The Hidden Mouse

There's another guide book (The Hidden Mouse, paperback 118 pgs) available about the Hidden Mickeys of the Disneyland Resort. For those of you who do not know about this phenomenon, Disney Imagineers often place a silhouette of Mickey's head within an attraction or elsewhere in the Disney Parks. The majority of the hidden Mickeys take the shape of three circles. A larger circle for the head and two smaller circles for the ears. What makes tracking down hidden Mickeys difficult is that they are often in places or areas that are not easily visible and Disney has no official list of where they are located. Documentation and cataloguing are left up to the fans.

The Hidden Mouse is not the first book to catalogue Hidden Mickeys. Stephen Barrett's Hidden Mickey's has been out for a number of years and has gone through several editions and covers multiple parks. So, since we have two books covering virtually the same subject, a side by side comparison is in order.

Page Count: Hidden Mickeys - 96 pgs; Hidden Mouse - 118 pgs (both books are in paperback)

Photos: Hidden Mickeys - none; Hidden Mouse - at least one color photo per page

Coverage: Both books cover Disneyland, DCA, Downtown Disney and Park Hotels

Writing Style: Barrett's Hidden Mickey's is written as a scavenger hunt leading you on a path through each land. This book reads better if you're standing in Disneyland. Joyce's Hidden Mouse is written in an informative style. He also includes some hidden Mickeys that probably should not be included and gives well thought-out reasoning why. Joyce also includes trivia about attractions.

It'll probably come down to readers choice on which book to buy, but I tended to enjoy The Hidden Mouse better due to the photos.