Friday, October 15, 2010

A Walk Around The World With Ridge--Pal Mickey

Being the family of big kids that we are, when Pal Mickey was introduced in 2003 we picked one up. For the next several years he accompanied us on almost every trip to Walt Disney World. Now he is making his way back to WDW as a friend to my niece Tink; she likes it when he talks to her. She may not know what he is saying just yet but she loves it when he talks. What is Pal Mickey, you may be asking? Well it’s a good thing I am about to tell you.


Pal Mickey is an interactive plush toy tour guide that was sold at Walt Disney World from 2003-2008. Mickey stands about ten inches tall and is easily attached to a belt or a lanyard with the included clip. Mickey was about 50 dollars and his first version came dressed as classic red shorts Mickey, but as with all good things it wasn't long before there were accessories.


Mickey is interactive, housing three touch sensors: one in each hand and one in his belly. In his nose is an infrared sensor that allows Mickey to be triggered to give park hours, parade times, character meets and loads of other information in over 400 park locations. Also he tells jokes, and not always good ones. Even better is some of them Mickey even knows are bad. "What do you call Pulto after he sits infront of a campfire? A Hot Dog!" While in the parks Mickey would become your tour guide telling little bits of information about the lands and attractions depending on where you were standing.


Another aspect of the interactivity are the games that Mickey can play. The games are not park dependent so you can be at home on your own sofa playing one of three games. Mickey will test your reflexes with That's Not Here, where Mickey will start with a location then he will name attractions and you have to tell him if it is there or not by squeezing his hands. Mickey Says, think Simon Says. Lastly Fast Friends, where Mickey will give you a category, then he will name characters and you have to identify if those characters fall into that category. These were fun for the car ride to Disney, or while standing in lines or waiting for others to get ready in the morning.


Sadly Pal Mickey isn't sold any longer but as I understand it he may still work in the parks if you have one. Mickey was and is a fun companion in the parks. When he was new, it was fun to see families or just adults walking around with a stuffed mouse stuck to their heads. Amy and I on one trip dedicated ourselves to taking his picture with as many of the signs around the parks as possible. It was great fun and added a new dimension to our trip and gave us some new adventures.

Did you have a Pal Mickey, how did you use yours? Did you spend the money on his other outfits?


3 comments:

  1. We love our Pal Mickey and he is currently hanging out in my son's room! We haven't gotten any new outfits though.

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  2. Omigosh! Never heard of this before (but it WAS before my Mickey time).

    What a great idea! My kids would love to carry that thing everywhere. :)

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  3. It really was a great program that Disney started with him and you know it had to have been a pilot program testing out how these sytems would work. It is only a matter of time before the next big thing in park interactivity comes out.

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