What Has 40,000 Pieces, 22 Feet, and Holds a World Record? This Incredible Jigsaw Puzzle

So, trapped at home with some extra time on your hands, are you? Are you also a jigsaw puzzle fan? And a Disney fan? Most importantly, do you have a really, really big table or flat surface in your house?

We love puzzles, but we’ve never seen anything like this before. To celebrate the 90th anniversary of Mickey Mouse’s debut, preeminent puzzle-makers Ravensburger came up (absurdly) big. Back in 2018, these puzzle masters created a, 40,320-piece puzzle — the largest Mickey puzzle in the world —  and this is the perfect time to break out this massive puzzle. If you or a loved one has become obsessed with building puzzles in quarantine, then this is the ultimate challenge.

Once all 40K-plus pieces are assembled, this mammoth puzzle measures 6.25 feet by an astounding 22.25 feet. So while it would be helpful if you had a Buckingham Palace-sized table handy, a floor would do nicely. Or, if you’d rather tackle this mammoth in chunks, it’s actually delivered as ten unique puzzles, helpfully separated into 10 bags of 4,032 pieces each. They do interlock with each other, though, in case you’re feeling incredibly ambitious.

Even beyond the sheer overwhelming size, the detail of the Mickey Through the Years puzzle is a source of total joy for Mouse enthusiasts, nostalgia fans, and serious puzzlers alike. Nine of the 10 sub-puzzles represent each of the nine decades of Mickey Mouse’s long reign as a pop-culture legend, with the tenth a compilation of Mickey’s nearly century-long run.

If you aren’t looking for quite that big of a challenge, you can buy a 1,000-piece Mickey Through the Years puzzle at the Disney Store.

Each puzzle in this 40,000-piece behemoth is a detailed photo of exclusive Mickey memorabilia and custom art straight from the Disney archives, sorted by decade. On one hand it’s not surprising to see just how many items have been branded with the Mouse over the past 90 years. On the other hand, this is Mickey Mouse, perhaps the single-most recognizable character on the entire planet. It’s no wonder a 139 square foot puzzle could be created from ephemera devoted to Mickey.

If you’re going to go all-in on your puzzling and devote yourself to the time and care it will take to turn this monster from tens of thousands of small pieces into one magnificent image, you are going to want to be sure the pieces are not going to fail you by shredding, splitting, or otherwise falling apart. Thankfully, it’s a Ravensburger product. Ravensburger has been turning out top-notch jigsaw puzzles for 130 years — even longer than Mickey Mouse has been entertaining the world. The pieces are hand-crafted and precisely cut for absolute perfect interlocking, and backed by thick and durable blue board. Assuming you’ll one day complete this goliath, you’ll be able to break it down and do it all over again without the pieces giving up on you.

Speaking of finishing the Mickey Through the Years puzzle, it takes an average of 600 hours for one person to complete. A larger crew will, of course, cut down on the time significantly. Check out this time-lapse video of over 200 puzzlers and Disney cast members conquering it in 20 hours, spread over three days.

To be sure, this is an investment, complete with a three-figure price tag. But that’s to be expected when you’re talking about a record-setting puzzle, which will hit your doorstep weighing in at roughly 50 pounds. But for a unique piece of Disney memorabilia, and the lifetime bragging rights that come with finishing a 40,320-piece puzzle, it’s worth it.

Ravensburger makes one other 43,000-piece Disney puzzle featuring iconic Disney characters, but these rare puzzles are also incredibly hard to find. Both Amazon and Ravensburger have sold out of these puzzles, but you can still find these puzzles for sale if you go looking. We’ve included a few in-stock options below.