The Time We Went Looking for Hidden Mickeys

“Go look for hidden Mickeys,” my husband said with a wave of his hand.

Our family of four had just checked into our room at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. The kids were bouncing off the walls at the realization that we’d finally arrived at the Happiest Place on Earth.

But my husband and I needed them to stop bouncing and get out of our way so we could unpack.

“Go look in the wallpaper,” my husband encouraged them. “There’s always hidden Mickeys in the wallpaper.”

For those of you unfamiliar with hidden Mickeys, they are as exotic as they sound: a hidden Mickey is a likeness of Mickey Mouse that’s found in a less than obvious place. Let’s reference Wikipedia for more information:

“A true Hidden Mickey is one that is not meant to be seen immediately, and is usually placed purposefully by a Disney Imagineer or artist in a context that would not normally contain Mickey Mouse.”

So the kids scoured the wallpaper in our Animal Kingdom Lodge room while my husband and I unpacked.

“DAD! MOM! COME HERE!” my son cried.

Giggle, giggle, giggle..

“Did you find one, buddy?” my husband asked our son.

“No, but look!”

So we looked.

And we couldn’t believe what we found.

NOT a hidden Mickey.

A past guest had drawn certain appendages and droppings, shall we say, on a poor lion on the wallpaper at Animal Kingdom Lodge. As this is a family-friendly blog, I’ve cleaned up the photo:

Hidden Mickey, indeed!

Once we stopped alternating between laughing and being freaked out, we called to report the markings and a Disney cast member came and erased the offending appendages and droppings.

Have you ever looked for hidden Mickeys?