. The cut doesn't have to be perfect, since you'll end up hiding the cut edges on the inside again.

13 - Fold the strip of fabric in half and pin. Then sew along the open edge. 

14 - Flip the strip inside out. It will take some working from both ends. 

15 - Cut additional cord to run the length of the strip plus some additional slack.


16 - Run the cord through the strip to the other end so you have some cord handing out of each side. Helpful tip: You can use a permanent marker or pen with a clip on the cap to wrap some cord around it and then use the marker/pen to edge through the fabric strip. 

17 - Tie both sides of the cord in the fabric strip to the cord going around the rim of the purse. Make sure it's the length you want, and trim/adjust the cord and/or fabric strip or tie additional knots as needed to get the desired length.

18 - Once properly adjusted, sew the bottom of the strip on both sides to the rim of the purse. 

19 - Show off your handiwork! Feel free to post pictures on my facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/deziwheel/ I'd love to see what you've done! 

Want to bring Disney into your home? Check out my book on Amazon Kindle! 

Design Hacks for Disney Themed Rooms