Top 13 of 2013, Day #12: Hidden Magic

Day #12: November 18, 2013

As I've mentioned before, several of my top days relate to Disney in some way, and even though I'm fortunate to be a Parks veteran, there's always new magic to discover. On my most recent trip, in November, I had several of those experiences. We had a lot going on during that visit, from a special preview screening of Frozen to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, from Glow With the Show to watching Disney literally build Christmas in front of us. There was a lot going on. But one moment in particular is one I'll always consider special.

Now, before I even get into the details of the experience, I want to point out that November 18th is my best friend Lindsay's birthday. It's also Mickey Mouse's. I always find it funny that two magical influences in my life are celebrated on the same day.

But there's also something else about November 18th and Mickey's Birthday: It's the only day out of the year when the heavens, literally, align to project a Hidden Mickey in the queue of Under the Sea, the Little Mermaid ride in Magic Kingdom.

For those who aren't aware, Hidden Mickeys are "Mickeys" that are...well, not really so hidden, for the most part. Some might be accidental tri-circle shadows, others may be intentional Mickey-heads built into scrollwork or paintings, and some aren't very hidden at all if you know where to look. They're all over the resorts, and there are several books you can use for a scavenger hunt to find them. Some of the resorts even have their own challenges - you can pick the list up at the desk of, say, the Wilderness Lodge lobby. My mom even thinks the lights on the back of the buses are Hidden Mickeys...but not until after she's been drunk on pixie dust for a few days.

The Little Mermaid Hidden Mickey, though, is special. It was designed by Imagineers and only rumored until November 18th of last year, when visitors to New Fantasyland could check it out for themselves. Lo and behold, the Imagineers had so expertly crafted the rockwork in the queue that only when the sun hit one exact point in the sky would the special Mickey project.

And it was due to happen on the Mouse's birthday.

Under the Sea!

When our trip coincided with this moment, I knew where I was going to be at noon on November 18th. I had gotten some details about where in the queue it could be seen, and I assumed I wouldn't be the only one looking for it, and the original post I saw claimed it would be visible for about an hour around noon.

Yeah, that was totally wrong, but I'll get to that.

With our MagicBand Fast Passes set to get us in to the queue at just before 12, I thought we'd be in perfect placement. I was totally wrong. I heard murmurings around of people who were clearly doing the same thing I was, hoping to get to the Mickey in time to take a picture. Then the murmurings got a little more interesting, and as I turned around, I noticed "IMAGINEER" badges on the two men in line behind me.

Needless to say, I've never concentrated so hard in line for a ride.

I eavesdropped for a couple minutes as they discussed the rockwork in the queue and debated over where the image would show up and what it would look like. They had no clue. They were even more lost than I was. We were no where near it, and the clock was ticking very close to noon.

They pointed at a waterfall and to the way the "beach" around Eric's Castle was chiseled with such precision. "It's not there, guys. It's not out here. It's inside, near the carved statue," I wanted to say.

And so I did.

I definitely interrupted them and showed them the image from last year, hoping it would help identify what part of the queue WE needed to get to, and I may or may not have pulled the girly sympathy card and whined about how the only reason we got Fast Passes for that time was to see the Hidden Mickey.

One man took my phone and looked at it, telling his Imagineer friend, "Here - she's got it. It's inside the curve where the statue is."  I know. That's what I said.

And then he asked if I wanted to go with them.

Um....I know that running off with a stranger man is pretty much the beginning of a Lifetime movie, but I was willing to take the chance. Yes. YES I want to go! He asked how big our party was, and I pointed to my mom and sisters, "It's just us." I waved them to follow but, for whatever reason, they chose not to. I think they were concerned about jumping the line but...well, I'll be concerned with that another day.

Anyway, the Imagineers opened a couple of gates I never noticed to approach the bend in the queue from another angle "backstage". And there it was.

The Hidden Mickey. A glorious lighted Mickey-head near the base of the wall.

Birthday Hidden Mickey

One piece of the rockwork

If I'm being honest, while I delight in seeing unexpected Hidden Mickeys, it's not a big deal to me. I don't get that excited about them, I rarely hunt them down, and I don't think about them that much. Except this one. Because this one was PLANNED. This one was the result of someone deciding to do something secret and special that took actual PLANNING all for, what, a few minutes once a year?

I don't understand how science works when we're talking about the sunlight and stuff, but I do know that that Mickey head disappeared a lot quicker than I expected. What I had been told would be an hour actually lasted less than ten minutes. In fact, by the time the Imagineers and I had arrived, it was already out of perfect position, and a moment after that, it was barely distinguishable from the other shadows on the rocks.

Already out of position a moment later

But here's why it was so cool: I saw it with Imagineers. Imagineers who had actually WORKED on the designs for New Fantasyland. These guys, the ones who literally built the Magic Kingdom. One of them told me he'd been working on Storybook Circus for the last three years and had only just heard about the Little Mermaid Hidden Mickey that morning - he was completely unaware that it existed. He showed me an email on his phone, directly from the someone who was responsible for the queue, that gave the precise schedule for viewing.

I loved it. I loved that these people, these Imagineers, found every bit as much enjoyment in their own work as the rest of us do. I love that there are passionate people who bring us the things we're passionate about. I told the Imagineer how impressed I was by the work and how much I wished I could be one of them.

"So do it," he said simply. "Why wouldn't you?"

And I looked around the beautiful design and the architecture and the way the sun was hitting the rockwork at that moment and explained that I wasn't good at that stuff. Math, science...I can't figure out what time the sun would be at that angle. I might be able to write a story about it, though.  And do you know what he told me?

Hidden Mickey, hidden again

"So what? I can't figure it out either. That's why we have people to do THAT stuff for us. We do the other stuff."

Well. I mean...I can live with that. I can do the other stuff.

It wasn't a long conversation before the Imagineers disappeared behind that wall again to go back to work, and soon my family was joining up with me from around the bend. By that time the Mickey was nothing, and there was no evidence of my Imagineering moment.

But I know it happened. And it was damn cool.

Hidden Mickeys are all about finding magic in unexpected places. I think got two-for-one on this deal.