Thoughts on Memory Maker?

[Afabena]

My trip is coming up in a few weeks and I was originally NOT going to book MM but now of course I’m second guessing myself. Looking for opinions from those of you who have either booked it or gone without? I know the photopass photographers will also use one of our cameras if we asked which is what makes me hesitant to spend another $170.

The last time I went to Disney there were photographers at the front of the park and they gave you a ticket to come back and see your picture!

For reference there are 6 of us: me (obsessive planner), DH (1st time) with 2, 6 yr olds (first time) and my parents (have not been in 20 yrs). We have reservations at CRT and Chef Mickeys as well as H&V for the characters. We also have BBB and Savi’s booked. Planning to go to all 4 parks, we have 5 day hoppers.

Thanks!

 

[Robo]

If your group loves photos... spend the money.
If you are just casual users of photos... save the money.

 

[hes122]

I was hesitant to purchase it on my trip 2.5 years ago, but felt it was WELL worth the price afterwards, because it encouraged us to stop and meet more characters. I've been lucky on my last trip and upcoming trip to be traveling with an AP holder so we haven't needed to purchase it.

 

[theXfactor82]

We've bought it the past two times we went and would get it again. My boys (10, 10, 8) love posing and making different faces on rides like Space and Splash Mountain then bringing them to school to show their friends. We also usually go during Christmas when the decorations are up so we stop at as many photopass photographers as we can to get festive shots.

 

[amyadams1020]

We buy it every time and love it! I have teenagers and am planning a trip in May. One of their requests was to take a lot of photos! We went last Oct for a quick girl weekend trip and ended up with over 200 pics and she wants more! BBB is great to have it there bc you and your family can sit back and enjoy the process while the photographers take their pics. Plus you can add so many boarders and extras to the pics to make them even better.

 

[pens4821]

I would get it. I think its well worth it. Especially with kids first time with grandparents and parents. There will be a lot of great photos. Not only just the normal ones, but the ride photos are great.

If it were just adults I'd maybe not do it, but with kids I think I always would (unless you go once or more per year).

 

[gharter]

I think a lot of it comes down to how many times do you get you photo taken with characters or the staff photographers around the parks?
I never thought I'd like having it. But after it was free with our APs, I love it. Now we look for the photographers and get as many as we can if the line is short.
Also really like having the onride photos available.
Would I get it if I had to pay $170? Not sure.

 

[carol48b]

I too hesitated. But, I'm really glad I got it, especially now that the ride photos are automatically included. No matter the size of your group, the photographers go out of their way to get couples, families and groups in separate shots. Enjoy your time and photos.

 

[carol48b]

If it were just adults I'd maybe not do it, but with kids I think I always would (unless you go once or more per year).

Get it ESPECIALLY if you are just adults. My 55 year old brother dropped dead and those are the last photos we have of him - we would not have had those photos if we had not gotten the prepaid package.

 

[IluvMGM]

If you are up to getting lots of photos, then it is the absolute best souvenir. Looking at the pictures will bring back memories of those moments. If you don't think you are going to want to be bothered stopping for pictures, then you might not get your money's worth. They also have magic shots, ride photos, videos, etc.. stuff you won't be able to get with your own camera.

 

[TigerlilyAJ]

The fact that you're doing BBB alone means you should get it. Aren't you going to go to meet some princesses after the BBB visit? First timers have to get pics with The Mouse. With ride photos included, it's a no brainer.
My feelings on MM are for anyone who goes less than once a year, your trip is rare enough, special enough, and expensive enough that $170 more (I dare you to calculate it as a percentage of your total vacation costs) is nothing. Sure, government them your camera so you have something immediate and as a backup, but get those professional memories, too.

 

[#1hoosierfan]

We did not get it for this past trip, and I have no regrets. I don’t care about ride photos, and all of the PhotoPass photographers were happy to take a pic with my camera. I did buy one picture in front of the castle and added a 2019 sticker to it.

 

[Scubadaddy32]

My wife and I log in well over 250 photos, lots of great magic shots and ride videos and pictures that keep us laughing every time we look at them. (I say this, because we really don't seek them out as much as we take them when short line opportunities present themselves. No telling how many we would get if photos were our goal.)
For families you can get everyone in the picture and they are going to take pictures of you and your family interacting with the characters. It's just fun memories that you wouldn't have without MM.
$170.00 plus a digital memory stick is around $35.00 I believe. So your total after you get home will be $200.00+. We think it's well worth the money in the end. We've been 3 times in the last year and we have added memory maker to all 3 trips. Very happy with what we get for the money!
5,10, 20 years from now you won't regret having those great photos of the trip.

 

[Tiffany4909]

For us it’s worth it. But we do a lot of character meet and greets since I have an 8 year old. The photographers got some phenomenal shots that they wouldn’t have gotten with my camera. Shots of my son waiting to meet the character or just walking up. Lots of great candid shots not just posed photos.

 

[Aj1129]

I got it for my family. We have a 4 year old that wanted to meet every character. It was nice not having to take my phone out of the backpack for each meet and greet. I got to really watch my son interact and not worry about snapping a pic. I also went on one trip without it and I will never do that again. The quality of the photopass camera was much better then my iPhone. I found my phone pics were dark in some meet and greet areas.

 

[Rach3975]

Worth it for us! We generally go every 2-3 years. I love all the character photos and being able to have our entire family in photos taken in iconic locations like the castle. (I know people hand the photographers their phones or cameras, but to me that feels like going to a restaurant and bringing your own food. I can't help but wonder if too many people doing that is one of the reasons Disney is starting to use some photo boxes instead of photographers. In addition, their professional equipment takes better photos than my phone or my mirrorless camera.) We're not a big souvenir family, but paying for Memory Maker and then making a photobook with all the trip photos (including the ones I take) is our one must-have souvenir from every trip.

 

[Boopuff]

I would get it. I think its well worth it. Especially with kids first time with grandparents and parents. There will be a lot of great photos. Not only just the normal ones, but the ride photos are great.

If it were just adults I'd maybe not do it, but with kids I think I always would (unless you go once or more per year).

We are a group of 9 adults. We don't travel in a pack, so when I get the pictures back it's so much fun to see what everyone did! I believe we had 600 pics last time. I just tell the entire family to stop at every photopass.

 

[Brett Wyman]

My thoughts are I can’t believe I have to pay for it next year after my AP expires. It’s always been something we just had.

 

[Eeyore daily]

With my entire family we've gotten it every time we went and love utilizing it! It's so nice to get family photos and ride photos that you wouldn't normally get. When I went with just my boyfriend I didn't purchase it and I was disappointed in not being able to fully see ride photos and my phone's camera was not as decent a photopass photographer's would have been. So definitely a must for me!

 

[lynzi2004]

In your situation I would probably get it. Multigenerational trips are kind of special IMO. BUT, if it was just a normal trip I would be in the minority and skip it. We’ve have it 1 out of 4 trips the last few years. I’m glad I had it once but I’ve not really missed it since. On our recent September trip, the PP lines were snaked around TSL, SWL and many of the good MNSSHP shots. It was crazy! We would stand a few feet from where the PP were, ask a guest waiting in line to take our picture and be on our way in 15 sec. meanwhile, they were looking at a 15 min line. Now, no the pic probably didn’t turn out as good as the professional one with lighting, but I could upload it to FB, no one was the wiser and be on my way!