Of course there is just one Mickey — the iconic Mickey Mouse created by Walt Disney in 1928. But then at Hollywood Hotel, Disneyland Hong Kong it is Mickey all the way. There are Mickeys everywhere. Some hidden, some stark, some partial and some half. The game is to discover and count as many as one can, informs a polite hotel staff.
They pop up at the most unexpected places, as delightful little motifs on serviettes, linen, upholstery, crockery, furniture, in the garden, in the pool and even in the food! The children are on a constant high, busy counting and adding the numbers as they discover the lovable mouse. So do adults as they too get swept into the game.
At Chef Mickeys restaurant the buffet has the classic Mickey waffles which find a way on to everyone’s plate. Mickey is finely embossed on the plate and the cutlery too carries the insignia. The elegant washroom has the mouse stamped all over on wallpaper and towels. The bright corridors have his statues in various poses. The poolside has him. Young and old get drawn into the counting.
Back in the lobby you spot him on the carpet, on stationery, on desks and chairs, on cushions and cabinets. The elevator has him; the round mirror with cute ballooning ears turns into a big Mickey. Phew! 4,000 and still counting.
In the garden, the hedges are trimmed to look like the mouse. The walkway takes you to the waterfront and you are suddenly away from the hotel, lost in the largeness and newness of the place. But no not lost from Mickey.
Lost count?
You spot a hotel staff in the distance, facing the other side. “Excuse me,” you say.
“He turns around with a ear to ear grin, a button nose and bright eyes. He looks like Mickey!
“Err, I seem to have lost my way,” you mutter.
“This way Maám” he says, as his white gloved hand directing me.
The count is now 9,000. Enough! I stop counting. I step on a doormat and Mickey welcomes me! 9,001.
I continue the game. I cannot stop. I will stop when I reach 10,000 I tell myself.
Out of the blue we are invited to meet Mickey himself. This could possibly be my 10,000. I take the most exotic elevator to the hotel’s seventh floor, for exclusive guests and celebrities. It is a cordoned off area and cast members are wary of visitors like me. We are directed to a plush evening lounge where Mickey in his blue striped pyjamas is seeing lucky kids off. We pose for a photograph and hug him, thank him for this exclusive audience.
I add up all the Mickeys I have spotted and it is that magical figure of 10,000. I stop now, happy and content.
The hot, steaming soup arrives. I stir the broth only to find a Mickey in it! A Mickey in my soup! And that makes it 10,001 in a day.
And believe me I am not taking the Mickey out of you!
(The writer was at Disneyland Hong Kong at the invitation from the group.)
