My pal Mickey interactive

[tinkerszs]

My husband wants to buy one of these for the trip. They are pretty expensive and I don't see a lot about them. Can anyone tell me about them and your honest opinions? TIA!

 

[carrie6466]

Well, we have one. It's been on two trips, but it hasn't been out in a while. We never brought it on a third trip because we got tired of carrying it after dd got tired of holding it. It was kind of hard to hear Mickey. He tells jokes and stuff or tells you where things are when you are near them, but we had to hold him up to our ear to hear what he was saying. He's cute, though.

 

[innoculation]

We have one and bring him every trip. He has parade times, tips, etc. And plays games to help pass them time while we stand in lines.

IMO a worthwhile purchase - if you are going to use him. If you don't want to carry him along, I would pass.

 

[Disney Dad Canada]

I thought they stopped selling them years ago. Am I wrong?

 

[YodaGirl]

Well, we have one. It's been on two trips, but it hasn't been out in a while. We never brought it on a third trip because we got tired of carrying it after dd got tired of holding it. It was kind of hard to hear Mickey. He tells jokes and stuff or tells you where things are when you are near them, but we had to hold him up to our ear to hear what he was saying. He's cute, though.

Ditto. We used ours in 04 (kinda hard to hear). We brought him back in 06, but barely used him. He stayed home in 09 and '10.

I thought they stopped selling them years ago. Am I wrong?

You can buy them off of ebay for a pretty penny.

 

[goNsoon2WDW]

We have one that has been on 5 trips (3 with us, 1 with my sister, and 1 with a friend). We all thought it was great.

Ours has a clip that can attach to your belt so carrying him was not a concern. He even reminded us to keep him dry on SM.

I am not sure what the price or what is considered expensive, but I would say that he is great entertainment in the lines and my kids really enjoyed hearing his jokes and information as we walked around the parks.

 

[YodaGirl]

We have one that has been on 5 trips (3 with us, 1 with my sister, and 1 with a friend). We all thought it was great.

Ours has a clip that can attach to your belt so carrying him was not a concern. He even reminded us to keep him dry on SM.

I am not sure what the price or what is considered expensive, but I would say that he is great entertainment in the lines and my kids really enjoyed hearing his jokes and information as we walked around the parks.

They're currently going for around $75-$80 on ebay. I've seen them go for as much as $150.

Are you able to hear it very well with him on your belt? Ours has the clip, but when he's at our waist, we can't hear him.

 

[Robo]

Are you able to hear it very well with him on your belt? Ours has the clip, but when he's at our waist, we can't hear him.

The second and third generation of Pal Mickey talk a bit louder than the first generation version.
(But still not overly intelligible in the background noises outside at WDW parks.)

We own the first generation Pal, but I clip him to my shirt collar (a lanyard would work well, too) so that I just lift him to my ear to hear him speak.

If you want others in your party to hear him, he'll repeat the same phrase several times (if you press his hand) so that you can share his info.

 

[breakin2]

Why did Disney stop selling it? It sounds pretty neat.

 

[Robo]

Why did Disney stop selling it? It sounds pretty neat.

As with any other (formerly) high-tech device...
Newer technologies are now available.

 

[lsenquiz]

We have one. We bought him when our DS was 2(2006). He went everywhere with us on that trip but he was hard to hear so we did not use him for park info. We have brought him back for every trip since but always decide not to bring him with us to the parks because no one wants to be responsible for him. He will not be coming with us this time.

 

[breakin2]

As with any other (formerly) high-tech device...
Newer technologies are now available.

But it sounds like he hasn't been replaced with anything comparable.

 

[Robo]

But it sounds like he hasn't been replaced with anything comparable.

Smart phones with park maps, tips, and "instant" updates on ride waits, etc.

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

Smart phones with park maps, tips, and "instant" updates on ride waits, etc.

True, but none of those things have the natural charm or "magic" of getting the information right from Mickey ... nor is Disney making a penny off of any of them (AFAIK).

We have a second- or third-gen Pal Mickey and it just doesn't feel right to not take him "home" to WDW when we visit.

Of course, he knows nothing about the new rides/attractions, but he's still fun and works fine with the rides that existed when he was created. Too bad Disney didn't come up with a way to update Pal Mickey through some sort of flash memory/USB connection ... I think he could have been a bigger success!

Even though he's no longer 100% accurate, he's still a fun interactive toy. However, I'd NEVER pay $150 for one!

 

[Robo]

True, but none of those things have the natural charm or "magic" of getting the information right from Mickey ... nor is Disney making a penny off of any of them (AFAIK).

The kind of technology that is adopted by the public (smart phones, at the moment) is changing so fast that the early-announced (and actually tested in the parks) interactive "guide programs" developed specifically by Disney for use on certain portable game consoles was scrubbed before it was ever formally launched.

 

[princssdisnygina]

As was stated above... Disney no longer sells these. You will have to purchase one on ebay if you want one.

 

[YodaGirl]

Too bad Disney didn't come up with a way to update Pal Mickey through some sort of flash memory/USB connection ... I think he could have been a bigger success!

As far as "updating" goes, I'll give you my experience. Now, I will preface this by saying that I have mentioned it on DIS before and been told by several posters that it didn't happen and was impossible. As I said, this is just what has happened to me.

When we brought him back in 06, we took him to the store on Main St (or wherever it was in MK) that sold them. According to the CM (yes, I understand that some CMs have incorrect information, but I have seen that information several times elsewhere), Pal Mickey should have "updated" when we came into the park. I have no idea if "update" is the correct technical term. It was just the term that he used. Since he did not, they took him behind the counter and did something in order to (in his words) "update" him. After that, he had the newer information.

Obviously, I wouldn't expect that to work, now. I'm just saying that they did have the technology to update him at one point in time.

However, I'd NEVER pay $150 for one!

Me, either! Very glad we opted to purchase one in 04, even if we no longer really use him. Might bring him on our next trip, though.

 

[Robo]

As far as "updating" goes, I'll give you my experience. Now, I will preface this by saying that I have mentioned it on DIS before and been told by several posters that it didn't happen and was impossible. As I said, this is just what has happened to me.

When we brought him back in 06, we took him to the store on Main St (or wherever it was in MK) that sold them. According to the CM (yes, I understand that some CMs have incorrect information, but I have seen that information several times elsewhere), Pal Mickey should have "updated" when we came into the park.

Yes, that was pretty common situation.

I have no idea if "update" is the correct technical term. It was just the term that he used. Since he did not, they took him behind the counter and did something in order to (in his words) "update" him. After that, he had the newer information.

Your Pal was not "updated" (as in "received new info to bring him up-to-date.")

What was done by the CM was a "reboot" (using an infrared transfer via a sensor in Mickey's nose.)

No new info or word phrases were added (as that kind of situation was not possible with the kind of memory devices used to operate Pal Mickey.)

What the CM did (and I had it done to my 1st generation Pal) is like when your computer or smart phone needs to be restarted to get rid of pesky system glitches.

 

[goNsoon2WDW]

Are you able to hear it very well with him on your belt? Ours has the clip, but when he's at our waist, we can't hear him.

He "giggles" and vibrates to let you know that he has something to say so we just lift him to listen. We don't have a problem hearing him and he will repeat what he said if you press his hand.

 

[jazzielady]

My 15 yo already has him packed for his trip next week!