waste of money?...

[dismomtfj]

I don't think it's over priced considering you own the rights to the images. We don't do most rides and no Character meals or M&G so for us it is not worth it. Like most things at Disney, it all depends on what fits your vacation.

 

[texasroni75]

We used to think it was too pricey. But, last trip we went with DD and fiance, and we split the cost between us. (We were all on the same reservation but did most of our touring as separate groups). We ended up with a total of about 600 pictures. It was honestly the first trip where I had more than a handful of pictures of myself since I usually take most family vacation pics. DD loved that she has an entire album of "couple" pics from their first WDW visit together. Worth it for us, but I can see how some wouldn't get as much out of it.

 

[5kidsmommy]

I love it because it frees me up. I don't want to bring a camera on vacation and I don't want my phone out all the time and memory maker makes that possible. Now we only go once per year or two and we have a lot of kids and pictures are important to me so it's worth it me. I can see why some especially those who go often, might see it as a waste. January 2014 we had 400 pictures on a 7 day trip. Lots of goofy ride pictures, character shots and pictures of the entire family which doesn't happen often.

Like other things at Disney it is worth it if you'll use it.

 

[m86]

If we had a lot of money, Memory Maker would probably be on our list. But we prefer to just walk around and enjoy everything, without constantly thinking about having photos taken etc. I love to just immerse myself in the moment, and have real memories stuck in our heads, and that is hard if you are constantly thinking about taking pictures/having pictures taken.

 

[bbarba]

We like having the pictures and feel that we do not want to carry the dslr around-so it's worthwhile for us. We have friends heading down the day after we get back and we are sharing the cost, making it much more affordable for us.

 

[auger]

To us, it is a total waste of money. I can hand my camera to any cast member to get a picture with all of us in it. I have never felt the photographers do very good job even with the photopass pictures, so why pay them to do it?
All Disney is selling you is the rights to go have the pictures printed if you want to. Why not use your own camera and get those rights for free?
The few ride pictures I might want to have a print of certainly aren't going to cost $170!
Plus, the best trip pictures are the ones you get while eating or walking through the park. Those impromptu shots are the real memories, not the ones posed in front of a photographer. The photographers aren't there to catch those moments for us, so I still need my camera if I want to have those memory shots.

 

[verleniahall]

NOPE! Not at all - I can go with or without my camera - and I get to be in the photos - I dont' trust someone to use my camera - what if they break it? They aren't responsible for replaceing it.

 

[DadSparrow]

The three of us are headed down in another month and I am still torn on this topic. I am usually the shutterbug of the family but I am in so few photos of all of us. Plus this is the first trip from my DS and DW so I am sure there will be so many smiles and memories that I would hate to miss.

 

[Monykalyn]

It is a bit overpriced-but last year we got MM and the ride photos alone were worth it. We did end up with >400 pics (just from MM->900 when add in our pics from camera, phones). I would have hated choosing between the pics to keep cost down-the Splash photo where all of us had a different (unplanned) funny expression, the 5 from EE where we did posed positions (with the other people in the car too-hilarious). The Tot photo where my FIL has the funniest surprised expression. We also got several magic shots, the PP start shooting when you walk up to the characters (got great ones with Mickey and Minnie and from Dug and Russel) so you get some great candid ones too. We also got several great family pics with icons in background. The price this year has me hesitating but will probably end up getting it.

 

[kaismahma]

Can anyone tell me what the pictures cost if you do not buy the MM or how much it costs after you get there if you decide? Are you able to purchase some of the digital images but not all? I am going with my DD and they only we will have shots together is if someone else takes them but I almost fell on the floor when I saw the cost. Especially if we are only going to be there for 4 days.

 

[smitch425]

Can anyone tell me what the pictures cost if you do not buy the MM or how much it costs after you get there if you decide? Are you able to purchase some of the digital images but not all? I am going with my DD and they only we will have shots together is if someone else takes them but I almost fell on the floor when I saw the cost. Especially if we are only going to be there for 4 days.

Purchasing MM at least 3 days in advance saves you $30 of the regular price of $199.99. Individual pics are around $15, so it doesn't take too many pics to equal the cost of MM.

 

[disneyjes]

My husband cannot take a picture no matter what so I'm always the one taking the photos....and I'm never in them except selfie shots. So to me? It is beyond worth it.

 

[helenm29]

the reason we are using it is because we NEVER have pictures of ourselves! one of us is always taking the picture and since it will just be my husband and I we figured we'd go for it.

 

[UncleMike101]

We get it for a couple of reasons.
Without it I'm never in a picture.
My Wife can't take pictures of people without cutting their heads off. (With the camera)
With MM no one asks If I went along for the vacation, and everyone gets to keep their heads.

 

[peg110]

If we had a lot of money, Memory Maker would probably be on our list. But we prefer to just walk around and enjoy everything, without constantly thinking about having photos taken etc. I love to just immerse myself in the moment, and have real memories stuck in our heads, and that is hard if you are constantly thinking about taking pictures/having pictures taken.

I agree with this (to an extent). Fortunately we have been able to afford the memory maker because my DW is so efficient in finding great deals. That being said, I often forget about taking pictures because I do immerse myself in the experience as well. With all the photographers around, however and a DW nudging me, I have gotten better about remember to get the photos. It is, however, awesome to have the photos at the end of the trip to remember and reminisce as well.

 

[smiths02]

We are getting it (and we got the CD when we went in 2009). I like having all the pictures downloaded in one place (I put them in our fire safe)...cameras get deleted, people forget to upload phones, etc. Plus, we aren't photographers, we don't have a nice camera, we just have our cell phones. Our cell phone pictures can often be blurry or where you can't make a big print, etc. I know all the MM photos won't be super quality, but they will most likely have several of better quality than the cell phone...and everyone will be together in the pics!

ETA: We are going to get it for this trip because this is also a big blowout kind of trip. I am in the process of trying to fit in a budget, offsite kind of trip for next year. I doubt we will get it then.
So if we went yearly, I don't think we would do MM every year.

 

[MataHari22]

For me, it was totally worth the money, and if I go again, I am going to purchase it again. In 2013, I was going to purchase it, and my friend talked me out of it. She said it would be a waste of my money and that we could just hand the camera back and forth and take pictures of one another. Well, there are great photos of her on that trip and none of me. I didn't realize that she could not take a decent photo. There was one photo, where I was not even in the shot! I have no clue what the heck she was doing, but when I reviewed the photo, I wasn't anywhere in it! We laugh about it now, but I have to tell you, I was annoyed that I don't have good photos of myself that trip. Last year, I purchased it, and we have a ton of great photos. I even scrapbooked a bunch of the photos and did shutterfly books for me and her. I'm sure I'll get at least 10 good shots I will want again, so it should be worth it for me again.

 

[mikepizzo]

I always thought it was a waste of money too, until my girlfriend and I decided to split the price with another family. We just so happened to be going while another family we knew were going. We split the cost. It turned out to be about 10 dollars a day for unlimited pictures. It was fun finding the Disney PhotoPass CM's that weren't doing anything. We found two CM's who were standing right next to each other in an area that had very little traffic. We had a pretty fun conversation with them and were able to have almost a private photoshoot.

Not to mention all the ride photos/videos you as well!

Plus, neither my girlfriend's nor my photography skills are anywhere close to some of those CMs.

If you don't mind having "strangers" pictures in your folder when you download them, I think it's worth it if you split the cost.

 

[FargoBear]

I haul about five grand in cameras and lenses around the park, and while I agree it's overpriced, I still pay for Memory Maker. It's worth it to have more chances at pictures of great memories.

 

[ericstac]

We get it nearly every trip. Once we get home we get the photos from photo pass/MM and combine them with our photos and create a book of the trip. We wait for one of the online binding sites to have a sale and have a big hardcover book created of the trip for lasting memories. We do this for all our trips too, not just Disney.