Disney: Mickey’s Typing Adventure

by Shellie Driscoll

When I was in 6th grade I remember sitting in front of a large electronic typewriter for the first time and I felt very overwhelmed. Not only because of the sheer size of the typewriter but the keyboard looked more like a jumbled bunch of letters. Eventually I did  learn to type but let’s be honest, the process of learning how to type is not enjoyable. It’s quite boring!

Now, I am sure you would agree that learning to type is an essential skill for anyone to have so why not make it fun and educational. Well, the folks at Disney have done it again! Disney: Mickey’s Typing Adventure software was created to teach kids ages 6 to 12 how to type or improve their typing skills and have fun at the same time! Kids will love seeing all of their favorite Disney characters like Huey, Dewey and Louie, Daisy, Donald Duck, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy and of course, Mickey Mouse.

Their adventure begins in the medieval kingdom of Typelandia at Ye Old Magic Shoppe where they learn the basic instructions on how to navigate thru the game and then they choose a Typing Course to learn. There are 11 age specific and/or skill level courses to complete.

Your child must free Mickey and his friends from a mysterious enchantment by typing their way to their final destination….the Palace. Kids are taught the proper way to sit at a keyboard and how to place their hands on the finger board. Each lesson provides step-by-step instruction and provides them with instant feedback on words per minute and accuracy. They can repeat a lesson as many times as they would like.

My son is 8-years-old and he can type a little bit using one finger so I was so excited to see how well he would do using Mickey’s Typing Adventure software. He found the typing lessons simple to use and really enjoyed the storyline and animation in-between the lessons. He began with the first lesson called “Suggested Typing Course” and I was amazed to see how quickly he began to type properly.  He did say that it felt a little weird at first to keep his hands in one place because he was so used to typing with one finger but I encouraged him to keep at it.

Once kids have learned how to use the entire keyboard they can practice typing passages from some of their favorite Disney stories.  Kids can also print a certificate of achievement for successfully reaching the Palace and becoming the hero of Typelandia.  There are printable coloring pages, color progress charts and graphs and WPM scores.  At the Village Arcade they can play games with only the keys they have learned to reinforce learned keys and helps kids be successful at typing.  Disney: Mickey’s Typing Adventure is absolutely a wonderful tool for your child to build a strong typing skills foundation and have a great time doing it as well!

Disney: Mickey’s Typing Adventure is a CD-ROM game compatible with Mac and Windows 7, 8, and Vista and is available at Amazon for $28.24 plus free shipping.