small My Pal Mickey Update

[orlpassholder]

Greetings all from a very tired geek labs.

First off I know I promised photos of the Imagineer trailers out at Epcot BUT life happens, and I was working most of the weekend. So sorry no photo's

I will however make it up this upcoming weekend since I will be going out to everyones favorite magical place. So look for a photo update next weekend!!!!

I havent seen this tidbit of technology news mentioned on the boards. So I decided it was news worthy. For all of you who own or are going to own a Pal Mickey you will be happy to know as of August 15th he DOES mention Mission:SPACE when you are at Epcot.

He goes off when you cross under the breezeway by mousegears and the eletric umbrella heading toward M:S he says alittle something like this

(Best Mickey voice)

"See that big red ball up ahead thats Mission:SPACE, and to your left is the Wonders of Life, and The Universe of Energy. To the right of Mission:SPACE is Test Track."

Why is this news you ask! Well I heard rumblings from CM's around the park that when the new attractions open our little Pal Mickeys where going to need an "upgrade" per say (side note wonder if it would like a microsoft windows update or would it be like a Pixie Dust service pack update. I shutter at the thought of Mickey blue screening on me ) but from what I have gathered it appears they can add or delete sayings at anytime. So when Mickey hits the RF points he can say whatever new addition(s) there maybe.

I would look for the same "upgrade" treatment for the Magic Kingdom when Mickey's Philharmagic opens in October 2003

 

[Bagheera]

My understanding is (and has been) that he downloads updates every time you walk into a park.

 

[gjpjtj]

So would you say Pal Mickey is worth the 50+ dollars?

 

[orlpassholder]

Originally posted by Bagheera
My understanding is (and has been) that he downloads updates every time you walk into a park.

could be true but I did not think he had a flashable ROM in his system

 

[orlpassholder]

Originally posted by gjpjtj
So would you say Pal Mickey is worth the 50+ dollars?

yes I do he is fun to have when you walk around

 

[cindy_k]

I'm happy to hear this.
We have two Pal Mickey's that we are bringing back to the World this coming weekend. I was worried that they wouldn't have new things to say.

I'll be interested to note if he is still talking about the Flamingos in Epcot. They are ,of course, no longer in Epcot, having been moved to Animal Kingdom but when I took Mickey to Epcot during Easter week, he kept telling me to look for them, everytime I crossed between WS and FW.

I still love Mickey's corny jokes. They are my bus ride entertainment.

TTFN!
Cindy in NY

 

[magicjay1989]

It is from my understanding that the Mission: space info was already programed in. A cast member told me that when pal mickey was released the censor that tells mickey to talk about MS was on so for a week guest keeped anoying castmebers that if my pal mickey says this is open then it must be open. (M'am do you see that wall???, Ya so!!! Do you also notice that it is not on the map ether?? Look when are you going to let me ride??? :hammer: )

 

[Scooter]

So when you walk near Carousel of Progress does Pal Mickey say:

::Best Mickey Voice::

"Golly! That's the Carousel of Progress!...it's not open much, but if you come to The Magic Kingdom on just the right day, you can see it...and from what I remember, it's pretty KEEN!"

 

[orlpassholder]

Originally posted by magicjay1989
It is from my understanding that the Mission: space info was already programed in. A cast member told me that when pal mickey was released the censor that tells mickey to talk about MS was on so for a week guest keeped anoying castmebers that if my pal mickey says this is open then it must be open. (M'am do you see that wall???, Ya so!!! Do you also notice that it is not on the map ether?? Look when are you going to let me ride??? :hammer: )

I never heard him go off prior to the 15th opening. Dont know if its true or not but it could be I just wasnt there at the right time

 

[orlpassholder]

Originally posted by Scooter
So when you walk near Carousel of Progress does Pal Mickey say:

::Best Mickey Voice::

"Golly! That's the Carousel of Progress!...it's not open much, but if you come to The Magic Kingdom on just the right day, you can see it...and from what I remember, it's pretty KEEN!"

Or have him page you when it opens again.

 

[Mr. Toad]

Actually, when I was in EPCOT back in early June, My Pal Mickey told me about Mission: Space (I think he said exactly what you posted). Interestingly enough that was also when they were doing the unannounced guest testing of Mission: Space for a few days.

As for the flashable ROM, when we first got him at MK we were told that you had to have him uploaded at each park so he would have that parks info (this turned out to not be true). However, when I went to EPCOT that night and asked about it they did place him next to a PocketPC type device and the screen said it was downloading info. Then Mickey laughed as the screen said it was done and they handed him back to me. So it does appear that they can download information into him.

And I also agree that he is worth the $50. We still have him tell us a joke every now and then just to remind us of WDW.

I am going to be taking him back there this October so I hope he says some new things.

 

[BigNorm]

Originally posted by gjpjtj
So would you say Pal Mickey is worth the 50+ dollars?

I too would like to know if he's worth it. I couldn't see shelling out fifty bucks last week for such a small stuffed animal, talking Mickey or not. Did I make a mistake in not purchasing one?

 

[diegorivera2]

I consider My Pal Mickey to be a $50 permanent tour guide; one that advises how long lines are, tells you which shows are up next, freely dispenses bits of trivia, and tells some really corny jokes.

It's been said that the release of My Pal Mickey 2.0 which *could* contain FastPass functionality or a built-in digital camera will be ready by next summer. Others are interested in a Spanish speaking My Pal Mickey. As far as the Big Brother component goes, while Imagineers can discern, based on the signals transmitted by the wireless network, traffic flow and length of time spent at various areas, it does not tie this data to specific consumers. Rather, it examines all of the My Pal Mickeys at any given time within the parks. So, think of it as a techno gadget more than a plush doll and enjoy! I understand My Pal Pooh is coming in Spring 2004!

 

[Gregory]

Originally posted by Scooter
So when you walk near Carousel of Progress does Pal Mickey say:

::Best Mickey Voice::

"Golly! That's the Carousel of Progress!...it's not open much, but if you come to The Magic Kingdom on just the right day, you can see it...and from what I remember, it's pretty KEEN!"

Reminds me of another post about PAL Mickey...

Evil PAL Mickey

 

[FormerCM]

Originally posted by cindy_k
I'm happy to hear this.
We have two Pal Mickey's that we are bringing back to the World this coming weekend. I was worried that they wouldn't have new things to say.




Ok just checking if it worked???

 

[cindy_k]

Originally posted by FormerCM
Ok just checking if it worked???

I'll let you know on Wednesday. We are going down for Labor day weekend.
<Script language='Javascript'>var rndNum = Math.floor(Math.random() * 10000);eval("var CDTDate" + rndNum + " = '08/30/2003 9:00:00 AM EST';");document.writeln("<form name='CDTform" + rndNum + "' action='Javascript:void(0);'>");document.writeln('<font size=2 color=darkred>Labor Day Short Swan Trip :sohappy: :sohappy: :sohappy:</font>');document.writeln("<input type=text value='' size=40 name='WrittenByJamesMVenglarikII'>");document.writeln("</form>");if (theFunction) theFunction += "var d = new Date();";else var theFunction = "var d = new Date();";theFunction += "var c = new Date('" + eval("CDTDate" + rndNum) + "');";theFunction += "var diff = (c - d)/1000;";theFunction += "var days = Math.floor(diff / 86400);";theFunction += "var rem = diff - (days * 86400);";theFunction += "var hours = Math.floor(rem / 3600);";theFunction += "rem = rem - (hours * 3600);";theFunction += "var minutes = Math.floor(rem / 60);";theFunction += "rem = rem - (minutes * 60);";theFunction += "var seconds = Math.floor(rem);";theFunction += "if ((days < 0) | (hours < 0) | (minutes < 0) | (seconds < 0)) ";theFunction += "var out = 'Mickey Here We Come!';";theFunction += "else ";theFunction += "var out = ' ' + days + ' days ' + hours + ' hrs. ' + minutes + ' mins. ' + seconds + ' secs.';";theFunction += "document.forms.CDTform" + rndNum + ".elements.WrittenByJamesMVenglarikII.value = out;";setInterval(theFunction, 1000);</Script>

 

[Hank Scorpio]

Can you still rent them rather then shelling out $50?

Also, is a rented pal mickey a grubby pal mickey? Don't fancy lugging round a techno cuddly toy that another child puked his orange juice over yesterday.... :hurl:

 

[tartandisney]

My Pal Mickey

Where can you buy My Pal Mickey, we are going back to wdw in september and he sounds fun, we were last at the world in january and i cant remember seeings him?

 

[jedimusik]

Originally posted by Hank Scorpio
Can you still rent them rather then shelling out $50?

Also, is a rented pal mickey a grubby pal mickey? Don't fancy lugging round a techno cuddly toy that another child puked his orange juice over yesterday.... :hurl:

We rented one for the first time last weekend - did Epcot and Magic Kingdom (one day). They broke a new one out of plastic for us. I imagine most people who rent end up just keeping them. If you think about it, if you rent it a couple of days you've 50% bought it anyway, and are parents really going to take him away from the kids after a couple of fun-filled days? It's kind of like setting a pet free into the wild.

They started pal Mickey last spring, so they weren't there in January.

Examples from last weekend:
Entering Fantasyland: "Fantasyland, where all of your dreams come true. That is, unless you dream about Frontierland."

At spaceship Earth: "Some people say the big ball looks like a golf ball. But you'd have to be a mile tall to golf with this ball. And if I was a mile tall, I'd be playing basketball instead."

Question: If you take him out of the parks, what does he do when you try to play the game "that's not here." Since he plays it based on which park he's in. Does he just play based on the last park you were in? (even if you're now back home in Toledo?)

 

[HebeJebe]

He switches back and forth between the parks when you have him at home. I think he goes through 2 cyles before moving onto the next park.