The toy is a ten-inch (25 cm) plush model of Mickey Mouse, soft and easy for children to hold.
Inside, it contains a microprocessor, a speaker, three AA batteries, three squeeze sensors (one in each hand and one in its belly), and an infrared receiver in its nose.
Guests could previously purchase Pal Mickey at various on site hotel gift shops, all four theme parks, and Downtown Disney.
In September 2006, the "Pal Mickey Sorcerer Costume" (commonly referred to as "3.0") replaced the previous version of the toy.
The costumes are "Mickey Mouse Club", "Pin Trading", "Safari", and "Rain Wear", and sell for US$10 each.
[1] The original version of the toy provided a choice of three games, triggered by squeezing both of its hands at the same time.
Beneath the zipper is an on/off switch which enables or disables the toy's squeeze and infrared sensors to prolong battery life.
The toys are shipped with batteries installed, and they are set to "demo mode" while they are on store shelves: they ignore infrared signals, and squeezing them will make them recite a sample of tips as if they were near park attractions.
Ironically, Disney later released Magic Bands which provide services using RFID that allows tracking and identification of individual guests.