Less than a week ago, Glow With The Show ear hats debuted at Walt Disney World during a Fantasmic performance. On Saturday, the hats began working with the Celebrate the Magic castle projection show and the Wishes fireworks presentation at the Magic Kingdom, and my children and I were in the thick of the crowds on Main Street, U.S.A., to witness the first displays.
Our experience with the new light-up mouse-ear hats began earlier in the day when I purchased one for each of my children at The Emporium. The hats are available in one design (for now, at least) — a multicolored pattern of Mickey Mouse faces on the cap and two “ears” that illuminate. Each Glow With the Show hat costs $25.
This seemed a bit pricey to me at first. But when I thought about buying a child a basic mouse-ear hat with an embroidered name and also purchasing a light-up toy for the night-time parade and activities, I realized I easily would exceed that amount. And I’m sure I’m not the only parent who would love to have one less purchase per child to keep track of at a theme park. (For the record: You can replace the AAA batteries yourself when necessary.)
The hats, which debuted a little more than a year ago at Disneyland, can work independently, in cooperation with other hats worn by your group, and with certain night-time shows. Glow With The Show ears will light up individually when turned on. If you bump them with another hat and stay near the guest wearing that hat, the patterns of lights will appear synchronized. This is a fun discovery for wearers.
However, the real “oohing” and “aching” comes when you see the ears synched with a large-scale show, such as Celebrate the Magic. We stood in the hub near Cinderella Castle for our first viewing, and we had a decent view of the show and enough Glow With The Show ears in front of us to see the new effects. Of course, the farther back on Main Street you stand, the more ears you’re likely to see.
You’ll quickly notice the ears of each hat match colors in the show and flash to the beat of some of the songs. One of our favorite effects was during the “Tangled” recreation in Celebrate the Magic when the lanterns appear to glow and float into the air and the ear hats matched the lanterns. Also visually pleasing was when the ears glowed red while the castle was bathed in blue with the projected white stars, mimicking Sorcerer Mickey’s hat during Wishes. Take a look at some of the scenes from Celebrate the Magic in the video below:
Currently, Glow With The Show ears are synchronized with Celebrate the Magic and Wishes at Magic Kingdom (and the Halloween versions at Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party on Oct. 20, 22, 24, 25, 27, 29, 31 and Nov. 1) and Fantasmic! at Hollywood Studies. Beginning Nov. 8, the hats will work with The Osborne Spectacle of Dancing Lights at Hollywood Studios and Holiday Wishes: Celebrate the Spirit of the Season at Magic Kingdom.
Glow With The Show ears can be purchased at The Emporium, The Chapeau and merchandise carts at Magic Kingdom and at Beverly Sunset, Once Upon A Time, Mickeys of Hollywood, Head to Toe and merchandise carts at Hollywood Studios. Hats purchased at any Disney park — including Disneyland — will work at all Disney World parks that are part of the program.
Is this still going on?
Thank you
KRISTIN: Yes, Glow With The Show hats still are available.
Does anyone know if the same hats used for the deck party on the cruise will also work?
We have been to Disney World several times and my husband just doesn’t see the purpose of getting his own pair of ears. I have a couple pairs but he just says he doesn’t need them. I showed him the video (both yours and the one on Disney Blog of Fantasmic) and he has decided maybe it is time for some ears. 🙂 Can’t wait to seem him in ears in a few weeks when we go!
These look awesome! Do they have a clip or something so they can be attached to a bag or belt loop? I love the idea of these ears, but I don’t know if I want to wear them the whole time I’m in the park. Thanks!
KRISTIN: There isn’t a clip, the the chin strap unfastens so you could attach the hat that way to a bag or belt loop, if you choose.
Do the Glow with the Show ears come in infant/toddler sizes?
KRISTIN: So far, they are just one-size-fits-all, but the chin strap is adjustable.
My Hubby and I were down last week and both got a pair of these ears!!! Have you ever see two 61 year old kids??? That was us and WE LOVED THEM!! We also got tons of questions about them. It was so much fun to watch them interact with the music and lights. We will now be sharing them with our grands who will use them on Halloween night just to be seen easier. Then they come right back to US!!!!!!!! No way are we giving them up permanently!!
how much is a mickey ear hat with your name or saying it? I would like to get one that say’s happy birthday heather on it and just want o know how much ?
KRISTIN: Hats range in price, with basic black mouse ears starting at about $13. Embroidery is another $7. You are limited in the number of characters, though, so you might need to select a birthday hat and just add the name.
It’s nice to know the “glow with the show ears” we bought at Disneyland a couple of months ago will work in in multiple parks. We may actually get more than our money’s worth out of them!
I absolutely LOVE this!! I just watched the video with a huge smile on my face. Do the ears ever add to the show! And it makes the ear-wearer part of everything. My daughters would have loved this so much. They’re grown now, but we will have to go back and get new ears just to be part of this!
Wow!! – amazing what they can do with technology these days. Thanks for sharing. :o)
I wonder if it will do better than at Disneyland. At any given night you will only see a handful of glow ears being used at World of Color or Fantasmic.
Curse you Disney! Just when I think the kids are old enough to stop buying hats (12/16), now I will have to buy four more my next trip down there.
Kudos to the imagineers for thinking this up. It just seems to even more immerse you into the show.
Very cool! Are these hats able to be embroidered like regular Mickey Ears?
KRISTIN: Unfortunately, no. These hats are thicker than other mouse ears so the embroidery can’t be done.
Thank you so much for posting this! I had read about the hats and knew right away I wanted to be part of a show at some point. We will definitely be buying hats on our next trip!
Your kids are just so cute! Thanks for the Glow With the Show ears report – we were wondering if they were worth the cost and they seem to be. What fun! We appreciate you mentioning that they take AAA batteries; we’ll be sure to bring extras with us.
KRISTIN: Thank you for the kind words!