Mickey and Minnie Mouse turned 95 today — November 18, 2023. Disneyland Resort is offering complimentary birthday buttons to guests in celebration of the mouse, or, mice, who started it all.
Mickey and Minnie Birthday Button
The large pinback button looks akin to the decorations that guests can ask for and personalize when it’s their own birthday, though this trinket celebrates The Walt Disney Company’s iconic couple themselves. It features a primarily orange background with blue stripes and a red accent. White star details are printed intermittently across the button.
Mickey and Minnie walk hand-in-hand on the decoration, with Mickey winking toward the viewer. He wears his traditional red shorts complemented by a striped party hat while Minnie dons a blue dress and yellow bow.
“Happy Birthday Mickey and Minnie” is arched above the duo in white type. “2023” appears between them against a blue box, dating the button and allowing guests to remember which birthday this particular badge celebrates. Mickey and Minnie birthday buttons are typically offered at Disney Parks each year on November 18.
A large circular photo depicting the button is visible at Disneyland Park.
The pin is available to guests at the entrances to both Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure. We grabbed ours at the Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa entrance into Disney California Adventure.
The shared birthday of Mickey and Minnie Mouse is celebrated each year on November 18, the date on which the Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks-directed “Steamboat Willie” premiered at Universal’s Colony Theatre (now the Broadway Theatre) in New York City in 1928. The short, while not the first Mickey Mouse film produced by Disney and Iwerks, was the first to be released, introducing audiences to animation with synchronized sound effects. “Steamboat Willie” also marked the debut of Minnie Mouse and Pete; it was added to the United States National Film Registry in 1998.
Mickey, Minnie, and their friends have since evolved into globally recognizable and iconic characters synonymous with The Walt Disney Company and the animation medium itself. Mickey earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1978, with Minnie joining him in 2018.
Though Mickey and Minnie have long been present at Disney Parks in entertainment offerings and as meet-and-greet characters, the duo did not receive their own attraction until March 2020 when Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway opened at Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World Resort. The ride is based on the versions of the characters seen in the Paul Rudish-created “Mickey Mouse” shorts, which aired under various titles from 2013–2023. “Steamboat Silly,” the series finale, premiered on Disney+ in July.
A near-clone of Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway opened in the Mickey’s Toontown section of Disneyland Park earlier this year.
Are you planning to pick up a Happy Birthday Mickey and Minnie button at either Disneyland Park or Disney California Adventure on November 18? Let us know in the comments.
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