Pal Mickey-worth it?

[kbean]

Can anyone tell me if the Pal Mickey is worth buying or is it filled with info that was already known?

[BigRedDad]

It all depends on what you are looking for it to do. From what I have read, it gets loaded with info about parades, shows, ride wait times, and other things. It also has a few games it can play with kids while in the lines. I have not looked at the technology it uses, but it has to be some form of RFID. Some people get annoyed by it after some time, some people truly love them.

I will buy one for my DD for her first trip. If I get really annoyed, I am sure I can swindle it from her for a Mickey stuffed animal.

[Clotho]

We love Pal Mickey, and had that confirmed last week when we bought the newest model and brought him around the parks with us. He is just so fun and says the funniest/cheesiest things. His estimates on wait times for rides was spot on. At the end of the trip, we found a newlywed couple who happened to also be celebrating the new wife's birthday, and gave them to them as a wedding gift. I wish I had taken a picture of them. It was hard to let Mickey go! You get attached! But we won't be back for a while, and we figured he would be a better friend to them there than to us at home.

[Bass T-bone]

At the end of the trip, we found a newlywed couple who happened to also be celebrating the new wife's birthday, and gave them to them as a wedding gift. I wish I had taken a picture of them. It was hard to let Mickey go! You get attached! But we won't be back for a while, and we figured he would be a better friend to them there than to us at home.

WOW! what a nice gesture on your part!

[thejens]

That sure was nice!! What a great way to keep the Disney magic flowing!! We got pal Mickey and thought he was cute and fun, but honestly found ourselves kind of forgetting about him during all the excitement. He is too big to carry around conveniently, IMHO. He ended up in the back of the stroller. It is hard to hear him unless you are really listening so if your kids have him forget about it being helpful. Also he runs out of batteries quickly so bring extra. We never got around to replacing ours while in the parks. So I would say he is cute and fun and could be helpful if you don't mind carrying him, keeping extra batteries handy, and listening up.

[Clotho]

I admit, he is a bit bulky to carry about. Hubby just used the clip to clip him to his belt or pocket of his shorts. If I had a baby carriage it would be really easy to wheel him around, but I agree that without him really close at hand you will miss some of his "giggles" which let you know when he wants to tell you something.

If you don't plan to use Mickey at home, I highly recommend giving him away at the end of your trip. It made us both want to cry with joy, it was that fun.

[CandleontheWater]

I LOVE my pal mickey! I'm a 29 year old "adult" and both my husband and I get such a kick out him. I don't think he's that hard to cart around the parks, I bought a carrabeaner (sp?), clip, which is much more secure than the one that he comes with, and I clip him to the strap of my backpack. I love all the info he tells me, esp about the world showcase and at AK. I also think its fun when he says things like, "Today has been a great day because I spent it with you", its like self esteem in stuffed animal form! I also like to play the games when I'm waiting in line. Of course they're pretty chessey, but they're a fun way to get through a long wait. I'd totally suggest Pal Mickey! If you don't want to pay park prices, I'd check on Ebay. Lots of people buy him at the parks, and then realize that they're not going back and put him up for auction. You can get the newest version for around $50, which is a pretty good deal.

[Scotty Bear]

Hmmm, I may have to check it out on Ebay myself before we go. My fiancee (wife then) wants one when we get down there and silly me never thought of it! LOL

[JCDarzi]

For our trip 9/8 - 9/15, I got a Pal Mickey. I've wanted one for our last four trips. Finally, my husband surprised me with a purchase of one on our first day.

He's cute and often told neat information. He ended up being a hassle for me. My kids are 4 and 2. I had Pal Mickey around my neck and I was constantly bending over to help my kids with various things and Mickey was always in the way. I had this great fear of Pal Mickey dropping in the toilet while helping DD4 by covering the sensor for the auto flush toilets in WDW.

If my kids were bigger and had been able to carry it around themselves, I think it would have been better. I would have also enjoyed carrying him around if I hadn't had toddlers and toddler gear in tow.

[mouseketeer mom]

We didn't find him helpful because he was impossible for us to here! I know he's a "mouse" but his voice was so high and squeaky that we really had to strain to hear what he was saying. And with our family of 5 someone is always talking so we're not walking around quietly waiting for the mouse to tell us something. We have him at home now, and he can still tell jokes and play games, but no one ever uses him! Maybe we'll bring him along on our next trip and try him again.

[Clotho]

We didn't find him helpful because he was impossible for us to here! I know he's a "mouse" but his voice was so high and squeaky that we really had to strain to hear what he was saying.

Is yours the 1, 2, or 3rd gen? Or 1st gen is hard to hear. The 3rd gen was much easier for us.

[DNS]

It all depends on what you are looking for it to do. From what I have read, it gets loaded with info about parades, shows, ride wait times, and other things. It also has a few games it can play with kids while in the lines. I have not looked at the technology it uses, but it has to be some form of RFID. Some people get annoyed by it after some time, some people truly love them.

I agree. If you frequent WDW then you probably already know everything. I bought ours the first year they were out and while I don't take him in the parks much now, I always take him with us. He's just become part of our trips and I'm very really glad I got him. Now they even have clothes you can get for them, but they don't work on the original ones. I think it's a pretty cool creation.

[caryrae]

From the Disney website:

Experience the enchantment of Walt Disney World® Resort with the ultimate Disney expert, Pal Mickey. This huggable, interactive Mickey Mouse plush will let you in on insider park tips, give you parade and showtime reminders, tell you when your favorite characters are nearby, and let you know about short waits at your favorite attractions. Pal Mickey will entertain kids of all ages with his jokes, interactive games and fun facts that will make your visit to the Walt Disney World Resort truly magical.

Delight in over 700 fun facts and Theme Park tips.
Innovative technology ensures that Pal Mickey knows where he is while exploring the four Theme Parks, and he will share information with you at just the right time and place.
The entertainment continues outside of the Walt Disney World® Resort and even back home, where he will share his jokes and play three interactive games.

Magic Kingdom® Park
Epcot® Park
Disney-MGM Studios
Disney's Animal Kingdom® Theme Park



Magic Kingdom® Park

Pal Mickey is available for purchase at the following locations throughout the Magic Kingdom® Park:

Main Street Cinema
Newsstand
Emporium
Mickey's Star Traders
County Bounty
Frontierland Trading Post

Pal Mickey has something to tell you about each of the following Magic Kingdom® Park attractions:

Walt Disney World Railroad
Space Mountain®
Stitch's Great Escape
Astro Orbiter
Buzz Lightyear
Mad Tea Party
Goofy's Barnstormer
Cinderella Castle
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Snow White's Scary Adventures
Mickey's PhilharMagic
Cinderella's Golden Carousel
Peter Pan's Flight
Haunted Mansion
Diamond Horseshoe
Liberty Square Riverboat
Country Bear Jamboree
Tom Sawyer Island
Splash Mountain®
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Pirates of the Caribbean
Jungle Cruise
Swiss Family Treehouse

Hear Pal Mickey's tips about the following Magic Kingdom® Park events:

Adventureland character greetings
Cinderella's Surprise Celebration
Share a Dream Come True Parade
Toontown character greetings

Pal Mickey will tell you about short wait times at the following attractions:

Space Mountain
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Back to top

Epcot® Park
Pal Mickey is available for purchase at the following locations throughout Epcot®:

Camera Center
MouseGear
Port of Entry
International Gateway World Traveler

Pal Mickey has something to tell you about each of the following Epcot® attractions:

Spaceship Earth
Innoventions
Test Track
World Showcase
Future World
Mission: SPACE
Fountain of Nations
Land Pavilion
Journey into Imagination with Figment
Honey, I Shrunk the Audience
Universe of Energy
Mexico Pavilion
Norway Pavilion
Maelstrom
China Pavilion
Germany Pavilion
Italy Pavilion
American Adventure
Japan Pavilion
Morocco Pavilion
France Pavilion
United Kingdom Pavilion
Canada Pavilion

Hear Pal Mickey's tips about the following Epcot® events:

IllumiNations
Dolphin and Cuttlefish at the Living Seas
World Showcase character greetings
World Showcase entertainment offerings
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Disney-MGM Studios
Pal Mickey is available for purchase at the following locations throughout the Disney-MGM Studios:

Darkroom
Once Upon a Time
Mickey's of Hollywood
Sorcerer's Hat Shop
Golden Age Souvenirs
Movieland Memorabilia

Pal Mickey has something to tell you about each of the following Disney-MGM Studios attractions:

Crossroads
Sunset Boulevard
Animation Studio
Great Movie Ride
Sorcerer's Hat
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™
Rock 'n' Roller Coaster
Sounds Dangerous
Gertie the Dinosaur
Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular
Star Tours
Muppet Vision 3-D™
Al's Toy Barn
New York Street
Catastrophe Canyon
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure
Playhouse Disney
Voyage of the Little Mermaid
One Man's Dream
Who Wants to be a Millionaire
Backlot Tour

Hear Pal Mickey's tips about the following Disney-MGM Studios events:

Beauty and the Beast stage show
Sorcerer's Hat character greetings
Fantasmic
Mickey Avenue character greetings
Stars and Motor Cars Parade

Pal Mickey will tell you about short wait times at the following attractions:

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™
Rock 'n' Roller Coaster
Back to top

Disney's Animal Kingdom® Theme Park
Pal Mickey is available for purchase at the following locations throughout Disney's Animal Kingdom® Theme Park:

Outpost
Disney Outfitters
Island Mercantile
Mombasa Marketplace
Chester and Hester's Dinosaur Treasures

Pal Mickey has something to tell you about each of the following Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park attractions:

Harambe Village
Pangani Trail
Rafiki's Planet Watch
Kilimanjaro Safaris® Expedition
Dinoland U.S.A.®
Boneyard
DINOSAUR
Primeval Whirl®
Dino-rama
Discovery Island®
It's Tough to be a Bug!®
Tree of Life
Maharajah Jungle Trek
Kali River Rapids®
Flights of Wonder

Hear Pal Mickey's tips about the following Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park events:

Island Mercantile character greetings
Mickey's Jammin' Jungle Parade
Character Landing character greetings

[mouseketeer mom]

Is yours the 1, 2, or 3rd gen? Or 1st gen is hard to hear. The 3rd gen was much easier for us.

Ours is first generation. They got better? Ours was expensive if I remember. Like $65.00! What was I thinking?

[LoriMistress]

Are they still over priced? Is there a place online on where you can purchase the current Pal Mickey at a discount?

[Clotho]

They are the same price now. But the second and third generation Pal's are louder. We have used both, and the 3rd gen was much easier to hear than our first gen!

[EPCOT Princess Horizons]

I love to hear Pal Mickey talk about my favorite attraction Spaceship Earth !

[threeh]

My middle DD loves her pal mickey. She even got clothes for him. I've lent him out to co workers going to wdw as well. She can't wait until we go to wdw again in Februaury to bring mickey "home". My family and I got a kick out of him, the kids would play his game when we were waiting for things. He was very mean and told us when we were leaving EPCOT that there was no wait for test track. We are still mad at Mickey for that
I did end up carrying hima bit for DD, but over all we enjoyed him.

[jiifigment]

We have a 2nd gen Pal Mickey. We love him and we're glad we have him! My kids were 16, 13, and 9 when we bought him and my dd's actually fight over who carries him! We use the lanyard strap, it works for pin trading too! We always bring along a 2 gallon ziploc bag for Splash Mountain and Kali River Rapids...he's afraid of the water for a reason !

What I thought was great is how he updates himself! He said MANY different things this year than last year!

I can see how he'd be a pain for toddlers, but for school aged kids, and kids that truly get into the spirit of Disney...or kids that never grew up, like me having Pal Mickey is the next best thing to having Mickey for a tour guide!

We LOVE his Safari Outfit too!

[MickeyandTink]

Are they still over priced? Is there a place online on where you can purchase the current Pal Mickey at a discount?

There are several folks on e-bay selling Pal Mickey (all three generations). Some are still new in the box and some are used. We bought a sorcerer Mickey (newest generation) out of the box, but represented as being new. It was slightly less than $50, including shipping, and the seller included a couple of "freebies" with him.

We haven't tried him at the park yet (only 3 more days ), but he seems to be ok at home. One word of warning, if it doesn't seem to be working right, unzip him and detach the cables and reattach them. Ours was not working right at first and this "reboot" took care of the problem.