re: our Bad Joke Mickey About This Page:

[IdahoDisneyMom]

We renamed our Pal Mickey Bad Joke Mickey when we got him in 2004. He seemed to give us more bad jokes than anything. He was a source of great humor on our trip however! My question is, can we get him "updated" when we go next year. I know there's a new version, but I really don't want to buy another one.

[bradk]

i've heard very mixed reports on the 'upgrade' factor. i think officially, the answer is no. however, it technically can be done. he can be reprogrammed at main street cinema (your best bet) in MK or once upon a toy at DTD and will just have to appeal to the kindness of the CM.

[EmpressLizBunny]

the following is taken from palmickey.net

Note About Older Versions of Pal Mickey: Due to the misinformation on certain message boards, I called the Main Street Cinema at the Magic Kingdom to verify. Cast Member John has CONFIRMED that the older Pal Mickey (any version prior to the HCOE version) can only be "updated" with the park's daily information (parade and show times, etc. - as stated in the instruction booklet) and can NOT be "updated" in any other way. In reality, their use of the term "updating" means to "re-set" him to enable him to receive signals from the emitters and to properly respond. However, the older Pal Mickeys can NOT be made to provide information on any of the newer attractions (Soarin', LMA, Everest, etc.), or to have the latest features (singing, louder voice, new games, trivia, interacting with the Glow medallion). These are the facts. I hate to see people buying the original at a huge discount and being disappointed that he won't do what they thought. The original Pal can still be fun (both of mine "do the parks" together often), but has limited capabilities

[bradk]

as i said.. officially policy is no. obviously because they'd rather have you buy the new one and not be bombarded with requests. it's physically possible and has been done before.

also, what's wrong about that is that PM never gets updates for times of events. he has no concept of time, he only gets updated to know which park he's in. when the triggers are sent, he makes announcements about upcoming parades.

[IdahoDisneyMom]

Thanks. While Bad Joke Mickey was fun for a laugh now and then, ours never told us about attractions, etc around us. It got to be a joke in itself that each time he giggled, was he actually going to tell us something useful? Sadly, no. I know that some people LOVE him, but ours just didn't cut the mustard as far as a park "guide". Therefore we'll have to decide whether he's coming with us or not, but I won't be shelling out the $ for a new one. Thanks again.

[bradk]

there are different modes for him. i've never personally used one in the park so i don't know if he is supposed to automatically switch over, but he has modes so you can switch between games and jokes.

[Goofy'sGal]

So I just want to double-check here: in order for my PM to be "updated" to know when to tell me a parade is about to start, etc., do I have to him "updated" at the Main St. Cinema in MK?

We've taken our original PM back with us to the parks and I didn't expect him to know about the newer attractions (although that would have been a nice perk!) but it just hit me that he hasn't told us of any shows/parades starting soon since most likely the first trip (aha!). He does give us lots of attraction information so not sure why the OP only gets jokes out of him [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img] Most of what he tells us is stuff we know already but the kids get a kick out of him. Plus, he's been really helpful in AK on finding the little off-the-beaten paths to various animals. DH had a wonderful time with PM there! He took lots of pics! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/Flash.gif[/img]

[bradk]

no. the upgrading in question is so he's aware of the new attractions.

basically, his nose has a receiver. at certain points or times, a signal is emitted from points within the park and when they're received by his nose, he speaks the corresponding message, which is already recorded and stored on him.

correct me if i'm wrong, but he never says 'there's a 3:00 parade,' instead, around 2:30 or so, he'll remind you of the parade coming up, which he most likely also doesn't mention by name either, because there is a signal broadcasted at that time telling him to announce the pre-recorded message.

the only updating that's done when you enter the park is he's made aware of which park he's in - when that fails, he might end up telling you about things for the park he thinks he's in. he can be re-oriented at several places within the park as well though.

the full upgrades in question, at main street cinema, re-program him so he has all the recordings pertaining to the HCOE additions.

and contrary to some conspiracy theories, he does not transmit information so they cannot track you. he can internally keep track of how many times you've been on an attraction though, but that information does not go back to disney.

[Goofy'sGal]

Thanks, Brad! I remember when I first bought him, the lady at the store in the Beach Club was "downloading" him or whatever they do to start them up. She told me that she was certain that he hadn't fully downloaded and that I should go to any store that sells them and they could do it again. We don't do a heck of a lot of stopping the various shops in the parks so I didn't do this and I was convinced that he wasn't "all there" LOL But he knows where he is, he tell us that he's taking a nap when he leaves a park and of course, tells us corny jokes too. As I said, I don't recall the last time he actually told us a parade was about to start but I think you're right. He didn't say "Share a Dream Parade is starting at 3pm". It was more like - "hey, the parade's going to start in 30 minutes". Hmm...we're going to try to catch the new day parade at MK in Nov - I'm going to make sure he's on when we get there. So many times we bring him and forget to turn him on or shut him off when he's put in a backpack for a wet ride, etc. Maybe he hasn't been "available" to remind me of parades LOL And as much as it would be cool to purchase a new PM, I know as soon as I do, the next version will be onsale, outdating my new one!! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]

Thanks again!

[Joy J]

Brad, I'd be curious as to where you got your old Pal Mickey updated in the fashion you describe (so that he would offer information on newer attractions). We were told most definitely at the Main St. Cinema that this was impossible for them to do. So, does this mean that Disney is deliberately giving out false information in order to sell new Pal Mickeys? The reason I ask is that before giving me my answer, the CM on duty made a phone call and checked with someone in charge who apparently stated that they couldn't do that sort of update.

Joy

[bradk]

i havent personally done it, i just know it can be done. i don't think it's implied that if you have an old version that it will ever be upgraded, i've just heard it can be done and both the locations i've named have the ability to do so. whether they'll do it is altogether different