We are 2 adults (with an adult stepson) and would never stop for pictures - or if we did - we would never purchase them. This past May my DH and I got Annual Passes that includes Memory Maker. We have done 2 trips so far (each for about 10 days (but not spending all days in the parks). The first trip my stepson and his girlfriend joined us. We made sure to stop at all the photopass people and got tons of great shots. We went back this past October and just kept adding to our photos.
We would probably not have gotten it if it wasn't included with our AP's but I am so glad we have it now. We generally do not wait for characters but if do that with your DD I am sure you will get lots of great pictures. Also, make sure you both get in the character pictures also, with MM this would make it so much easier. Just as an FYI - not sure if you are doing Tusker House but we did breakfast and lunch there in October and while there were all the characters walking around - there was not a photopass person with them (would have loved that). Generally the handler, our waiter or even the people sitting at the next table took the pictures with the characters there for us.
Thank you for your advice. I hope we can get a lot of great photos.
Yes, we're doing Tusker House.
We might bring our DSLR camera so that we can capture good photos while we are on the safari bus.
In 6 days we accumulated about 700 pictures in Photopass. We did make an attempt to stop opportunistically if we saw a free Photopass photographer. Of the 700, approximately half were not directly related to our family and were "throw away" pictures (either generic or of other children in a show). Of the 350 that are left, many are duplicates or not of great quality (mostly due to subjects, a few due to photographer). We will keep them all sense we paid for them with Memory Maker, but will probably only print about 30. When we do our scrapbooks this will comprise approximately 40% of our photographs.
In short, it is a nice way to get group shots and some unique photographs, but it is not a slam dunk on value nor is it a comprehensive solution to your photo needs. For example, if you go to a character meal, most of those photos will NOT be in Photopass. You will need to bring a camera and take your own pictures.
Edit: For 14 day trip, odds are good buy.
Thank you for your response.
Yes. That's what I worry. # of pictures alone doesn't mean that # of 'good' photos.
But since we're going for 14 days, 7 days at the park and 2 days at DS, so maybe it is okay? Last time, we were okay with our own camera though.
With a 2.5 year old daughter, you're going to want your own camera on hand anyway. If you want photos of your entire family, the photopass photographers will happily take pictures with your camera as well as their own. You can always wait and see - you only save $20 by buying it in advance. If you love the pictures they take, and it seems worth it after the trip, buy it then.
Yes, last time, we took a lot of photos with our own camera.
I am just not sure because this time, we go for longer days and do many character meals, whether MM is worth it.
Thank you for your comments.
We love Memory Maker, and I think it's one of the best values at Disney World. We regularly end up with well over 500 photos during a trip. We stop at almost every photographer we find, as long as their line isn't crazy. I'll have an AP this year, and I'm so glad it includes the MM. We also end up with hundreds of photos on our phones and cameras too...I guess we get a little picture happy in WDW.
Certain photobooths are included as well, we love the magic shots (don't forget to ask if they do them if they don't offer before) and photos with props, and we do a lot of meet and greets, and I love the ride photos and videos (even if your dd isn't on the rides that include those, you'll have your single rider shots!).
The only time we had any irrelevant photos on ours was when our kids did Jedi Training, and they just gave every photo they took. It took some time to go through and delete the ones of other kids, but it wasn't too bad. If you find you are missing photos, it's easy to contact them and get the pictures added. I've never had it take more than 24 hours.
For our family, it's absolutely worth it, but I know that it won't be to others. We have a lot of fun with it, though!
Good luck making your decision, and have a magical trip!!
Ride has videos?
Our DD is too young for Jedi training, so that won't be on our plate this time!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
With 14 days, my answer would be heck yes! So many opportunities for photos! It's not just the photopass photographers, it's all of the potential ride photos as well. Plus magic shots and things like that.
Definitely a big fan of MM here.
Thank you. I wonder if the magic shots work well with my DD?
Do a Search of "memory maker" for this forum and you will see many threads on this topic.
Here's a link to a recent one:
http://www.disboards.com/threads/memory-maker-worth-it.3562120/
The link is my post! lol.
Yes, I did some research on this before I started the new post.
But many were going different time frame (mostly a week or so), way more ppl (I've read a post with 14 people!), different age group - with children etc.
That's why it was so hard to reference them!
Absolutely - especially since you're going for 14 days! We're getting it for our 3 day trip.
We got it last year and it was great. We got so many really great professional photos. We love the ride photos and used to always purchase them. Now that's included do it's great!
Have a great trip!
Thank you. I wonder if we don't need to bring our own camera or we still do...
