Even though this is a months-old thread, I'll throw in my two cents:
1. There was no wand in "The Sorcerer's Apprentice." All of the magic was done using the Hat. Imagineering seems to have been the ones to adopt the idea of Mickey holding a wand while wearing the "Fantasia" garb. But, disliking both the Wand and the Hat do not indicate I dislike Imagineering and "Fantasia." Quite the contrary. The comparison is silly.
2. Mickey is still everywhere. Besides the new TV show that was mentioned, the hidden Mickeys, Mickey's Toontown, and the truly overrated "Mickey's Philharmagic" (which I hope doesn't replace the much more immersive "Muppet-Vision 3-D" at DCA), Mickey is in the current version of the Disney's Hollywood Studios logo, he's in the Toon Studios logo, he's undoubtedly the number one meet n' greet character in the Parks (and probably appears in the most variations of costumes, too), he's the only animated character to have his own scene in the Great Movie Ride(from "Fantasia," naturally), he's the main character of Fantasmic!, he appears in the opening ceremonies for Epcot and Animal Kingdom every day (and possibly the Magic Kingdom's too, I keep getting there too late for it), the Mickey Mouse Ice Cream bars are huge sellers, he's prominently featured in Dream Along with Mickey, he's still got that huge floral display at the entrance of every Magic Kingdom, he's got two after hours events named for him (MNSSHP and MVMCP), he's prominently featured on the World of Disney bags, he has tons of merchandise with him somewhere on them, the Disneyland logo for the 50th was in the shape of his head...need I go on? They've never lost the focus on Mickey. New characters will come, have their moments of extreme popularity, and then join the rest of the characters in the Disney pantheon as backup for the Mouse. He will never fade from the public eye.
3. Quit dissin' "Chicken Little." That was a very clever and fun film. No, it wasn't "Pinocchio," but it was much better than many appear to give it credit for.
