In 2003, Walt Disney World unveiled a new tour guide to entertain and inform families around the four theme parks: Pal Mickey. This 10” plush mouse was like an alpha version of Magic Bands; a microprocessor chip and infrared signal within Mickey communicated with various points around the parks, informing Guests of different attractions and trivia. To activate, Guests could squeeze Mickey’s hand or belly and learn about wait times, characters, and park tips.
Pal Mickey also told jokes and had several pre-programmed games for Guests to play, including a Disney version of “Simon Says,” where Guests had to react to Mickey’s directions by pressing his hands or belly in a certain pattern.
When this interactive tour guide first premiered back in 2003, Guests could purchase him for a wonderfully inexpensive $50. Sound like a lot for a small plush? Not to fret! Pal Mickey could also be rented for $8 per day, with a $50 refundable deposit. As an added bonus, he came included with over 700 pre-recorded phrases and 3 AA batteries!
In 2005, during the Happiest Celebration on Earth event, Pal Mickey 2.0 premiered in all its grandeur for an even more affordable $65. This lavish upgrade included a bit of old-fashioned Disney “plussing,” including better speakers, songs, trivia and even a gold bowtie and light-up medallion on Mickey himself!
In 2006, Sorcerer Pal Mickey, or version 3.0, was unveiled, along with six additional costumes that could be bought, including pirate wear, rain gear, and even a limited edition Santa costume that proved to be extremely popular during the holiday season, eventually selling out and becoming something of a relic on Ebay!
This unusually unique toy was discontinued in 2008. If you bring your Pal Mickey to the parks today, it should continue to work, although some information may be obsolete.
So why was it discontinued? Here is some fan speculation, quoted directly from a discussion within the WDWMAGIC message board:
“The Pal Mickeys started to develop a mind of their own and so they were destroyed in a war between man and robot, mankind being led by John Connor.”
“I heard they had become self-aware and were demanding guests take them on 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Disney sent out return labels to everyone who purchased them and they were buried in a sinkhole at EPCOT.”
“We mustn’t forget the true reason for Pal Mickey’s Demise: his predecessor, Pal Donald – who was so intelligible, most guests ended up wandering lost and afraid -some misunderstanding him and walking right into The Rivers of America, thinking he was suggesting a daring shortcut.”
With the invention of Magic Bands and the My Disney Experience app, not to mention the diversity of NextGen queues, the need for in-park entertainment and information from a talkative doll diminished.
In addition, a few sheepish Guests would probably admit they couldn’t handle Mickey’s constantly helpful and giggly demeanor for an entire week. To some, he seemed like a Furbie reincarnated Disney-style, with creepy catchphrases at inappropriate times.
What are your memories with Pal Mickey? Have you used him in the parks recently? And most importantly, does he still work?
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Unfortunately Disney has stopped the use of the tech and began removal of the infra-red transmitters in September; so Pal Mickey no longer works in most areas except for the pre-programmed messaging and will stop working in the others over the ensuing months.
~Mark.
We bought the last version of this in 2008. Worked great and was really fun! The tech is very outdated now though, and the appeal wasn’t lasting. Wearables (hat, wrist, glow with the show items, etc) are really the future of interaction. Having Pal Mickey hanging off my belt constantly was annoying.
I got my Pal Mickey as a surprise during a day trip to the Magic Kingdom. I have truly enjoyed him and looked forward to having him give me more info on all that is Disney. So, hopefully, I will take him back soon and see what all Mickey has to say.
Still have the Sorcerer My Pal Mickey. Brought him to the parks about 2 or 3 months ago and he wasn’t working. Worse yet, he seemed to be going into convulsions and just kept vibrating and his laugh was hiccuping and looped. No clue how to change it either… took out the batteries for a good while — put them back in and he still does the same thing. 🙁
Sadly no cast members at the parks seems to know anything about him. 🙁
Just got back from Magic Kingdom and our Pal Mickey worked around the park. A few Photo Pass+ photographers recognized him.