Memory maker for families with adult children...

[Vickilynn42]

We are leaving in a week for six days in the park. There will be seven of us- my hubby and I, his 78 year old mother, and four adult children. We have never done MM before, but this will be a special trip because we are taking my husbands elderly mother on her very first trip- not just to DW, but her very first vacation anywhere!! Having said that, we are on a definite budget and are staying off grounds. We will not be doing any magic shots probably, and no character meets. So is it truly worth it to pay the money? We will be bringing a camera of our own, but someone is usually left out of the shot unless we ask someone else to take it. And I do like the idea of the ride photos being included. But like I said, money is tight. I just didn't know if it's really worth it to pay that much if we are not meeting characters, etc. Any advice one way or another?

 

[evolady73]

IMO, I would not purchase it. I have found people are very nice and will gladly take a shot of your entire crew for you. I purchase it each time but I have a wee one who goes to EVERY character greeting. Which it is nice then. But, until I had her, I never bought it.

 

[Vickilynn42]

I appreciate your point of view- thank you I have put off purchasing it until I'm absolutely sure because it's so expensive!

 

[poohfriend77]

Usually I'm the first to say "Yes! It's worth it!" But we usually go for 8-10 days, I have kids, we do character meets, and I probably wouldn't be in a single photo without it, because I'm the only one who uses our camera. We LOVE the ride photos, and I scrapbook, so we actually *do something* with the pics after the trip. So while it is always worth it for us, I understand your hesitation because of the price.

If you get MM, you'll have to make sure it's worth it, by stopping for pics when you see the photographers. As long as your accounts are linked (or you're in charge of them all), anyone from your group can get pics taken, and you'll be able to download them. That's nice if you split up at all, especially if not everyone carries a camera. And don't rule out the magic shots just because you're all adults. ;-) A photobook or framed pics would make holiday gifts, especially for Grandma! I'd probably justify the cost based on that idea.

But if your family rolls their eyes every time you pull out the camera, and you know they won't want to stop for multiple shots with the photographers, I probably wouldn't get MM. Either way, I hope you have a magical trip!

 

[Vickilynn42]

Usually I'm the first to say "Yes! It's worth it!" But we usually go for 8-10 days, I have kids, we do character meets, and I probably wouldn't be in a single photo without it, because I'm the only one who uses our camera. We LOVE the ride photos, and I scrapbook, so we actually *do something* with the pics after the trip. So while it is always worth it for us, I understand your hesitation because of the price.

If you get MM, you'll have to make sure it's worth it, by stopping for pics when you see the photographers. As long as your accounts are linked (or you're in charge of them all), anyone from your group can get pics taken, and you'll be able to download them. That's nice if you split up at all, especially if not everyone carries a camera. And don't rule out the magic shots just because you're all adults. ;-) A photobook or framed pics would make holiday gifts, especially for Grandma! I'd probably justify the cost based on that idea.

But if your family rolls their eyes every time you pull out the camera, and you know they won't want to stop for multiple shots with the photographers, I probably wouldn't get MM. Either way, I hope you have a magical trip!

Thanks so much for your reply! I do scrapbook, so there is that. And my MIL has offered to split the cost with us so we decided to do this I figured since we are now splitting the cost, it's worth it even for the ride photos alone.

 

[ajwolfe]

I think you are going to enjoy having it!! I wouldn't shy away from the magic shots even with an all adult group I think you will end up with some cute pics if you let them take them.

 

[PAcpl]

IMO, I would not purchase it. I have found people are very nice and will gladly take a shot of your entire crew for you. I purchase it each time but I have a wee one who goes to EVERY character greeting. Which it is nice then. But, until I had her, I never bought it.

We have had the opposite experience. I have only asked one person to take a picture of DW and I and she gave me the dirtiest look. I even scoped out the scene to find who I thought was a sweet older lady. She was a bitter one and has cost me hundreds of dollars in Photopass CDs.

 

[jacknsally19]

Do you think that would do Character M&Gs? I think if you are doing those - its worth it. I find that photos taken by the photographers camera have good settings for the lighting and tend to come out a bit better.

I will say that with a large family group - I would strongly consider it. I think it would be nice to get a lot of family photos with everyone especially if you aren't able to get together that often.

I will confess that I'm a bit of a sucker though for buying pictures. I just love having the memories captured. I spent a ton of money when we went on the Disney cruise on their photos!! So I might not be the best person to ask.

 

[JimmyBean42]

If you get your MIL on some rides that have the photo's included on MM (Splash Mountain comes to mind first), it's worth it for that alone! Have a great trip.

 

[Quellman]

There isn't a guarantee that that photos the photopass Cast memebrs take will be any better than your own, which is why people recommend taking as many photos as possible. I have had blurry or what I would consider unusable photos that they have taken with their own cameras. Just because they have an expensive camera around their neck does not mean that they know how to use it! They do a pretty nice job and can be a way to augment your own photos. I would just as soon as ask a stranger, hand my camera to the photopass person, or even just any other cast member and ask them for a quick photo. You can still have the photographers link your pictures to your account and you can buy them individually afterwards. This is good if you find they took some really nice ones. We ended up not doing the memory maker last trip, but found 2 photos that we wouldn't have had otherwise. So we ponied up the $30 or whatever it was. Much cheaper than $169!

 

[Crystal824]

We generally get MM but only because we have young kids who love characters and character meals and ride photos. If it were just DH and me and our parents, I probably wouldn't get it because of the price. Since you are bringing your 78 year old MIL, it might be fun to have some of those ride shots, etc if you think she will ride some of attractions that have photos. You always have your own camera for the classic in front of the castle shots, etc. I'm not sure how everyone is paying for this trip, but when we have gone with family members before, we have often split the price of MM. For instance, we went with my parents, my sister's family, and my family one year and we split the cost three ways making it more affordable for everyone.

 

[Vickilynn42]

Thanks so much everyone for the replies! We did go ahead and purchase it because my MIL offered to split the cost, and also, this really is a special trip for all of us. So we decided it was worth it this time, and this will give us a chance to evaluate it's worth for future trips!

 

[kj2mom]

I know it was already said once but don't shy away from the magic shots. Have the CM take a regular photo then ask if they have a magic shot. You might be surprised just how nice they come out (and if you don't like them, no worries). Be sure to link everyone up so even when the group is separate everyone's photos appear! I don't think you will be disappointed!