Finding Magic at Walmart

I don’t know about you, but I don’t usually think of Walmart as a magical place. Like so many others, it tends to be a store I visit out of convenience more than entertainment. Today I decided to turn my Walmart shopping trip into a scavenger hunt for Mickeys. That may sound odd until I explain that my morning also included an hour on the phone refuting fraudulent credit card charges and a trip to the clinic for blood work. In other words, my day needed a lift. Turns out there’s plenty of magic at Walmart if you’re willing to look for it. It can actually be kind of fun. Maybe my Mickey hunting adventure will inspire you to try it too. Or maybe it will give you some ideas for the upcoming holidays. Today’s post explores how to find Mickey and magic at Walmart.

Food

I started my hunt for hidden Mickeys in the produce and grocery areas, since that’s the first section you typically encounter in a Walmart. There weren’t quite as many as I was expecting. In fact, I made it through several aisles before I found Mickey and friends on these cute good2grow bottles in the juice aisle.

Speaking of portable grocery options, I also found Mickey in the dairy section on Chobani yogurt. It was kind of like a Disney party in the yogurt section frankly. I also found the Disney Princesses and the Incredibles on other brands.

Mickey was also hiding in the freezer section, on these Eggo brand waffles.

I kind of expected to find him in the soup, cracker and cereal aisles but I didn’t on this particular trip. Other Disney characters were more common (Frozen mac ‘n cheese? Paw Patrol everything!) if you’re interested. You can also order Mickey-themed cakes in the bakery. I’m not sure customized bakery items really count as hidden Mickeys though, so I moved on to the clothing sections.

Clothing

I found quite a bit of clothing featuring Mickey and his famous friends. The first was this classic men’s tee for less than $8 (Hot Dog!).

Next, were these super cute and slightly more modern youth t-shirts, also listed for around $8.

Across the aisle in the women’s section I found these super comfy sleeper pants (sizes XS-3XL) for just under $10.

The girls’ department had a few options, like these Minnie Mouse-themed thermals. Way more fun than the traditional white ones, don’t you think?

Not surprising, the baby and toddler sections had the most Mickey-inspired offerings. These sleep sets retail around $8. There were tons of other options too.

 

Accessories

Moving from clothing to accessories, I was pleasantly surprised at all the fun Mickey options at Walmart! This is a great section to raid before a Disney parks trip to stock up on gear and save some serious cash. Many of these could make fun stocking stuffers too. These sweet Minnie sunglasses, for example, retail for $5.

These cheerful umbrellas were listed for $12. It rains a lot at Disney World. Maybe it will be slightly less annoying if you’re standing under a Disney umbrella?

Or you can be prepared for any kind of weather with these awesome hats! How cute are these? The hats cost roughly $10 each.

Speaking of keeping warm, check out these super fun slipper socks!

Walmart also offers tons of Mickey and Minnie watches for kids ($7) and adults ($16). If I was keeping score, this area would have made my hidden Mickey count explode.

Baby

Moving on to the baby department, there were Mickeys everywhere! Mickey has been decorating Huggies boxes for a while now. I’m not sure why they wanted to commemorate Mickey’s 90th Birthday on baby wipes, but I guess they’ll try anything to make diaper changing more fun.

Same strategy applies to potty training!

Moving on to more pleasant topics, there were also tons of Mickeys hiding on sippy cups, bibs and sheets.

Here he is decorating a box of Band-Aids too.

Entertainment

I paused a few moments in the electronics area on my way to toys and recreation because, well, look at all the fun Disney movie options! None of them actually featured Mickey though, so I reluctantly kept walking. I think I missed a Disneyland Xbox game in my haste.

Between the movie and toy sections in the center of the aisle stood this huge display celebrating Mickey’s 90th Birthday. I’ve seen similar offerings at other stores too.

The sides of the 90th Birthday display featured Mickey Mouse plush styles that matched the vintage figures shown in the first photo.

I found several other Micky Mouse plush options too. The small ones are $5. These are great gifts to purchase in advance and give to your travel companions while you’re on vacation. Donald looks a little annoyed to be stuck in a bin at Walmart, don’t you think? The rest of the gang is all smiles.

The toy aisle for younger kids had several Mickey options, including these fun Melissa and Doug hand puppets. I cropped the picture a little too tight above, but there are also Mickey nesting blocks and a block puzzle set from the same company.

I also found Mickey in the board game aisle, on one of my family’s favorites. That shouldn’t be too surprising to you, since, you know, I’m kind of playing a real life version of the game by wondering the aisles of Walmart today.

There were several fun Mickey options for puzzles too. The bottom two cost about $10. The Mickey-free villains version is closer to $15.

Moving from toys to sports gear, I saw a few Minnies hiding in the bike helmet aisle. I also saw lots of Disney fishing pole options, but none of them featured Mickey.

Of course there were several coloring book options too. These would be great for a Disney road trip or perhaps for distracting little ones during long waits once you’re there.

I also found Mickey in the party aisle. I love these happy plates and striped napkins and party hats with Mickey ears and… you get the idea.

If you want more than just the ears, you can go all in with a Mickey Mouse costume too, at least seasonally. (Happy Halloween!)

Home Furnishings

I blitzed through the home furnishings, linens and kitchen supply areas because I was running out of time. There were tons of Mickeys in the bathroom décor section, including these cups, soap dispensers, shower curtain rings and trash cans. There’s also a Mickey shower curtain barely visible in the upper left. I’m not sure I would recommend using all of these in the same bathroom, but they’re available if you feel differently. Serious hidden Mickey points in this aisle.

Or you can sew your own Mickey stuff with these variety of fabrics.

Finish Line

After I left the sewing area I ran through the personal care, pet and Halloween areas, but didn’t find any additional Mickeys. I probably missed some because I was moving pretty quickly. Fast enough to attract a little attention from other shoppers, and that’s pretty hard to do at Walmart in my experience.  I also had to skip the paint, automotive, lighting, Christmas and outdoor areas because I ran out of time. Couldn’t really miss bus stop duty because I was too busy searching for Mickey at Walmart, could I?

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with the amount and range of Mickey-inspired options at Walmart during today’s experiment. Searching for Mickeys easily made it one of the most entertaining shopping trips I’ve had there this year. It also gave me a few gift ideas and a little inspiration for our next Disney parks trip.

Maybe you should try it too?

Extra points if you bring a friend.

Add a little (Walmart) magic to your world!