What is a Hidden Mickey?
A Hidden Mickey is a Mickey silhouette deliberately hidden in the scenery by the Imagineers, the people who design the Disney parks. The most common shape is the classic silhouette: one large circle for the head, two small circles for the ears.
It’s these very Imagineers who slip them in while designing the rides and scenery, as a nod to observant visitors. Most aren’t officially confirmed by Disney: some are clearly deliberate, others are debated among fans. That’s what makes the game fun.
You come across them all over the place: in the queues, murals, stained-glass windows and furniture, sometimes even in the patterns on the ground. The idea exists in every Disney park in the world and Disneyland Paris is no exception. It’s one of the park’s best-kept secrets. To discover all the others, have a look at the secrets of Disneyland Paris.
How many Hidden Mickeys are there at Disneyland Paris?
Disney doesn’t give any official number: the exact total is a well-kept secret. So nobody can claim to have a complete list for the whole park.
For my part, I spot and photograph them as I go along on my visits. So far, I’ve found 98 in the park and the hotels. Further down, you’ll find the list of the ones I’ve tracked down myself.
How to find and spot a Hidden Mickey
You don’t need any equipment or a special ticket: just keep your eyes open. Here’s the method I use to find them on every visit.
- Look up: lots of Hidden Mickeys are hidden high up, above people’s heads.
- Search the queues: they’re the perfect place, since you spend time there and the scenery is detailed.
- Look at the details: murals, stained-glass windows, furniture, curtains, crockery, patterns in the paving.
- Look for the shape: one large circle with two small circles attached as ears, that’s the giveaway.
- Change the angle and the time: some only appear from a certain angle or at a specific time of day.
- Don’t rush: if you dash from one ride to the next, you’ll miss them.
My favourite Hidden Mickeys
Here are a few examples I like to point out, to whet your appetite. The full list comes right after.
The clock on City Hall, on Main Street, is my favourite: at certain times, its hands form a Mickey silhouette. You have to catch it at the right moment.
In Pirates of the Caribbean, look up during the boat ride: a Hidden Mickey is hiding in the details above you. And at Phantom Manor, take a good look at the grand ballroom: a Mickey is tucked into the scenery.
List of Hidden Mickeys at Disneyland Paris
Here’s the list of all the Hidden Mickeys I’ve personally spotted and photographed, sorted by park and by land, then by Disney hotel. It isn’t an official list: it’s mine, updated as I go along on my visits.
90 Hidden Mickeys
Main Street U.S.A.
Discoveryland stained-glass window in the queue
At the entrance, on the railings on the dome ceiling
On the "Los Angeles, California" mural behind the tills, in the carriage
On the Nemo float
On the dragon float
On the garden fence
On the United States Steamship Company mural, on the ship’s deck
On the globes of some of the light fittings
In the corners of the walls
On the hands of the clock (depending on the time)
At the top of the gates at the park entrance
On the shop window opposite the barber’s
On the shop ceiling
At the back of the shop, with the towels
On the shop ceiling, above the merchandise
In the Central Plaza flower beds, at the foot of the castle, during the Halloween season.
Three pumpkins set in the heather form Mickey’s head: two orange pumpkins for the ears and a grey-green pumpkin for the head. Only visible during the Halloween season.
On the gold side panel of the crocodile’s clock
Frontierland
In the "indoor" queue, on the needles of the steam engine
In the "indoor" queue, in the barrels
On the ride, at the end of the first lift hill
On the ballroom table, the plates to the left of the table Book a Disneyland Paris holiday Buy a Disneyland Paris ticket My full list of Hidd
Adventureland
In the toilets, by the mirror and the two lamps
The three barrels hanging along the ride
Top left of the bed, at the end of the ride
The plates on the floor, by the treasure at the end of the ride
On the floor, the head is made of gold coins
Fantasyland
Outside the ride, the cogs under the clock
Inside the ride, on the set just after the Genie’s lamp
As you pass through the dungeon, in one of the illuminated fountains
At the entrance to the Queen’s castle, on the ceiling
On one of the castle turrets
On a barrel next to the restaurant
On the mural in the Luca room
Next to the teacups ride
Discoveryland
In the indoor queue, the planet in sector 1
At the ride exit, on the blue planet on the wall
In the outdoor queue, on the blue frieze
On the sign in front of the ride, on the trees
As you come out of the launch tube
In the left-hand boarding queue, on the railings
On R2-D2’s shadow
On the dashboard, behind C-3PO
The dials, in the engine room
The ride’s planets, when they line up in a certain way
World Premiere Plaza
Above the gates, on the glass roof
On the mosaic in the fountain
On the mosaic around the fountain
On the sign at the shop entrance
On the hands of the clock (depending on the time)
On the sign above the shop
On the lost children sign
On top of the park railings
On the railings that divide the queues at the entrance
The film reels above the shelves
On the entrance gates
At the entrance to World Premiere
Mat at the entrance to Mickey of Hollywood Boutique
Mickey of Hollywood Boutique wall
The shop logo, behind the tills
On the wall, in the portraits at the ride exit
On the glass wall before the pre-show
Entrance door to the show
Cogs on the right of the set
On the drawings by the stage entrance
On the queue barriers
In Cinderella’s bun
On the carpet
On the entrance door
On the glass sign opposite Studio Services, on the way to the toilets
An Art Nouveau stained-glass panel where three circles clearly form Mickey’s head
In the Animation Boutique, on the walls, on the brackets that hold the shelves.
Each shelf bracket is cut out in the shape of Mickey’s head, in beige against the shop’s orange wall.
In the Pandora shop, at World Premiere Plaza, on the wall.
A decorative pink metal pattern is fixed to the wall: its circles and spirals form Mickey’s head.
On the large gate at the entrance
To the right of the Tower of Terror entrance, behind the stand.
Marvel Avengers Campus
On the brick wall after you pick up your 3D glasses
At the ride exit, on the floor
In Peter Parker’s lab during the pre-show
Worlds of Pixar
On the ride, in the underwater mines before the main lift hill
On Mater’s bonnet
On the roof of the hut with the tyres
At the start of the queue, by the queue time display
In the queue, in the starry Paris sky
In front of the queue
On the pushchair parking sign, on a wooden railing
Yellow pushchair parking sign: the head of the child in the pushchair forms a Hidden Mickey (three circles).
Adventure Way
On a post of the English gardens’ fence, near the statues of Winnie the Pooh and the 101 Dalmatians.
The Mickey is moulded in relief on the square upright of one of the ornate fence posts.
On the queue ceiling, in a corner of the large pink painting
Look up while you queue: in a corner of the pink painted ceiling, three circles form a Hidden Mickey.
On the bridge linking Adventure Way and World of Frozen
World of Frozen
Trolls scene (Valley of the Living Rock), on a small mossy rock (left-hand side)
On the tree trunk, in the scene with Olaf and Sven
Trolls scene (Valley of the Living Rock), on the wall on the right just before you leave the scene
After the cloud of smoke, in the mountain near the ice palace, carved into the rock
List of Hidden Mickeys in the Disney hotels
The Disney hotels also hide a few Hidden Mickeys, outside the two parks. Here are the ones I’ve spotted:
6 Hidden Mickeys
In the Fantasy Gardens flower beds, in front of the Disneyland Hotel, outside the parks, during the Halloween season.
Three orange pumpkins set in a bed of yellow chrysanthemums form Mickey’s head. Only visible during the Halloween season.
On the lobby ceiling
On the bridge that links Disney Hotel Cheyenne to Disney Hotel Santa Fe
In the entrance
On the footpath that leads to the parks
In the lobby, on the table football
Hidden Mickeys that have disappeared
A list of Hidden Mickeys is never set in stone. When the park changes, the scenery changes and some Mickeys go with it.
That’s exactly what happened with the transformation into Disney Adventure World. The retheming of the former Walt Disney Studios Park, especially its old entrance, removed several Hidden Mickeys I had spotted there. I keep them in my list as disappeared, for the record.
Here are the Hidden Mickeys I had spotted that have since disappeared:
2 Hidden Mickeys
On the large gate at the entrance
On the floor, formed by the laser projections (this Hidden Mickey no longer exists today)
Gone since the former Studio 1 was turned into World Premiere Plaza.
The most striking one I photographed was at the entrance to the old Studio 1: a Hidden Mickey appeared on the ground thanks to the laser projections. This building has become World Premiere, and this Mickey disappeared with it.
Further reading
Hidden Mickeys are only some of the park’s hidden details. To discover the rest, read the secrets of Disneyland Paris, the article that brings together everything the park hides.
And if the clock has caught your interest, have a look at City Hall, the building that houses it on Main Street.
Frequently asked questions
01 What is a Hidden Mickey at Disneyland Paris?
It’s a Mickey silhouette deliberately hidden in the scenery by Disney’s Imagineers: a large circle for the head, two small circles for the ears. You’ll find them in queues, murals, furniture and even on the ground. Spotting as many Hidden Mickeys as possible is a very popular game, and I share a list in my dedicated article.
02 How many Hidden Mickeys are there at Disneyland Paris?
Disney doesn’t publish an official number, so the total remains a secret. For my part, I spot and photograph the ones I come across on my visits: you’ll find my personal list in this article.
