The Essential Guide to Disneyland Ear Headbands

Since time immemorial (or at least 1955), Mickey Ear Hats have been a staple souvenir for Disney Parks guests. These classic park souvenirs have since branched out to include Minnie Ear Headbands, adding even more versatility to those wanting to wear their fandom on their head.

There are so many different designs to choose from, some that have moved completely beyond the classic ears! This handy guide will give you an overview of what you might be able to find in the Parks. As Minnie Ear Headbands are rapidly growing in popularity, new ones are always just around the corner. So, we’ll keep this guide updated with all the latest styles and mark the ones no longer available as “Retired.” We started this guide in 2019 so many of the older styles are now “Retired” and may eventually be removed from the list – we leave them here because most of them are still available via eBay and other 3rd party resellers in case you see something you just must have. Note that many park styles have migrated to ShopDisney in the past year, so it’s always worth taking a look.  

Original Minnie Ear Headbands

• Ah yes, the Classic Minnie Mouse ear headband. This one actually received a bit of an update this year with a different dot pattern on the bow and fuzzy fabric on the ears.

• And if you want to pay homage to Minnie but you are a more sparkly person by nature, there is a sequin-covered, polka dot version.

• [Retired] Blue is the new black. There’s a similar style Minnie headband in blue. It should be noted that this one also has a little pink fabric flower sticking out of the bow. But you’ll have to look for this one 2nd hand as it’s no longer at the resort.

• We now have a color-swap on the earlier, currently-retired Ear Headband seen above. While it still keeps the same basic design, the ears are now black, with the bow being blue with a red ribbon.

• [Retired] This style has different colored metallic polka dots on the ears with a sequin bow.

• Disney has heard your pleas for an ear headband you can wear to a black-tie shindig and has released the style below. It features gold sequin-covered ears and a black satin bow with metallic gold polka-dots.

• A monochrome alternative to the classic Minnie Ear Headband is available. 

• This Celestial Ear Headband has a satin bow filled with foil silver stars along with glitter-covered ears. This one is sure to shimmer.

• Upon closer inspection, Hidden Mickeys can be spotted within the sequined animal print on this Ear Headband.

• [Retired] The front of this floral style is covered with fabric flowers. Flowers also take the place of the bow for a nice change of pace.

• With the colorful embroidered flowers, it is pretty clear that this Ear Headband was inspired by huipiles, a traditional Mexican dress.

• [Retired] This ear headband was released just for the year 2019 (which is also embroidered on one of the sides). The fabric on the bow depicts Disney Parks icons, like the monorail and Partners statue.

• [Retired] Whether it’s your birthday or even your Unbirthday, Disney has you covered with this crazy design. Replacing the bow is a cupcake, complete with candle, and the ears and band are covered in multi-colored sequins.

• [Retired] Around graduation season, this style is available in the Parks. The tassel hangs freely, just like a graduation cap. “2019” is embroidered on the side currently but as you would expect, that changes annually.

• The Disney Parks are a popular honeymoon spot and Disney has just the headband for the occasion. Complete with a veil, satin ears, and fabric flowers encrusted with faux pearls, these are definitely made with brides in mind.

• [Retired] But those aren’t the only style with a veil. With a butterfly for a bow and rainbow veil, this style screams “fairy princess.”

• Being a fairy princess may no longer be a possibility but a unicorn princess might be a worthwhile substitute. Resting on top of the shiny bow is a plush unicorn horn with a multicolored train of fabrics in the back, no doubt representing a horse’s mane. 

• It doesn’t matter whether you call them pan dulce or sweet bread, foodies will identify the inspiration for this ear headband with ease. The ears are shaped like the traditional concha pastry.

• [Retired] Continuing the dessert vibe are the donut ears. The “sprinkles” are little beads sewn onto the painted “glaze.”

• [Retired] This style is made in the image of the Mickey Ice Cream Bar, a popular treat found at the Parks. The ear with the “bite” in it has a little bit of white showing on the edge to mimic the vanilla ice cream encased in the hard chocolate shell.

• [Retired] It isn’t very often you see headbands that use ears made of plastic. This candy design has lollipops as the ears and with plastic as the base, they reflect the light as if they were the real thing, wrapped in cellophane. Plus, the bow is made to look like a hard candy in the wrapper.

• This Ear Headband was made with pin traders in mind. The ears are made of cork, allowing you to display some of your prized collection on them. And, as an added bonus, the bow is removable.

• The 2021 Ear Headband has chosen to omit the typical bow found on top and go for a more  unisex look. The art style matches that found in the Mickey Shorts cartoons.

If you are looking for more Disneyland 2021 merchandise, you can find it here: 

Disneyland Merchandise Update: Kicking 2020 to the Curb

• Here’s another Ear headband that chose Mickey rather than Minnie as inspiration. Inspired by Mickey’s outfit seen in Fantasia’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, it is topped with a sorcerer cap. The headband itself is red and gold to match Mickey’s robes in the sequence.

• Your pet also has the option of adorning themselves in ears. Styles so far include a traditional Minnie, a Mickey (no bow), and [Retired] a Briar Rose Gold Minnie (more on that in the next section).

Color Collection Minnie Ear Headbands

The color collections have been a trend over the past few years. They include items like Spirit Jerseys, Loungefly bags, as well as ear headbands.

• This Ear Headband is part of the Wishes Come True Blue Collection and 25% of the profits from each one sold are donated to the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

• Also from the Wishes Come True Blue Collection is this Mickey Adjustable Ear Headband. In an effort to be more inclusive, this design features a wrap-around headband so kids with special needs can wear them comfortably.

• True to their name, this Bordeaux Ear Headband features a deep, wine-colored hue.

• This Saffron Ear Headband is all fuzziness with no sequin in sight.

• The Cornflower Blue Ear Headband is such a nice, soothing color, don’t you think?

• This Ear Headband was released just in time to ring in 2021. The color is fittingly called Champagne.

And the color collections no longer available: 

• [Retired] Here, we see the Magic Mirror version.

• [Retired] This is the Imagination Pink variety. It was released alongside the Magic Mirror one.

• [Retired] These are the Potion Purple ears.

• [Retired] The Briar Rose Gold kind are shown below.

• [Retired] And next for the color collections is Millennial Pink. Side note: Who comes up with these names?

Movie and Character Inspired Minnie Ear Headbands

• This new Up Ear Headband takes the concept of the older design (seen below) and reverses it. The clouds are now found on the bow with Carl’s floating house moved to one of the ears, which are filled with pompoms to represent the balloons. The other ear has “Adventure is out there!” on it. The only design element that remains the same is Ellie’s Grape Soda Badge resting in the center of the bow.

• Inspired by Disney Princesses, this Ear headband is adorned with a bejeweled tiara. The color scheme for this one is coral. There’s a similar retired version down below. 

• This new Ariel-themed Ear Headband is sort of like a reversed version of the previous version (below). The scales are now on the plush ears with the shells taking the place of the bow.

• [Retired] The Little Mermaid’s ear headband has fabric shells for ears with a translucent sequin-covered seafoam bow. One side of the band has Ariel’s silhouette embroidered on it. The other side bears the phrase, “Mermaid hair, don’t care.”

• [Retired] This style trades a bow for a tiara and features names of Disney Princesses on the ears. The phrase, “Dream big, Princess,” is embroidered on the side. This is also the name of a photography campaign run by Disney.

• [Retired] In this Aladdin-themed style, the band and ears are colored in a blue similar to Jasmine’s dress. The bow replicates the pattern of Aladdin’s magic carpet.

• [Retired] This style is based on The Lion King. The ears are made of a faux suede material and a little lion charm is hanging from the center of the bow. Embroidered on the side of the headband is the phrase, “Hakuna Matata.”

There are two different styles dedicated to The Nightmare Before Christmas.

• [Retired] The one the left is modeled after Sally and has a patchwork pattern on the bow, similar to character’s dress. The ears and band are interspersed with an embroidered design resembling the stitches that covered Sally’s body.
• [Retired] The style on the right has more of a general goth feel, with a small top hat, adorned with black feathers and a short veil. In fact, the only part that is themed to the film is the charm affixed to the front of the top hat that looks like the face of the Pumpkin King himself, Jack Skellington.

• [Retired] Maleficent has her own ear headband as well. You’ll spot her classic horns tucked behind the bow, joined with some green fuzz, presumably to mimic her spell-casting aura. The purple ears are decorated with black thorns, just like the ones she covered the castle with. One side of the band is embroidered with the title, “Mistress of All Evil.”

• [Retired] Buzz Lightyear is personified as an ear headband as well. In lieu of a bow are his rocket wings with the front bearing the Star Command insignia. The band has the phrase “To Infinity and Beyond” embroidered on one of the sides.

• [Retired] Disney-Pixar’s film, Up, has its own design with a bow filled with pompom “balloons” and the Ellie Badge at the center. The ears have a cloud print on them and Carl’s house floats by one of the sides. 

• [Retired] Star Wars has a myriad of headbands to call its own, the majority of which you’ll find in the last category of this guide. This ears on this one are a hard plastic that light up to animate a galactic dog fight between the Millennium Falcon and a TIE Fighter.

Attraction Based Minnie Headbands

• This Ear Headband replaces the traditional Minnie Mouse bow with the original signage found at the Disneyland Resort. The color scheme on this one adds the whole retro vibe.

• [Retired] This style is modeled after the tightrope walker found in the Haunted Mansion’s Stretching Room. The ears share the pattern on the lady’s skirt. The umbrella she holds in her portrait is embroidered on one side of the band. Another feature of note is that the bow is off-center. 

• [Retired] The iconic design of “it’s a small world” is easily recognizable and well-loved. One ear has the familiar smiling clock and the other has the greeting, “Hello,” that is featured on one of the signs seen during your voyage. Both ears are covered in clear sequins. The print on the satin bow highlights many of the attraction’s happy residents as well as landmarks from around the globe. The band is encrusted with pink sequins.

Holiday Minnie Headbands

• While this Orange Corduroy Ear Headband might also fit into the “Original Minnie Ear Headband” category, it was created for 2020’s Halloween Time. As the name suggests, the ears are covered with orange corduroy fabric. The bow is made of a plaid flannel.

• The snowflake-covered “Mickey Balloons” on this wintery Ear Headband light up with the flip of a switch.

• For Lunar New Year 2021 (that’s the Year of the Ox, you know), Disney created this Ear Headband. The ears and headband are covered in a festive red and gold print with the bow decorated with fabric flowers. This one’s a beauty.

While the ones below are retired, it’s likely we’ll see some new version of them pop up again in the future: 

• [Retired] Let the good times roll! This Mardi Gras-themed design is one of the more festive concepts in my book. The band has a braid of green, gold, and purple Mardi Gras beads on it. In fact, everything on this style is either green, gold or purple. The off-centered bow has three feathers (again, they are green, gold and purple) sticking out of the top.

• [Retired] This past June, Disneyland celebrated Pride Month with a ton of themed merchandise, including this Rainbow Ear Headband. The colorful, satin bow looks great against the sequin-coated black ears.

• [Retired] For the 4th of July, the patriotic Minnie ear made their way back to the Resort. They’ve got a strong Americana vibe, and they’re very sparkly with all the sequins. Personally, these are more appealing than the collectible Harvey patriotic ears.

Designer Series Minnie Ear Headbands

The Designer Ears Series of features Ear Hats as well as Headbands crafted by different celebrities, artists, and designers. Many of these sold out either instantly or very quickly, so you’ll see a lot of “Retired” below. 

• [Recently Retired] Bret Iwan Designer Mickey Ears. There’s something special about the voice of Mickey Mouse designing mouse ears.

• [Retired] BaubleBar released some special holiday-inspired ears in December of 2020. Which shone brighter, your tree or these ears? 

• [Retired] The first release was Harveys Americana Ear Headband. Harveys is well known for their work with seatbelts. And that is exactly what the bow is made of.

• [Retired] Alex and Ani – Released in summer of 2019. Made entirely of metal, one side of the band has “Follow your path” engraved on it. The other side reads “Listen with your heart.” This lightweight design is secured to your head with a comb.

• [Retired] Noah Fine Art Vintage Mickey Ears – Summer 2019 

• [Retired] Kim Irvine Haunted Mansion Ears were released August 2019 

• [Retired] Betsey Johnson Reversible Sequin Mermaid Ears– Summer 2019

• [Retired] SHAG Tiki Room Ears – Summer 2019 

• [Retired] Heidi Klum Jeweled Princess Tiera Ears – September 2019 

• [Retired] Her Universe Princess Leia Bun Ears – October 2019

• [Retired] Loungefly Mini Character Ears were released during the D23 Expo – Fall 2019

• [Retired] Jerrod Maruyama Hipster Mickey – Fall 2019

• [Retired] The Blonds sparkled in Fall 2019

• [Retired] COACH Ears – These leather flowered beauties sold out quickly in Fall 2019

• [Retired] Joe Rohde Explorer Ears – April 2020

• [Retired] Cupcakes and Cashmere offered another reversible sequin design. Hot pink on one side and light pink on the other with lots of shimmer on both – Spring 2020

• [Retired] Her Universe Star Wars Droid ears. One ear is BB-8 on one ear and R2D2 on the other – Spring 2020

• [Retired] Imagineer Kevin Rafferty created a pair inspired by Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway – Spring 2020. We could see these make a reappearance when Disneyland’s version of the ride opens (whenever that happens).  

• [Retired] John Coulter designed a pair of Victorian-era style  – Summer 2020

• [Unknown] If you like sparkles, we never spotted these Vera Wang beauties. Perhaps they’ll still make it at a future date. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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• [Unknown] Karlie Kloss was to design a pair for Spring 2020. We have yet to see them. 

Non-Ear Headbands

• Think of this one as a regular sequined Minnie Ear Headband but the bow ate the ears!

• Maleficent’s horns, covered in glitter with sequin accents, translate rather nicely into an Ear Headband.

• From Disney’s Reigning Cats and Dogs Merchandise Collection, we have this Ear Headband with ears belonging not to a mouse but to a cat, Marie of The Aristocats, to be precise. The bow and inside of the ears are covered with pink sequins.

• This 101 Dalmatians Ear Headband, like the Marie one, is from the Reigning Cats and Dogs Collection. However, unlike Marie’s, you won’t find any sequins on the Dalmatian Ear Headband. 

• The Yoda headband may better be included in with the rest of the Star Wars merchandise line than Mouse Ear headbands. But I still think they fit perfectly. Deal with it you will. . . hmmm.

• These items are also from the Star Wars universe: the BB-8 and R2-D2 headbands. These little guys make sound effects (“beep-boop”) and light up. You’ll find them at the Droid Depot in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

• [Retired] Would this design count as a “hat on a hat?” The headband is topped with a mini version of the classic ear hat (with a bow), covered with sequins. The hat is affixed to the side. 

• [Retired] Sulley from Monsters, Inc. has his own version of an ear headband but in lieu of ears, there are plush horns. The Top Scarer’s spotted, blue and purple fur covers the band.

• [Retired] My personal favorite of these accessories is the Slinky Dog headband. The head and tail flop around slightly as you walk, adding a bit of kinetic energy to the look. Plus, who doesn’t love good ol’ Slinky Dog?

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Let’s Hear From You!

And with that, we have reached the end of our ear headband guide! There were just too many for us to create a poll, and there are some novelty ears we haven’t had a chance to get to yet (like the light-up options). But please let us know which designs are your favorites? Do you have a steady favorite or are you collecting them? It can be hard to stop at just one!

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Update Log on this Guide: 

• • Updated 12/27/20: New ears added and old ones marked “Retired”.
  • Updated 10/15/19: Prices for ear headbands have risen from $27.99 to $29.99 on most items on both shopDisney and at Disneyland. 
  • Original Article 7/16/19

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