Pal Mickey?

[FatherForce]

Do the Pal Mickeys still work in the parks?

[Urbss]

I couldn't believe it, but in the fall of 2010, ours worked fine!!

I can't wait to see if he works again this Christmas!!

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

He is supposed to still work, but he isn't being updated, so any new attraction doesn't have anything.

We didn't take ours on our last trip, but then we heard that he still works, so we're undecided for our next trip!

[MickeysBestPal]

1- He is supposed to still work,

2- but he isn't being updated,

3- so any new attraction doesn't have anything.


1- Yes, he does work

2- He was never "updated."

3- Yes. That was always the case.
If you wanted info about "new" attractions,
you had to buy a brand new model of Pal Mickey.

Since they stopped making new models of Pal Mickey's years ago,
the newest attractions are not part of his library of info.

But, there have been so few new attractions at WDW since the end
of manufacture of Pal Mickey, it won't make much difference, anyway.

[MrPeetrie]

We brought ours on our trip last October and he worked perfectly.

[Polynesian Dweller]

1- Yes, he does work

2- He was never "updated."


Actually he was updated in two ways. You could go to Main Street Cinema and get a software upgrade there. And, every time it went through a park main gate it was updated with the day's entertainment notes for that park, assuming its nose could see a transmitter. Those updates are no longer done.

[MickeysBestPal]

Actually he was updated in two ways. You could go to Main Street Cinema and get a software upgrade there. And, every time it went through a park main gate it was updated with the day's entertainment notes for that park, assuming its nose could see a transmitter. Those updates are no longer done.

Sorry, but that's not quite true on either count.

The Main Street Cinema "fix" was just a reboot. (Like restarting a computer.)
Not new updated software, just a reset.

The info that Pal gets when you walk into a park is still being done. It has to happen.
That's how he knows which park he is in and is triggered by that to tell his jokes, etc. that pertain to that particular park.
(He tells certain "movie jokes" in DHS, "animal jokes" in DAK, etc,)


Parade times and internal clock-reset may also be included in that "walk into the park" data-load, but I'm not sure about that.

As to the things he says about specific attractions in that park, they are triggered by individual IR "cues" that are located all over the parks.

And, WHAT he says is contained in his ROM chip.
The "cues" just tell him which audio clip to play at that time.
(Like programming a CD player to play a specific track on a CD.)
He could not receive "new" things to say, once he left the factory.

[Lizzie]

We loved our Pal Mickey. Was there a replacement product for this?

[MickeysBestPal]

We loved our Pal Mickey. Was there a replacement product for this?

There was initial talk of Disney making a program for a portable video game console that would give real-time (or close) park info.

That idea was soon eclipsed with the proliferation of Smartphone technology.

Now, there are many iPhone, Droid, and similar apps for WDW park info.

[jimsgal05]

I was on Disney's site and they still have Pal Mickey listed...But you can't buy him anymore right?... or am I that out of the loop on this..So would buy one for my autisic little girl..we are going Aug 25th.... well enjoy him if ya got him!:mickey:

[MickeysBestPal]

1- I was on Disney's site and they still have Pal Mickey listed...

2- But you can't buy him anymore right?... or

3- am I that out of the loop on this..

4- So would buy one for my autisic little girl..we are going Aug 25th.... well enjoy him if ya got him!:mickey:

1- Yes. it's there.
2- Not from Disney. They are no longer being manufactured.
3- Nope.
4- There are quite a few of them on eBay.