Photo by John Delmont, 2005

Lauren Delmont poses with 13 Mickeys

Sometimes it’s challenging to pose with Mickey Mouse at a Disney theme park. He’s a popular mouse, so the lines to pose with him can be long.

Here at Yester California Adventure, it’s early 2005, and it’s easy to pose with Mickey because there are 75 of him. But don’t expect a hug. Each Mickey is made of polyurethane with an internal steel frame, weighs approximately 700 pounds, and stands 6 feet 5 inches tall, including the base.

Photo by John Delmont, 2005

“Saxophonic Mickey” — saxophonist and composer Dave Koz

The Mickeys are all over the place. Some are on Paradise Bay at Golden State Park, where you might have seen Rockin’ the Bay in 2002 or the Halfpipe Bay Show during the X Games Xperience in 2003. Others are in Sunshine Plaza, Bountiful Valley Farm, and elsewhere here at the young park.

Before or after you pose with each Mickey statue, take a look at the triangular identification sign on the base. Mickey has a lot of friends—musicians, painters, actors, athletes, broadcasters, animators, comedians, producers, and even Disney Legends—and each statue represents the creative talent of at least one of them.

Photo by John Delmont, 2005

“Music Royalty” — top selling musical artist Sir Elton John

The statue program, called “Celebrate Mickey: 75 InspEARations,” was announced on November 18, 2003—exactly 75 years after an event that would change the life of a struggling 26-year-old filmmaker named Walt Disney. On November 18, 1928, Mickey Mouse debuted in the first synchronized sound cartoon, “Steamboat Willie,” at Universal’s Colony Theater in New York City.

Photo by John Delmont, 2005

“All The World’s His Stage” — actress Susan Lucci (All My Children)

“It’s a true testament to Walt that he was able to create Mickey Mouse with such depth and personality that, on his 75th Anniversary, Mickey continues to take us on adventures, make us laugh and inspire us,” said Michael D. Eisner, chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company, at the 2003 announcement. “Mickey’s relevance can even be seen in the diverse array of people who are participating in this statue program—some have been working with Mickey for years and others are just true fans.”

Photo by John Delmont, 2005

“UndercovEAR Mickey” — actress Jennifer Garner (Alias)

The statues reflect the artists in different ways. Some are quite literal. For example, Jennifer Garner’s statue reflects the secret agent genre of her ABC television series Alias (2001 to 2006).

Photo by John Delmont, 2005

“Ellenland” — Ellen DeGeneres, stand-up comedian, television host, actor

“Ellenland” Mickey holds a fish bowl with Dory from Finding Nemo because Ellen DeGeneres provided the voice for the character.

Photo by John Delmont, 2005

“Fruits of the Mouse” — Disney animator Andreas Deja

Others statues reflect the creativity and whimsy of the artist. Animator Andreas Deja—whose brilliant work includes animating Gaston in Beauty and the Beast (1991), Jafar in Aladdin (1992), and Scar in The Lion King (1992)—cleverly reimagined Mickey as a product of the produce department.

Photo by John Delmont, 2005

“Undersea Mickey” — artist Wyland, best known for his outdoor murals of whales

Some artists—notably Raven, Wyland, David Willardson, Peter and Harrison Ellenshaw, Rosie O’Donnell and MEAR ONE—personally painted their own Mickey statue. Others shared their designs and ideas with TivoliToo, the Minnesota-based studio that molded, sculpted, and transformed each statue into a finished work of art.

Photo by John Delmont, 2005

“Funny Pages” — Lori Tyminski, Senior Storybook Artist for Disney Publishing

Photo by John Delmont, 2005

“Mickey and the Nightingale” — actress Ming-Na

Photo by Lauren Delmont, 2005

“Home Run Hero” — actor, director, producer, and screenwriter Ben Affleck

No, that’s not Academy Award winner Ben Affleck in the photo above. It’s Lauren’s father John Delmont.

Photo by Lauren Delmont, 2005

“Jet Setter” — actor and pilot John Travolta

Photo by Lauren Delmont, 2005

“Monday Night Mickey” — Al Michaels & John Madden

Remember, it’s early 2005 here, so nobody knows yet that in mid-2005, John Madden will jump from ABC to NBC—and, more significantly for Disney fans, that in early 2006, The Walt Disney Company will trade ABC’s Al Michaels to NBC Universal in exchange for Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.

Photo by Lauren Delmont, 2005

“Back to School” — Disney Legend Al Konetzni

Al Konetzni created the Disney School Bus lunch box, the best selling lunch box in history.

Photo by John Delmont, 2005

“Peace & Love” — champion figure skater Michelle Kwan

Pssst... Wanna know a secret? There are actually 78, not just 75, Mickey statues. The extras were made as substitutes in case any of the statues have to be pulled for some reason. That way, park guests can still count 75 statues.

The 75 Mickey statues of “Celebrate Mickey: 75 InspEARations” were on display at Disney’s California’ Adventure from January 10, 2005 through February 22, 2005.

By that time, they had already had a long journey. It began with their unveiling at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom on November 18, 2003.

Making a few extra Mickey statues turned out to be a good decision. After Janet Jackson’s January 2004 Super Bowl wardrobe incident, Disney replaced her “Mickey’s Nation 1928” with “Circle Vision” by Luis Fernandez for the rest of the tour.

Although the statues were scheduled to be at the Magic Kingdom for six months, they were removed February 24, 2004 to go to the annual stockholders’ meeting of The Walt Disney Company in Philadelphia on March 3, 2004.

Next, the 75 Mickey statues were divided into five groups of 15 so they could visit five cities simultaneously. Their schedule called for Atlanta, Boston, Philadelphia, Portland, and Chicago from May 18 to July 20, 2004, followed by Minneapolis, Dallas, Denver, Kansas City, and Houston from August 17 to October 21, 2004.

After being reunited at Disney’s California’ Adventure, the statues headed to Washington D.C., where 75 were displayed at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center’s Woodrow Wilson Plaza from March 19 to April 30, 2005. The next tour stop was New York City. Some pieces were displayed at the World of Disney store in New York. Then 77 of them went to Sotheby’s New York to be auctioned off for charity. The exhibition began on September 20, 2005. The pieces were sold one week later.

Disney Consumer Products sold pins and 6-inch figurines based on the InspEARations statues.

Here’s how the Mickey statues shown in this article did in the auction:

• Saxophonic Mickey (Dave Koz) sold for $18,000, benefitting Starlight Children’s Foundation.
• Music Royalty (Sir Elton John) sold for $52,000, benefitting Elton John AIDS Foundation.
• All The World’s His Stage (Susan Lucci,) sold for $2,500, benefitting Little Flower Children’s Services of New York.
• UndercovEAR Mickey (Jennifer Garner) sold for $3,000, benefitting Elizabeth Glazer Pediatric AIDS Foundation.
• Ellenland (Ellen DeGeneres) sold for $7,500, benefitting Children’s Action Network.
• Fruits of the Mouse (Andreas Deja) sold for $4,500, benefitting Make-a-Wish Foundation of America.
• Undersea Mickey (Wyland) sold for $11,000, benefitting Wyland Foundation.
• Funny Pages (Lori Tyminski) sold for $29,000, benefitting Make-A-Wish Foundation of America.
• Mickey and the Nightingale (Ming-Na) sold for $2,500, benefitting Starlight Children’s Foundation.
• Home Run Hero (Ben Affleck) sold for $9,500, benefitting The Jimmy Fund at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
• Jet Setter (John Travolta) sold for $3,250, benefitting Hollywood Education and Literacy Project.
• Monday Night Mickey (Al Michaels & John Madden) sold for $3,500, benefitting Make-a-Wish Foundation of America.
• Back to School (Al Konetzni) sold for $45,000, benefitting Make-a-Wish Foundation of America.
• Peace & Love (Michelle Kwan) sold for $20,000, benefitting Children’s Miracle Network.

Buyers also paid a 20% buyers premium to Sotheby’s, so the buyer of Sir Elton John’s Mickey actually paid $62,400 while the buyer of Susan Lucci’s Mickey actually paid $3,000. These are not only the highest and lowest amounts in the list above, but also for the entire auction.

The auction raised a total of $614,500 for the charities. With the buyer’s premium, buyers paid a total of $737,400.

Photo by Werner Weiss, 2010

“All Aboard!” Mickey — animator Ollie Johnston

The statues are now in the hands of private collectors. One of them is on public display at the Walt Disney Hometown Museum in Marceline, Missouri. It’s “All Aboard!” Mickey by legendary animator Ollie Johnston, one of Walt Disney’s “Nine Old Men.” The subject of Mickey in railroad garb is very fitting for the museum, which is housed in the beautifully restored Santa Fe Depot in a town founded by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway in 1887.

John Delmont and Lauren Delmont are the father-daughter team that created The Secret Tour of Disneyland, an entertaining, feature-length DVD, filmed on location at Disneyland and other Southern California places with connections to Walt Disney. Hosted by Lauren, the tour presents fun facts about Disneyland and the park’s history. (See the Yesterland review of The Secret Tour of Disneyland, 2nd Edition.)

John Delmont works in the video business installing production systems and editing suites. He lives in Westminster, California.

Lauren Delmont graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara, with a major in Theater Arts. She currently lives in the city of Hanzhou, China, where she is part of a Disney program that teaches English to children in China.

You can purchase The Secret Tour of Disneyland from Amazon.com.

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Updated November 17, 2015.