Is memory maker worth it?

[Kite16510]

I just finished paying off my trip, including the airfare, hotel, dining plan, everything, including the purchase of luggage that we made. The only thing that is left on my reservation is memory maker.

In your opinion, is memory maker worth $185?

 

[Willow Ufgood]

In your opinion, is memory maker worth $185?

In my opinion, no. It's not worth the price. But I've been there plenty of times and have a ton of ride photos and pictures in front of every park's icon. The best photos I have from Disney trips were the ones I took in the moment with my phone.

 

[LoveDaisy]

It depends if you are going to take the time to take photos. We always get it. I love having all the photos after. I also like that everyone can be in the photos. I enjoy the ride photos, magic shots, and the filters that allow you to take your own magic shots.

 

[loves to dive]

Worth it is subjective. Do you want family pictures with everyone in them that are not taken with a cell phone? It might be. For us, it never has been but I don't like having my picture taken, never have. After my son became an adult he also did not like to be in pictures. We used to get it for free with my AP and didn't even use it then. My son, his SO and their daughter usually gets at least one photo pass picture every trip but they just pay for that one picture and don't buy the package. Otherwise, if their daughter meets a character, they have the CM take a picture with their phone.

 

[DaviVascaino]

I don't know if you are aware, but now if you buy lightning lane, you will get the ride photos for free.

So memory maker would be just for pictures taken by Disney CM.
I have paid for MM before, mainly because of ride photos, but that is now included with LL, so FOR ME, memory maker is not worth the price tag anymore.

when I had purchased MM before, most pictures taken by CM were average at best, only a few were good pictures. I can get similar quality with my phone and the right composition. so it is a personal decision.

To me, is not worth it.

 

[Kite16510]

I think when we went back in 2015 cell phones didn't have the kind of cameras that they have now. I have a really good camera on my phone. And I'm really tired of paying on this trip.

Plus, I'm going with my son who's 25. I'm not a fan of having my picture taken. But I do have a good phone and I just feel like there's so many other things that we've put into this trip such as the dining plan and we're staying at Fort wilderness which is a lot, I just feel like we can't keep adding crap onto this trip.

Certainly, I don't think it's necessary. But I also feel like there's a push when you're doing what I considered to be at once in a lifetime trip or at least once in 10 years trip, to have FOMO. But this one I don't feel like I would miss.

 

[Kite16510]

I don't know if you are aware, but now if you buy lightning lane, you will get the ride photos for free.

So memory maker would be just for pictures taken by Disney CM.
I have paid for MM before, mainly because of ride photos, but that is now included with LL, so FOR ME, memory maker is not worth the price tag anymore.

when I had purchased MM before, most pictures taken by CM were average at best, only a few were good pictures. I can get similar quality with my phone and the right composition. so it is a personal decision.

To me, is not worth it.

I didn't plan to get any lightning lane passes. My 25-year-old son has severe autism so we were just going to use the DAS.

 

[Mle8308]

It's subjective. If you want professional looking photos with some special touches, it might be. For me, it's not. I had it included in my tickets for the past few years and I think we stopped one or two times, we didn't use it even when it was almost free. Some of the poses are just not for us, and not everyone would agree to be in the pictures, so it was easier to just not. Our cell phones worked just fine. However, for some families, especially if traveling for a special occasion, it works out great.

 

[georgina]

I think when we went back in 2015 cell phones didn't have the kind of cameras that they have now. I have a really good camera on my phone. And I'm really tired of paying on this trip.

Plus, I'm going with my son who's 25. I'm not a fan of having my picture taken. But I do have a good phone and I just feel like there's so many other things that we've put into this trip such as the dining plan and we're staying at Fort wilderness which is a lot, I just feel like we can't keep adding crap onto this trip.

Certainly, I don't think it's necessary. But I also feel like there's a push when you're doing what I considered to be at once in a lifetime trip or at least once in 10 years trip, to have FOMO. But this one I don't feel like I would miss.

I don't buy MM, but I have had a few photos taken with the free photo pass and bought one or two. I believe that is still an option.

 

[Genie+]

We almost always buy MM. At first it was a one-time splurge but we were hooked. It’s so nice having all of our family’s photos together and it’s become habit to maximize it each trip. Even when the kids go off on their own they know to stop off for a picture once in a while. The photographers keep their cameras properly set to the lighting. We’ve taken advantage of many of the special magic shots (like the zoom in at Star Wars land) and had some really great coaching for poses over the years.

Every trip we end up with enough great shots that we have never regretted the expense. It’s one of those things that aren’t necessary - but worthwhile.

 

[Duckyswims1720]

I never end up buying more than 2-3 photos (we wait for maybe 10 max), so the per photo price is a better deal for us.

 

[_19disnA]

We went to Disney a few years ago with 2 other families. One of them bought memory maker so we could all be in the same picture. We ended up with multiple photos/poses from every location and really have no need for all of that. If you just want a few family pictures with everyone in the shot and don't want to hand you phone/camera to a stranger, probably any Disney employee would be willing to assist. Downloading Memory Maker after the trip ended was a pain and the photos were not stored/arranged on the Disney site in any sort of logical order. We will not be purchasing MM if going to Disney again in the future.

Any pictures you download from Disney can be printed at any online photo shop for FAR less than what Disney charges. That is what we did with the few we wanted to frame.

 

[DisneyOkie89]

To make sure I’m in pictures with the kids (that actually look good), in my opinion it’s worth it. I usually ask for it as a Mother’s Day present to add to our trip. We just returned from a trip and I felt like the photo quality had improved from previous years.

 

[Kite16510]

Thanks to everybody for the suggestions. I decided with the full burden of the cost of the trip on my shoulders not to do memory maker. $200 won't make or break the trip, but it's still significant to me.

117 days to go

 

[Disneytam]

There is the option to just choose it for 1 day. I think the cost is $75. My son and his girlfriend went to the magic kingdom for just one day on their last trip to Universal. It was her first Disney trip, and they used it a lot. Some of the photo CM really got into it, even after the park was closed, and they got some wonderful photos. For what they got they thought the $75 was well worth it.

 

[Brian Noble]

In your opinion, is memory maker worth $185?

If money is tight, I would skip it. I often buy it, and they are fun to look at, but I rarely use the photos for anything once I get home.