Searching Disney with Steve

The huge classic Mickey stand of trees (visible on Google Earth) has long fascinated me. My son Steven and I recently struck out in my car to find it from ground level. The posters on my Hidden Mickeys Guide website stated that the stand of trees was a few miles northwest of the Magic Kingdom, just off Highway 27 and not far north from where Highway 192 merges with 27.

We approached the area first from Highway 27, but the access roads to the east were all private property. So we drove back to Highway 192 east and looked for a northern bound public road. We found one! It was Avalon road, and we then searched for a road that might lead us west to the Hidden Mickey. About 8 miles north on Avalon, just past Old YMCA Road, we spotted Schofield Road. (Another poster had mentioned that this road approached the HM stand of trees). My pulse rate quickened; we were drawing near!

Schofield Road (also called Shell Pond Road to add some confusion) was paved for the first mile or so but then became a dirt road with deep tire ruts. At least the road was dry! So I was forced to drive slowly as we bounced along into the countryside. After more than a mile into this road, we crested a hill and gazed upon the lake that was not far from the stand of trees. We turned right a short distance past the lake, so we were positioned just west of the trees (on the vertical road, in the upper middle of the photo below). We stopped the car and walked up to a fence near the trees. This group of trees stood alone in a field. I figured we were looking at the right "ear" and the right side of the "head."

The classic Mickey circles were not evident from ground level. Moreover, the trees in the lower part of the "head" were closer to the road and fence than was implied in the overhead Google Earth photo. The current photo on Google Earth is several years old, so the perfect three-circle Mickey image may have become somewhat distorted by now. (In the photo below, Steven is standing near the fence in front of the right "ear" and right side of the "head." The ear is on the left side of the photo).

A few days later, I found myself in Disney's Animal Kingdom. As I ambled through the Oasis, I stopped and admired the giant anteater, who was walking around his territory. I rode the train to Rafiki's Planet Watch. I like to check in with Affection Section now and then, because the Cast Members usually maintain a classic Mickey image on one of the animals in this petting zoo. I wasn't disappointed. Not only was Mickey present on the back of a goat, but Minnie with her bow was evident on another goat! Way to go, CM's!

Read more about Steve's Hidden Mickey finds on AllEarsNet.com

Steve maintains a Catalog of Hidden Mickeys on the Hidden Mickeys Guide.

The Third Edition of Steve's Walt Disney World Hidden Mickeys book is available on Amazon.com. Hidden Mickeys, 3rd Edition: A Field Guide to Walt Disney World's Best-Kept Secrets (Hidden Mickeys: A Field Guide to Walt Disney World's Best Kept Secre)

His First Edition of Disneyland's Hidden Mickeys is also available on Amazon.com Disneyland's Hidden Mickeys: A Field Guide to the Disneyland Resort's Best-Kept Secrets (Disneyland's Hidden Mickey's)

I had the good fortune recently to meet up with some old friends from Texas. Vickie and I joined Ed, Karen and their daughters Abigail (Abby) and Caroline for dinner at the California Grill. Ed was in Orlando for a business meeting, and they spent their first few days at Universal Studios. On the evening in question, we had originally planned to meet at Emeril's Restaurant at City Walk. However, I received an e-mail from them that they wanted to cut their Universal stay short and get into Disney! So, California Grill it was!

After an enjoyable meal, we drove over to Epcot for IllumiNations. Ed and family hadn't seen the fireworks show for 4 years or so. We watched from the Morocco Pavilion area. As usual, it was moving and spectacular, and the large crowd around us applauded at the finale. We then walked to the France pavilion to check on a classic Mickey on a book. It's in the room where characters appear for photos and autographs. In the photo, Abby (the taller girl) and Caroline are pointing to the Hidden Mickey.

We ambled over to the Yacht Club and stood in the lobby as a Cast Member snapped a picture. Ed, Vickie, Abby and Caroline, Karen and I are posed left to right in the photo.

We had a terrific few hours together. I think they'll return someday, hopefully soon!

A few days later, my son Steven and I took in a baseball Spring Training game at Disney's Wide World of Sports. The Atlanta Braves beat the Houston Astros 4-2. (I've been an Astros fan for many years!).

A classic Mickey image is planted in the center of the outfield. I've known about this image for a while, but I'd considered it a decorative image and not hidden. I'm not so sure now as it seems more faded and not as obvious as I remember. I'll put it on my website in the Questionable section to let the voters decide!

Steven and I wandered to the Milk House (the Field House) where an amateur basketball tournament was in progress. I wanted to check out the Hidden Mickey high in the rafters. Thank goodness, it's still there! He's above a hanging photo of Jason Kidd.

Steven and I completed the evening with dinner at the House of Blues: decent fare and decent service. Since he was a child, I'm happy that Steven and I have enjoyed many visits together to WDW. If you plan your trip right, WDW is a great place to bond and create memories as a family!

(P.S. In a previous blog, I spoke about the new computer monitors at the exit of Spaceship Earth. I want to confirm that from these monitors, you can indeed send e-mail postcards with your photo from the ride).

Read more about Steve's Hidden Mickey finds on AllEarsNet.com

Steve maintains a Catalog of Hidden Mickeys on the Hidden Mickeys Guide.

The Third Edition of Steve's Walt Disney World Hidden Mickeys book is available on Amazon.com. Hidden Mickeys, 3rd Edition: A Field Guide to Walt Disney World's Best-Kept Secrets (Hidden Mickeys: A Field Guide to Walt Disney World's Best Kept Secre)

His First Edition of Disneyland's Hidden Mickeys is also available on Amazon.com Disneyland's Hidden Mickeys: A Field Guide to the Disneyland Resort's Best-Kept Secrets (Disneyland's Hidden Mickey's)

Recently, I met up with neighbors and friends for dinner at the Yachtsman Steakhouse in the Yacht Club Resort.

Bob and Rita Ondercik are long-time Disney fans and have been DVC members since the beginning of DVC (when awesome benefits were added for joining). Bob and Rita also volunteer at Give Kids The World, a resort near WDW that is a retreat for children with medical problems.

Paul and Gretchen Gregg are Disney fans, though not as rabid as the Onderciks and me. (However, I think we've stimulated their interest!). Of course, we all had to pay tribute to Minnie Moo. Rita and Bob are on the left side of the photo, and Paul and Gretchen are on the right.

I like the Yachtsman Steakhouse; I usually order fish or chicken, and my wife Vickie assures me that the steak is decent and worth a trip for dinner.

Before the meal, Vickie and I explored the Yacht Club for Hidden Mickeys. We found a cool one made of coiled rope in a display window of the Fittings & Fairings shop; it's in the closest display window to the main lobby. Display window Hidden Mickeys at WDW tend to come and go, as the displays change from time to time.

The next day, I joined Bob and Rita at Epcot. We flew on Soarin' several times, and I snapped a somewhat decent photo of the classic Mickey made of rocks in the snow. It's at the top center of the photo, which is a difficult photo to get right! This Mickey image is more convincing when you first spot it, as you're soaring up to it. (Thanks to Jen T, Beci Mahnken, and Annette Owens for first alerting me to this classic Mickey).

Rita found a Hidden Mickey in the House of Innoventions (the House of Tomorrow) inside Innoventions East, on the rear wall of the bedroom. It's an upside-down Mickey made of ad buttons. You have to queue up and wait for a tour of this futuristic house, but it's worth a short wait, especially to find Rita's classic Mickey!

Before we called it a day, I snapped a photo of Bob and Rita in front of the upside-down waterfall at the Imagination Pavilion. A day at WDW can be quite refreshing!

Read more about Steve's Hidden Mickey finds on AllEarsNet.com

Steve maintains a Catalog of Hidden Mickeys on the Hidden Mickeys Guide.

The Third Edition of Steve's Walt Disney World Hidden Mickeys book is available on Amazon.com. Hidden Mickeys, 3rd Edition: A Field Guide to Walt Disney World's Best-Kept Secrets (Hidden Mickeys: A Field Guide to Walt Disney World's Best Kept Secre)

His First Edition of Disneyland's Hidden Mickeys is also available on Amazon.com Disneyland's Hidden Mickeys: A Field Guide to the Disneyland Resort's Best-Kept Secrets (Disneyland's Hidden Mickey's)

The weather in central Florida has been a bit cool lately. I've worn my windbreaker several times this winter already, but this day in Epcot did not quite require a jacket. It was a short sleeves day.

Early March is typically a great time to visit Walt Disney World, since the bulk of the Spring Break crowds hasn't materialized just yet.

In the early afternoon, I spotted fewer than ten guests in the walkway up to the entrance to Spaceship Earth, so I hopped in line for a minimal or no wait. As you may know, this attraction has been a work in progress for the last few months. I wanted to check out the most recent changes and look around inside for new Hidden Mickey images.

In the ride vehicles, each guest faces an interactive computer monitor. After some initial questions posed on the touch screen, your photograph is snapped. During your descent back to earth near the end of the ride, your smiling mug appears on the interactive touch screen as you make choices that determine your future. (This future choice addition is reminiscent of the retired Horizons pavilion.)

I want to ask for opinions about two images along the ride.

Kim Lamb reports: "on the right side of the ride vehicle, in the section with classic black and white movies playing, a chalkboard marquee has listings of upcoming features. One of the features is "The Band Concert", not an image of Mickey, but a reference to him." Does this qualify as a Hidden Mickey? (Yellow arrows were added to the photo).

Another image in the same section of the ride, across from the chalkboard marquee on the left side of the vehicle, is a radio announcer. His microphone flag has the letters "WDI". Tim Devine suggests that these letters are a tribute to Walt Disney Imagineering. It's a cool image, but I don't think this qualifies as a Hidden Mickey. Let me know if you disagree.

The exhibit area at the exit of Spaceship Earth has been remodeled several times recently. Now you can spot your face photo on a large overhead screen, and you can e-mail your photo to someone from one of several computer monitors that face the screen. (I didn't have a chance to try this out, but I believe that's what guests were doing at these monitors).

Anyway, this new overhead screen replaced other screens that contained a cool classic Hidden Mickey made of star clusters. Alas, this now Lost Hidden Mickey was short-lived indeed!

Read more about Steve's Hidden Mickey finds on AllEarsNet.com

Steve maintains a Catalog of Hidden Mickeys on the Hidden Mickeys Guide.

The Third Edition of Steve's Walt Disney World Hidden Mickeys book is available on Amazon.com. Hidden Mickeys, 3rd Edition: A Field Guide to Walt Disney World's Best-Kept Secrets (Hidden Mickeys: A Field Guide to Walt Disney World's Best Kept Secre)

His First Edition of Disneyland's Hidden Mickeys is also available on Amazon.com Disneyland's Hidden Mickeys: A Field Guide to the Disneyland Resort's Best-Kept Secrets (Disneyland's Hidden Mickey's)

A few days ago, I visited Disney's Animal Kingdom to check out some Hidden Mickey sightings. A couple of folks had sent me photos of a Mickey image on Everest at night. Animal Kingdom usually closes at 5 pm or thereabouts, but it was open late this day, until 8 pm. So I drove to WDW and DAK to study Everest after sunset.

A bonus to my trip was that Lou Mongello was at WDW doing research. He had dinner at the Yak & Yeti Restaurant with his research crew. I'd planned to meet up with Lou and friends after 8 pm elsewhere in WDW.

Animal Kingdom had light crowds, and the guests were definitely happy! Heavy rains had blanketed central Florida in the morning, but now the weather was warm and dry. I studied Everest from vantage points in Asia and DinoLand. The image in question is a shadow on the side of the mountain.

Check out the photos (Thanks to Brandon Tucker and Sharon Dale). Unfortunately, I think this shadow image is dependent on the mountain lighting, which may change from time to time.

Shadow Mickey images around WDW are often dependent on area lighting. If the lighting changes, the Mickey may disappear. One classic Mickey image that has remained relatively unchanged over the years is the shadow in the corner of a wall behind the cat on the right side of the Pirates of the Caribbean boat in the Magic Kingdom.

Next I found two more classic Mickey images nearby thanks to Billy Lewis, Catherine Zori, and Sharon Dale. Good spotting, folks!

One in the gift shop at the exit of the Expedition Everest ride.

Another on the outside showtime sign for Finding Nemo - The Musical.

I met up with Lou and friends at the Adventurers Club in Pleasure Island. We parked ourselves in the Mask Room and talked about Disney (our favorite subject) for several hours.

I showed them the tiny classic Mickey on the parchment hanging on the wall by the drink bar. Photo thanks to Bryan (All About the Mouse) and Sharon Dale.

Periodically, the Cast Members put on a show in the Mask Room. The one we experienced was really humorous, especially when the main talking masks near the entry doorway would converse and respond directly to a guest!

Read more about Steve's Hidden Mickey finds on AllEarsNet.com

Steve maintains a Catalog of Hidden Mickeys on the Hidden Mickeys Guide.

The Third Edition of Steve's Walt Disney World Hidden Mickeys book is available on Amazon.com. Hidden Mickeys, 3rd Edition: A Field Guide to Walt Disney World's Best-Kept Secrets (Hidden Mickeys: A Field Guide to Walt Disney World's Best Kept Secre)

His First Edition of Disneyland's Hidden Mickeys is also available on Amazon.com Disneyland's Hidden Mickeys: A Field Guide to the Disneyland Resort's Best-Kept Secrets (Disneyland's Hidden Mickey's)

My son Steven first experienced Walt Disney World when he was 6 years old. That was my first trip to WDW as well. He was young enough for me to carry, and I have great memories of Steven perched around my neck or on my back as we explored the wonders of the Magic Kingdom. Our family visited WDW many times from our homes in Oklahoma and then Texas. We now live near Orlando and enjoy WDW whenever we can.

Steven is a really good Hidden Mickey spotter. Not long ago, he found a tiny classic Mickey at the Saratoga Springs Resort. It's on the statue of the horse and jockey, on the rose blanket which is draped over the horse. (Check out the photo!) I know I've talked about this Hidden Mickey before, but I'm especially proud of him for finding this little gem.

Steven recently graduated from Auburn University, and he and I celebrated the occasion at the California Grill. This restaurant in the Contemporary Resort is popular and often books up. I asked the guard at the entrance gate if folks could just show up without reservations and eat in the lounge or at the counter facing the kitchen. He didn't seem to know, but our server verified that even on busy evenings, guests can grab a seat (often after a wait) in the lounge or counter and eat dinner. I guess it's a bit of a gamble, but it might be an option if you wanted to enjoy this restaurant as a walk-up guest.

Steven and I took a window table in the lounge and ordered our meals there. He chose the signature filet (my wife Vickie has liked this steak for years), and I picked the pork tenderloin. Our meals were delicious. He sipped beer and I savored an Argentinian red wine as we watched a beautiful sunset over the Grand Floridian Resort from our window. (The cool classic Mickey in the California Grill on the doors to the rear seating room is still there!).

After dinner, we drove to Epcot to catch IllumiNations. It's always a fantastic and moving fireworks extravaganza! We parked on a bench and enjoyed more beer and wine as guests wandered out of World Showcase. Epcot in the evening can be very relaxing. For father and son bonding, WDW can't be beat!

Read more about Steve's Hidden Mickey finds on AllEarsNet.com

Steve maintains a Catalog of Hidden Mickeys on the Hidden Mickeys Guide.

The Third Edition of Steve's Walt Disney World Hidden Mickeys book is available on Amazon.com. Hidden Mickeys, 3rd Edition: A Field Guide to Walt Disney World's Best-Kept Secrets (Hidden Mickeys: A Field Guide to Walt Disney World's Best Kept Secre)

His First Edition of Disneyland's Hidden Mickeys is also available on Amazon.com Disneyland's Hidden Mickeys: A Field Guide to the Disneyland Resort's Best-Kept Secrets (Disneyland's Hidden Mickey's)

I thought I'd talk about what I do to verify Hidden Mickey sightings that folks send me.

As many of you know, I like to use fairly stringent criteria for the "classic" (three-circle) Mickey.

The highest order criterion is if an Imagineer or Disney artist tells me directly that he or she placed a Hidden Mickey image. That's a no-brainer, but that's happened only twice. An Imagineer took me to a classic Mickey image in the interactive area at the exit of Mission: SPACE.

A Disney artist e-mailed me a few months ago that I have all the Hidden Mickeys he knows of in Conservation Station at Disney's Animal Kingdom (he painted most of them in the entrance mural). That made me feel great!

One other instance that didn't involve me directly is when a graphic artist posted on a website that he'd painted a Hidden Mickey on the rotating earth (the "O" of Epcot) on the Tip Board in Innoventions Plaza. He made Australia appear as a classic Mickey, and he had to tell someone since nobody had discovered it!

Most of the time, I check out submissions by myself. I work faster and more intensively if I'm alone. I observe images from different angles, reading the descriptions several times over, as I try to re-create what the submitter saw.

One recent day, I was at Animal Kingdom with my bag of papers. The sky was cloudy, but it didn't rain. The temperature was comfortable and the crowds were moderate. My first stop was the Spoonbill area, just to the left as you walk onto Discovery Island from the Oasis bridge. Some rocks suggested a classic Mickey image. I understand the poster's idea, but the rocks are not proportioned quite right and are a bit too distorted for me, especially the "ear" to our left.

Next stop was the "Creature Comforts" shop. Close to a large decorative giraffe inside the store is a beetle with a classic Mickey marking. The photo shows this image, which is acceptable to me, as the "head" circle is larger than the "ears," which touch the head but not each other. (Jesse Kline sent me this image).

Near the bridge to DinoLand, I enjoyed a group playing South American music (from Peru, Ecuador, etc.); excellent performance!

Inside Pizzafari Restaurant, I revisited a classic Mickey in the trees in the first room to the right as you leave the food order area. The three highest circles form a sideways Mickey, and they seem somewhat proportionate. I like it, and the MouseFest, 2007 Hidden Mickey Hunt group liked it, too! (Thanks to Sharon Dale for this image).

I checked out many more sightings, some I liked and some I didn't like. As usual, I ran out of time before I could finish. No matter, this was a satisfying day of research, the kind of day I live for!

Read more about Steve's Hidden Mickey finds on AllEarsNet.com

Steve maintains a Catalog of Hidden Mickeys on the Hidden Mickeys Guide.

The Third Edition of Steve's Walt Disney World Hidden Mickeys book is available on Amazon.com. Hidden Mickeys, 3rd Edition: A Field Guide to Walt Disney World's Best-Kept Secrets (Hidden Mickeys: A Field Guide to Walt Disney World's Best Kept Secre)

His First Edition of Disneyland's Hidden Mickeys is also available on Amazon.com Disneyland's Hidden Mickeys: A Field Guide to the Disneyland Resort's Best-Kept Secrets (Disneyland's Hidden Mickey's)

Last summer, at Fred Block's Magic Meets in Pennsylvania, the Felty family won an auction item in Lou Mongello's Dream Team Auction. The auction item was: time with me! Of course, I was honored.

A few weeks ago, I met up with the Felty clan at Walt Disney World for an afternoon Hidden Mickey tour.

They'd chosen the Magic Kingdom, and we rendezvoused at the Liberty Bell in Liberty Square at 11 am. The group included Jim and (his wife) Krista Felty, Jim's dad John Felty, Sr. and Jim's niece Triscia Felty. The day was perfect for touring, with a pleasant temperature and light crowds. From left to right is Krista, Jim, Triscia and John, Sr.

We decided to ride Pirates of the Caribbean first and check out the Davy Jones' hat image (posted on a previous blog). I thinked the group was more positive than negative about the image as a Hidden Mickey, although I'm still not completely convinced.

On the way over to the Haunted Mansion, we checked out a few cool Hidden Mickeys, such as the hoofprint image in the cement near the Yankee Trader Shop. As you can see, the image isn't perfect as a classic Mickey, but I believe that it's purposeful and close enough.

As we trekked among the lands of the MK, we ambled onto attractions with minimal waits and stopped by more Hidden Mickey images.

In Fantasyland, inside the large tree in Pooh's Playful Spot, I pointed out the submarine in the wood, a tribute to the previous submarine ride in that location.

In Tomorrowland, we squinted to see the faint classic Mickey in the cement near Astro Orbiter. This image is fading with time, and it's not easy to track down. Triscia searched for it again later in the week, and she found it. That makes me a proud teacher!

Before we knew it, the tour was over. The Feltys had to leave the Magic Kingdom for a dinner reservation at Le Cellier in Epcot.

It was a wonderful touring day that I will long remember, and I hope the Feltys will, too.

Read more about Steve's Hidden Mickey finds on AllEarsNet.com

Steve maintains a Catalog of Hidden Mickeys on the Hidden Mickeys Guide.

The Third Edition of Steve's Walt Disney World Hidden Mickeys book is available on Amazon.com. Hidden Mickeys, 3rd Edition: A Field Guide to Walt Disney World's Best-Kept Secrets (Hidden Mickeys: A Field Guide to Walt Disney World's Best Kept Secre)

His First Edition of Disneyland's Hidden Mickeys is also available on Amazon.com Disneyland's Hidden Mickeys: A Field Guide to the Disneyland Resort's Best-Kept Secrets (Disneyland's Hidden Mickey's)

My sister, Donna McMurrey, visits WDW at least twice yearly. Her real job is Assistant Principal at a high school in Dallas, Texas, but she wants to eventually retire to a job at WDW as the character Timon! She enjoys Disney World as much as I do and helps me find Hidden Mickeys. Donna is a good HM spotter and is almost as discriminating as I am about HM sightings.

Recently, she stayed at All Star Sports Resort and planned at least a portion of every day to look for Hidden Mickeys. One day, she and I had lunch at the Coral Reef Restaurant (her first time there), and we planned our day's Hidden Mickey odyssey while enjoying a scrumptious meal. Donna savored mahi mahi, while I polished off a delicious pumpkin risotto.

A few days before, I'd dined at this restaurant with my wife Vickie's mother and sister. I'd asked a Cast Member there about a Hidden Mickey that I'd heard about but never found. He took me to this awesome classic Mickey in the tiles (check out the photo!) in the middle of the seating area. I showed Donna this really cool Hidden Mickey. I hadn't found it before, since the CM's at Coral Reef don't often allow folks inside just to look around. So you generally will need reservations to eat there to spot this HM.

After lunch, we took in a couple of our favorite musical acts at Epcot: Off Kilter and the British Invasion. Off Kilter is always entertaining, and the current British Invasion guys sound pretty close to the real thing!

Here is the British Invasion singing "No Reply" by the Beatles.

We ambled over to Spoodles Restaurant to find some Hidden Mickeys that Donna had discovered before with the help of a CM; they were still there! I attached a photo of Donna pointing to a Mickey image on a plate near the inside entrance doors to the restaurant. The CM told Donna that the manager had decided to allow this Mickey face to stay put. Whoever this manager is, you have my undying gratitude!

After floating to Disney-MGM Studios on a boat from the Swan and Dolphin, Donna and I enjoyed a "home-cooked" meal at 50's Prime Time Cafe, another of our favorite haunts.

I had to photograph the MGM logo at the park entrance, as it's due to disappear January 1, 2008, when the park will be renamed minus the "MGM" tag.

See you next year, Donna!

Happy New Year Everyone!!!!

Read more about Steve's Hidden Mickey finds on AllEarsNet.com

Steve maintains a Catalog of Hidden Mickeys on the Hidden Mickeys Guide.

The Third Edition of Steve's Walt Disney World Hidden Mickeys book is available on Amazon.com. Hidden Mickeys, 3rd Edition: A Field Guide to Walt Disney World's Best-Kept Secrets (Hidden Mickeys: A Field Guide to Walt Disney World's Best Kept Secre)

His First Edition of Disneyland's Hidden Mickeys is also available on Amazon.com Disneyland's Hidden Mickeys: A Field Guide to the Disneyland Resort's Best-Kept Secrets (Disneyland's Hidden Mickey's)

It's over a week now since MouseFest, 2007. I know it's hard to believe, but each MouseFest is more fun for me than the last. This is a time to reconnect with great friends in Walt's place of magic. What could be better?

The groups for my Hidden Mickey hunts are growing too large! I don't think everyone has a decent experience, so I'm thinking of taking RSVP's for the first time for MouseFest, 2008. I believe that other Meet leaders are having similar experiences with the large number of MouseFest fans. I'm not really complaining; it's a great problem to have!

In the Magic Kingdom Hidden Mickeys Hunt, our group loaded onto Pirates of the Caribbean. The ride stopped for a while with many of us in boats. One of the interesting images is the collection of circles on Davy Jones' hat.

As his ghostly visage appears in the mist during the first part of the ride, look at the lower part of the right side (your left) of his hat. I'm not convinced by the photos that folks have sent me (a red circle was added to the photo attached), but the image is somewhat more convincing in person. I'll dwell more on this one.

The Hidden Mickeys in Pocahontas and Her Forest Friends are in the stage mural. After the show, our large group was hurried out by the Cast Members. We had barely enough time to spot and photograph the three Hidden Mickeys in the mural.

I think the size of our group may have intimidated the CM's, especially since several Disney manager types were observing from the back of the seating area!

The Hunts at the Studios and Epcot were outside, and I didn't perceive any significant problems.

I had a cool experience at Epcot. My wife Vickie was sitting on a bench across from the pyramid in Mexico. She was waiting for my Hunt group to finish up in the UK pavilion, and she began a friendly conversation with a woman next to her. The woman was also waiting for her husband to return. She was on her honeymoon and had just been married the day before. She and her new husband were moseying through the Mexico pavilion, when her husband saw a group form and heard the term "Hidden Mickeys". It was my Hidden Mickey Hunt group! So he asked her to wait for him there, and he joined in with my Hunt! Cool!

I think he was one of the several folks who had wine glasses with them (a couple of others joined our group as we meandered) for the entire trek around World Showcase. They were pleasant and seemed to be having fun, and even voted with the rest of the group on marginal Hidden Mickey images!

Before I knew it, MouseFest was over. I was able to meet up with Lou Mongello and Pat Whitson on Monday, the last day of MouseFest, for some final good times.

Oh well, now it's back to the real world. Until next year, friends!

Read more about Steve's Hidden Mickey finds on AllEarsNet.com

Steve maintains a Catalog of Hidden Mickeys on the Hidden Mickeys Guide.

The Third Edition of Steve's Walt Disney World Hidden Mickeys book is available on Amazon.com. Hidden Mickeys, 3rd Edition: A Field Guide to Walt Disney World's Best-Kept Secrets (Hidden Mickeys: A Field Guide to Walt Disney World's Best Kept Secre)

His First Edition of Disneyland's Hidden Mickeys is also available on Amazon.com Disneyland's Hidden Mickeys: A Field Guide to the Disneyland Resort's Best-Kept Secrets (Disneyland's Hidden Mickey's)