Should I Take The Camcorder?

[Rose123]

I wasn't planning on taking it, was only gonna take the camera. However, all of my friends can't believe I'm not taking the camcorder. I really did not want to carry it around. Oh yeah, this is our first trip, my son is 5 yrs old and we leave in 18 days!

 

[klj27]

This is always a dilema for us. We always bring it but hardly use it. I can't stand carrying it around the parks, but like to get some video of the kids around the resort.

 

[smep013]

When you take your camcorder to other events, do you watch the tapes?
I guess that is the way I would decide. Am I really going to watch the tapes after we return?

 

[Daydreamer]

My wife and I had this same debate before our first trip together. She wanted to take it, I didn't. We ended up taking it and she wanted me to record almost everything. About midway through our second day I handed her the camera and told her I was tired of experience Disney through the camera's eye, that I wanted to experience the trip with the kids. She recorded one show that evening and the camcorder remained in the room the rest of the trip.

We are headed down for our tenth trip in September and the camcorder has not made it back since. That being said, between my wife and my mother we typically have about 1,500 pictures from each trip so I figure we can just line them up end to tail, flip through them and have a video, kinda like they did the old cartoons.

 

[mickeystoontown]

To take or not to take.....that is the question!

Our first trip was 9 years ago so the camcorders back then were bigger than they are today. I carried the camcorder around for five days straight. Most of that time, it was in the backpack. Then, when I wanted to use it, I had to stop, take it out of the backpack and then record. Don't get me wrong, I got some really great footage....Our son turning 1 with Mickey and his gang. Our daughter getting on her first roller coaster. My husband getting kissed my Minnie.

You need to keep in mind that you will be getting wet on some of the rides. You will be jerked around on a few rides. Some ride seats are tight and you'll have to cram your backpack in the seat with you squishing everything in it.

Our trips to Walt Disney World are now 10 days long so we have the luxury of visiting the theme parks multiple times. I only take the camcorder on our second day in a particular park. I also don't take it on days we know we will be getting wet.

 

[LISAMWDW]

I've only taken the camcorder 2x when my daughter was young, 3 - 5 years old. If this is your first trip, I would definetly take it! I put it in a backpack and carried it around that way and had no problems. I would advise though, as most people take the "stuff", take your child more! I look back on the videos now and although I did tape my daughter playing around etc at WDW, I wish I would have more video of her! They are precious memories and I would highly suggest you have them as a keepsake too! My daughter is 1- now and loves to watch herself at WDW when she was so little. It's adorably priceless!

 

[Familyx4]

Next month will be our third trip with the kids - now 15/12. Our first was 8/5 and second was 12/9. We have always stayed 10 days each trip and I get about 2 hours of video each. I would not trade the video for the world. We often watch it and laugh. But certain memories are priceless like my 5yo daughter rounding the corner and seeing Cinderella's castle for the first time or my son screaming from excitement while riding Astro Orbiter. So if I look at 10 days at 8 hours a day and taped for 2 hours then that I only filmed less than 3% of the time. Not too much of a sacrifice....

 

[2dogmom]

I bring mine and try to get all of the shows and parades. My girls, especially my little one, loves to watch the different shows, even the ones that aren't shown anymore. It helps her remember more of the details and get excited for another trip, not that it take much for that

 

[Zip-a-dee-doo-Dad]

My DD was just about to turn 4 on our first trip. On the first day there, as soon as we entered the park, the SADCT parade was starting. This was right after 9/11, and the park was empty. Well, DD was so happy to see all the characters, that she was calling out their names and eventualy, became so emotional that she started to cry. I have ALL of this on video, and it is one of my favorite memories to watch.

To make a long story short, bring the camera you just might regret not taking it if something magical happens.

Oh yeah, my DS and DD love to watch the videos (6 trips worth) over and over.

 

[twinspluscade]

YES!!

Especially since this is your first trip, and with a little one. Your child will want to watch the tape of them meeting their favorite characters over and over again (at least mine have). I wasn't sure about bringing ours either, but Dh insisted on it and now I'm so glad we did. We just watched the tape again yesterday .

Plus, if you do get sick of lugging it around, all you have to do is leave it in your room. Better that than to get down there, and then wish you had it.

 

[kytiam]

I would take it if your camcorder is fairly compact! My kids LOVED watching vacation videos and video of themselves at that age!!!! Yes, it does get tiring carrying it around all day, but worth it for the memories IMHO. Take turns with DH so neither one of you is "experiencing Disney World through the viewfinder". I took mine on my last trip even though we left the kids (teenagers now!) at home.
I decided it was cheaper to buy a new camcorder than to try to scrapbook another Disney vacation.

 

[Colleen27]

I don't take mine. I take loads of still pictures and some short videos with my digital camera's video function and that's enough for me. I mainly only use our camcorder for things like dance recitals and other performances, to be able to share the videos with family who couldn't attend the show.

 

[RVGal]

My son is now 5 and regularly asks to watch the "Disney World movies please". We enjoy sitting down and watching what I recorded, so, it is worth it to me that I lugged that thing around for our first trip when he was 3. There is one scene on video that I wouldn't trade for anything in the world. We took him in to see the Playhouse Disney Live Onstage at MGM and I filmed his face as Bear (from Bear in the Big Blue House) came out for the first time. Priceless. I almost cry every time we watch it together.

Now, having said all that... if you don't want to get those personal shots, but still want to have the ability to re-live the experience... there are several DVDs available in the parks that show scenes from the more popular rides and shows and all that. It can be a great alternative and one I found the first year I FORGOT to pack the camcorder.

 

[jimmalru80]

Nine previous trips and we have not taken one yet. We do take a lot of photos and put them on a disc with music, etc.

 

[storzo]

I always take my camcorder on vacation, but I designate only one or two days for using it. I get some vacation footage and I don't have to carry it around the whole time. Win, win.

 

[DizzDoll]

I'm STILL waffling!! I'm a dyed in the wool photo warrior and take no less than 750 - 850 pictures on our trips to the World (I used to take a LOT more ) and ALWAYS take 2 cameras (my digie and my son's 35 mm that he really doesn't use that much) so I'm in heaven. I use my camcorder mostly for my daughter's horse shows and my son's baseball. BUT - I'm debating on whether or not to get a mini-digie camcorder to take with us to catch the street performers and shows. So, I'm thinking that if I can get a mini digie on sale I'll take it if not I won't bother. Maybe. What do you guys think?

 

[Rose123]

I want to thank everyone for the great advise. I think I have decided to take it but not every day to every park. I will definetly take it to MK for our character breakfast. Again, thanks for the ideas.

 

[YEKCIM]

I have taken my 'corder every time we have gone (03, 04, 05, 06) and will take it again this year. First trip was Sony 8mm, the last three have been with Canon MiniDV, which is much smaller and lighter. Having been bitten by the digital still photography bug, I don't video as much as I used to, but some of the clips are priceless. For example, since Tarzan Rocks is no more (what WAS Disney thinking???), we sometimes pull out the AK video and watch the show. I have also found that some things lend themselves more to video than still photography, like stage shows, parades, and outside rides (like Dumbo, Spitting Camel Ride, Thunder Mtn, etc) and I'll sometimes video the entire ride. I have also taped the entire Illuminations show, using a monopod for stability, which helps tremendously, and means I don't have the watch the whole thing thru the viewfinder, but occasionally check framing in the swing-out LCD.

Since getting the MiniDV, I have now converted all my home video to DVD, with scene selection added in the menu, which makes watching old home movies MUCH easier, as you can go right to the scene you want to watch w/o hooking up the 'corder to the TV, searching FF and REW to find what you want to watch.

My 8 YO frequently asks to see the WDW movies, and we share some yuks watching (and listening) ourselves have fun with the Mouse. I suspect they will become even more priceless to her in years to come, after her mom and I are gone.

Anyway, that's my perspective and my preference.

~YEKCIM

 

[DizzDoll]

Thank you, YEKCIM - you helped with my OWN dilemma. If I can get one on sale, i'll take the minidvd. I really did want to vide BTMRR!!

 

[YEKCIM]

Thank you, YEKCIM - you helped with my OWN dilemma. If I can get one on sale, i'll take the minidvd. I really did want to vide BTMRR!!

A significant point of clarification here. What I have is a MiniDV, not DVD. The MiniDV records to a tape, while DVD, of course, records directly to a DVD disc. At the time I bought my Canon, the prices on the DVD corders were outa' sight so, being the thrifty (my friends say, CHEAP) person I am, I opted for the MiniDV, which was plenty costly, too, btw. I have since read that the quality of MiniDV video is superior to the DVD, although I can't quote you chapter and verse on that. I have also discovered that the quality of the DVD's I've made from the MiniDV tapes is superior to the quality of the video, played straight from the tape to the TV. I've used the Canon, too, to convert all my old analog video (VHS and 8mm) to DVD, and the quality is very good. It is a time consuming process, but does allow one to edit the video before actually burning the DVD.

I do very little editing, but do break down the video into "scenes" with my own thumbnails and titles. Not sure if you can do that with the DVD camcorders or not.

I think the technology is moving away from MiniDV, although I have not kept up with it. I think maybe 'corders with internal hard drives may be the next thing, if not already but, as I say, I'm not up to speed on that.

Anyhow, good luck; hope you get some great "footage" that your family will cherish from now on.

~YEKCIM