By: Tangled Diva
On my most recent trip to Disney, I was so excited to finally get to meet the new talking Mickey. It was rumored that they were testing him while I was there in September, but when I went to see him, I had no such luck. So, one of the first fast passes that I selected on our February trip, was to meet him. Let me preface the rest of the article with the fact that I am a big dork, particularly when it comes to all things Disney. So, now I will proceed.
The new talking Mickey is located at the front of Magic Kingdom by Tony’s Restaurant where the princesses used to be. If you enter the main gate and look to the right you can’t miss it.
We happened to be going the weekend after my birthday, so I was given a birthday pin (TIP: If you are there around your birthday, anniversary, honeymoon, etc., get the corresponding pin and wear it. It is so cool to have people—cast members and guests—wishing you a happy birthday. And, who knows, there may be some additional perks too. My son once got us all a special fast past to Toy Story Mania good for 10 people!). I had on my birthday pin when we went in to meet him, and the Cast Member immediately noticed it and informed Mickey that it was my birthday. I fearfully handed my husband my phone after giving him detailed instructions on how to take pictures and how to video—he is terrible with technology. This experience was really important to me, and I really wanted it captured. Luckily, while he didn’t get the best pictures, the video was great!
My sister and I have a birthday that is three days apart, so I wanted to get a video of him wishing her a happy birthday. I asked the Cast Member if Mickey was interactive, because I didn’t want to spoil it for any children in the room if he wasn’t. I thought maybe there were only certain recorded phrases that he said and maybe he couldn’t actually converse with you. I was informed that he could interact with guests.
I went into complete dork mode when I met him, and, yes, there is video evidence of such. He held out both arms for a hug, and I ran straight to him and wrapped my arms around him! The cast member, having seen my pin, informed him that it was my birthday. He jokingly asked my age, and was quickly reprimanded by the Cast Member (jokingly, of course) for doing so. I told him that he is Mickey, and, as such, he can ask whatever he wants. He then lead everyone in the waiting area in singing happy birthday to me, which you may have seen on the Diva’s Facebook page. This was absolutely amazing and something I will never forget! Definitely in my top 10 Disney moments!
After he was done, the Cast Member and I tried to get him to wish my sister a happy birthday. I was hoping he would call her by name. (Warning: While he can converse, it is evidently hard for him to hear, so he couldn’t understand much of what I or the Cast Member was trying to get him to do. So, it may be hard for kids to interact with him). We finally got him to somewhat understand what we were asking, and he told her that he wished she was here and hoped she had a happy birthday. She was thrilled with the special birthday greeting.
I can honestly say that I didn’t want to leave the room. As we were leaving, he waved goodbye and said, “See you real soon,” and I almost cried. He waved to me the whole time I was leaving as I walked out backwards and even took one last peek around the door before being dumped into, yep, you guessed it, a gift shop!
Tangled Diva’s Tips on Talking Mickey
Probably the best tip I can give is DO NOT MISS THIS MEET AND GREET. It is an experience you will always remember!
Since this is a newer thing, it is pretty popular. Also, Mickey spends a significant amount of time with each guest. For both of these reasons, the line for this can take a while. So, I highly recommend either getting there first thing in the morning and getting in line or using a fast pass for it.
Have your camera ready to take pictures and video. You are going to want a video because you never know what Mickey might say or do or how big of a dork the person meeting him will turn into.
At least when I was there, it appeared that he was somewhat hard of hearing, so talk loudly and enunciate when speaking to Mickey. Or, let the Cast Member do it for you.
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