Road-Trip Survival with Disney

Road trips with kids don’t have to be like when we were younger, with punch-buggy and Cadillac Slap to pass the time. Now kids can be entertained with a lot less violence and educational entertainment. That’s why I bring to you some ideas on how to survive road trips with kids … with some Disney Magic.

No, there is no fairy singing Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo. Instead you can rely on Disney Digital Books (DDB), an incredible, comprehensive online library of over 600 children’s books including favorites such as Mickey Mouse, Cars and Disney Princess. The service is portable and web-based – meaning that it can be used on-the-go wherever you have Internet access. DDB is a great way to have kids read and interact with books all summer long!

DDB is a fully interactive online experience featuring Look and Listen titles that allow children to hear the story read aloud, a Story-Builder feature so kids can create and share their own memorable stories, a “My Place” area that children can personalize, an age-appropriate dictionary and many other kid-friendly features.

Book subjects are categorized into:

Disney Classic Digital Books

Disney Animated Movie Digital Books

Disney Channel Digital Books

Disney Infant and Toddler Digital Books

Disney Live Action Movie Digital Books

Disney Princess Digital Books

The service is subscription based at $8.95 per month or $79.95 annually. Each subscription covers up to three children in the same household.

From Toy Story iPod app

For iPad owners, Disney Publishing has also created brand new, original read-along apps for the iPad. Now your little one can read about the adventures of Woody and Buzz with all three Toy Story apps (Toy Story, Toy Story 2 & Toy Story 3) or the Princess and the Frog read-along app while you’re on the road.

My husband actually discovered the Toy Story app days within getting an iPad. You can actually download it for free – just for a taste of the magic. The kids were enthralled as they could read along with the story, color scenes from the story and play games. There is a cool maze game, where Buzz Lightyear has to help his friends out of the toy store. And there is also a parachuting green soldier game. Throughout the story you also have the opportunity to hear two of songs from the movie and it gives you the words so you can sing along! The boys are NUTS over it.

Most recently we downloaded Toy Story 3. It’s fresh on the kids’ brains, since we saw the movie. This app also has coloring pages, along with puzzles, 2 games and 3-D scenes. The story is interactive, so not only can you listen to it being read or read it by yourself, you can touch spots on different pages to make actions happen. For example, you can have Woody peek in and out of a backpack or help a dump truck rev and light up.

Toy Story 3 iPad app - Coloring Page

The kids LOVE the coloring pages. And a neat hint is you can actually take away the “scene” and just use the white background to paint whatever you want. I use that opportunity to help reinforce letters, words, numbers, colors and shapes. The games help with fine motor skills and judgment. With one game you are helping Woody maneuver through a street on his kite. In another game you are launching Buzz Lightyear through the daycare room.

You can get 3-D glasses for the Toy Story 3 app at the Disney Store. But you don’t need the glasses to enjoy the story – it’s just an extra perk.

Remember, the original Toy Story app is free and available from iTunes. The other Toy Story Apps are $8.99 – you are getting the e-book and the games in this bundle and the reviews say it all – parents and kids LOVE this app.

Toy Story 3 App Features at-a-glance:

• Two reading modes allow you to follow along as the story is read aloud, or explore at your own pace. Select Young Reader Mode to simplify page turns.
• You can record your voice reading the story and hear it played back as narration. (I haven’t tried this yet…)
• View select pages in a whole new way with fantastic 3D effects that have dynamic touch-to-play exploration. The 3D glasses used to view the 3D section of this App are FREE at your local Disney Store, while supplies last, exclusively in the United States and Canada.
• Play exciting games based on scenes from Toy Story 3. Watch Woody soar above the town and help him to safety in “Hang Glider,” and have a blast with Buzz as you overcome thrilling obstacles in “Falling with Style” – also in 3D!
• Tap the “blinking stars” whenever you see them to reveal animated surprises throughout the app.
• Get creative with the finger painting tool and share your masterpieces with friends and family! We e-mail ours to their daddy when he is at work!
• Sing along to songs from the movie.
• Jump to your favorite page with the Visual Page Index.
• Turn pages manually and move back and forth through the story as you wish!

Overall, I am really hoping Disney Publishing releases more titles on iPad, because other kid books I have downloaded have not had as much value (or even accuracy) as the Toy Story apps we’ve read and played with.

Right now the Mom Buzz is giving one lucky reader a chance to win a 1-month subscription to Disney Digital Books. But even if you don’t win, you can get 1-week free with a trial membership - no credit card needed for the trial!

This is solely the opinion of the Mom Buzz. The Mom Buzz was not compensated for this buzz. The Mom Buzz was provided with the Toy Story 3 app to review. DDB is supplying the winner’s prize. Other people may have different experiences with the product. And don’t forget to enter my other hot contests so you can win and try buzzworthy products!