Mickey Mote Review

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I think I've mentioned once or twice how excited we all get on The Avenue when a delivery truck slows down in front of our house. Well the other day I think my west coast neighbors could hear the delighted squeals when we received a Mickey Mote and a copy of Disney Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Numbers Roundup Play Set and Handy Manny’s Big Construction Job for review from Technorati Media.

I know what you're thinking...

What is a Mickey Mote?

A Mickey Mote is a one-of-a-kind, child-friendly handheld remote control, shaped like Mickey ears, that provides children with an engaging interaction with their favorite Disney Preschool DVDs.


How does it work?

The Mickey Mote works with any Disney Preschool DVD that includes a “Discovery Mode™ (an interactive “Watch & Play” feature on the DVD), feature. All parents have to do is program the remote control to their TV and within minutes, kids can easily begin engaging and responding to questions about scenes they just watched using the Mickey Mote.

Ay yi yi yi, parents have to program. Let me just say the DVD player and I are not friends. I'm an old school VCR kind of girl. Oh sure I can pop a movie in and watch, sometimes, but anything more complicated than that and I'm completely lost. I considered sending the package home with TOF so that Durwood could figure it out, but that would be cheating. Sort of. I mustered up some courage and sat down with the tiny sheet of directions while two very impatient toddlers were all set to play their brand new video games. It was just like a watched pot never boils. But you know what? I DID IT! It took 2 tries because reading and comprehension are skills that I sometimes lack LOL

We were good to go. Or so we thought.

Our next obstacle was overcoming the Fast-Play feature. The menu never popped up to choose the Discovery Mode, but being as my thinking cap was already on, I realized that if I just hit the menu button, I could get to that root menu and select from there.

Ta daaa! And my little helpers were still so excited.

The remote is geared towards 2-5 year olds and my testers are a brand new 4 and 4 and 8 months. The first DVD we watched was Handy Manny. There are two difficulty levels and to start out I chose the least difficult of the two. I noticed that the interactive questions came on rather infrequently and seemed far too easy for my little testers, they however didn't seem to mind. TOF understood that he needed to point the remote directly at the DVD player, while Calla had a little difficulty remembering.

When testing the Mickey's Number Round Up, I chose the more difficult level and it appeared that there was more frequent interaction during the video.

Now, you're probably wondering...

How do I purchase one?

The new Mickey Mote will soon be packaged with the purchase of any new Discovery Mode enhanced Disney Preschool DVD released after November 16, 2010. The first two titles to include the new remote include Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Numbers Roundup and Handy Manny: Big Construction Job.

How much does it cost?

The Mickey Mote is not sold individually. Beginning on November 16, 2010 consumers can own the Mickey Mote with the purchase of either the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey’s Number Roundup and/or Handy Manny: Big Construction Job DVDs –which each retail for the suggested price of $29.99 (US)/$35.99 (Canada).

Can I use it with other DVDs?

The remote control is also backwards compatible to work with any previously released Disney Preschool titles that include the “Discovery Mode” interactive feature.
To date, the remote will work with any of the following titles:

• Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey’s Adventures in Wonderland
• Little Einstein’s: Fire Truck Blast Off
• Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey’s Choo Choo
• Handy Manny’s: Manny’s Motorcycle Adventure
• Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Minnie’s Bowtique
• Handy Manny’s: Manny’s Big Race
• My Friends Tigger and Pooh: Super Duper Super Sleuths
• My Friends Tigger and Pooh: Bedtime with Pooh
• Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Road Rally
• Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Numbers Roundup
• Handy Manny’s: Manny’s Construction Job

Overall, the kids really enjoyed their new video games. TOF being a boy of few words, just like his Pa, said it was a good game. Calla mentioned that she would prefer to have princess videos. I especially liked that they really had to pay attention and use their little minds to answer the questions. I also liked that the video could be played in a traditional format (with no remote or interaction) so that they could just enjoy the video or dance around and sing.

Disclaimer: We were provided a Mickey Mote and two videos byTechnorati Media for the purpose of review. No monetary compensation was received and the opinions are our own.