They don't sell Pal Mickey anymore? Why?
Mysterious are the ways of the Mouse.
I don't know why they discontinued PM, but I can make some guesses. 1) Money -- Sales may have not been high enough to justify the shelf space. 2) Technology issues -- as the parks change and evolve, PM starts becoming "out of date" in terms of it's in-park usefulness. 3) New Directions -- Disney seems to be interested in going with cell phone applications in the near future; most guests already have them, the unit cost is virtually zero, and requires little to no display and warehousing.
That said, I'd still like to see the idea resurrected (we love our PM) and even expanded. In addition to "Pal Mickey", the could have a whole line, featuring characters like Goofy, Jiminy Cricket, Ariel, and so on (in general, popular/classic characters who could fit into a "guide" role and still be able to pass off some really corny jokes) -- this would certainly be a good marketing opportunity to sell multiple units to the same family, with different kids having their own "Pal". (If they add in the ability for two "Pals" to "notice" each other and occasionally interact, that would be extra cool. And I know it's quite possible.)
As for the "out of date" issue, it shouldn't be hard to add a computer link (say, a mini-USB port) to the unit to allow its firmware to be updated -- this could even work away from the parks by allowing owners to download joke/trivia/song updates from their home PC/Mac. Imagine having your "Pal" give you some fun trivia facts about the movie being released next month... as long as it doesn't get too "pushy" in that regard, I think it works well for Disney and enhances value for the buyer.
