Mickey’s Great Outdoors: DVD + Mickey Mote Review

Ive finally joined the Disney Mickey Mote fun and am the parent of a child who loves interacting with her favorite Disney movies with her colorful, mickey-shaped remote control. I wasnt sure what to think of it when I first heard about them, so didnt jump on the bandwagon and buy one probably selfishly because I wasnt sure I wanted to give up possession of the remote control to my preschooler. But now that Ive given it a try and seen Emmas excitement at being able to play with her movies (kinda like daddy and his Playstation 3 controller), Im sold!

Later Ill share the pros and cons of the Mickey Mote, but first I want to tell you about Mickeys Great Outdoors, the latest Disney Mickey Mouse Clubhouse DVD release.

Heres a list of the episodes youll find on the DVD (and it includes a digital copy as well!):

Mickeys Fish Story Daisy wants to find a fishy-friend for her goldfish Goldy and we help her find other goldfish in the Jungle where were aided by the mysterious conga drummin Jungle-Pete! Boom-boom-bap-boom!

Mickeys Camp Out Today Mickey and his friends are going to earn Clubhouse Camp Out Badges by completing two tasks setting up camp and fishing for Gummy Fish. Everyones planning to camp with a Tent Buddy, but Donald decides to camp by himself and he soon learns that camping with friends is much more fun than camping by yourself.

Mickey and Minnies Jungle Safari Minnie is determined to snap a photo of the rare Hula Hibiscus that only blooms once a year. So the sensational gang go off on a jungle safari and explore new territory to find this legendary flower.

Daisy in the Sky On Balloon Day, Daisy grabs a large batch of balloons and gets literally carried away along with Minnie and Pluto, who couldnt hold her down. Mickey, Donald and Goofy kick into high gear to save their friends: they use a Giant Candy Cane (to rescue Pluto), a Party Horn (to warn animals out of the way), a Piggy Bank (to weigh down one side of an elevator so that Mickey can reach the top of the lighthouse), and a Toy Hammer (to fix the Ferris wheel).

Daisys Grasshopper Daisy has a new pet grasshopper named Wilbur, but the playful hoppin fella hops away and we help all our Clubhouse friends hop after him and find him before the end of the day. Boing-boing!

Video Clip:

Now, What We Like (and Dont Like) About the Mickey Mote:

First of all, programming the Mickey Mote is relatively easy. The first time I programmed it, it DID take me a few times to get it right, but thats because I was trying to follow the written instructions rather than the instructions on the DVD which are very clear and easy to follow. I recommend following the instructions on the DVD and you should have no problems at all.

After programming the mote, it asks you if you want the beginner (Level 1) or more advanced (Level 2) interactive play mode. Level 1 lets the child work with just two of the shape/color buttons and Level 2 includes all four. So if you want to ease your child into it, they make it really easy to do so!

The episodes play automatically and randomly when you continue on to play the DVD. The fact that it doesnt give us the option of choosing which episode we want to watch doesnt bother us, but it could be frustrating if your child wants to watch the same episode over and over (it happens). The only other thing that I dont like is that apparently we have to program the remote again every time we watch the DVD it doesnt remember. Im not sure why that is, but I couldnt get it to work again the next time we watched the DVD until I re-programmed it. Nobody else has complained of this that I can find in other reviews so it could just be our DVD player or mote. Its a pain but it doesnt take long to program again now that Ive done it so many times. Two minutes and Emma is smiling and interacting with the DVD. Its worth it to me.

The questions your child is asked during the course of the episode are great for preschoolers questions about the characters, shapes, colors, etc. I like that it teaches Emma to be observant and nothing is too hard to remember there is always a picture hint included with the question. If the child picks the wrong answer, theyre nicely told to try again.

Final Thoughts

Overall were very happy with the Mickey Mote and DVD. If Emma wasnt so crazy about it I might not be giving it such a glowing review, but seeing how much she loves interacting with and using the Mickey Mote (shes named it Tootles) makes it all completely worth buying! You can find it at Amazon.com for $20.99 this includes the interactive DVD, digital copy, AND the Mickey Mote!

I received a DVD copy of Mickeys Great Outdoors and a Mickey Mote so that I could share my thoughts and experiences with it. This post is 100% my own opinion and was not edited or reviewed by anyone. I do not feel obligated to write a positive review Ill always share my honest thoughts on products! 🙂