Hidden mickey plates in HM gone

[wdw71fan]

The hidden mickey made out of plates in the ballroom dancing scene of HM is gone. I know cast members move them around from time to time but this one has been there for years and it just seems cruel to take it away. My 5 year old nephew always looks forward to pointing it out and I was at a loss of words to explain why it was gone. Try telling a 5 year old why disney has changed something, ...its not easy. Thanks to Comander Crimson tho for telling me about the staring nun of backlot express at Hollywood Studios. That made our day!

Saying it's been there for 'years' is a relative term.. I've been on the attraction 200-300 times in the last 4 years and I can tell you that they are ocasionally back in their original positions, but ALWAYS make it back.. I was at MK last night, but didn't ride mansion (Blasphemy?) .. next time I'm out there, I'll be sure to ride, and I'm sure it'll already be back in place...

I don't think WDI disapproves of the element at this point.. Actually , it's a playful game between operations and WDI maintenance..


And if 3 plates are the worst thing you have to 'explain' to a 5 year old, consider yourself lucky.

 

[Tom]

The hidden mickey made out of plates in the ballroom dancing scene of HM is gone. I know cast members move them around from time to time but this one has been there for years and it just seems cruel to take it away. My 5 year old nephew always looks forward to pointing it out and I was at a loss of words to explain why it was gone. Try telling a 5 year old why disney has changed something, ...its not easy. Thanks to Comander Crimson tho for telling me about the staring nun of backlot express at Hollywood Studios. That made our day!

If he's into identifying things like that, get a list (or book) of the official Hidden Mickeys and point those out to him. That way, until they tear down a ride, the Mickey will always be there.

Seriously?

It's plates.... Get over it!

It''s gonna be a lot harder telling him why the dog or grandma aren't around any more.... Consider this easing him in!

Time for your nap. Then you can get up and try again.

Off topic but what is the deal with the staring nun at backlot express

She's creepy.

It's not an official hidden mickey. When imagineering goes into HM they will reset the table back to how the plates are supposed to be. The official hidden mickey in the HM is the one on the hand of the Grim Reaper.

This ^

 

[HMButler79]

Oh my lord people. Listen. Management, Show Quality, and Maint. do NOT approve of unofficial Hidden Mickey's. Basically anything made before Eisner does not have an official Hidden Mickey. That all started with Eisner when, I think, Wonders of Life opened. The Mansion plates are NOT nor EVER HAVE been, OFFCIAL WDI approved Hidden Mickey's. I mean, do you REALLY think W.E.D. would have done something as tacky as that to detract from the show? Some Maids and Butlers like it, others disapprove and depending who is there that day they WILL be moved. Same goes for the gold plates in the temple at Jungle Cruise. That stupid Hidden Mickey book says they ARE. But if Maint. sees them arranged as such they will put them the way they are supposed to be. Scattered about like treasure in the temple. I hope this clears things up.

 

[Tom Morrow]

While I do like the plates hidden Mickey, I can understand why Imagineers are against "unofficial" hidden Mickeys, and others are against hidden Mickeys altogether. Sometimes people are so obsessed with finding them that they ignore all of the details and everything else about the attraction.

 

[unkadug]

While I do like the plates hidden Mickey, I can understand why Imagineers are against "unofficial" hidden Mickeys, and others are against hidden Mickeys altogether. Sometimes people are so obsessed with finding them that they ignore all of the details and everything else about the attraction.

There are people who are against all hidden mickeys? Really? :shrug:

 

[Tom]

There are people who are against all hidden mickeys? Really? :shrug:

I find that hard to believe. It's Disney. And we're talking about Disney Imagineers. While they, of course, get to have fun designing these attractions, the bonus is that they get to cleverly hide Mickey in the attraction. It should be an HONOR, if nothing else.

Granted, if something was not meant to be a Hidden Mickey, CMs shouldn't have free reign to create their own. Otherwise, it would be utter madness. But the plates in the HM do no harm. It's one of the oldest (if not THE oldest) unofficial Hidden Mickeys, and it doesn't take anything away from the rest of that scene, or mess with the theme. Now, if someone hid a stuffed Mickey somewhere in the room, that would be different.

 

[dramamama]

It's back!

After reading the posts here, I texted my DH who is chaperoning a trip there today. He checked and reported that the plates are back in their position today. I know in other trips we have seen them in different spots on the table. I always look for this hidden Mickey because I know it isn't official and might not be there. I think that makes it special to know the CMs get in on the action.

 

[Clever Name]

This is just another example of the extremely poor management that is currently in charge at WDW. Allowing CM's to disturb sets is not a game. The next thing you know, they'll be throwing up gang signs. :wave:

 

[Sharkreef11]

Seriously?

It's plates.... Get over it!

It''s gonna be a lot harder telling him why the dog or grandma aren't around any more.... Consider this easing him in!

Wow... Nobody must have loved you when you were little.

 

[Mansionfan]

I've often wondered if management and WDI are so adamant the plates stay where they are they don't just glue the things in position...

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Management is against it because it isn't an official hidden Mickey. True hidden Mickey's are part of the imagineering design. These plates were never designed to be that. Now the plates on the door of the promenade shop in Morocco were designed to be there.

It's not an official hidden mickey. When imagineering goes into HM they will reset the table back to how the plates are supposed to be. The official hidden mickey in the HM is the one on the hand of the Grim Reaper.

These posts pretty much sum it up.

When DH & I went on KttK tour in May 2008 we rode HM as part of the tour with our guide (Robin) giving us lots of info throughout. One of the things that she told us about was the difference between a true Hidden Mickey and what is not. Like Polydweller said, if Imagineering placed a Hidden Mickey or other 'Easter Egg' from the get-go it is considered a Hidden Mickey. If CMs or guests come along and move things or leave a little extra something, those are NOT Hidden Mickeys. We were told that beneath each place setting on the ballroom table is a photograph of how that place setting should be arranged. ((Of course I can't confirm this. Would love if someone could/would.)) The photo under the Mickey-arranged place setting supposedly does NOT show the Mickey-like arrangement thus reiterating that it is NOT a true Hidden Mickey. We were told that if higher management or Imagineers ride HM and see the place setting in the Mickey-like arrangement they will often have the arrangement corrected to it's original intended setting.

As Martin said, the "silly spooks" of the HM hadn't had a chance to put the Mickey back in when the OP rode it. I've seen the Mickey arrangement gazillions of times. I don't know that I can say I've ever seen it in it's correct position without the Mickey. I'd think myself lucky to have seen it the way it was supposed to be since that is more of a rarity than seeing that place setting in the Mickey-like arrangement. :wave:

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I've often wondered if management and WDI are so adamant the plates stay where they are they don't just glue the things in position...

Maybe it'd make it harder for Mousekeeping to come dust. :shrug: No, wait........ :lookaroun

I sure hope Master Gracey isn't leaving generous tips because, man!, those Mousekeepers sure don't do a whole lot of dusting or sweeping in the mansion! :lol:

Ooooooh....and when the hubby has anything at all to say about my lack of dusting around here ((my least-favorite chore)) I can just tell him we're re-theming HM-style! :sohappy:

 

[SMS55]

While I do like the plates hidden Mickey, I can understand why Imagineers are against "unofficial" hidden Mickeys, and others are against hidden Mickeys altogether. Sometimes people are so obsessed with finding them that they ignore all of the details and everything else about the attraction.

Doesn't make sense. People are obssessed with finding them, because they put them there and even publish books about them all. Each park has a book highlighting all the hidden Mickey's.

 

[MarkTwain]

From what I've heard, the plates were never supposed to form a hidden Mickey, but we're rearranged that way by a few cast members. I think it has become somewhat of a tradition for the cast members of the ride to switch them to the hidden Mickey style after management takes it out. I sure I'm missing plenty of details, just trying to give a vague overview.
My real question is this: Why is management so against this additional hidden Mickey? Is there any specific reason why they don't want it there?

Management is against it because it isn't an official hidden Mickey. True hidden Mickey's are part of the imagineering design. These plates were never designed to be that. Now the plates on the door of the promenade shop in Morocco were designed to be there.

...

I don't think WDI disapproves of the element at this point.. Actually , it's a playful game between operations and WDI maintenance..

...

All of these are true. Believe it or not, I've read blogs from former Imagineers that have actually expressed repeated frustration that CMs keep moving the plates around. Basically, the design of the attraction, from the architecture of the building to the arrangement of props and kitchenware, falls completely in the realm of Imagineering's control. The plates have a specified arrangement that the Imagineers came up with, and it's management's job to make sure the attraction lives up to how the Imagineers had specified it (one look at Splash Mountain proves they don't always succeed). Any time the plates are moved into a Hidden Mickey is because Cast Members had jokingly arranged them that way.

Similarly, all Hidden Mickeys are officially designed by Imagineers and built into the attraction accordingly... if the Hidden Mickey is put in by a Cast Member, then it means the Imagineers don't consider it a true Hidden Mickey.

There are people who are against all hidden mickeys? Really? :shrug:

There sure are - here's one of those blogposts by former Imagineers I was referring to that explains it (and he also stated he would personally move the plates back to their "proper" position):

http://www.imagineeringdisney.com/blog/2010/5/8/the-hidden-mickey-controversy-part-two.html

His point is that Hidden Mickeys distract from the experience of the actual attraction, and that guests focus too hard on the arrangement of circles instead of on any of the thousands of other equally-tiny details that actually support the theme of the show. (Whether you agree or not is your opinion - and many of the comments certainly don't).

Interestingly, an Imagineer on a different blogpost on that same site said they disliked Hidden Mickeys for a different reason:

From what I recall, Hidden Mickeys were the result of Disney's edict that no Disney characters would be allowed in Epcot, so the Imagineers worked them in subversively. When Disney-MGM Studios was built, there were some sly (not to mention huge) Hidden Mickeys added, which were fun for those of us "in the know".

Now it has become completely commercialized and over-saturated. I remember sitting in a WDI meeting one time to discuss how to do the Hidden Mickey in a new attraction. I remember thinking "This spoils the whole thing for me" as opposed to an Imagineer going "rogue" and putting mouse ears on a Nordic viking

 

[Clever Name]

Here is a real Hidden Mickey:


http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...pMy3Dw&usg=AFQjCNHg32aeY3GeRyKzx2AgRtzN-2F2Aw

:wave:
[youtube]y484bBfjoAc[/youtube]
Here's another view!

 

[Tom Morrow]

Doesn't make sense. People are obssessed with finding them, because they put them there and even publish books about them all. Each park has a book highlighting all the hidden Mickey's.

Um yes, it absolutely makes sense. In fact, you only just proved my point. WDI goes to painstaking efforts (well, most of the time) to make a highly detailed and authentic experience, but of course the only thing people care about ends up being the hidden Mickeys. None of the published Hidden Mickey books are even written by Disney or WDI and are filled with errors.

 

[kshark]

Nice to keep this post light...lol... thats the disney spirit!!!

 

[jjharvpro]

I was in MK yesterday and noticed they were gone also! But the rest of the ride (HM is my favorite!) was perfect!

 

[darksora]

These posts pretty much sum it up.

When DH & I went on KttK tour in May 2008 we rode HM as part of the tour with our guide (Robin) giving us lots of info throughout. One of the things that she told us about was the difference between a true Hidden Mickey and what is not. Like Polydweller said, if Imagineering placed a Hidden Mickey or other 'Easter Egg' from the get-go it is considered a Hidden Mickey. If CMs or guests come along and move things or leave a little extra something, those are NOT Hidden Mickeys. We were told that beneath each place setting on the ballroom table is a photograph of how that place setting should be arranged. ((Of course I can't confirm this. Would love if someone could/would.)) The photo under the Mickey-arranged place setting supposedly does NOT show the Mickey-like arrangement thus reiterating that it is NOT a true Hidden Mickey. We were told that if higher management or Imagineers ride HM and see the place setting in the Mickey-like arrangement they will often have the arrangement corrected to it's original intended setting.

As Martin said, the "silly spooks" of the HM hadn't had a chance to put the Mickey back in when the OP rode it. I've seen the Mickey arrangement gazillions of times. I don't know that I can say I've ever seen it in it's correct position without the Mickey. I'd think myself lucky to have seen it the way it was supposed to be since that is more of a rarity than seeing that place setting in the Mickey-like arrangement. :wave:

Having taken the tour last week, you are correct about the photographs underneath the plates.

 

[dreamfinder]

There are people who are against all hidden mickeys? Really? :shrug:

Doesn't make sense. People are obssessed with finding them, because they put them there and even publish books about them all. Each park has a book highlighting all the hidden Mickey's.

The hidden Mickey phenomenon has taken a huge shift from how it used to be. The initial hidden Mickeys were small subtle things hidden in attractions. Not something that jumped out at you, but a small way to hide a little fun thing within the attraction. The Mickeys in the Maelstrom queue are a great example of this. Very subtle, hard to spot unless you know where they are, and not at all detracting.

But recently hidden Mickeys aren't so hidden anymore. WDI/management seems to be putting them all over the place. When they are blatant and almost detract from the attraction, then it's like jumping the shark or selling out.