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Hidden Mickey

By Nancy Temple Rodrigue on April 5, 2011

One question I often get is: Why write about Disneyland? The answer goes back to 1962 when my family went to the Park for the first time. For my dad and me it was love at first sight. My family’s relationship with Disneyland has happily continued since that date.

My husband, Russ, grew up in Anaheim, California, and missed the Grand Opening of Disneyland in 1955 by one month. So, bringing along some of our grandkids now, we continue our combined traditions.

Back in 1981 I met a Keel Boat pilot named Dave Smith with whom I became good friends. Losing track of Dave in 1985 when he left the Park, I got into writing science fiction for a popular television series. I saw what I considered a “plot weakness” and decided to write my own episodes for my favorite characters of the show. Ending up with three full-length novels, I found an agent and tried to get them published. Finding it was a difficult genre to break into, the novels were quietly shelved.

After getting married to Russ in 1993 and moving to the Central Coast, I was introduced to the wonders of the Internet. In 1999, I found my friend Dave through a site and we were happy to get acquainted again. After exchanging family photos and short stories we had written through the years, he called me in the spring of 2008 and asked if I would be interested in co-authoring a story he came up with after watching a popular movie, “National Treasure.” His idea was that Walt Disney left behind a clue to a secret treasure shortly before he died. That brief idea was all it took to get the creative juices flowing. In the short span of two and a half months, I had 150,000 words written and “Hidden Mickey: Sometimes Dead Men DO Tell Tales! was born.

I have been so appreciative of the warm, enthusiastic fans of “Hidden Mickey.” They seemed to really love the clue-driven narrative and how the story touches on places in Walt’s history. I tried to make the story not only fun, but also to let the readers possibly learn something about Disneyland and Walt that they might not have known. Because of Dave’s history with the Park, his input allowed me to take the readers behind the scenes. Have you ever wondered what is through that blue tunnel at the last drop inside Pirates of the Caribbean? Have you ever wondered what is behind the locked doors on Main Street? That’s what we wanted to give the readers a taste of something special. When they began clamoring for the sequel, we got back to work the next year and “Hidden Mickey 2: It All Started…” was written.

“Hidden Mickey 2: It All Started…” continues right from the exciting ending of “Hidden Mickey 1” and tells the story of one of the characters and what he has to do when he finds he missed something the first time. In this story we also introduce a special character “Wolf” with unique abilities and a mysterious pendant given to Walt deep in the Amazon.

“Hidden Mickey 3 Wolf! The Legend of Tom Sawyer’s Island” is the next book in the series. There are a couple of things about “Wolf” that are different from the first two. This is the first novel I have written myself without my co-author. And I introduce the exciting elements of fantasy and time travel. Readers are familiar with the saying that what you do in the present time affects your future. But in “Wolf”, what happens in the present time has a profound affect on what happens in the past! I think readers will enjoy my twist in time.

I was asked what I hope people come away with when they read the “Hidden Mickey” books. First, I hope they have fun reading the stories. I included a quest in the first book that can actually be completed at Disneyland. It was a thrill for me when I got a tweet from a fan who was at Disneyland at that moment “counting the rubies on the Golden Horseshoe sign!” Second, I hope they appreciate all that Walt Disney did and accomplished in his life. His vision for families to have a special place to enjoy together came true in the form of Disneyland. But that is just one aspect of his life. I took the readers to quite a few places in his history and showed Walt himself in a series of flashbacks. There was a lot of research involved in all three stories and it was fun for me to decide what to keep and use.

We have found that even people who are not “Disney Fans” are still enjoying the novels. Readers who enjoy action/adventure, and mystery or, now with “Wolf”, time travel and fantasy, find they get caught up in the storyline and have a good time reading. We have a review from a reader on the east coast who has never been to Disneyland, but is now planning a trip after reading the first book in the series! Another reader in Northern California said the book ‘reminded her of childhood trips to Disneyland with her family and she hopes to go again soon to make some new memories.’ It is so good to see most of our reviews are in the 4 and 5 star category.

I also enjoy doing book signings, lectures, and talking at schools to students who are interested in writing themselves and in Disneyland. One of my favorite memories is the time we went to the Walt Disney Hometown Museum in Marceline, Missouri for their annual Toonfest. It was quite special seeing Walt’s Dreaming Tree and all the places familiar to him when he was a young boy. For a list of our upcoming signings, please go to our website at hiddenmickeybook.com.

The books are available online at Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, Alibris.com, and our website hiddenmickeybook.com. We are also in numerous bookstores in California and Utah.

Nancy Temple Rodrigue, author