Walt Disney World in Florida is filled to the brim with secrets, include a large batch of hidden Mickeys. These come in the form of the three circles making up the silhouette of Mickey’s head that can be found in many forms throughout the Disney resorts, including the four parks, the many resorts, and more. But which are best and most well-hidden? Well, on the road to the 50 greatest hidden Mickeys at Disney World, we’ll be starting with 15 best at each of the four theme parks, finishing with just 10 at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. This list will only include “hidden” Mickeys, and only ones you can still find at the park as of writing. So as much as I wanted to include the word Mickey written in alien language on Stitch’s Great Escape!, it won’t be included since the ride is now extinct. We’ll also only be including hidden Mickeys in the park itself, not in the nearby resorts. So with that out of the way, let’s begin.
Part Four: Animal Kingdom Park
#10: Rocks in the Ground – Mombasa Marketplace – Africa
An interesting hidden Mickey can be found right outside of the Mombasa Marketplace gift shop in Africa. Right out front of the store’s entrance, look on the ground and you’ll find a couple of manholes. These manholes are surrounded by some rocks in the pavement. One of these is in the shape of Mickey Mouse himself. The rocks are the ears, while a few rocks cover the manhole which acts as Mickey’s head. Neat.
#9: Shaman of Song Cloak – Na’vi River Journey – Pandora
For this next hidden Mickey, you’ll need to head on Na’vi River Journey in Pandora. The Shaman of Song is one of the most advanced and realistic animatronic figures Disney has ever built (in my opinion), and it also has a tiny hidden Mickey. Look closely at the right side of the cloak and you’ll spot a very small hidden Mickey as one of the hole designs. It’s on the right side of the cloak, closer to the animatronic figure itself. It may be a bit hard to spot because it’s small and the constant movement of the arms covers it up a little bit sometimes, but there’s definitely a hidden Mickey on the cloak on the Shaman of Song animatronic in Na’vi River Journey.
#8: Tree of Life Mural – Discovery Trading Co. – Discovery Island
Here’s a clever hidden Mickey that isn’t just the outline of his face – although I do have to say that this one is a bit freaky. So, in Discovery Island, you’ll find the Discovery Trading Company gift shop. In the shop you’ll find this mural of the famous Animal Kingdom icon, Tree of Life. This mural perfectly shows the animals as they live within the tree trunk and roam around in the surrounding fields; and Mickey Mouse? In the center of the tree directly above the waterfall, you’ll find Mickey poking his head out from inside the tree? Is it just me, or does this look like someone in a Mickey costume that would appear in a rip-off horror film? Anybody? Anyway, this is a really unique hidden Mickey for its location and image of his entire face. I mean, you wouldn’t expect to look in a mural of the Tree of Life for Mickey? Now, it does seem a bit easy to spot from this image, but in the gift shop, this mural is actually hanging high on the wall, so it’s a bit difficult to spot.
#7: Entrance Dinosaur’s Spots – DinoRAMA Entrance – DinoLand U.S.A.
The entrance to Dino-Rama has large sculptures of kiddie dinosaurs. On the left side of the sign, you’ll see the blue dinosaur. Its tail on the backside of the sculpture curls. Look right near the curl to find 3 spots that shape the outline of Mickey Mouse. These three spots are a bit more obvious compared to the others, being a bit bigger and they seem to be a bit shiner. If you look closely here, you’ll definitely see a hidden Mickey on this dinosaur.
#6: On the Tree of Life
The Tree of Life is Animal Kingdom’s centerpiece, and it sure is a good one. This tree with hundreds of animal carvings in a beautiful work of art. There are over 300 animals on the Tree of Life, and with a ton of detail put into the tree’s design, of course Imagineers put a hidden Mickey somewhere. There are a few, but this is the one I find the most unique. One of the animals on the tree is a hippo. If you look very closely above his eye, you’ll see what looks like a bit of hardened dirt. If you look at this dirt upside-down, you’ll realize this is actually a hidden Mickey. The circles sticking out as the ears are a dead giveaway when looking at it with an inverted perspective. The Tree of Life is a true masterpiece, and so is this well-hidden Mickey silhouette.
#5: Track Bird’s Eye – Expedition Everest – Asia
There’s a couple of neat hidden Mickeys on Expedition Everest: Legend of the Forbidden Mountain. The easiest to find is the picture of the bear with Mickey ears in the queue, but did you know there’s another, and it’s much more difficult to spot? Actually, you can’t spot this one if you aren’t using something like Google Earth or in a helicopter over Animal Kingdom. From this picture, you can tell that the track cleverly shapes the outline of Mickey Mouse. Very discreet. What a cool detail. These birds-eye hidden Mickeys are always the best ones, right?
#4: Flamingo Island – Kilimanjaro Safaris – Africa
Kilimanjaro Safaris is a must-do experience at Animal Kingdom. Since it’s a safari, it doesn’t really have any secrets or hidden details – it’s just a safari at a Disney park. Despite this, a really neat hidden Mickey can be found on the safari. At one point during your ride, you’ll pass the flamingo island. Well, this island with all the flamingos on it is actually in the shape of Mickey’s head. What a neat way to hide a secret on an attraction that’s not have any in plain sight. This is such a cool secret on a ride that doesn’t really need any.
#3: Earrings – Maharajah Jungle Trek – Asia
This is a pretty neat hidden Mickey, since it’s not very easy to spot if you don’t know where to look. On the Maharajah Jungle Trek at Animal Kingdom, you’ll pass by this mural. While the man in the mural might seem to be part of the theme, it seems like he enjoys Disney as well, since his earring is an upside-down Mickey shape. Just turn your head slightly and you’ll notice the Mickey hanging on the man’s ear.
#2: A Tree in the Queue – Dinosaur – DinoLand U.S.A.
Of all the attractions at Animal Kingdom, I find Dinosaur to be a bit underrated. Some say it shakes too much, and some say it’s too scary. I find the ride to a fun, thrilling attraction at the park. I also found the queue to be quite interesting. In one part, you’ll pass by a model with a bunch of trees everywhere. On the mural behind the model is a classic hidden Mickey. Check out the tree in the foreground to the left side and you’ll spot a clever hidden Mickey to the left of the first branch. This is such a clever secret as you aren’t really looking closely at these trees. If you do, you’re rewarded with this hidden Mickey.
#1: Bee Pole – Island Mercantile Store – Discovery Island
The Island Mercantile Store at Animal Kingdom was a pretty nicely decorated store at the park. You’ll also find a ‘bee pole’ (as I call it.) This bee pole is just a pool with bees on it, but it’s a bit unique compared to other poles at the store. This pole includes a pretty clever hidden Mickey. If you look closely at this picture, notice that the yellow dots of the bee path form the outline of Mickey Mouse. It’s a clever way of hiding Mickey in this store, and I think it’s one of Animal Kingdom’s most unique secrets.
So, Animal Kingdom has a bunch of hidden Mickeys. There are so many to find. Some great ones at the park weren’t included on this list, but that doesn’t mean they are bad. Let me know what your favorite hidden Mickeys are at Animal Kingdom in the comments!
And check out our top 50 hidden Mickeys at Walt Disney World, which will be published on Ryan’s Fortress October 15!